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FIREWORD.
Sannyasa Dliarma is principally based on three of the Jaina Works, dealing with the rules of conduct prescribed for saints, namely, (1) the Mulachara, composed by Saint Vattakeri, whicb is the oldest of the three, (2) the Bhagwati Ārādhanā, composed by St. Sivakoti, which is believed to be about five hundred years old, and (3) the Châritrasāra, which is a prose composition by St. Chamunda Rai Deva, composed in the tenth century of the Christian era.
Of these, the first-named work is regarded as the inost authoritative. It is certainly lucid and clear in its composition, its saintly author having actually succeeded in the accomplishment of the difficult feat of expressing an exact system of thought in the language of poetry. The second of the three, that is to say, the Bhagwati Arādhanā, is a work of secondary merit, and contains much that, strictly speaking, should fall out. side the department of sannyāsa. The third work, the Charitrasāra, seems to have suffered much in the course of a Hindi translation, and apparently also in the process of its redaction.
The present work is in no sense a translation of any of the aforesaid granthas (books), though it derives its authority from them. Besides the above, several works on the Householder's Dharma havo also been consulted for the purposes of the present compilation.
C. R. JAIN.
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