Jain Journal 1976 04

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

Page 49

APRIL, 1976
169
Prasad Jain, Prof. Hiralal was appointed its first Director and continued to serve the institution for about ten years. He was so kind as to write to me once to join that Institute as his assistant but I hesitated for a bit and soon after he himself left the Institute. In later years, he held high academic jobs at the Nagpur and Jabalpur Universities.
Prof. Hiralal's greatest achievement, apart from editing and tranating the Dhavalā commentary and several other ancient Prakrit texts like the Tiloyapannati and Jambūdvīpaprajñapti Sangraha, is the bringing to light of a number of Apabhramsha books of the Jainas, which he critically edited. He encouraged many of his pupils to undertake research work in the Jaina Apabhramsha literature, and was, perhaps, its greatest populariser in the present century. He was general editor, alongwith Dr. A. N. Upadhye, of the Bharatiya Jnan Pith Cultural Series, the Jivaraja Jain Granthamala Sholapur, the Karanja Apabhramsha Series, as also, for more than 15 years, editor of the Jaina Siddhanta Bhāskara and Jaina Antiquary.
This doyen of Jaina learning passed away on 13th March, 1973, at Balaghat (M. P.), leaving a lacuna in the field of Jaina studies which seems difficult to fill up. But, his example and dozens of his pupils, we hope, will keep the torch burning and the work left unfinished by him will not suffer from a dearth of devoted workers in the field.
---JYOTI PRASAD JAIN