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All published by Jain Svetambar Terapanthi Mahasabha under the editorship of Muni Sri Nathmal : Managing editor Srichand Rampuria : Vacana-pramukha Acarya-Sri Tulasi.
The Jain Svetambar Terapanthi Mahasabha of Calcutta sponsored, as early as 1956, a scheme to publish the entire Jaina Agamas critically edited, annotated and provided with scholarly introductions. Five such texts with accessory volumes of the first two as above, have already been published. The rest is under preparation
In editing these texts, the editors have been cautious about all the possible sources of manuscript corruption, which are enumerated as six by the Agamic Scholiast Abhayadeva Suri, in his Thāņānga Commentary, viz., (1) absence of genuine tradition, (2) lack of right reasoning, (3) ignorance of one's own as well as others' śāstras, (4) loss of memory, (5) conflicting versions of texts, and (6) corrupt manuscripts.
The editions are enriched with introductions, detailed contents and appendixes including an appendix specifying the loci of full texts which usually appear abridged by means of jāva (up to), and exhaustive wordindexes which are done for the first time and will provide a solid basis for compilation of the much-needed Prakrit lexicon
The annotations, critical studies, and translations as also the skill with which the appendixes are compiled reveal the depth and devot of the monks and nuns, the profound scholarship of Muni-Sri Nathmal and the genius of Acarya-Sri Tulsi as the learned Vacana-pramukha. The annotations are prepared with extreme care, clearing many a term of its hoary obscurity. Nijjuttis, Cunnis and Tikās are exploited for the first time for such purpose. The critical studies are each worth a doctorate.
-N. M. Tatia (Dr.)
LESYA-KOSA (Cyclopaedia of Leśyā) : Mohanlal Banthia & Srichand Choraria (Ed.) : Mohanlal Banthia, Calcutta: Pages 39+296 : Price Rs. 10.00.
Leśyā-Koşa is a specimen volume of a larger project prepared by Sri Banthia to compile a series of such volumes on various subjects of Jainism, enlisted in a comprehensive and exhaustive catalogue that is under preparation by him. The compilers do not claim that this volume is an exhaustive and complete reference book on the subject as contained
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