Jinamanjari 1998 09 No 18

Author(s): Jinamanjari
Publisher: Canada Bramhi Jain Society Publication

Page 47

three servants, which carried large sacks full of manuscripts. He said, he had opened a door, which usually would not be opened, and found yet more manuscripts. Then he took (our] leave (with a] smile.
Now the inspecting and cataloguing set about afresh, and the manuscripts that were now brought to light contained even more precious treasures than the earlier ones. Until February 3rd, we still had to work in the temple daily for about six hours, and could hand to the scribes more than 50 works for copying. All contained something new or very rare from the Brahmanic, Jaina- and Buddhist literature. One old catalogue of the library from the year 1780 proved to us that we had now seen everything. It contained several hundred manuscripts on palm leaves and some more on paper. The opening of this carefully concealed library was however not the only success which I had. I received many other lists from private libraries and acquired about fifty original manuscripts (Bühler 1883:503-32).
This account shows how Bühler used whatever means he had to gain access to the Jain bandhārs. Before receiving the second load of manuscripts an obviously very frustrated Dr Bühler wrote a letter dated January 29 to the Indian Antiquary reporting his earlier discoveries:
The Yatis here do not possess much more than we have got in Surat. They are very friendly and communicative. The Panch of the Osval, to which the great bhandhār a belongs, is very tough, and requires frequent admonitions from the Rawal, but, I believe, finally we shall see everything (1874:90).
Until Alsdorf's visit in 1951, no other modem scholar had visited the Jaisalmer collection, though Shridhar R. Bhandarkar tried to gain access in 1905, while searching for manuscripts for the Government. Alsdorf arrived on invitation by Muni Punyavijaya (1896-1971), who at the time worked in Jaisalmer on his catalogue of the Jaisalmer collection, and later wrote:
He who stepped down the steep staircase into the two narrow subterranean chambers lacking any openings for light and air -- the rear one only accessible through a loop-hole barely meterhigh -- he understands without further ceremony how easy it was to thoroughly dupe Bühler... until now every attempt of cataloguing could only lead to partial successes (Alsdorf 162).
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