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PREFACE
Following my Brāhmaṇic Iconography, “Indian Images" Part I, published in 1921, I present to the public the Jaina Iconography now after a lapse of ncarly two decades. The delay has been long but unavoidable on account of several family mishaps even though thc MS. had almost been completed by the end of 1926. An additional difficulty in my way was that of a suitable publisher for undertaking the printing and publishing of a book which by its very nature call; for illustrative plates. I make my apology to those scholars, both in this country and the west, who by thcir frequent enquiries about this volume have kept alive in me the desire for presenting it to the public, a desire which might otherwise have been killed in the midst of my many trials and misfortunes. I offer my thanks also to the enterprising proprietors of the Punjab Sanskrit Series who), of all Oriental publishers, have placed me in their debt by readily undertaking to bring out this first book on Jaina Iconography.
The study of iconography and that of sculptures are inseparable. To all students of arts and culture, therefore, I hope, this book will present a new interest.
To rescue the hitherto hidden materials of Jaina Iconograply from their hiding places, I turned my attention in the first place to the published and unpublished literature of Jaina School. To be jusıly enlightened on the subject, I frecly sought thc guidance of orthodox Jaina scholars who, though deeply learned in Jaina philosophy, were unable to adequately indicate the various texts relating to the Jaina images, scattered over in their ritualistic literature. In order to find these, I took to exploring the different MS. collections preserved in far distant places of our country. This involved me in visits to Arrah, Agra, Bikaner, Baroda, Ahmadabad, Rajkot and several other places where such literature was to be found. Everywhere I was received with great kindness by the reverend monks of the sect, who placed at my disposal their MSS. and allowed me to copy out such of them
