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Hemacandra', who is not only 'a conspicuous personality in the social and political history of Gujarat and one of the greatest apostles of the Jaina Church,' but is, at the same time, an important figure in the history of the Language and Literature of the whole of India. The chapter on Apabhramsa in his "Sabdanusāsana” remains to this day the standard work on the language which is the immediate forerunner of more than one modern language of India. Similarly, his Chandonu sāsana" supplies information regarding the Prosody of Prakṛta and Apabhramsa which is found nowhere else. His "Desinamamala" is a unique work which contains a rich treasure of Desya words which formed part of the vocabulary of ancient and medieval Indian Languages.
In writing "Sabdanusāsana", "Chandonusāsana" and "Kāvyānusāsana", Hemacandra had for his object the preparation of works on three main branches of learning-Grammar, Prosody and Poetics-works which the Jainas could call their own. Although these works were also given other proper names*, namely, "Siddha
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Here are two intriguing questions: What is the name of this book? Does the name काव्यानुशासन' stand for the sūtras only or does it cover the commentary ('अलङ्कारचूडामणि ') also ?
As regards the latter, the editors say: The Sutras and the Alamkaracudamaṇi form one work and are to-gether referred to as “Kāvyānušāsana,' though, strictly speaking, according to the colophons at the end of the manuscripts of the work, the Alamkaracuḍāmaņi is a commentary on the Kavyanusăsana and therefore the title Kävyänusāsana should be taken to denote the Sutras only." To the evidence of the colophong, I would add the more decisive evidence of the mangala verse of
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