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I am aware of the fact that in spite of my efforts to unriddle the meanings of a number of obscure stanzas in the text, I have not been able to give a satisfactory rendering and explanation of their exact sense. I shall be grateful if my readers send their suggestions, if any, in all such cases.
I must make mention of Prof. N. A. Gore's edition of the opening portion of the Vajjālagga (revised third edition 1948), containing the Prākrit text and Sanskrit chāyā (paraphrase) and an English introduction, translation and notes, which I could use so far as the first 300 stanzas were concerned. I must also express my thanks to the work of Dr. Julius Laber on the Vajjālagga, especially his introductory essay (Leipzig, 1913).
The present edition contains the text of the Vajjālagga, for the most part based on Laber's text (as printed in the Bibliotheca Indica edition, No. 227, Calcutta, 1944), with the commentary of Rataadeva, additional stanzas found in Ms C (received from the L. D. Institute of Indology) together with a Sanskrit gloss (not by Ratnadeva, but by some anonymous person), English translation, explanatory notes, alphabetical index of stanzas and a glossary of select words. The Bibliotheca Indica edition contains only the text with a Sanskrit chāyā,scanty extacts from Ratnadeva's commentary and a list of variant readings found in the manuscripts consulted by Laber, which list, however, extends only as far as stanza 192 in the copy available to me. Besides this material we have in the Bibliotheca Indica edition an English rendering of some portions of Laber's introductory essay in German. The present edition, which contains, besides an introduction, the Sanskrit commentary of Ratnadeva in full, an English translation, explanatory notes and a glossary, will, it is hoped, facilitate further study of the Vajjālagga.
Poona 1st May 1969.
M. V. PATWA'RDHAN
(viii)
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