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The Jain Shala of America
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hiladelphia is known as the birthplace of the nation and as the cradle of liberty. The city is rich with many historical and monuments and cultural institutions. The Liberty Bell, Independence hall, Betsy Ross house are just a few of the famous landmarks. Benjamin Franklin established the University of Pennsylvania in 1760 and hundreds of Indian students pursue undergraduate and graduate studies there. We Jains know that Philadelphia is the site for the next JAINA Convention. But very few amongst us know that the University of Pennsylvania's Van Pelt Library is a repository of the largest and richest collection of Indian books and manuscripts outside of India. The library's 450,000-volume collection of Indic works is notable for it's collection of JAIN literature both old and new. These superb collections along with the University's Department of South Asia Regional Studies, the first of its kind in the world, and the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern studies, which offers a Ph.D. in Jainology make this institution the JAIN SHALA of America.
Have you ever seen a Prakrit-Hindi-Sanskrit Dictionary? Or a Bibliography for Prakrit language? Did you know about 12 volumes of an Encyclopedic Dictionary of Sanskrit on Historical Principals? Have you ever wanted to read works on classical and Vedic Sanskrit? Where would you send someone who wanted to read Jaina Puran Kosha or Jainendra Sidhanta Kosha? Jain literature in eight different languages is not a common site even in India. If you want to see nearly 5,000 volumes on Jainism and many more works on Hinduism in assorted ancient and modern languages you owe it to yourself a visit to this library.
This hidden gem of Indic literature is a life work of one Dr. W. Norman Brown. The story of the South Asia Collection at Penn revolves around the life and career of Professor Brown. Born in 1892 to missionary parents he spent his carly childhood in India. Received his Ph.D. in Sanskrit from Johns Hopkins and returned to India as professor of English. After ten years of teaching in Jammu he became chair of Sanskrit at University of Pennsylvania. During World War II, the U.S. Government commissioned him to establish a program at Penn to train soldiers in the language and culture of India.
This experience helped him establish the South Asia Regional Studies department in 1948. As he was trying to expand the program and funding was getting difficult, he with several other scholars devised a novel solution: Using of PL-480 funds. The wheat-selling program of the U.S. government had created a huge surplus of local currencies that were used to purchase library materials. With the help of one of his students, Horace Polemanwho was Chief of the South Asia Section of the Library of Congress, in 1962 he established the most
20/JAIN DIGEST SPRING 1999 Jain Education International 2010_02
By Dilip V. Shah, JAINA Secretary, Philadelphia remarkable library program ever. A flood of materials started pouring in and as a result we have before us a supreme palace of knowledge for any scholar who wishes to study Indian religions or literature without having to go to India.
Dr. Brown's profound vision is manifestly present in this library. One can not help but wonder how he came across such a huge collection. During his frequent visits he made many influential friends like Dr. Radhakrishnan. Of many awards he received in India, U.S and Europe, one that adorns the room in the library bearing his name is the one awarded by West Bengal Government Sanskrit College: "Gnan Ratnakar" in 1961. His interest in Jainism was inspired by a Jain monk.
Among the notable books one must look at is the multivolume encyclopedia of Jainism, an extremely useful Abhidhana Rajendra Kosa (Prakrit and Sanskrit). Many rare books in the Singhi Jain Series; the handy two volume Agama collection, the Suttagame, several multi- volume Agama editions; and many works on all aspects of Jain traditions in English, Gujarati, Hindi and many other Indian languages. There is a complete six-volume edition of Acharya Shri Hemchandracharya's "Trisastisalakapurusacharitra" translated in to readable English by Helen M. Johnson, describing the lives of all the Tirthankaras. There is a much-admired twovolume set on Lord Mahavir in Hindi by Osho (Rajnish Muni). A recently published 560 page Gujarati book by Acharya Shri Rajyashsurishwarji on Padmavati Devi (already out of print in India) The library receives many newspapers, magazines and journals including Gujrat Samachar, Navbharat times and both the English and Hindi editions of India Today.
All the above mentioned books are in the stacks and any visitor can browse to his or her heart's content. These books can be borrowed and are also available through inter library loan program from your local library. The entire collection is well documented and complete bibliographical material is available to you on the web. For scholars, there is a separate special collection of rare manuscripts. One needs to make special arrangement to visit this room. Everything here is under lock and key and upon specific request, you can see some rare manuscripts. I was privileged to see a 17th century cloth scroll about 10' long describing DEVPRATISTHAVIDHI. It describes Adhivasna Vidhi, Devi Pratistha Mantra, Mata Marudevi and other devi's Pooja /Pratistha Vidhi, Dikpal and other Devta's, Stapnavidhi etc. Of unknown Author and Date, in Jain Prakrit language and beautifully illustrated "Kalakacaryakatha". The moral of the legend of Kalaka is that he who labors for the purity of the Jain faith obtains imperishable glory. This manuscript was most prized by Professor Brown and he called it a "jewel". As you study these rare
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