Jain Journal 1968 01

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 58

BOOK REVIEW
JAIN SAHITY KA BRHAD ITIHAS (A Comprehensive History of Jaina Literature in Hindi) Vol. I. Anga Agama : Bechardas Doshi : P. V. Research Institute, Varanasi : Pages 76+314 : Price Rs. 15.0.0.
A history of Jaina literature is of course no path-breaking venture. Apart from the comprehensive works by Indologists which make copious mention of the Jaina literature, in recent years also there are important ventures like Kapadia's A History of the Canonical Literature of the Jainas in English and Kailash Chandra Shashtri's Jain Sahity kā Itihās, Pūrv-pithikā in Hindi. But even then the field is so vast and so much unexplored that any fresh venture like the present one is commendable, the more so when the work is undertaken under competent stewartship of men like Dalsukh Malvania and Mohanlal Mehta and penned by a scholar of the stature of Bechardas Doshi. The original manuscript of the present volume was prepared in Gujarati for a series of lectures at the Benaras University. The present Hindi version is based on the aforesaid manuscript. The entire work is planned in eight volumes (two of which are already published) which will cover not only the Jaina sacred literature but, as proposed, the entire Jaina literature. To some the effort may, however, appear partisan, but as Dalsukh Malvania writes in a rich foreword, this has been necessary because of a general neglect of Jaina literature in any comprehensive historical work on Indian literature. To the reviewer, however, the work appears partisan not on the above ground but on the ground that it leans heavily on the Svetāmbara sources. A comprehensive history of Jaina literature need bring within its purview all sources, Svetāmbara as well as Digambara and embrace besides Prakrit, Sanskrit and Apavransa, modern Indian languages like Gujrati, Hindi, Marwari, Tamil, Telugu, and Kanarese. A history of Jaina literature should also be up-to-date.
In the course of a very learned foreword, Malvania has introduced the subject of the Āgama literature. They are 11 Angas (+ Drstivāda=12) claimed by all the sects of the Svetāmbaras, 12 Upāngas claimed by only three sects, 10 Prakirņakas owned only by the image-worshipping Svetāmbaras, 6 Chedas, 2 Culikā Sūtras and 4 Mula Sūtras. This classification, we are told, has the widest acceptance. As per tradition, these are compiled by the Ganadharas (the direct disciples) on the basis of discourses tendered by Lord Mahavira and hence are considered authoritative.