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PREFACE
1
The idea of the English translation of the Jaina-siddhānta-dīpikā originated as early as 1949 when Professor Dr. Satkari Mookerjee made pilgrimage, at the instance of Seth Chandmull Batia, to Jaipur to pay homage to Acārya Sri Tulsi. Professor Mookerjee was very much impressed by the depth and lucidity of the sūtras and the auto-commentary of the Jaina siddhānta-dipikā Giving his impression of his erudition, Professor Mookerjee observed : "Ācāryasri is a man of extraordinary learning. He is master of the Jaina Agamas and of Jaina logic and metaphysics. And his knowledge of the rival schools of thought is of the same high order."
At the initial stage Seth Chandmull Batia took great interest in the English translation of the Jaina-siddhānta-dīpikā and wished to publish it in the Batia Series under the auspices of the Parasnath Jaina Library at Jaipur, managed by the Trustees of Seth Chandmull Batia Trust. Shri Poonam Chand Batia and Padam Chand Batia, the worthy sons of Seth Chandmull Batia, also showed interest in the publication. But unfortunately, on account of inordinate delay in completing the translation and preparing the press copy, the book could not be published in the Batia Series.
The English translation was completed long ago. But when it was ready to be committed to the press, the message came that the original edition of the book had undergone change and that the translation needed a thorough revision. Ultimately, this work was assigned to me in collaboration with Muni Mahendra Kumar. We did the work, and on many an occasion we had to consult Ācāryasri and Yuvācāryasri for clarification of obscure points. The romanization of the text and writing of new notes also took some time before the final press copy could be prepared.
The scholars of Jaina philosophy have been eagerly waiting for this translation since long and sometimes they expressed their impatience for the inordinate delay. The book is now before the readers. The authorities of Jain Vishva Bharti, specially its Secretary, Shri S.C. Bengani, took keen interest in the publication and tried their best to expedite it. Shri RS Soni, Research officer, took great pains in going through the proofs, which was a hard task indeed.
It is now for the scholars of Indology in general, and Jainology in particular, to judge the merits of the work.
Nathmal Tatia
Jain Vishva Bharati, Ladnun (Rajasthan) September 22, 1985,
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