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INTRODUCTION
ten the complete text of the tract, the copyist writes 'iti Ārādhanāpatākā'. Thus he recognises it by the title 'Aradhanāpatākā'. Giving importance to the titles mentioned in the first and the last gāthās of this tract, Punyavijayaji accepted the title 'Arahanāsăra-avaranāmā Pajjaṁtārähana'. The manuscript consists of 17 folios. The first side of the first folio is blank. The text of the tract ends in the fourth line of the second side of the last folio. After that there occurs a colophon of the copyist. From the colophon we learn that the manuscript is written in the life-time of Sri Jinasamudrasuri (see foot-note 2 on p. 192). Though there is no mention of the year in the colophon, we can definitely say that the manuscript is written in the 16th century V.S. It is because Sri Jinasamudrasuri flourished in that century. Each side of a folio contains 9 lines and each line contains 36 letters. Keeping blank space in the middle of the five lines at the centre of each folio, the copyist has formed a blank design. Wherever there occurs a corrupt reading, we have put after that reading a question mark in brackets (?). The size is 10" x 4".
I searched for other manuscripts of the tract. As a result, while going through the Catalogue of manuscripts in the Hemacandrācārya Jaina Jñānamandira, Patan, I came across two manuscripts bearing the same title 'Laghuārādhanapatākā'. So, I went to Patan and scrutinized these two manuscripts. I found that the text contained in these two manuscripts was identical with that of the present PajjamtaTähana. So, I utilised these two manuscripts in critically editing the text of the tract. The description of these two manuscripts is as follows.
सं १ and सं २ - These two manuscripts belong to the ŚrīSamgha-Jaina Jñānabhandāra preserved in the Hemacandracậrya Jaina Jñānamandira, Patan. They bear Nos. 666 and 655 respectively. In the Catalogue of the Jñānamandir, they are given the title 'Laghuārādhanāpatākā'.
The e manuscript bearing No. 666 consists of 259 folios. It is a collection of 21 tracts of varied lengths. The present tract is contained in folios 245 to 259. For titles etc of the 20 tracts contained in folios 1 to 245, one may refer to the printed Catalogue of manuscripts in the Jñānamandira. At the end of the tract entitled Samstärakaprakīrņaka which covers folios
1. In his Jaina Sahityano Samkşipta Itihasa Shri Mohanlal
Dalichand Desai states that in V.S. 1536 Kho Jinasamudrasuri installed an idol in Aștāpada Prāsāda in Jesalmer in the reign of Devakarņa. See p. 503, paragraph No 730.
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