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10
SVASTI – Essays in Honour of Prof. Hampa Nagarajaiah
sects, ignoring none of the four directions and going beyond the seven oceans, forgetting neither the past nor the present, neither the Digambaras nor the Svetāmbaras nor the Terāpanthins. Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhramsa, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi textual sources have been used according to the topics selected. Epigraphy and iconography, two areas where Hampanā has published so much, are of course present. Broad perspectives on the impact and relevance of Jainism to modern times are submitted by some of the contributors as thoughts for the future. The increasing interest for the study of "living" Jainism is underlined in the last section of the book. The "trilingual formula” is valid here - as it is India: Kannada and Hindi are the languages of two essays, beside English which is used by most contributors.
Finally, I would like to quote two Sanskrit stanzas which were composed spontaneously by Prof. I. Mahadevan when he received a copy of Jinendra Stavana, one of Hampanā's books. They show how Hampanā's writings are felt as an inexhaustible source of inspiration and a work of dharma, for the benefit of all:
Jinendrastavanam stotram silāsu likhitam purā / ācārya-Nāgarājena punar eva prakāśitam // śrāvakądhyayanārtham ca Jinadharmam prabodhitum/ krtam punyam idam stotram sarvalokahitāya ca //
जिनेन्द्रस्तवनं स्तोत्रं शिलासु लिखितं पुरा। आचार्यनागराजेन पुनरेव प्रकाशितम्॥ श्रावकाध्ययनार्थं च जिनधर्मं प्रबोधितुं। कृतं पुण्यमिदं स्तोत्रं सर्वलोकहिताय च॥
We wish Hampanā, and his wife, who is a major writer too, a long and active life in years to come. May we see this great scholar often standing up for an interesting and witty remark in conferences in India or elsewhere! We also seek his blessings in all our endeavours.
SVASTI ! SIDDHAM ! ŚUBHAM BHAVATU ! KALYĀŅAM ASTU ! स्वस्ति। सिद्धम्। शुभं भवतु। कल्याणम् अस्तु।
Prof. Dr. Nalini Balbir University of Paris-3 Sorbonne Nouvelle, UMR 7528 “Mondes iranien et indien"
September 2010.
