Jaina Granth Bhandars in Rajasthan

Author(s): Kasturchand Kasliwal
Publisher: Digambar Jain Atishay Kshetra Mandir

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century and under the reign of Ajayapala who was the great hater of Jainas and Jainism, Minister Udayana and others at that time removed the manuscripts from than one Papan to Jaisalmer and other unknown places'
Among the present collections in Pätan the first and the foremost is the famous palm leaf collection in Sanghavi Päda. This collection belongs to Laghuposālika branch of the Tapāgaccha. The collection containing 413 manuscripts, most of them contain single work though there are many manuscripts which consist of more than one work.
The collection of the Sangha Vakataji's Seri, Fofalia Väda is the largest onc at Pāțan. It contains 2686 paper manuscripts and 137 palm leaf manuscripts. Dr. Peterson has described 76 palm leaf manuscripts of this collection in his 5th Report.
There is a large collection of paper manuscripts in the Grantha Bhandar of Vadhi Pärswanātha temple. This Bhandar contains not only literary and old Jaina manuscripts but also good manuscripts of literary and philosophical works of the Brahmins and Budhists.
"The Grantha Bhandārs of Āgalaseri consists of 3035 paper and 22 palm leaf manuscripts and one cloth manuscript. The collection is specially rich for the sacred books of the Jainas and the commentaries thereon, some of which were copied at the expenses of a Jaina millionaire Canduśāh of Pāțan in the beginning of the 16th century. There are also many manuscripts of Jain Råsas in old Gujarati.
The Bhandar of Bhābhā Pādā is the collection of Vimala a branch of the Tapāgaccha. It has two collections one containing 528 and the other containing 1824 manuscripts.
The collection of the Sāgar's Upāśraya contains 1309 paper manuscripts most of which are of literary interest.
Besides the above collection there are several different collections which also have paper and palm leaf manuscripts. Out of these seven Bhandars, Khartarwasi Bhandar is most important. In this Shandâr dramas of Vätsayan, the minister of of Paramasdıdeva of Kalinjar exists.
The earliest dated manuscript at Patan was copied in 1062 A.D. There are about half a dozen undated manuscripts which were written earlier., the script of
1. A c'escripuve catalogue of manuscripts in the Jaina Bhandars at Patan by C.D. Dalal,
published by Oriental Institute, Berodi, 1937,