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(RO)
IL The Jaina Canonical literature is so vast that it has been too difficult to give a coherent and comprehensive picture of the entire canvas of the sacred literature. Attempts have been made by several writers to present a synoptic picture of the sacred literature.
They very often flounder on some sectarian ground. I am glad that here, in this work of Shri Devendra Muniji entitled Jaina Agama Sähitya : Manana our Mimomsă (Hindi), we can get a fairly coherent and comprehensive account of the Agama literature of the Jainas without prejudice or pride conceiving any section of the Jaina community. It is a fair presentation of all the aspects of the canonical literature giving a panoramic picture of the literature of all shades of Jaina faith; of the Digambara and the Svetämbara sections. 1.TIT. The Jaina canonical literature has been so vast as we said above that it has been difficult to present a critical study of the entire literature without entering into the intricasies of the implications of the different shades of thought in Jaina philosophy. The Jaina contributions are vast, varied and valuable. They have enriched in no small measure the treasures of the Indian Literature. But even then till recently their value was not probably realised. Shri Devendra Muniji has done well to present a critical and comprehensive study of the canonical literature of the Jainas.
IV. Shri Devendra Muniji's book Agama Sahitya' has been divided into the seven chapters and a glossary. In the first chapter he has given the general survey of the Agama literature. He has emphasised the importance of Agama literature for the Jainas. As the Vedas for Vedic, the Pitakas for the Buddhist Sastra, so are the Sruta, Sūtra or Agama for the Jainas. The word Agama has been variously interpreted by the Acaryas. Agama is that writings which gives a true picture of reality. It is the knowledge gained through the words of an authority (Aptavacana) and Aptavacana has also been considered as Agama. He has given in this chapter the distinction between Purva and Anga. A scientific analysis of the classification of the Pärva and Angas has also been discussed. Several other concepts like the Anga, Upanga, Müla and Cheda have been consi
1 Kapadia (H. R.): Canonical Literature of the Jainas,
(H. R. Kapadia, Surat. 1941) p. 206. 2 Shri Devendra Muni Shastri : Jaina Agama Sahitya : Manana
aur Mimamsa (Hindi) p. 5. 3 lbid., p. 6.
