SAMAYASARA

[MANISH MODI]

श्री वीतरागाय नमः

SHRI VITARAGAYA NAMAH

Jay Jinendra

SAMAYASARA

Essence of the Dharma

By Acarya Kundakunda

Hindi translation by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj

Edited by Acarya Kalyanabodhi

Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 30

Mumbai: Hindi Granth Karyalay

2012      24 x 18 cm   96 pages

ISBN 978-81-88769-45-2       Paperback    Rs. 70

Pandit Nathuram Premi came to Mumbai in 1901 from Devari (Bundelkhand). Some years later, he started publishing Jain texts under the name of Jain Granth Ratnakar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathuram_Premi  

On 24 September, 1912  Premiji published a Hindi translation of John Stuart Mill’s LIBERTY, called SVADHINATA, thus establishing a legacy that has endured till today, of making world class books easily accessible to Hindi readers. .

A lot of water has flown down the Ganga since then. Premiji’s Bombay is unrecognisable from today’s Mumbai. His publishing house too has changed with the times. Its focus has shifted from publishing classic Bengali and Marathi literature skilfully translated in Hindi; to publishing the most important Jain texts with world class translations in Hindi and English.

Pt. Premiji was the pioneer of Hindi publishing. Indeed, he was called the Bhishma Pitamaha of Hindi publishing by Vishnu Prabakar. Today, his grandson has established the Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series where world class Jain scholars such as Ludwig Alsdorf, Maurice Bloomfield, Padmanabh Jaini, Willem Bollee, Nalini Balbir, Peter Fluegel, Eva de Clercq, Jaykumar Jalaj. In addition, renowned humanists such as Arthur Dobrin and Hermann Kuhn have been published by Hindi Granth Karyalay. Premiji’s publishing house now exports over 70% of its books.

Since we are in our hundredth year, we plan to celebrate it. There have been several suggestions on how we should go about it. Had Premiji been here, he would have chosen to underplay the longevity of his firm and focus instead on the quality of books published by it. We try to follow in his giant footsteps and have decided to publish more quality books to commemorate our 100th year

In keeping with this aim, we now present our brand new translation of Acarya Kundakunda's SAMAYASARA. The Samayasara is one of the most high profile Jain texts, composed nearly two thousand years ago in Tamil Nadu, in the Jain Shauraseni form of Prakrit, by the learned Acarya Kundakunda. Over the centuries, there have been dozens of translations and commentaries composed on this text, in various languages such as Sanskrit, Dhundhari, Old Hindi, modern standard Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Gujarati and English. Each new translation has brought to light new facets of this many-splendoured text.

However, almost all translations have been scholarly, and some have bordered on recondite. It has been felt for a long time, that a very simple, straightforward translation was required, which would remove the distance between the author and the reader; where the translator took care to ensure that his personal views and thoughts did not interrupt the dialogue between Acarya Kundakunda and his readers.

With this in mind, we asked Dr Jaykumar Jalaj to write a fresh Hindi translation of the SAMAYASARA, in a language that is at once, lucid and accessible, but does not compromise on accuracy or on fidelity to the doctrine.

We are proud to present this work, tr. by Dr Jalaj and edited by Acarya Kalyanabodhi. In keeping with our founder's ecumenical views, this work by the ancient Digambara Acarya Kundakunda has been edited by the modern Shvetambara Acarya Kalyanabodhi. Valuable insights were also shared by Acarya Sunilasagara and Muni Amarakirti and Muni Amoghakirti.

What can one say of the SAMAYASARA that is not already known to the rest of the world? Written in order to explain that the soul and body are different, and that the soul is eternal while the body is mutable, the Samayasara is the acme of Jain writings. It explains the entire Jain doctrine in pithy Prakrit verse. Our Hindi translation makes sure that those who do not know Prakrit are not deprived of the pristine teachings of Acarya Kundakunda, which are capable of changing our lives and making them spiritually fulfilled.

In this modern world obsessed with iPads and iPods, it is difficult to imagine the fate of printed books. But there is evidence to suggest that the sale of books is on the increase, and that readership continues undiminished. Apart from publishing this excellent text, we carry a large number number of publications of direct interest to students of Indology, Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism. We carry books in Hindi, English, Sanskrit, Prakrit, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi and Urdu. In addition, we also store the religious texts of Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism.  

Here is an updated list of our publications: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NsXR1TzRnRNm84CMbmIXMXzG4cAcyRwy9x3IzQzHU_g/edit?hl=en_US

We are located at CP Tank in South Mumbai. https://docs.google.com/document/d/151N3YwAy516ZwMzcUh67NOY51Am_H0bJyJksqkrpBbg/edit?hl=en_US

You are welcome to visit our bookstore. In case you cannot visit us in person, we will be happy to ship books to you in any part of the world.

We accept payment through Demand Draft, Banker’s Cheque and Money Order. We also accept all major cards and National Electronic Funds Transfer.

Best regards,
Yashodhar Modi

HINDI GRANTH KARYALAY
Publishers Since 1912
9 Hirabaug
C P Tank
Mumbai 400004 • भारत India
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