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Sugandha: Sweet Fragrance
but on a collection of pravacanas from which the personality of the sādhvi who delivered them stands out very clearly. The sixth section is a brief compilation of the lives of six sadhvis. Together they form a single whole in which may be observed a great diversity operating within a life that is common to all,8 Each flower exhales its own sweetness and the bouquet in which all the scents unite and mingle gives forth a fragrant perfume.
A - Punya Jivana Jyoti
The radiant life of Sādhvi Punya Śri
-575
The arid desert soil of Rajasthāna, its extremes of climate, have nurtured in its inhabitants endurance in face of all trials, a spirit of chivalry, deep-rooted faith and lively piety. It was in a small village called Girāsara, in the district of Jesalamera, a fortress-city of the desert well known for its temples whose subsidiary buildings house so many ancient manuscripts, that in 1858 Pannākumāri was born. Pannā means emerald, the precious stone; kumāri, girl, virgin, princess. Pannākumārī was indeed destined to be a jewel in the history of the Kharataragaccha of the Mūrtipūjakas. She was not, certainly, the first sadhvi of this gaccha and of this region, for many others had preceded her. We recall that the first Terapanthi sadhvis, all of Rajasthāna, received dikṣā in 1764 and that their first Pramukha did likewise in 1840.10 What makes the biography of Sadhvi Punya a precious document is that, on the one hand, it is the most ancient and the most complete biography existing today and, on the other, it recounts the life of a pioneer whose spiritual progeny are still alive. Furthermore, the author, Sadhvi Sajjana, our contemporary, herself also a native of Rājasthāna, possesses literary gifts which render the text very lively and allow us to penetrate straightaway into the "feel" of that day and
Jain Education International
8 These biographies are in Hindi, except that of Sadhvi Candrayaśa, the text of which is published both in Gujarāti and English. The majority of these books contain several hundred pp. each.
9 Cf. P 176 ff.; 186 ff.
10 Cf. P 247 ff.
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