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Institute of the Baroda University. Muni Śri Punyavijayaji gave as gift his personal collection of over seven thousand precious manuscripts, collected during an active literary life of about fifty years, to the 'Bharatiya Samskṛti Vidyamandira at Ahmedabad. Let us earnestly hope that this practice becomes widespread and our learned institutes and societies get more such gifts. In the case of Jñana-Bhāṇḍāras belonging to the communities perhaps it may not be possible to make such gifts.' But the Bhāṇḍāras could certainly be collected in a few central places, and proper arrangements could be made, with the help and assistance of Universities and research institutes and other experts, for their proper cataloguing, arrangement and scientific preservation. The prasastis and colophons of these manuscripts are extremely interesting and useful, as they throw light on many facets of mediaeval history and supply a wealth of informàtion about the social and religious history of various sects, castes and families and present invaluable materials for the study of place-names. We trust that the Jaina community, shrewd and far-sighted as it is, will not lag behind in making available to scholars this cultural and literary heritage so carefully and zealously preserved and enriched by their ancestors for the advancement of learning.
With these introductory remarks I would take a brief survey-as is normally expected of a Sectional President of this Conference of the work done or being done in the field of Prakrits and Jainism during the last two years. While doing, so I would like to notice some important books and papers,. even though published before the last two years, in case they were not noticed by my predecessor.
First we may take editions of Canonical literature. I have already referred to the splendid edition of the Añgavijjā, the
