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CHIEF EDITOR'S NOTE The present volume is Research Bulletin No. 2 of the Institute. It was decided to make it Dr. Hiralal Jain Comemoration Volume. Dr. Jain was the founder Director of this Institute and a scholar of great repute in the field of Prakrit and Jainology. He died of heartattack on March 13, 1973. The present volume is dedicated to his memory.
Dr. Jain was born on Sept. 18, 1898, in a village Gangayi in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh. He got his primary education at this village and his secondary education at Gadarvara and Narsimhapur. From 1916 to 1920 he was a student of Robertson College Jabalpur. In the B.A. Examination of 1920 he stood first in Sanskrit and got Government scholarship and prize for it. He passed his M.A. in Sanskrit and also LL.B. examination from Allahabad University in 1922. He stood first in Sanskrit and got research scholarship. He had obtained good result in the law examination too and now the question before him was to chose a career. He could have op ted for law. In those days law was indeed a very attractive profession. But his visit to Karanja Jain Grantha Bhandar some time in 1923 proved a landmark in his career. He prepared a descriptive catalogue of the MSS preserved in this Bhandar in 1924. These MSS beckoned him to the virgin territories of research in the field of Prakrit and Apabhramsa. He was mainly attracted by the three works of Puşpadanta :. Ņayakumaracariu, Jasaharacariu and the Mahapurāpa.
In 1925 he was appointed lecturer in Amaravati Government College. In 1944, he was transferred to Nagpur College. After that he got the D. Litt. degree of the Nagpur University. He retired from the service of the Maddhya Pradesh Government in 1954. Then he was offered the post of the founder Director of Prakrit Research Institute, Vaishali, by the Government of Bihar. He served this Institution till July, 1961. The same year he was offered the post of Professor and Head of the Departınent of Prakrit, Pali and Sanskrit, Jabalpur University. He continued in this office till 1970,
The following ones are his important works : Critical Editions 1. T arafts
1st Edition Karanja Series 1932 2nd Edition Bhāratiya Jñanpitha 1972
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