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Vol. XXIII, 2000
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investigation. Sometimes he has approached Buddhism and Jainism independent phenomena or with reference to their engagement with the encircling Hindu world. Most often, however, Jaini has studied the interaction of these two religions, with evidence from one tradition being deployed to throw light on the other.
Jaini has written a voluminour introduction to his doctoral dissertation comprising his edition of the Abhidharma-dipa, the only Vaibhāṣika work directed agaist the great Vasubandhu's Sautrantika-leaning Abhidharma-kośa and Bhasya. In the specifically Buddhist area, Jaini's earliest articles emerged from this introduction as original components of it. They display at the outset two of the main virtues, viz., close familiarity with the primary sources with their careful documention, and clarity, which have consistently characterised Jaini's work. Further, Jaini's contribution in the area of Theräväda Buddhism as a tranr national phenomena will prove an important point of reference in the shiftin philological and ethnographic emphasis away from the canonical Pali literature < Sri Lanka.
Jain studies had never been far from Jaini's thoughts even at the beginning of his career. Thus, he prevailed upon the leaders of the Mahavira Jaina Vidyalaya, Bombay to produce editions of the Svetämbra Jaina scriptures in the Jain Agama Series on the critical model employed by the Pali Text Society. Then, in order to give a high profile within the undergraduate teaching of Indian religions, and specifically to be more fully integrated into the South Asian Studies programme at Berkeley, he produced a book, viz., The Jaina Path of Purification, which inestimably valuable in attained the authority of virtual primary source promoting and providing an entry into the subject in the English-speaking world in the recent years.
Professor Paul Dundas has contributed a beautiful Foreword (pp.v-xi) in which while seeking to introducing his Collected Papers on Jaina Studies, that represents a fascinating scholarly journey, he has delineated for the interested academic and lay world some account of Jaini's intellectual background as it is felt to be of some value. After briefly outlining the biographical account right from the birth, early education and grooming under veterans of Buddhism and Jainism during the career of Jaini as a student, a teacher and a research scholar, Dundas has sought to define the structuring feature of his writings, with the remarks that all his energies throughout his career have been devoted to the elucidation of the manifold facets of what Indian scholars call śramana-samskṛti,
