Studies In Umasvati And His Tattvartha Sutra

Author(s): G C Tripathi, Ashokkumar Singh
Publisher: Bhogilal Laherchand Institute of Indology

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Studies in Umāsvāti
commentaries and on several other treatises to prepare his German translation of the TS, quite a remarkable feat, published in two issues of the German Oriental Journal (ZDMG 60, 1906, 287–325 and 512–51). This is
particularly remarkable because: (a) It is both accurate and understandable (with the addition,
it is true, of a limited number of explanatory notes). (b) To a great extent, it succeeds in rendering the idiosyncra
sies of the Sūtra-style. But, whatever its considerable merits, there is little doubt that Jacobi's translation was not meant for the general public, but for relatively specialized readers, in particular for the Indologists. Let me now turn to the English translations of the TS. In 1920, the Central Jaina Publishing House, Arrah, published the English translation by J. L. Jaini, of what might be termed the 'Jaina Bible', as they wrote in the foreword, as the second volume of the 'Sacred Books of the Jainas Series'. It is very seriously planned, beginning with an historical introduction (pp. VII-XI), followed by (p. XII) by some lines on the ‘Plan and Scope', and an ‘Analysis of the contents of the TS' (pp. XIII-XIX). The translation of the 10 chapters of the treatise runs from p. 1 to 201. It is followed by an important ‘Tabular view of the differences between the Digambara and Śvetāmbara versions of Tattvārtha Sūtra' (pp. 204–10), an Index (XXI-XXV) and three pages of addenda and corrigenda (XXVI–XXVIII). This was, undoubtedly, a praiseworthy beginning, but at present, the whole book would seem as if it were meant as a primer. For each sūtra, the volume first prints the text in Nāgari followed by an-often approximate-transliteration in Roman script, an English literal translation, and an explanation of the Sanskrit lexemes used in the text in successive order. Further topics that are deemed to be