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FOREWORD
It It is with much pleasure that I contribute a brief 'Foreword' to this excellent edition of Hemacandra's Kāvyānusāsana which has been prepared by two young scholars-Adhyapaka Rasiklal C. Parikh of Gujarat Vidyapīṭha and Professor R. B. Athavale, formerly of the same Vidyapitha and now Professor of Sanskrit at the Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Arts College, Ahmedabad.
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My "Foreword" has necessarily to be brief in view of the elaborate Introduction, carefully edited Text of the Sūtras and the two commentaries, the numerous Appendices and the explanatory Notes already making a volume of more than a thousand pages.
The Introduction is more than an ordinary preface giving the life of the author, enumerating his works and assesing their values. It sets forth the history of the Province to which the author belongs, from the earliest times recorded in the Puranas upto those of Siddharaja and Kumarapala-the two celebrated kings of Gujarat, who were great patrons of learning and were closely associated with Hemacandracarya in his literary and religious activities. The purpose which the editors have in view in relating this long story is 'to provide a background to the life and times of
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