Jain Journal 1999 07

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

Page 67

NEWS ON JAINISM AROUND THE WORLD
An International Seminar on Umāsvāti and His Works
An International Seminar on Umāsvāti and His Works was organised by the Bhogilal Leherchand Institute of Indology, Delhi, on the 4th, 5th and 6th of January 1999. The Seminar was well-attended by both foreign and Indian scholars, and several papers were read on different aspects of Umāsvāti. There were 22 papers and 3 plenary sessions. Four delegates including 3 foreigners expressed their inability to join the Seminar. The venue of the Seminar was in the India International Centre. Delhi.
In both the Inaugural (on 4.1.1999 at 10 a.m.) and the Valedictory (on 6.1.99 at 3.00 p.m.) functions, the need of a thorough study of Umāsvāti and his works was exphasized. The speakers was Shri Pratap Bhogilal (Chairman, BL11), Shri Narendra Prakash Jain (ViceChairman, BLII), Professor M.A. Dhaky, Professor Namver Singh, Professor P.S. Jaini (Berkeley, U.S.A.). Professor Sagar Mal Jain (Director, PV Research Institute), Professor Fuginaga Sin (Japan), Shri Deven Yaswant, Shri R.K. Jain (Secretary, Smarak), Shri Parasmalji Bhansali, Shri Ravindra Kumar Jain, Dr Kapila Vatsyayan and Dr Vimal Prakash Jain. Professor Satya Ranjan Banerjee of Calcutta University was the convener of this International Seminar. The papers of the Seminar will be published in due course.
The tentative topics of the Seminar were as follows : 1. Annotated Bibliography of Umāsvāti. 2. Commentaries published on Umāsvāti's Sūtras. 3. Influence of Umāsvāti on later Jain works/writers. 4. Analytical contents of Umāsvāti's Tattvārtha-sūtra (comparing
and contrasting it with some other writers).
Umāsvāmi or Umāsvāti ? 6. Other works of Umāsvāti.
Quotations of Umāsvāti from other works. 8. Origin, growth and development of the conception of Umāsvāti
as reflected in his books. 9. On the technical terms of Umāsvāti. 10. Jain Āgamas and Umāsvāti. 11. Digambaras and Svetämbaras on Umāsvāti.