Jain Journal 1970 01

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

Page 53

Prospectus of A New Verse Concordance
KLAUS BRUHN and C. B. TripATHI
Tools of research are welcome in all disciplines, and normally work of this type requires no justification. The situation is however different if the 'tool serves a field of study which has received so far but scant attention. In such a case a word of introduction is necessary. The raison d'etre of the scheme must be explained at an early stage, so that a sort of dialogue between the 'editors' and the later users of the tool can start. Such a dialogue will not only encourage the editors, it will also guide them in their undertaking. This at least is what we feel with regard to the verse Concordance which is under preparation in Berlin. The Concordance will cover the verse-material contained in the old Jaina texts, and it will show each verse, with its parallels, in alphabetical order. Most of the verses are not found in the canonical texts themselves but in early commentaries, called Niryuktis and Bhasyas, and this is why we called the literature concerned a neglected field of study. The number of scholars interested in Niryuktis and Brāşyas has always been small, and apart from carefully prepared editions of most of the texts, little work has been done on this particular subject. At present, research in Niryuktis and Bhāsyas is restricted to the Seminar fur Kultur und Geschichte Indiens (Hamburg) and the Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Institute (Ahmedabad). Thus the general situation presents difficulties : Critical studies which could guide the editors are few. At the same time our imperfect knowledge of the material serves as a stimulus. If a reference-work precedes the other investigations, then its contribution to the whole structure of research will be all the more substantial.
Most of the verses contained in the Concordance will be Prakrit Aryās but there will be verses in other metres as well, and Sanskrit verses will be included wherever they occur. The total number of verses will lie between 65,000 and 75,000. (The Northern Recensions of the Mahābhārata court about 91,000 Slokas.) The texts from which the verses are taken can be roughly classified as follows:
(1) Canonical works consisting mainly or exclusively of verses
(e.g. the Uttarādhyayana).
(2) Canonical works in prose with interspersed verses (e.g. the
Sthānānga).