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28
Desinamamulu
a great loss of time I have succeeded in identifying nearly all the fragThe Ms. ends with dyer in viii. 21, the rest being entirely lost.
After I had worked out the text and the greater part of it had been. sent to India for being printed, I received two more Mss. from Dr Bühler, viz.
H.A Ms. bought at Ahmedabad for Government in 1879, foll. 62. Samvat 1628. Text and commentary. The Ms. is very carelessly written. and of no value at all.
I. A Ms, belonging to Pandit Bhagvanlai Indraji, foll. 86. Text and commentary; incomplete, foli. 8-27 and the end from : in viii. 72 being wanting. The Ms. is a copy of the same codex archetypus from which G is copied. It agrees with G in almost all particulars. As it is written very distinctly, it would have saved me much time and trouble, and greatly facilitated my task, had I got it a year earlier. I have consulted it in all doubtful cases when correcting the proofs, but I could no more give its readings in the notes.
All the Mss. are written in the characters peculiar to the Jainas. Hence it was very difficult to hit the true reading in all cases where 4, 4 and, and, and 4, and ., . . . were concerned. There are not many words in which all the Mss, agree in the use of these letters. order to ascertain the correct reading I was very often obliged to have recourse to etymology. Where that failed me, I had nothing to guide me but the best Ms., which, however, is by no means quite trustworthy. A few examples will best illustrate the method I have adopted in constituting my text, and at the same time show the difficulties I had to grapple
with.
At vi. 139, the Mss. ABCDFGI read set, a reading which is twice repeated in the commented Mss. H reads Hot (text), (commentary),
(example). Only E has , a reading I have adopted for etymolo. gical reasons. There can be no doubt that stands for 4, the Prakrit equivalent of (compare vi. 121, ag and g in which the same contraction has taken place). represents Sanskrit with the change of डंभ दम्भ to according to Hemacandra's Prakrit grammar I. 217. Thus, which is stated to mean a doe-snare, properly signifies "a thing which deceives (or injures) does." In support of the reading here adopted, I may point to the critical notes to Hemacandra i. 217, where two of the Mss. read so, though there is the only possible form. At iii. 43, the majority of the Mss. reads guit. Since this word represents a Sanskrit जम्होहणो. * यज्ञापन (of यज्ञहन् ), I have adopted the reading जण्णोहणो. Here the authority of the best Ms. led me to the correct reading. In a great many cases, however, I was deprived even of this help. Thus vi. 46, the Mss. ABCEF read GHI R. In the commentary, all the Mss. except H, read f; in G the word is torn off. In the example, which is wanting in G and I, BF read 3, C, H is doubtful. Thus f seems to be the correct reading. Yet I could not admit it into my text. The word is apparently deriv
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