________________
The Author's Preface On the recommendation of Pt. Dalsukhbhai Malvania the Bhogilal Leherchand Bharatiya Sanskrit Sansthan, Patna invited me in 1983 to deliver few lectures. The subject of the lectures was left to my choice. I could have selected Jaina metaphysics, Jaina Logic or Jaina Ethics, but I thought, on these subjects enough is already said. I therefore, decided to select a subject, which was on the one hand related to the problems of contemporary Philosophy and on the other hand, which underlines the importance of the Jaina philosophy. Language analysis is one of the main forms of reflexion in the contemporary philosophical world. As such, I decided to deliver my lectures on Jaina philosophy of Language. The present work is an English translation of these very lectures. It gives me great satisfaction to note that some of the problems, which are confronted by the contemporary linguistic analysts, were the same, which the Jaina philosophers had already thought about some 2000 years back. What we are presenting today as a new form of contemporary philosophy was, in fact, a well-thought subject for the thinkers of Indian philosophy some 2000 years back. The present work is a pioneer work on the Jaina linguistic philosophy. I think, there is a need for serious thought and writing and comparative study in this field. In the present work I have given only some indications and suggestions for the relevant comparisons but hope on this basis, there will be more serious and comparative studies in future. The lectures have there own limitations and time considerations. As such, either I have not touched all the aspects of the subject or have presented them in very condensed manner as aphorism. The Jaina Ācāryas have written a lot on the subject right from Jaina Āgamic literature like Bhagavati-sūtra, Prajñāpanā and Anuyogadvāra-sūtra to the Bhāṣārahasyaprakaraņa of Upādhyāya Yaśovijaya (17th cent. AD). The present work is only an indicator.
Further, I very well know my own limitations of knowledge and studies. I cannot, therefore, claim to have given in the work the final and ultimate analysis of Jaina linguistic philosophy. The suggestions and guidance of the scholars are always welcome. I am not anexpertof Western
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
