Suvarna Raupya Siddhi Shastra

Author(s): J C Sikdar
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 12

INTRODUCTION
(1)
A Critical description of the manuscripts used, indicating their mutual relation.
There are three MSS. of Suvarņa-Raupya-Siddhi-śāstra of Jinadąttasūri at the Library of the L. D. Institute of Indolagy, Ahmedabad-9. (1) MS. - A Regd. No. 27596, L. D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad-9,
patras (folios)-43, written on palm - leaf with black ink, R. S. Date of
composition - VS. 1210, copied in the 18th century A. D. (2) MS.-B. Suvarna-Raupya-Siddhi-Prayoga-Śāstra composed by Jinadatta
Sūri - (purchased), Regd. Sūcï No. 6566, L. D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad-9, patras (folios)–17, written with silvery ink (rūperï śāhi) on paper R. S. Date of composition -VS. 1210, copied in the 18th
cen. A. D. (3) MS.- C. -Suvarna-Raupya-Siddhi-Prayoga-Šāstra. (it is incomplete), com
posed by Jinadattasūri, Regd. Suci 6565, L. D. Institute or Indology, Ahmedabad-9, patras 10-17, written with golden ink on palm-leaf. R. S. Date of composition-VS. 1210, copied in the 18th Cen. A. D.
These three MSS. have been used by me in editing the Suvarna-RaupyaSiddhi-Šāstra. MS. No. C in its incomplete form does not differ from the reading of MS.-B. So I had to depend solely on MS-A. and B. for editing the Suyarņa-Raupya-Siddhi-Šāstra.
MS.-A. This is a well preserved MS. in good hand - writing in Devanagari Script. It has 43 folios of palm-leaf, - measuring 42~5. c. m. = 164"x2", 2 c. m. = half inch on right and left, a little less on top and bottom, eight lines on the first page, five lines on the last page and nine to ten lines on the intermediate pages. The marginal space does not vary and the whole MS. is written by one hand. It has 70-90 letters to a line due to the space left in the middle and the use of big types of letters.
The colophons (see the last verse of the 14th chapter) clearly say that the work was composed by Jinadattasari of Kharataragaccha on Aksaya trtīyā day in VS. 1210. The elaborate praśasti stanza at the end gives the genealogy of the teacher of the author.
The margins of the text are indicated by thick black lines on both sides, right and left and two dots in on both sides. The dots are perforated and the edges of the hole are worn, indicating that palm leaf MS. was preserved by binding with string.