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DEVENDRASTAVA
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
Ardhamāgadhi Jaina Āgamic literature is a valuable treasure of Indian culture and literature. It is unfortunate that due to the non-availability of suitable translations of these works, both, the laymen as well as the learned scholars were unfamiliar with them. Of these āgamic works, the Prakīrņakas have almost been unavailable even though they are of an ancient origin and are predominantly spiritual in their content. We are fortunate that Mahāvīra Jaina Vidyālaya, Mumbai has already published the original texts of these Prakīrņakas, duly edited by Muni Śrī Punyavijayajī, but in the absence of suitable translations in modern Indian languages, they were generally inaccessible to the lay readers. It is for this reason that the Coordinating Committee of the scholars of Jainology had decided to accord priority to the translations of the canonical texts and allotted the task of translating the Prakīrnakas to the Agama Samsthāna, Udaipur. The Samisthāna has, to date, translated fifteen Prakīrnakas into Hindi and published them for the benefit of the inquisitive readers.
However, those western and Indian readers, settled abroad, who don't read and understand Hindi, are still deprived of the contents of these enlightening works. We are happy to see that Colonel Dalpat Singh Baya has translated the 'Devindatthao Prakīrnaka’into English for such readers as well as for them that would enjoy reading them in English as much, if not more, as in Hindi. The exhaustive preface and original text with foot-notes have been taken from the Hindi edition of the work prepared by Dr. Subhash Kothari with the assistance of Dr. Suresh Sisodiya
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