A History of the Canonical Literature of the Jainas c2.1

c2.1

It was about a decade and a half ago that an idea struck me that I should write a comprehensive history of the canonical literature of the *Jainas*. This idea got crystallized when, on being invited by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, I commenced preparing a *Descriptive Catalogue of Jaina Manuscripts* deposited in this Institute by the Government of Bombay. While I was engaged in this work, I found that barring *A Sacred Literature of the Jainas*, an English translation of the valuable German contribution by the late Prof. A Weber, and *A History of Indian Literature* (vol. II) by Prof. Maurice Winternitz, Ph. D., there was no work which presented the history of the *Jaina* literature as a connected whole. And as regards these two works, too, I found that the first one was hardly accessible, and that *full justice* was not done to the history of the *Jaina* canonical literature by either of these scholars, who had treated the extant exegetical literature in a cursory manner and had practically neglected the extinct *Āgamas*. Prof. Winternitz was in a better position to do the needful; but, since he had selected a much wider field than the history of the *Jaina* literature, he could not devote to it as many pages as might be desired. So I undertook this work, and by the time two parts of vol. XVII of *D. C. J. M.* got published, I finished the spade-work. Subsequently I found that the task undertaken by me presented far greater difficulties than I had foreseen. So I had half a mind to wait till I had completely surmounted them. But, on realising that such a desirable stage may not be reached in near future and even the work as it stood, would be useful to students, if not to scholars, I have taken this bold step of placing it before the public.