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Vol. XVIII, '92-'93
137 undertook to get prepared a treasury of select Jain Tales. For financial assistance they approached Shri Shrenikbhai Sheth, Chairman of Shri Jain Swtamber Murtipujak Boarding Trust, Ahmedabad with a proposal of preparing and brining out in English translation a few collections of representative illustrative stories from the Jain literature in Prakrit language. On getting a very enthusiastic response from Shi Shrenikbhai, Dr. H C. Bhayani, the President, and Pandit Dalsukbhai Malvania, the Secretary, of the Prakrit Text Society, Ahmedabad, approached Prof. V. M. Kulkarni, whose boundless love for Prakrit literature was surely expected to allow him not to hesitate in accepting their request to work as the editor of the project. Prof. Kulkarni prepared a detailed plan for the work. His determination and heroic perserverence have succeeded at long last in completing the present volume of the Treasury of Jain Tales which, no doubt can be looked upon as another gem in the crown of his scholarly achievements. The credit for the few illustrations that highlight the key situations in some stories goes to Shri Shrenikbhai's perceptive suggestions.
Dr. J. C. Jain, Dr. P. M. Upadhye, Prof. R. P. Nipanikar, Prof. S. T. Nimkar, Dr. (Mrs.) Nirmala Chheda and Dr. G. S. Bedagkar cooperated with the editor.in translating the Prakrit tales, presented here. Dr. Bedagkar edited the English translation of all the tales.
The book contains an exhaustive Introduction (pp.i-xixxx), 124 stories, Notes on all the stories, select bibliography (as Appendix), and a list of six contributors who translated the Prakrit tales into English. The stories have been classified into four sections, viz., (A) Legends of Famous Persons (stories 1-16); (B) Biographical Sketchies (stories 17-20); (C) Tales of Wit and Wisdom (stories 22-87); and (D) The Twelfth Voyage of Mākandi Brothers and Other Tales (stories 88-124). As is evident from the number of stories in this volume, sections C contains about 53% of the stories, and section D contains about 30% of the stories, while the rest of the sections A and B contain only 17% of them. The Treasury is thus very interesting, entertaining, and at the same time highly instructive and informative.
In his Introduction, Dr. Kulkarni has discussed the following topics : Kathā and its varieties as given in Prakrit works and in Sanskrit works on Poetics. And, he has given a brief survey of Jain Narrative Literature comprising the canonical works, commentaries on canonical works known by the names Bhāsya, Mahābharata and Harivamsa, Caritas, Purāṇas and Mahāpurāṇas of sixty-three Šalakāpuruṣas, counterparts of Bihatkathā, quasi-historical Prabandhas, Dharmakathās, Campūs, Ornate Poems and Kathākošas.
Dr. Kulkarni has drawn our attention to the narrative literature of the Svetāmbaras which is a veritable storehouse of folktales, fairy-tales, beast-fables, parables, illustrative examples, apologues, allegories, legends, novels, funny stories and anecdotes. A large number of such stories and parables and legends occur in the Jain Canon itself; and the number of tales occuring in the commentaries on the canon is legion. The Jain writers have created new stories and legends of their own, no doubt. But generally speaking they
