Jain Journal 1997 04

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

Page 39

136
JAIN JOURNAL : Vol-XXXI. No. 4 April 1997 very rarely in Pali probably as a remnant of Sanskrit (Geiger, Pali Language and Literature $ 60). In Prakrit, of course, it is abundantly found, because some of the intervocalic consonants constantly drop out, as a result the remaining vowels after 'a' or 'a' have a slightly ya like sruti which is linguistically also very very correct. D.C. Sirkar has mentioned an ya-sruti in the Bürhikhan Brahmi Inscription in Bilaspur District, M.P. He says - "The epigraphy may be palaeographically assigned to a date about the close of the first century B.C.".... "The language of the Inscription is Prakrit. Interesting from the epigraphical point of view is the ya-śruti in the names Payavati for Prajavati and Bharadāyi for Bharadväji. But there is no case in which a surd has been modified into a sonant." (Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society, Culture and Heritage number, Bangalore, 1956, pp. 221-24). And in almost all the manuscripts of the Amg. texts, this type of ya-śruti is found. So, I do not know how far it is right to think that there was no ya-śruti in the Amg. text. (For a detailed study of the problem, see my article-Ya-Śruti in Prakrit, Jain Journal, Vol-xxvi, No. 3 January 1992, pp. 157-169). However, Dr Chandra, at least, has been consistant in not recording any reading with ya-śruti (except in a very few cases) throughout the text and from that point of view he has maintained what he has said in the Introduction.
His other points like the initial and medial dental n, jña, nya etc. need some more consideration than what he has said in the Introduction. The whole problem of editing Jaina Agama texts is a severe one, and the problem is not like Sanskrit or Pali. This is, indeed, true that we will have to accept some procedures to edit a Prakrit text, before we venture to improve upon the text. His inclusion of -dhaintervocally makes the text a Sauraseni one. In some cases, intervocalic -k is changed to -g-, but in other cases -k- (intervocalic) is retained. However, I am not in a position to assess all these readings in this short space and time, but I am sure that this text will provide lots of interesting phenomena for future generations to come.
On the whole, this edition is admirable and commands respect from the readers of Prakrit. One thing very praiseworthy is that what Dr Chandra thinks as the correct reading, he has accepted and his conviction that the original language of the Amg. text was more archaic than what is found in later Prakrits is faithfully represented in the text. I personally believe this edition of Dr Chandra's will rouse stimulations in the minds of the scholars and for that reason this edition has a remarkable value in the scholarly world.
Satya Ranjan Banerjee