Dharmabindu

Author(s): Luigi Suali, Chintaharan Chakravarti
Publisher: Royal Asiatic Society

Page 9

PREFACE
Dr. Luigi Suali of Bologna (Italy) who edited the Saddarasana Samuccaya of Haribhadrasuri for tho Society in the Bibliotheca Indica Series was entrusted in 1908 with the work of editing the Dharmabindu of the same author with Munica commentary. The Sanskrit text of the entire work prepared by Dr. Suali was received by the Society from him and the first fascicle comprising pp. 1-80 was printed in 1912. During the following eight years no further progress was made, but in 1921 the work was resumed and pages 113-160 were sent to the press and Dr. Suali corrected them up to the stage of page-proof. There was a hiatus again in the progress of the work for which no apparent reason can be assigned. In 1939 when the reorganization of the work of the Society was taken in hand and publication of all works that were lying incomplete was undertaken-all efforts to get in touch with Dr. Suali having failed Prof. Chintaharan Chakravarti was entrusted by the Council with the task of seeing the materials left by Dr Suali through the press and bringing the long delayed work to completion.
In the absence of the Sanskrit text, published for the first time by Dr. Suali in the Giornala della Societa Asiatica Italiana with Italian translation (Vol. 21, pp 223 ff.), it was not possible to check the press copy left by Dr. Suali with the printed Sanskrit text and ascertain how it was prepared. From the footnotes where variants have been recorded, it appears that Dr. Suali's text was made from four different MSS. though no details are available as regards the latter. Prof. Chakravarti has, however, been able to compare the text, now printed, with a MS. of the work in the possession of the Society, and a printed edition recently published from Ahmedabad. In addition, he has given å short introduction, a table of contents and a list of important words occurring in the work.
It is hoped that the work, which is an important document of Jaina philosophy now published in a completed form after thirty years from the time of its inception, and unhappily not fully seen through the press by the distinguished editor, will, nevertheless, serve to satisfy a keenly-felt want of students of Indian and specially of Jaina philosophy and doctrine of life.
B. S. GUHA,
General Secretary, 1, PARK STREET,
Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal. December 19, 1940.