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Appendices
725
always given in regard to the subjects treated. However this tribute of filial affection has been written for the edification of members of the saṁgha and nor for any academic goal.
If the book is taken as a whole, it is Part I that stands out as leaving most to be desired. Agreed, it is only a sort of prologue to the biography proper, yet it could have been written with greater consideration of the given facts of history. It would thus have sufficed to recall in a few pages the heritage bequeathed by tradition, together with the names of the Satis (Candană, Mrgāvati and others) which are well-known to all, and then careful research would have enabled the author to introduce some Sadhvis and äryikās of different regions, little known outside their own group. Even if such documents are rare, the simple fact of naming these saintly women is deeply meaningful, for it is a sign that they have existed and have followed the ideal shared by all the ascetics.
6. Biography of a muni, an introduction to his written words
and explanatory notes on his poems
Srimad Dcvacandra padya piyūşa v (The nectar of the poetry of Srimad Devacandra)11
Sadhvi Hemaprabhā Śri
A request was made to Sădhvi Hemaprabhã by certain members of the Kharataragaccha to write a short biography of the distinguished muni Śrimad Devacandra, together with an introduction to this numerous written works and explanatory notes on his poems. Srimad Devacandra was born in Bikānera, Rajasthāna, in 1689 and lived till 1755. He was a great sage, a scholar and a poet and his influence was enormous both upon his own age and upon the centuries which followed
Sadhvi Hemaprabhå has succeeded perfectly in the task entrusted to her. She has managed in clear and expressive language to render the muni and his epoch living and close, by dint of immersing herself in the personality of this eminent spiritual muni, this poet who welcomed
11 Jodhapura, 1977; 283 pp.
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