Study of Civakacintamani

Author(s): Vijaylaxmi
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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which the author was well acquainted, and the book contains a most interesting section showing how these two strands have been combined. The influence of the poet Kalidasa has been demonstrated by examples, and there is an analysis of the alam. kāras in the work which show the influence of the tradition of Sanskrit poetics.
Being a Jaina work the Civakacintamani contains a good deal of Jaina doctrine in one form or another, and an excellent account is provided of this material. Although Jainism had been under attack for some centuries from Saivaites and Vaishnavaites, it was still a force to be reckoned with in the Tamil land. The poem provides an excellent picture of contemporary Jainism, particularly as it affected the lay community, and all this is clearly brought out in the present work. The wider influence of Aryan cultural traditions, as reflected in the poem is also given its due.
Finally there is a chapter on the loanwords from the Sanskrit and Prakrit which are found in the poem. There are other studies in this subject in respect of earlier literature, but this is the first time that loanwords in this poem have received detailed treatment. It excellently supplements what has been done elsewhere.
University of Oxford England
T. Burrow Emeritus Boden Professor of Sanskrit