Book Title: Jain Shwetambar Conference Herald 1915 Book 11 Jain Itihas Sahitya Ank
Author(s): Mohanlal Dalichand Desai
Publisher: Jain Shwetambar Conference
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Shri Jaina Conference IIerald.
As to the use of decaying Prakrit used in Samraditya Katha or philosophical terminology used in Nyaya by the aforesaid Haribhadra suri I beg to state that theories based on such conjectures are always more or less misleading and it is apt to lead into closer darkness which we want to avoid. Is it not in your opinion better to resort to more positive proofs of any question as to the date of any body than such conjectures based more or less upon the tendency of the thinkers. Unfortunately I have not the advantage of studying both the works very minutely and also have got poor knowledge of Prakrit, but still from what I know I can say that I more respectfully differ from your opinion herein also.
Now as to more positive proofs of the date of Haribhadra Suri it is stated in toglienia #TOT that Haribhavira suri the writer of 1444 books passed to elestial regions in the Samvat year 535. So also समयसुंदर सूरि in गाथासहस्त्री and प्रद्युम्नसूरि in fagitarTI O says to the same effect. Prof. Peterson in his reports puts the date of the death of Haribhadra suri to be 535 while Muni Atmaramji in his Jain Tatvadarsha and Prof. Bhandarkar in his reports put this date te be 585. Though there is a little difference in these dates, one fact is patent from all these that Haribhadra suri Hourished nearly one thousand years after Shri Vira.
I am collecting other proofs and I hope to write on this point later on.
As to your remark at the end of the letter of establishing a Jain Book Depot we here are thinking of that, but I put before you one thing your name is very popular amongst all the Jains on this side and you know we have established one Jain Swetambar Conference which meets, every year. It has been a very popular institution. A magazine is issued by that body and if at your leisure you write an ordinary letter as an appeal to the Jains of India laying therein the importance and utility of such a library, the effect of centralised organisation and absolute necessity of the preservation of old mss and
