Jains Through Time

Author(s): Shilapi Sadhvi
Publisher: Veerayatan

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and Western scholars agree that Jain munis must take the credit for preserving the ancient tradition of telling stories. Acharya Sanghdasgani's Vasudevhindi and Haribhadrasuri's Samraichkaha are at the forefront of narrative literature. They are a fascinating presentation of etymology, folklore, iconography and spiritual philosophy. Haribhadra was also a powerful reformist as well as a skilful and ironic writer of stories. He was considered an innovator in writing works on the science of yoga. His Yogabindu, Yogadrishtisamuchaya and Yogashatak are considered comparable to Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, and are important works on yoga from the Jain point of view.
A Treasure-Trove of Literary Creation Jain shramans wrote routinely about the topics of spiritual science, yoga, ethics, philosophy, nyaya and grammar, nevertheless they also touched on every other aspect of literature. As well as being useful and informative, their works also excelled in literary merit. I will always offer up eulogies to the dazzling brilliance of the learned works of the Jain savants; but at the same
The Jains through Time
time I will always be haunted by the fact that, of the treasure chest of texts created by them with such dedication under such adverse conditions, only a very small percentage has been revealed to the public. Unfortunately many of these works are now totally neglected and remain unpublished. They are left to decay, or even worse, their silence provides ammunition for national and sectarian controversy. The Jain laity has spent millions of rupees on building magnificent bhandars to house these priceless texts, but ignorance of their worth and a certain carelessness leaves them to languish in oblivion.
Bikaner, Patan, Khambat, Limbdi, Jaisalmer and Moodbidri are only some of the places where thousands of unpublished Jain literary works can be found, attracting scholars from all over India and abroad. If only these wondrous texts could be published, translated into many languages and disseminated world-wide, what a transformation there would be in world culture; what a paradigm shift in human consciousness!
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