Descriptive Catalogue of Govt Collections of Manuscripts Part 3

Author(s): Hiralal R Kapadia
Publisher: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

Page 22

Preface
XXI
logue. Thus his method of treatment differs from that of mine and the one employed in Vol. I published in 1916 by the Government of Bombay. For the sake of readyreference, I have followed the very method adopted by the late Prof. Weber in his monumental Catalogue of the State Library at Berlin. I find that Prof. A. B. Keith, too, has done the same.
The third Appendix given thereafter will seem to be the special feature of Jaina Mss., if not, of Jaina works, dealing with compositions not only in Sanskrit and Prākrit but in several other languages. It is hoped that this Appendix will enable the reader to have at a glance, an idea of the works composed in different languages.
Appendices IV and VI have been then given on account of their historical value. For instance, the fourth Appendix prepares a back-ground for Jaina chronology, and the sixth is help. ful in fixing the terminus ad quem for undated works.
The fifth Appendix is what one generally meets with, in Descriptive Catalogues of Mss. belonging to big libraries like the State Library of Berlin, the Library of the India Office etc. In this connection I may mention that the letters and the numerical figures given in parenthesis after the (old ) Ms. No., when needed, do not belong to the original collections, but have been introduced by me in the case of composite codices. When a composite codex contained not more than 26 works, letters of the Roman alphabet have been used, whereas in the case of a composite codex having more than 26 works, numerical figures have been used instead of the Roman alphabet which could not have been of much help without suffixes or dashes—a process which would have unnecessarily become cumbrous, if followed.
It is perhaps needless to add that certain numbers such as 736 (1) of 1875-76 not giren under old Ms. No. are not discrepancies as a layman is likely to think. They will be given in due course as they refer to works to be dealt with, in one of the subsequent volumes. 2
II do not remember to have seen any Catalogue where a list of works classified according to languages is separately given.
2 Such a state of affairs is due to the variety of subjects treated in one and the same Ms., and seems to be a special property of at least the Jaina Mss.