________________
disappearance of the learning of Prākṛta language. The result is that happily Sa skrta is flourishing and surprisingly Pr krta is waning. At present Pr kṛta is understood through Sa skṛta, which seems to me to be an anti- Mah vra attitude. This means that the Pr kṛta language, which is the representative of the common man's aspirations, is denied the respectful position in society at large. Its revival is very much important for making intelligible the cultural history of India. Without it India will be misunderstood and the increasing significance of the common man in the present day democracy will not find its basis in ancient history of India.
It is matter of great satisfaction that some scholars of the past decried the teaching of Pr kṛta through Sa skṛta, but they could not find time to develop a detailed programme of teaching Pr kṛta independently of Sa skrta. It is to the credit of Apabhra şa S hitya Academy, Jaipur, Pr kṛta Bh rat Academy Jaipur and to the University Department of Jainology and Pr kṛta, Udaipur for starting teaching Pr krta independently of Sa skrta. Deriving inspiration from the Pr krta scholars of wide repute and recognition, Apabhra sa S hitya Academy has made a humble effort in preparing the required system of teaching Pr kṛta and Apabhra șa through the National language, Hindi. Some of the Students and teachers of the Universities are studying the Pr krta and Apabhra sa language through correspondence course developed by the Apabhra șa S hitya Academy, Jaipur. It is my wish that students who have come here to study Jainism will make use of this method for learning the Pr kṛta language. They may use their mother tongue to learn Pr. krta for comprehending the gamas. This will go a long way in understanding properly the contribution of Jaina gamas in enriching world culture in general and Indian culture in particular.
Page 143 of 556
STUDY NOTES version 4.0
