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JAINA GAZETTE. [June & July of a statue of Aryavati at Mathura. May we not know more of this Goddess? Certainly in the inscriptions there are words bearing upon the religious life of wbich we should like an accurate definition. For instance, there is frequent mention of Vacakas, usually translated (preacher). But a detailed description would rather be preferable? Then for Sraddhachara we should like a more precise definition than companion of monk' which is also given for the Buddhist Saddhyivibarin. So in many cases we might hope for light on religions idea and practice. It is essential to every active religion to take an interest in its past, and here is one field in which the Jainas of to-day may find themselves in contact with their ancestry.
May I venture. even upon another suggestion ? Recent years have seen the publication of several valuable series of texts, among which a high place belongs to the Yasovijaya Jaina Sastramala, appearing under the auspices of the eminent saint and scholar Sri Vijayadharma Suri. May we not hope for an uniform pnblication of the whole canonical collection? Most, if not all, of the Angas have indeed been published in India, and some in Europe, but it is not yet possible for any scholars to point to a shelf or shelves in his library and say
there is the Jaina Canon' And so many books and essays have a tentative character through the impossibility of examining the whole collection. Would it not be possible and a great help to future studies and editions, if the whole (I do not mean, of course, with all the commentories) could be made available in a preliminary but complete, edition?
:: F. W:THOMAS.
THE JAINS AND THE PANCHTANTRA
BY · JOHANNES HERTEL. " When in 1859, the celebrated German Professor Theodor Benfey published his translation of the Panchtantra, there began a new period in Literary research. For, as a true scholar, Benfey was not content to translate the only printed
Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
www.umaragyanbhandar.com
