Jain Spirit 2002 06 No 11

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 25

the concept of 'field-work'.
Collecting manuscripts and searching for them when they are buried in temple-libraries, for which there is no proper list or catalogue, is also a form of field-work involving a lot of fun and thrill: from an indication found in some footnote, you become convinced that you have to find the document and should be able to do so. As an investigator, you then have to locate and convince the right person who will guide you, and there are good chances that the informer will turn into a friend and help you discover more than you had ever imagined or expected. Then having to read your text sitting in the temple itself, where devotees come to perform their rituals, is an experience in itself. Even if you know that you are not the first person to do so, for in the past several British, German and Italian scholars also had to go through the desert of Rajasthan and the temples of Gujarat for similar purposes, you feel like an adventurer - at a small scale. A similar excitement arises when, after a few hours' drive in the company of Jain friends, you reach a peaceful upashray located at the top of a temple in a noisy street and you start listening to the teachings of a learned Jain monk or discuss with him; the jolly atmosphere, the open laughs which often burst forth are part of the conversation, the curiosity of the onlookers and the friendly invitations that are often extended to you are great fun. Such observations may be considered as naive romanticism, but such experiences are part of working with Jains.
The network formed by Jains at various levels of community life make these experiences different from what could be said for other fields of Indian studies. Acquaintance with one scholar or one family can open many doors for you and can lead to fantastic and unexpected discoveries. Jains today are very conscious of the value of their tradition and are extremely willing to import their own knowledge, to make Jainism known outside their own circles. Most Jains respect and try their best to help scholars who have been trained in the reading of Jain texts.
Whatever aspect of the Jain tradition you will like to investigate, you will soon be aware of the importance of books and manuscripts. They have a place in the houses, where it is not rare for the families to keep original manuscripts as a treasure. They have a place in festivals - just think of Paryushan where copies of the Kalpasutra are worshipped and taken around -, and they have a place in the daily vyakhyans of
Shvetambar Acharya Vijay Shilacandrasuri is a respected scholar
monks, who often have a book in front of them even if their talk diverges from it. It is a well-known fact that scriptures count among the 'seven fields' in which your wealth can be sown. The doctrinal frame and the economic wealth of several Jain groups explain the richness of Jain libraries and the innumerable quantity of manuscripts, the writing of which has been sponsored by lay people. The object as such is almost as important as the contents: the Jain manuscripts are renowned within the Indian tradition for their generally good quality, carefulness and lavishness of their script and their pictorial style. One who would dive into such material would also immediately be struck by the colophons and scribal remarks found at the end of many of them. The authors, mostly monks, have often taken care to assess their place within the tradition to which they belong through detailed spiritual genealogies;
Roads To Jainology
areas.
the scribes often name their sponsors or the beneficiaries of their work. 'Dry' as these portions may seem to be, they build a rich source of information for regional and familial history, a field of study which has developed considerably in recent years when applied to other cultural A pioneering book such as V.P. Johrapurkar's Bhattaraka Sampradaya: A History of the Bhattaraka Pithas especially of Western India, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh (Sholapur, 1958) based on many unpublished manuscripts has paved the way towards such investigations, but has unfortunately remained underestimated. The same would be true about the vast epigraphical material largely available in published form, but unfortunately still relatively unused.
In the last 25 years, Western writing on the Jains and their tradition has increased rather considerably and Jainism is regularly featured in encyclopedias of religion. Both academic and educational circles have realised that this is a tradition which has much to offer, especially in connection with issues at stake in today's world. I hope more young people are encouraged to explore the various facets of Jain history, scriptures, art, architecture, thought and practices focussing both on the past and on the present. O
BAD BOY Molempi
Nailini Balbir is a Professor at the University of Paris. She is actively involved in the cataloguing of Jain manuscripts at the British Library in London.
June-August 2002 Jain Spirit
23