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JAIN JOURNAL VOL-XXXVII. NO. 1 JULY, 2002
from anywhere -- be they Brahmanic or Prakrit. These slokas sometimes help us to see how those slokas were current at that time. These slokas will sometimes serve the purpose of different readings. For example, one śloka from the Mrcchakatika is quoted in connection with the description of poverty. The sloka (at page 114) in question runs thus: nirdrayyo hrivum eti hriparigataḥ prabhrasvate tejaso nistejāḥ paribhūvate paribhavān nirvedam āgacchati / nirbinṇaḥ śucam eti sokavihato buddheḥ paribhrasvati bhrastasca kṣavam etyaho! nidhanata sarvapadām āspadam //
This verse is the number fourteen of the first act of the Mrechakatika. But there are many variants of this verse. In the Mrcchakatika dāridvāt is found in place of nirdrayyah. So also the reading apadrate is found in place of agacchati. It seems that the reading apadvate is better than agacchati. The root a - pad gives the idea of "to get something." Kalidasa has said - apadvate na vyayam antarayaiḥ (Ragh V.5)-- "is not caused to undergo any destruction by obstacles." The Mrechakatika has sokapihitaḥ instead of sokavihataḥ. But in the Godabole's edition of the Mrechakatika the reading sokavihataḥ is given as variant of sokapihitaḥ. The reading buddheḥ paribhrasvati is not better than buddhyā parityajyate, because in the first line of the verse prabhrasyate is used, and so it is better to avoid the same root in the same verse. Another verb parityajyate will indicate a better idea. If we consider the trend of the verse, we think that the reading bhrastasca is not good in place of nirbuddhiḥ, because destruction arises out of the loss of intellect. This is the essence of the whole thing. I recommend the text to all readers of Prakrit.
Satya Ranjan Banerjee
Pramāṇa-mīmāṁsă of Hemcandra - Sanskrit text edited with Gujarati translation by Ratnajyota Vinaya, Ranjan Vinaya Jain Pustakālaya, Bhalvaḍā, Rajasthan, VS 2058, price Rs. 195.00.
The Pramāṇa-mimāṁsā of Hemacandra with Gujarati translation and exposition is a new acquisition to the field of Jain philosophy. The Gujarati translation of this book has added glory to the edition. The edition contains several index systems which will be helpful to the readers. The printing and paper will induce readers to consult this edition. I recommend this edition to the reading public.
Satya Ranjan Banerjee
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