A History of Indian Literature v2.c16: Preface to the English Translation
A History of Indian Literature v2.c16
- Language
- English
Preface to the English Translation
v2.c16.1
Owing to various unfortunate circumstances both the revision and the printing of this volume have taken much longer time than I ever anticipated. As the German original of Part I on Buddhist Literature was published in 1913 and that of Part II on Jaina Literature in 1920 it is only natural that this volume, no less than Volume 1, is not a mere translation, but a new edition as well, in which much had to be altered, added and, I hope, improved. I had to revise my presentation of Buddhist literature in the light of the numerous excellent publications we owe to the Pāli Text Society during the last twenty years, and I had to avail myself of the valuable work done during the same period by European, Indian and Japanese scholars in the field of Sanskrit Buddhist literature.
v2.c16.2
To Mrs. *Rhys Davids* I am greatly indebted for sending me, along with some valuable notes of her own, the critical notes which her husband, the late Professor *T. W. Rhys Davids*, had entered in his copy of my German book, and which I did not fail to make use of in the course of revising the chapters on Pāli literature.
v2.c16.3
Thanks to the zeal and efforts of the Jaina community a great number of Jaina texts, both in new editions and in translations, has become accessible since the publication of my German account of Jaina literature. But not only that. Not a few Jaina texts that were already published before 1920, were not available to me at the time when I first wrote on the subject. I owe a great debt of gratitude to my Jaina friends—above all to my revered friend the Itihāsa-Tattva-Mahodadhi *Vijaya Indra Suri*, the worthy successor of the late venerable Jainācārya *Vijaya Dharma Suri*, but also to Mr. *Chotelall Jain* of Calcutta, to the Dharm-Sewak *Ummed Singh Musaddi Lal Jain* of Amritsar, and many others—for having provided me with a great number of rare and valuable publications, both old and new, which enabled me to make the section on Jaina literature in the English version far more complete than it was in the German original.
v2.c16.4
As the first batch of manuscript was sent to press already in 1927, and the last sheets were printed only in the summer of 1932, many "Additions and Corrections" became necessary, in order to bring the work up to date (that is, up to June, 1932). But I am glad to say, the number of printer's errors that had to be corrected, is comparatively small. For this I have to thank Dr. *Niranjan Prasad Chakravarti*, M. A., Ph. D. (Cantab.), Lecturer in Sanskrit at the University of Calcutta, to whom the difficult task of reading the proofs had been entrusted and who has done his work most carefully.
v2.c16.5
My thanks are due to the translators of the volume, Mrs. *Ketkar* and her sister Miss *Helen Kohn*, who have spared no pains to make as accurate and readable a translation as possible.
v2.c16.6
Finally I have to thank again my pupil Dr. *Wilhelm Gampert* for the great care he has bestowed on the compilation of the Index.
v2.c16.7
Prague, *February, 1933.*