Outline of Avasyaka Literature

Author(s): Ernst Leumann, George Baumann
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 12

E. Leumann, An outline of the Āvaśyaka literature
idiosyncratic presentation often presupposes that many facts are already known to the reader. In addition, many of his projects were left unfinished.
Would there be only one case where these observations would seem justified, it is certainly the Übersicht über die Avasyaka-Literatur which gathers several odd features. This book was published in 1934, hence posthumously, by Walther Schubring, using the proof-sheets which had already been prepared." Incomplete, with only 56 pages, it contains crossreferences to later parts of the book and to excerpts that do not exist. Its format, 30 x 42 cms., up to 75 lines per page in two columns with numbered lines, makes it somewhat user-unfriendly. That it was published in German did not help its diffusion, especially outside Europe. Its contents, partly due to the intricacies of the material and of the subject, are difficult to grasp. An English translation, a courageous (or bold) undertaking on which Dr George Baumann embarked on his own initiative, was badly needed and should be considered as a gate opening Leumann's work to a wider audience.
That this translation is published in India is to be welcomed. Leumann does not belong to the 19th century scholars who happened to be posted in India; he never had the chance to visit India. Nevertheless, he was far from being unknown to the Indian world of scholars in the first thirty years of the 20h century, and his photograph was included in R.N. Sardesai's Picturesque Orientalia published in Poona (1938). He was in contact with Indian agents like Bhagavāndās Kevaldās and Brahmasüri who provided Jaina manuscripts to Western libraries (see below). Like several European scholars of his time, he had great admiration for the Švetāmbara monk Ācārya Vijayadharmasūri (1868-1922) and corresponded with his successor Vijayendrasūri, who provided him with material of his interest. On the other hand, Leumann was always curious about anything which might facilitate scholarly work on Jainism, and took note, in two of his articles, of recent publications made available in India by the Jaina community: “Billige Jaina-Drucke" (1892) informs the Western world about new editions of Jaina works and about the fact that, their cost having been reduced, European libraries might afford them, whereas "Einiges von der neueren Tätigkeit der Jaina-Genossenschaften in Indien" (1923-24) is a report on recent contributions to Jaina studies by various Indian scholars, monks and laymen alike. More important: in at least two cases Leumann's work stimulated Indian publications on the same topic. After Leumann's critical edition of the Daśavaikālika-sūtra had been published in Germany (ZDMG 46, 1892), this text was printed several times in India and finally published in 1932 with Walther Schubring's English translation. Two of Leumann's
* See Appendix VII a review by H. von Glasenapp. Copies of the proof-sheets had been sent by Leumann to Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar and were kept at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute : see Leumann's letter to Vijayendrasūri (dated August 16, 1924), Kapadia, Descr. Cat. vol. XVII 3(a), p. 375, and the Gujarati contribution "Pro. Lyuman ane Avaśyakasūtra" reproduced as Appendix IX below. Among Leumann's unpublished papers are additions (in German) to the published part of the Übersicht, especially No. 180 (cf. Plutat 1998), which consists of about 15 neatly written pages. They have been consulted and mentioned especially in Appendix IV but to include them in full would have produced additional difficulties and required even more elucidations.
Three letters written by Leumann (June 18, 1924; August 16, 1924; December 28, 1928) are published in Letters to Vijayendra Suri. Introduction by Dr. Raghu Vira, Yashodharma Mandir, Bombay, 1959, pp. 145-148.
See W. Schubring's introduction to The Dasaveyaliya Sutta Edited by Dr. Ernst Leumann, Professor, and translated, with Introduction and Notes by Dr. Walther Schubring, Professor at the University of Hamburg, Ahmedabad, The Managers of Sheth Anandji Kalianji, 1932, p. VII (reprinted in W.
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