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Part 1]
THE IMMEDIATE TASK BEFORE US.
to the Baluchar edition, yet falls short justified the undertaking of such a of many conveniences which a good edi- work. 15 So far as I can say on the tion should provide to its readers e.g. authority of price-lists of criental books Introduction, Index, Notes, Variae printed in Europe, Dr. Suali's diction Lectiones etc. Copies of this edition ary never appeared. also are very difficult to have as only a Various attempts have been and are limited number of copies is printed. being made in India for a Prakrit
Similar activities have been at work Dictionary. I have seen the first four in the publication of Digambar texts. volumes of the blvdhana Rajendra
Stray texts have appeared in Europe prepared at Ratlam. It does not seem to most of which are printed in Roman have proved useful in proportion to the characters and not therefore, suitable for amount of money and labour spent on it. Indians.
Under the management of Mr. Kesari Under these circumstances, it is evi- Chand Bhandari of Indore, the S. S. dent that we should lose no time in Jain Conference is contemplating to removing this long-felt want that has bring out a Jain Prakrit Dictionary. only partially been fulfilled.
The work of indexing words from Sutras In the course of a speech delivered at has fairly advanced. How far this dictiothe S. S. Jain Conference in 1917, Princi- nary proves useful will be seen when it pal A. C. Woolner of the Oriental College is out. Sometime ago I read an advertiseLahor remarked that the fact why ment from Pt. Hargovind Das of CalEuropean Scholars had done compara- cutta about his proposed Prakrit Dictitively less work in Jainism was due to onary. But I do not know how far his
sence of graded readers, grammars work has progressed. These individual and dictionaries of Jain Prakrits. The
attempts on the part of the various sects want of such bocks has also been felt in
show that the present circumstances are India. One or two readers were published
quite favourable for undertaking a Prain Germany and Italy, but they were of krit Dictionary. no use to us.
Now the compilation of a dictionary So far as I know, there is not a single is a huge task that cannot be successgrammar that deals exclusively with our fully done by a single man. It requires sacred languages. Hema Candra's Pra
a large staff of workers with a sufficient krit grammar was not written with any financia
financial support. It is, therefore, extreexpress object to help in the study of Jain mely desirable that all those who have literature. Dr. R. Pischel's Gramma
an inclination to undertake a Prakrit tik der Prakrit-Sprachen in German
Dictionary should unite to make a com
Dictio is an encyclopaedia of Prakrits and is kind
bined effort. not meant for beginners.
A good and up-to-date Bibliography It is, therefore, the proper time that a
20
fr
forms an indispensable book in a wellgraded series of Jain Readers and Gram
equipped library and a very valuable mars be brought out.
companion to a scholar. In 1906 Dr. In 1912 Dr. Suali of Italy announced
Guerinot of France published his "Essai that he had collected materials for the compilation of a Prakrit Dictionary, and 15 Journal of the German Oriental proved that the circumstances then fully Society ( Z. D. M. G.) 1912
tively less
of graded readers; irits. The attemihat the presented
is not with out
a large
Aho! Shrutgyanam
