Life of Hemchandracharya

Author(s): Manilal Patel
Publisher: Singhi Jain Shastra Shiksha Pith Mumbai

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PREFACE BY THE GENERAL EDITOR.
Professor George Bühler was one of those great German scholars to whom largely goes the credit for the devolopment of the science of Indology. His whole life was dedicated to the study and research of ancient Indian history and literature. Indian archeology and epigraphy are greatly indebted to this scholar for his contributions. He brought to bear upon these subjects a trained and unbiassed mind. His study of the history and literature of the Jaina religion was specially painstaking and sympathetic. Prof. Herman Jacobi derived great support from the researches of Dr. Bühler in refuting the view of Prof. Weber that Jainism was merely a sect of Buddhism and in establishing the antiquity and the independance of Jainism as a religious sect. Dr. Bühler's researches on the Jaina stupa at Mathura and inscriptions thereon deserve special mention.
He was the first scholar to discuss critically and exhaustively, as far as the material available to him allowed, the life and times of Hemacandra-one of the greatest figures of the Jaina Church, Dr. Bühler when an officer in the Educational Department of the Bombay Government had rare opportunities of visiting and examining some of the famous Jaina Bhandars of Gujrat and Rajputana. These investigations provided him with ample material which enabled him to prepare the present study on Hemacandra. He possessed that acumen and insight which made him appreciate the proper historical value of such Prabandha works as the Prabhavakacarita and the Prabandhacintamani.
The present study on the life of Hemacandra was first published in German language about fifty years back. Since that time much new material has been discovered which throws considerable light on the problems which were then obscure to this learned scholar.
The material on which he had to rely was then only in the form of MSS. which were defective in many ways. Most of it is now more or less critically edited and published. All the works of Hemacandra himself were also not available to him in properly edited and printed form. So it is but natural that in the light of this new and more adequate material some discrepancies should be discovered in this learned study.
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