Indian Antiquary Vol 47

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 150

140
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
uncommon genius for division and subdivision which to an uninitiated reader might appear to lead to a tangle. Mr. Champat Rai realises this difficulty of the lay-reader and has been eminently successful in furnishing a rational interpretation, intelligible to modern readers, of the principles of his creed, and we are thankful to him for this service towards the better understanding of Jaina doctrines.
The learned writer has not, we fear, been equally successful in his endeavour to show the relation between Jainism and Hinduism, which he has attempted to do in a lengthy appendix. Here he is evidently out of his element and his very enthusiasm for Jainism has led him to make dogmatic statements based on insufficient grounds. It is very difficult to follow him, for example, when he tells his readers that" Hinduism in its very inception was an offshoot of Jainism. In course of time it fell under demoniacal influence" (p. 230). Hardly any modern student of philosophy will assent to his dictum that the six systems of Hindu philosophy are neither happily conceived, nor characterised by scientific or philosophical precision" (p. 224). We doubt very much if Mr. Jain will be able to carry his readers along with him when he avers: "The superstructure of Vedic mythology is based on a foundation of fragmentary truth taken from the Jaina siddhânta" (p.191). It is needless to multiply these instances, but what we have already quoted will show that our author is not a very reliable guide in comparative religion or philosophy.
66
H. C. CHAKLADAR.
AN EPITOME OF JAINISM by PURANCHAND NAHAR, M.A., B.L., and KRISHNACHANDRA GHOSH, VEDANTA-CHINTAMANI. Calcutta, 1917; pp. xxx, 706, lxxviii.
[MAY, 1918
discusses the date of Chandragupta, the next gives English translations of the firmans and sanads granted by the Mughal Emperors and others to the Svetâmbara Church conferring upon it the right of possession over places of Jaina worship and pilgrimage; the remaining appendices furnish lists of the Jaina agamas and nigamas, of the Tirthankaras, and of the heads of the gachchhas, respectively.
We cordially welcome this hand-book of Svetâm. bara Jainism as it puts before the general reader what the followers of that faith have to say in favour of their own religion. The joint-authors have tried to vindicate the claims of Jainism as a rationalistic form of religion, and in doing so they have instituted a comparison between Jainism and the Indian philosophical systems on the one hand and the modern European systenis on the other. It must be admitted that the joint-authors have done fair justice to this very difficult task, and the attitude of toleration in which they have done it is really commendable. We trust this book will help, by clearing up the metaphysical principles underlying Jainism, to dispel much misconception about it.
The work is, however, not satisfactory with regard to the historical portions. The authors have put down dates of many important events about which there is much controversy, without attempting either to establish them or to indicate the sources from which they have drawn them. Their discussion of the date of Chandragupta does not throw any additional light on this important point, nor have they summarised our present knowledge of the date of that monarch.
We regret the many typographical blunders in this book; misprints disfigure almost every one of its pages; letters and words have not anoften been omitted. Then again, no care has been taken in the transliteration of the numerous Sanskrit and
Prakrit words that had to be used in this work. Careless transliteration sometimes combined with
This work purports to be a critical study of the inetaphysics, ethics and history of Jainism from the point of view of the Svetâmbara sect of the Jainas, and the joint authors have made an attempt.imperfect proof-reading have made many expresto harmonise the ancient doctrines of Jainism with the teachings of modern science and philo. sophy. Besides being a compendium of philosophy according to the Svetâmbara school, it is a mine of information on many other topics relating to Jainism. It gives a history of the Jaina Church and of the rupture and split that led to the creation of the sub-sects, and it also provides interesting accounts of the festivals, places of pilgrimage, literature, art and architecture of the Jainas. Besides, there are five appendices; the first
sions in the book under review quite unintelligible. For illustration-we quote a few at random-Pritvakia vitarka (p. 600); Svabhva (p. 88); Jnt putta (p. 2); Jnyan prabad (p. 691); dasashruta skanda (P. 693); the same word is transliterated as sahabhavi, sahabhabi and sahabhavi on the same page (88). The list could very easily be enlarged, and we trust the authors will take care to get rid of these serious, but easily remediable defects. in a subsequent edition.
H. C. CHAKLADAR.