Jaina Granth Bhandars in Rajasthan

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

Page 85

Grantha Bhandars of Ajmer Division.
(65
including the Gutakás, Most of the manuscripts are of Hindi works. These manus. cripts are of 17th to 19th century. Some of the manuscripts are important and they can be used at the time of their editing. The manuscripts of Vilhan Sasikalā Prabandha is a good work of 17th century. It is with Hindi commentary by the poet Saranga. The work runs both in Sanskrit and Hindi.
(26) SASTRA BHANDĀR OF TERĀPANTHI MANDIR DAUSĀ
There is also a small Šāstra Bhandār containing 150 manuscripts written on paper. Out of which most of the manuscripts are written in Hindi. But there is a good number of Apabhraíśa manuscripts which were copied in 17th and 18th century. This shows that there was a general love and system of reading the Apabhramsa works upto 18th century. The manuscript of Caturdaśa Gunasthän Carca is a rare one. It was written by Akhayarāj in Hindi prose.
(27) & (28) SASTRA BHANDĀRS OF BASWĀ
L'aswa is an old town and tehsil headquarter of Jaipur District in Rajasthān. It was the birth place of several scholars of Hindi literature and specially of Seth Amar Cand Bilālā for whom it is stated that he constructed the Jaina temple of Sri Mahāvīraji. Jaina poet Daulat Rāma Kāslīwāli (18th century) a famous story and Purāna writer was born in Baswa and his father Ananda Rāma also lived there. In the 18th and 19th century Baswă remained a centre of these scholars. There are several manuscripts in the Jaina Bhandārs of Jaipur city which were copied in Baswā and brought from there to the Jaipur City Bhandärs
These manuscripts belong to the period from 1733 to 1835 1.e. for about one century during which the town was a centre of literary Activities. Caubīsagunasthāna Carcāwas copied in Samvat 1832 (1775 A.D.). Mülacāra Pradipa, Pāndava Puriņa, Rasik Priya', were copied in Samvat 1820, 1792 and 1733 respectively. There is still a collection of the manuscripts in two Jaina temples which throws some light on its bright past. Both the Terapanthi and Pancāyati temples contain Šāstra Bhandärs one in each temple. The Terapanthi temple is very old and according 10 the inscription found in the temple it was constructed in the 16th century. The
1 & 2
Manuscript preserved in Sastra Bhanda Raswa Rojasthan he laina Sastra Bhåndáron hi Grantha So.1 part II), p. 166 Ibid.
p 223 Ibu!
p 251
4 5