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PREFACE
As I happened to be at Banaras in the month of April, 1957, Prof. Dalsukh Bhai Malavania of the Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, B.H.U. suggested me to make a special study of the Paumacariyam of Vimalasūri, the first Prakrit epic on the Rama-story. With this suggestion I wrote to my revered teacher Dr. H. L. Jain, M.A., LL.B., D. Litt., Director, Research Institute of Prakrit, Jainology & Ahimsa, Muzaffarpur, (Bihar), who was my Professor at Nagpur during my M.A. studies and was encouraging me since that time for higher studies. He was kind enough to give his consent for guiding me in my research work. In due course of time I joined the Institute in the month of November, 1957. The subject was properly selected and was titled as 'A critical study of Paumacariyam'. Duly the synopsis was prepared under his guidance and was registered with the Bihar University for the Ph.D. Degree.
During all these days of my work Dr. H. L. Jain took regular classes for guiding me in dealing with the various problems arising out of my thesis. His able and learned guidance as well as his paternal care inspired me greatly and made me able to withstand the difficulties and the long passage of time. It was often due to his timely stimulus that I could remain perseverant in my work and now I feel highly relieved that I have completed my thesis and am submitting it to the University of Bihar for examination for the Ph. D. degree.
In my work I have quoted now and then the work 'RamakathaUtpatti aur Vikāsa' of Dr. C. Bulcke. This work has helped me immensely. Without the help of that book it would have been difficult to collect all the material from works on Ramakathās in those various languages with which I am unacquainted and also from those works I could not make use of on account of their non-availability to me. I feel deeply indebted to Dr. Bulcke's work and express my gratitude to him.
I acknowledge my deepest gratitude to my revered guide Dr. H. L. Jain and refrain from the vain attempt to praise him because the words are beyond the power to express my feeling. I feel it my duty to record my gratefulness to Dr. Nathmal Tatia, the present Director of the Institute, who gave me all the possible help after
