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Some Aspects of Indian Culture
have made unambiguous mention of the dates of their compositions, But this can be decided without any doubt only if a complete Manuscript of the Risidattácaritam comes to our notice from some Jaina Bhāņdāra.
The serial no. of the palm-leaf Manuscript of the Jambucari yam which is there in a big Bhāņdār at Jesalmere is 245 according to the catalogue of the palm-leaf Manuscripts in the Jaina Bhāņdāras at Jesalmere compiled by Punyavijayaji. It has got according to it, the total number of 326 palm-leaves. The length and breadth of each palm-leaf is thirteen and two inches respectively. At some places, some lines have become illegible due to deterioration in the quality of ink with the passage of time. These places have been indicated with dots such as on pages 98 and 180 etc.
As the editor, Ācārya Jinavijayji Muni, says in the Preface, some errors have crept in the printed text because the transcribed copy could not be carefully tallied with the original Manuscript due to want of time and also because the copy could not be compared with it before rushing it to the Press. The only relief is that they have been shown in the errata of which the reader is advised to make use while reading the book.
The story of Jambu is famous and familiar in Jaina literature. A great number of compositions written in Sanskrit, Prākrit, Apabhramsa, Rajasthavi, Hindi and Gujarāti is availabte. Of these, many have been published as said before.
There is a detailed biographical account of Jambu in the first four cantos of an excellent composition, named Sthaviravalicarita in the form of Parisista parva appended to Trişaştisalākāpuruşa written in the purāṇic style by a renowned writer named Hemacandra. Here the account follows substantially the present Jambucariyan. This Sthaviråvalicarita has been published by the Asiatic Society at Calcutta. Critically edited hy a very great Sanskrit Scholar of international reputation named Dr. Jacobi who has also included in it lengthy English translation of the substance of the account of Jambu's life and tried to show therein where and in what form the intervening stories, in the account of Jambu's life, as found in the Sthaviravalicarita occur. From the viewpoint of the comparative study of these intervening stories, Dr. Jacobi's said edition is indispensable.
On account of the distinct feature of its critical value and importance, Dr. Johannes Hertel, an international scholar of equal stature and fame, has translated in appropriate German language these intervening stories and has produced a deep study incorporating results based on more exensive and varied comparisions which deserve the critical attention of each and every student and scholar, *
The full title of this book by Johannes Hertel is "Ausgewahete Erzablungen ous Hemacandra's Parisiştaparvan Deutschmit Einalaitung und Anmerkungen von Johannes Hertel, Leipzig, 1908. The first three chapters of the Preface to this book consist respectively of the biographical account of Hemacandra, Hemacandra's Parisistaparva and the mission of Jaina Sampradaya. These are followed by a chapterwise summary of the Parisisçaparva. At the end of the Preface is found a comparative study of the intervening stories characterised by a mention of the parallel references to the stories found in the Jaipa, Bauddha, and Prahmin works as well as in a variety of literatures of Europe.
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