Jain Shwetambar Conference Herald 1911 Book 07

Author(s): Mohanlal Dalichand Desai
Publisher: Jain Shwetambar Conference

Page 135

930]
જૈન કોન્ફરન્સ હેરલ્ડ.
A High European officer in the course of a letter to the S. S. Jain Conference writes:
" As one much interested in Jainism I trust the Conference will be able to do good work. The field is a large one.
There is one direction in particular in which I do sincerely hope the Conference will work and that is in making public the texts of manuscripts in your Bhandars. It is one of the facts of which all sections of the Jain Community may be proud, that they have always kept their libraries carefully. But (and it is an important "but') at the sanie tiine they have kept them concealed not only from non1-Jains but even from members of the coinmunity. The fact is no doubt that comparatively speaking few Jains take or have so far taken to a literary life, and consequently few are in a position to deal critically or successfully with old manuscripts in sanskrit or Ardhe Magadhi etc: At my suggestion Prof. Bhandarker was some years ago deputed to inquire into manuscripts in your libraries in Central India, but I regret to say that he met with little success owing to the jealous way in which libraries were kept although those in charge admitted that they were themselves unable to read the treasures in their own keeping.
I at one time hoped that the "Jain Itihas" society was going to do much, but it has not.
It is the lext of your manuscripts that really require careful and critical publishing but to this you must employ scholars who have the knowledge and training necessary for this work. The issue of pamphlets or histories such as you propose will be absolutely worthless and receive no attention unless they are the work of trained scholars and are carried out in the true historical spirit. I wish you all success in your work and if it is carried out in the right spirit it will certainly be of great value.”
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