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PREFACE The plan to translate and annotate the whole of the Trişaştisalākāpuruşacaritra, of which the Adiśvaracaritra is the first book, evolved from the original intention to translate the Mahāviracaritra. This seemed of sufficient interest to justify the translation of the whole. Its accomplishment was facilitated by a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
This translation was made from the edition of the Adiśvaracaritra published by the Jainadharmaprasārak Sabhā, Bhavnagar, in 1905. While making the translation, I found so many errors in the text that it was necessary to really reedit it before translating. For this I consulted five MSS: one from the Jõảna Mandir, Baroda; one from the Oriental Institute, Baroda; one from the Bhandarkar Institute, Poona; and two from a Jain library in Bhavnagar. I have also had some readings from a manuscript in the Sanghana Bhandar, Pattan, and from one at Cambay.
I have attempted throughout to make the subject matter clear to a reader who has no knowledge of Sanskrit, but may be interested in Jainism, or fiction in general. I have, therefore, included a number of notes which are superfluous to the Sanskritist, or one who knows India well. The technical notes and appendices are, of course, intended for the specialist.
Like the majority of Jain texts, the work is rich in new linguistic material. I have included a list of new and rare words, which is sufficient to indicate the material for those interested in that field.
Every technical point has been discussed with sādhus, both with reference to āgama authority and actual practice. Therein lay the difficulty of the work, as the number of persons able to expound Jainism is very limited.
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