| Specifications |
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Publisher: Shri Mahavira Jaina Vidyalaya Publication, Mumbai |
| Author Moti Chandra, Umakant P.Shah | |
| Language: English | |
| Pages: 112 (with B/W and Color Illustrations) | |
| Cover: HARDCOVER | |
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11.5x8.5 Inch |
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Weight 910 gm |
| Edition: 1975 | |
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HBW285 |
| Delivery and Return Policies |
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Usually ships in 10 days |
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Returns and Exchanges accepted within 7 days |
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Free Delivery |
Before the
treasures of the Jaina Bhandaras were partially made avail able to scholars,
almost nothing was known about the history of painting in Western India roughly
from 1100 A.D. to 1550 A.D. The history of these Jaina Jiana-Bhandaras is
closely associated with the progress and conservation of learning in Western
India. Their foundation is attributed to a big famine which occurred in the
fifth century, as a result of which most of the Jaina monks died and the sacred
lore of the Jainas suffered considerably. Therefore, in order to save the Jaina
lore from complete extine-tion, some steps had to be taken. A council under the
presidentship of Devarddhigani was summoned in circa 453 A.D. at Valabhi and
with the consent of the monks assembled there, the Jaina canon was committed to
writing. Not much is known about the progress of book writing in the following
centuries, but there is every possibility that the Jnana-Bhandaras were founded
and these became the custodians of the sacred literature. However, one thing is
certain that by the tenth century Jaina monks had realised the educational
value of the Jnana-Bhandaras. Their founders took great pains to explain to the
intelligentsia the importance of the religious and secular texts which had been
accumulating for over five hundred years. Such foundations encouraged the Jaina
bankers and laymen to order copies of the sacred texts and present them to the
monks who in turn deposited them in the Jnana-Bhandaras for the benefit of the
posterity. In order to encourage this movement Jüdna-püjäs were held from time
to time and this kept up the interest of laymen in learning. In this connection
may be mentioned the names of Siddharaja Jayasimha and Kumarapala, the renowned
rulers of Gujarat Jayasimha (1093-1143 AD) is said to have employed about thres
hundred scribes to copy out sut books un religious and escular matters for the
Imperial Library It is further observed that he got several copies of different
works made and distributed them to scholars all over India Kumarapsi (1143-1172
A.D. is said to have established twenty-one Jana-Bhandaras He employed seven
hundred scribes and some of the manuscripts are said to have been written in
gold The example of these two Solanki rulers was fol. lowed by several great
Jaina ministers including Vastupala and Tejapain. The two brothers became
interested in learning and in Jääna-thandents on the advice of their teachers
Vijayasenasuri and Udayaprabhasuri. They are said to have established three big
libraries at a cost of several millions of rupees. Pethad Shah (Skt.
Prthvidhara), a minister of Paramara Jayasimha at Mandu-gadh (Mandapadurga) in
VS. 1320 (-1263 A.D.) founded Jiang Bhandaras in seven cities including Broach,
Devagiri, Mandu and Abu Though the Jaina Jñana-Bhandaras (literally, treasures
or storehouses of knowledge) were basically sectarian in nature, it is
remarkable that the Jainas did not mind preserving in them books belonging to
different faiths for ready reference and criticism. They also collected and
preserved manuscripts of the works of the great poets of India including
Kalidasa, which, as their colophons say, were written by and for the Jainas
This shows that the Jaina monks in the middle ages were not narrow-minded sectarians,
but fully realised the importance of libraries preserving the literature of all
the faiths. Thus they Prabhavaka-Carita (Singhi Series No. 13, Bombay, 1940)
Hemacandrasuri-Praban dha, verses 103-109. A similar tradition is also noted in
another Jaina work entitled Kumarapala-pratibodha (G. O. Series, Vol. 14). Kumarapala-pratibodha,
pp. 96-97. Also see, Upadeśatarangini, p. 140. Vividha-Tirtha-Kalpa
of Jinaprabhasuri (Singhi Series No. 10, Santiniketan, 1934), section entitled
Vastupala-Samkirtana. According to Upadeśatarangini (quoted by M. D. Desai)
in Jama Sahityano Samkşipta Itihasa (in Gujarati, Bombay,
1933), pp. 404-405. Also see L. B. Gandhi, Aitihasika Lekhasamgraha (in
Gujarati, Baroda, 1963), pp. 416, 514, 540 for an account of Pethad.
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