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Ch. V (pp. 208-246) deals with the Svetambara Literature (10001600 A.D.). Of the 300 or so authors belonging to this sect and known to have flourished during that period only about a fifty have been discussed and the more important of their works noted. Similarly, in ch. VI (pp. 256-274), which deals with the Digambara Literature produced in the same period, of the more than 600 authors known to have belonged to those times only thirty-six have been taken note of and the more important of their works mentioned. There was no dearth of material for these two chapters, and bulk of it seems to have been accessible to Dr. Chatterjee, as is evident from the References appended to these chapters. If he wished to give only a qualitative glimpse of the literary achievements of the Jains of the period, it would have been more purposeful had he treated the subject in a chronological order language-wise or subjectwise, and not under sectarian heads. The case of a historian of our times is different from writers like Winternitz who wrote their works some seventy years ago and had comparatively little primary and secondary source material to draw upon.
JAIN JOURNAL
Ch. VII (pp. 283-357) gives brief, rather sketchy, notices of 290 Jain Tirthas or holy places, in alphabetical order, written on the basis of books on the subject, published by the two sects, and eipgraphical records connected with those places. However, many places well-known for their sculptural and architectural antiquities and popular holy traditions have been left out, such as Ahar, Banpur, Candpur, Canderi, Dubkund, Dudhai, Gyaraspur, Kargaom, Papaura, Samaspur, Siron, Suhonia, Udaigiri, etc.,-the list is not exhaustive.
After a perusal of the entire book, one is constrained to observe that cases of confusion of identities between persons of same or similar names, self-contradictions, lapses and various kinds of discrepancies are not few. Numerous printing errors, poor quality of paper, indifferent printing and excessive price also detract from the real worth of the publication. With all respects for the learned author and sincere apologies for, perhaps, hurting his sentiments, we, as every knowledgeable reader would be, are left with the feeling that the work has been compiled in a slip shod manner as though the wirter was in a hurry, and that it is anything but a Comprehensive History of Jainism, which is yet a desideratum.
Notwithstanding its defects, shortcomings, failings and lapses, this work on the history of Jainism is a welcome contribution to historical literature and Jainological studies. He deserves our worm congratulations. We shall be longingly waiting for his Volume III of this series, in which he proposes to discuss Jain Philosophy and Art.
-JYOTI PRASAD JAIN
Jain Education International
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