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10
The translation generally follows Goldschmidt's edition based on the text of Rāmadāsa. It will however be seen that it does not always agree with the printed text of Goldschmidt, or that of the Nirnayasagar edition, because, except in a few cases, I have followed Rāmadasa's readings only_when they agreed with those of his predecessor Kulanātha. The relevant details have been explained in the opening section of the Introduction; and in all such cases of discrepancy, reference may be made to the Extracts where the readings of the principal commentators including Rāmadāsa have been clearly shown as far as they could be ascertained.
The Extracts include substantial portions of the important commentaries of Kļņavipra, Madhavayajvan and Kulanātha besides occasional excerpts from certain other commentaries. Details of all the commentaries utilized for this work and information about the original manuscripts will be found in the relevant section of the Introduction.
The book has been in the press for several years, and had to be printed at different places under difficult conditions. This stood in the way of continuous pagination necessitating the division of the volume into two parts.
In conclusion, I wish to pay homage to the memory of Dr. P. K. Gode for his kindly help and cooperation which enabled me to continue working almost without interruption.
Dr. A. N. Upadhye at whose suggestion I had undertaken this work passed away to my great sorrow shortly before the publication of the volume. Without his help and encouragement it would have been difficult for me to complete the task in mny declining years marked by ill health and bereavement. I express my sincere gratitude to him
I am indebted to Sri D. D. Malvania, Secretary, Prakrit Text Society, for his unfailing courtesy and earnest efforts to expedite the publication of the volume. Jorhat, Assam
K. K. Handiqui May, 1976
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