Vaishali Institute Research Bulletin 2

Author(s): G C Chaudhary
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

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VAISHALI INSTITUTE RESEARCH BULLETIN NO. 2
swiftly stood up, greeted me with a broad smile and warm handshake, and politely requested us to be seated.
Dr. Jain opened his dialogue in English, On being informed that in spite of being an engineer I am greatly interested in Sanskrit learning, he straightened up in his chair, smiled, gazed me with a sparkle in his eyes and said, "Gentleman, you can do a lot in removing some misconceptions regarding the place of architecture and engineering in ancient India. Dr. P. K. Acharya has done very good work on Manasāra, but much more still remains to be done. You know, many old authors seem to be experts in myth-making, but it cannot be guaranteed that there is no truth in what they have said or written, Now, the need of the hour is to analyse and review the old available literature critically and to separate truth from myth in order to evaluate the same correctly." In this way in the very first meeting he tried to show me a path and encouraged me to proceed ahead on the same.
Dr. Jain talked to me for about an hour in the first interview. He talked on various topics, but on nothing which did not interest me. He did the whole talking in fluent English which was amply beautified by frequent quotations of Sanskrit shlokas. He would express his idea explicitly, elaborate the same, invite other man's views and would stop only when he had brought home his point-this is how he continued his discourse. He was smiling throughout and vigorously tried to inject humour in his otherwise serious discussion. He laughed loudly and enlivened the talk by his appropriate facial expressions. I found in him the naturality of a child, the lucidity of a writer, the clarity of a thinker, the charm of a poet and the depth of a philosopher. It was really a memorable event for me to have talked and listened to him. I was so impressed that I took a vow within my heart to follow his advice nd to do some work on ancient Indian architecture accordingly.
Şubsequently I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Jain on many occasions. He was always very kind to me and spared timne out of his busy schedule to provide me guidance in my pursuit, though in humility he would always say that he was not the proper man to be consulted on the subject. I prepared a small paper entitled Sanskrit Vanmaya meň Vastuvidya' which he kindly corrected and advised me to continue the study further.
Dr. Jain left Muzaffarpur in 1961. I was thus denied the good fortune of his valuable guidance. My work got retarded and set back. Today Dr. Jain is no more in the world, but his cherished memories are still very fresh in my mind. I am happy, I have again started the work inspired by him and am trying to prepare a thesis for Ph. D. degree on some aspect of ancient Indian architecture. I pay my respectful homage to the departed soul and wish to fulfil his desire about me.