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Śramaṇa, Vol 56, No. 1-6/January-June 2005
Jaina teachers (ācāryas) preferred to reside in monk's dwellings (pośadhaśālās, upāśrayas or caitya mandiras) situated in the neighbourhood of the wealthy laity. They preferred such places fortwo reasons: firstly, they were well taken care of, along with their disciples and scribes, and secondly, such places were always well equipped with good libraries, which they needed for their reference work.
The classification of manuscripts
The Niśīthacurṇi (c. 6th century), a Jaina work, gives an ancient classification of manuscripts in five categories, 2 based mostly on their shapes and sizes. A squarish manuscript was called gandi. The kacchapi was turtle shaped." (There is an eighteenth century palmleaf manuscript in the shape of a turtle in the British Library, London.) The muşti were small manuscripts or scrolls, which could be accommodated in the fist. The samputa phalaka were perhaps books written on wooden panels. This might also have included manuscripts written in the form of copperplate grants or charters, sometimes fastened with a metal ring. The Vasudevahiṇḍī refers to thin folios of copper manuscript, which were stored in a copper box. No example of this has survived. The chedapati were the regular manuscripts with string-holes. Palm-leaf and paper manuscripts belong to this category.
The size of the work
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The size of a work was never measured in terms of the number of folios but by the number of the verses contained in it. The learned monks counted the verses: thirty-two characters usually formed one verse. The total number of verses (sarvagranthägraor granthāgra) was always indicated at the end of the text. But sometimes the numbers of verses are seen written at the end of every 100, 500 or 1000 verses.
Binding
A manuscript was never bound like an Islamic or European codex. In palm-leaf manuscripts the folios were strung, using one or two string-holes depending on the size of the folio. The same cord was also used to secure them in their wooden covers. A similar For Private & Personal Use Only
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