Progress of Prakrit and Jaina Studies

Author(s): Bhogilal J Sandesara
Publisher: Jain Cultural Research Society

Page 5

MY COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS,
I express my sincere thanks to the authorities of the All India Oriental Conference for electing me as the President of the Prakrit and Jainism Section of the Conference being held in this historic city of Bhubaneswar. Being aware of my limitations I am accepting this honour diffidently, and request you to extend your full co-operation in conducting the work of the Section.
My predecessors have discussed many aspects of this field of learning and research. But I have thought it fit to take this opportunity to think aloud about some of the important points which are at present uppermost in my mind and exchange views with fellow-workers, besides taking a broad survey of the work done in this particular field in the period of about two years after the Delhi Session of the Conference in December 1957.
Before proceeding to the regular work of the Section I would like to make reference to the death of some scholars which has created gaps in our ranks and pay my humble tributes to them. It is extremely painful to record the sad and sudden demise of Dr. Mahendra Kumar Shastri at the age of 47. His early life was full of struggle and difficulties, but with singular steadfastness he carried on study and research in Indian philosophy in general and Jaina philosophy in particular. He was a profound scholar of Nyaya, and edited important and difficult.texts like Nyayakumudacandra, Prameyakamalamärtaṇḍa, Nyāyavini-. ścayaṭikā, Siddhiviniścayaṭīkā, and a number of others. Texts. of both Nyayaviniścaya and Siddhiviniscaya were lost for the last several centuries. But Dr. Mahendra Kumar had very ably reconstructed these texts after collecting quotations from the commentaries etc. Since 1947 he was teaching Buddhist philo-. sophy in the Banaras Hindu University. Very recently he was
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