Publishers

The philosophical significance of Jainism extends far beyond its statistical presence in India and the world, for it lies in the unique quality of its thought. This book is an attempt to take its insights into account for the light they shed on issues customarily debated in the Philosophy of Religion as it has evolved in the West.

The Doctrine of the Jainas is an English translaton of the world famous German book "Die Lehre der Jainas" of W. Schubring by Wolfgang Beurlen. The author has also revised the English translation thoroughly. He has tried that the Jaina friends might come to obtain an idea of what has been accomplished by Western scholars during a period of about one hundred and fifty years, burning the midnight oil, with a view to make the world acquaint with one of the finest achievements of the Indian mind. The author has tried to put the essence of Jaina religion and philosophy in a very clear way so that any student of religion or philosophy can easily trace out Jainism with a view of history, cosmology and cosmography. This enlarged edition contains three indices.

"A translation of the Kalpa Sutra into English needs justification, since during the past few years several such translations have appeared int he market. The pioneering work by Hermann Jacobi remains a classic to this day, while in recent translations the writers have exercised a freedom which is hardly justified. The present translation not only claims complete authenticity, but, like the translation of a few other Jaina texts by the same writer, it also strictly follows the prakrit text in prose as well as verse so that the reader through the English medium may enjoy a taste of the original.

Bhadrabåhuís Kalpa Sµutra is the earliest account of the life of the T?rtha?karas, the 24th, 23rd, 22nd and 1stósince the arrangement of the book moves back in time. The present work should, in the fitness of things, occupy a unique position. Scholars have divided this work into three Parts, viz., Tirthankaras, Church Leaders and Parjusana. For the present translation, however, it has been divided into seven Parts as follows: Bhagavan Mahavira, Arhat Parsva, Arhat Aristanemi, Twenty other Tirthankaras, Arhat Rsabha, Church Leaders and Parjusana.

Among the Agamic texts, Kalpa Sutra belongs to a group called Cheda Sµutra. Going by the contents of these texts, it would appear that they contain rules about personal behaviour and organisational discipline to be observed by the monks. Among the Cheda Sµutras, three names usually go together which are Dasa-kappa-vavahara and they are compiled into one text called Sruta Skandha. Kalpa Sutra is the eighth chapter of the Dasa text. With certain sects of the Jainas, the reading of the Kalpa Sutra during the Parjusana is a must which has contributed to the great spiritual significance of this work."

"The Yoga Vasistha is a unique work of Indian philosophy and is highly respected for its practical mysticism. These teachings of Sage Vasistha imparted to Lord Rama, contain the true understanding about the creation of the world.

The supreme Yoga with Romanised text is a translation into English of this complete work and is accompanied by brief expositions by Swami Venkatesananda.

This book brings this storehouse of wisdom to our world and makes the philosophy comprehensible to scholars and common people alike.

It is this philosophy of a comprehensive spirituality, rational and practical, that man in the modern age needs to rescue himself from his stagnation of worldliness and put him on the high road of creative living and fulfilment.

Soak into the message of each verse and discover the numerous ways in which this truth is revealed to help open your mind.

We have a firm hope that this well-known, towering teaching will provide to everyone the requisite inspiration and solace."

"It is historically certain that the Jaina contribution to education was as great, significant and important as that of the Buddhists. The book offers an account by studying the problem in connection with its five important agent, viz. the family, the church, the school, the state and the industry. The title `Jaina System of Education` that the book bears might be more appropriately replaced by `Educational Systems found in Jaina Literature` inasmuch as the Brahmanical the secular and the vocational education have also been dealt with. It is a historical fact that there were no watertight compartments in India separating Jainism Buddhism and other cognare schemes of life and caltgion. They all contributed harmoniously towards the development of culture as whole. Necessarily the contributions of these several systems in the field of education were inseparably mixed up.

""This book is a very exhaustive and informative volume on the system of education which was prevalent in ancient India and the author has presented the whole picture of the educational life of jains through its several sources."" --VEDANTA KESARI ""...it is"

Jainism is aside from Buddhism, the only surviving example of India`s ancient non-Vedic religious traditions celebrated for its systematic practice of non-violence and for the rigor of the asceticism it promotes. It sheds light on a little known religious tradition and demonstrates that divine absence.

"Harmless Souls considers doctrinal change and its implication for religious practice in early Jainism. It focuses on evolving views about the conditions necessary for Karmic bondage and the liberation of embodied souls, as described inparts of the early Svetambara canon, Umasvati`s Tattvartha Sutra, and the major works of Kundakunda. It is concluded that, although significant doctrinal changes do take place, these are not permitted to affect Jaina practice which constitutes and preserves the distinctive religious and social identity of the Jaina community. "

In The Scientific Foundations of Jainism Professor Mardia attempts to elucidate the point that Jainism is a science with religion. After a very brief introduction to the Jainism, the author introduces the four Axioms and discusses their theoretical and applied aspects and their plausibility in a modern context. It gives Jaina logic together with present trends in scientific thinking and indicates how Jainism and modern science are related. "Written by a modern thinker and a scientist with an international reputation in research and the dissemination of scientific knowledge. The Scientific Foundation of Jainism is a valuable guide in understanding Jainism. Mardia refers to the Jain claim that one can see the whole truth of Jain science when one attains kevalajnana or infinite knowledge! His efforts to reveal to us the truth of Jain science in an understandable way provide a testimony to the vast amount of knowledge he must have acquired through the dilligent study of the literature on Jainism.

The book includes a bibliography, glossary and an index. Wherever possible, a sharper scientific pictorial representation has been given, and very few original terms are used in the text so that the flow of the arguments is not hampered. Paul Marett in the Foreword says "Prof. Mardia's book divides naturally into three parts. First he explains the basic ideas of the soul, karma, living beings and non-living matter, and brings these together in the Jain explanation of life and death and the universe. Next he moves from the general to the particular, to the practice of self-conquest and the path of the individual soul towards purification. Thirdly, in two chapters which demand, and reward, close reading, he places Jain logic in its rightful position as a valid and acceptable system, and draws together the most fundamental and up-to-date aspects of modern physics with the scientific theories of the Jain writers."

Review: It will, I am sure, be of value to Jains living in the modern world who often find it difficult to discern the relevance of the writings of long-dead authors to the world today. It will also be of value to non-Jains, particularly those who approach the study of a little-known religion in a spirit of rational inquiry. - Paul Marett, Jain Journal, Vol.25, July 1990.

This is a very important book. The author wears his formidable scholarship both in theoretical physics and in Jain Philosophy lightly: the book is readable and understandable. He has given a vocabulary and a set of concepts which make possible the presentation of much that was shrouded in abstruse terminology and pre-modern science, in the language of today. - The Jain, March 1991

Written by a modern thinker and a scientist with an international reputation in research and the dissemination of scientific knowledge, The Scientific Foundations of Jainism is a valuable guide in understanding Jainism. Mardia refers to the Jain claim that one can see the whole truth of Jain science when one attains kevalajnana or infinite knowledge! - Jain Samaj, April 1992.

Instead of explaining Jainism in terms of Brahmanical philosophies and method, here we find a new modern approach to Jainism which is welcome. ...The whole theme is divied into ten chapters-Bibliography, glossary and index are added. The book deserves recommendation to the students of philosophy and science. - E.R. Sreekrishna Sarma, The Adyar Library Bulletin, Vol.54, 1990.

SPECIFICATION:

• Publisher : Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
• By : Y.J. Padmarajiah
• Cover : Hardcover
• Language : English
• Edition : 1986
• Pages : 434
• Weight : 500 gm
• ISBN-10 : 8120800362
• ISBN-13 : 978-8120800366

DESCRIPTION:

An attempt to determine the meaning and contents of the notion of dravya and distinguish between the two concepts of guna and paryaya. Cursorily also discusses notions of realtivity, continuity, divisibilty and negation. It presents an analytical account and a critical estimation of the methods of knowledge with an investigation into the nature and the logical evolution of the theory of manifoldness (anekantavada). The work has aimed throughout at a comparative treatment of the problems. Effort has been made to avoid strained and far-fetched comparisons and contrasts and to treat criticisms and controversies in a constructive spirit.

The book is meticulously edited by Dahiya whorendered the original Anglo-Nordic script in modern english without disturbing the original diction and structure and has relied upon the works of Charles Jonston`s the system of Vedanra and on Lawrence Dawson in The Nuttall Encyclopaedia for transliteration and standerdization of spelling of proper names. This book is a must for all Research Centers, Institutes, Universities and Libraries and gives a contemporary account of the Muslim period in India.

The two volumes together may be described as search for the original ideational foundations of Indian Culture. In one way this work recalls the tradition of Coomaraswamy but seeks to join it to the mainstream of critical history. It argues that the living continuity of Indian Culture is rooted in a unique spiritual vision and social experience. Indian Culture is neither the result of merely accidental happenings through the centuries, nor a mere palimpsest of migrations and invasions. It is, in its essence, a development of foundational ideas constituting a creative matrix. Behind its changing historical forms lies a deep and persistent source of creativity which is spiritual in character. The Present volume I deals with the spiritual vision and symbolic forms. Here is has been upheld that the spiritual vision of India had two original aspects, the integral or synoptic vision of the Vedas, and the Sramanic vision of Transcendence. Purnata and Sunyata constituted the two poles round which Indian spirituality revolved. The author not only elucidates this bipolar matrix of Indian spirituality revolved. The author not only elucidates this bipolar matrix of Indian spiritual praxis or sadhana, but also traces its intricate ancient history. He goes on to trace the great symbolic forms-language, myth, science, literature and art-in which this basic vision expressed itself. In all these areas he brings out the basic general principles expressive of inner consciousness rather than present a mere selection of well-known details.

The Csoma de Koros-Symposium on Tibetan central Asian and Buddhist studies held at Velm near Vienna in 1981 demonstrated the quickly expanding development of the more and more differentiated field of Tibetan Studies. Alongside of the traditionally established fields of tibetological research history, cultural history, linguistics, and literature the new presence of research in the original theoretical contribution of the Tibetans within their religious and philosophical culture was a distinguishing feature of this conference. That the originality of the Tibetan masters goes well beyond their fascinating achievements in buddhist exegesis is clearly recognized.

"The multi-volume History of Civilizations of Central Asia is the first attempt to present a comprehensive picture of this subject. The publication of this work falls well within UNESCO's terms of reference since the underlying research was conducted by a distinguished international team of specialists which for many years laboured in harmony at the task of presenting to a wider public the civilization of this vast area located at the heart of the Eurasian continent. The volumes will reveal the cultures that flourished and vanished in this area, from the dawn of civilization to the present time. Only a few names, such as those of Samarkand, Bukhara or Khiva, are familiar to a wider public; eminent specialists, many of them native to the region, now lift the curtain to reveal a richer, more varied civilization. To a great extent, the history of the ancient and medieval world was shaped by the movements of peoples in this heartland of Eurasia, stretching from the Caspian Sea in the west to the borders of China proper in the east.

Review:

""No Doubt,it is a noble venture of the Unesco to collect and edit these four volumes on the History of Civilization of Central Asia in such details as are not available elsewhere.Especially,the first three volumes are important and useful which no doubt."

"This work relates to the (erstwhile) Central and Western Rajput States of India. It embodies the results of scholarly investigation into the ethnology of Rajputs, their religious and social practices, their festivals and rites, their legal and political institutions and the merits and demerits of their characters. Herein we get a real portrait of the different aspects of Rajput life: their loyalty, devotion, gallantry, chivalry as also the instability of their character, their outbreaks of passion, fears, occasional faithlessness of their chiefs and allies and, above all, their addiction to drugs.

The work is divided into three volumes: each volume being sub-divided into books and chapters. Vol I deals mostly with the Geography of Rajasthan, the History of the Rajput tribes and the feudal system of their states. Vol II contains the Annals of Marwar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer and other cities of Rajasthan. Vol III comprises the annals of Amber, Haravati, Bundi and describes Shaikhawat Federation, and contains personal narrative from Udaipur to Kheroda. It has an appendix divided into seven sections and exhaustive general index.

Interspersed with several illustrations, this book is remarkable for its enlightening introduction and exegetical notes."

"Kalhana’s Rajatarangini is the most famous historical poem which records the oldest and fullest history of the legendary kings of Kashmir as well as gives accounts of the Kashmirian kings of the historical period. It consists of eight chapters and draws upon earlier sources, notably the Nilamata Purana.

Sir Stein recognising the inestimable value of the only work of its kind, succeeded in publishing the critical edition of the text as early as in 1892.

The interest of this treatise for Indian history generally lies in the fact that it represents a class of Sanskrit composition which comes nearest in character to the chronicles of Medieval Europe and of the Muhammadan East. Together with the later Kashmir chronicles which continue Kalhana’s narrative, it is practically the sole extant specimen of this class.

Its author’s object is to offer a connected narrative of the various dynasties which ruled Kashmir from the earliest period down to his own time. The final portion of the work, considerable both in extent and historical interest, is devoted to the accounts of the events which the author knew by personal experience or from the relation of living witnesses. These events are narrated from the point of view of a more or less independent chronicler and by no means the purely panegyrical object of the court-poet. "

"Kalhana’s Rajatarangini is the most famous historical poem which records the oldest and fullest history of the legendary kings of Kashmir as well as gives accounts of the Kashmirian kings of the historical period. It consists of eight chapters and draws upon earlier sources, notably the Nilamata Purana.

Sir Stein recognising the inestimable value of the only work of its kind, succeeded in publishing the critical edition of the text as early as in 1892.

The interest of this treatise for Indian history generally lies in the fact that it represents a class of Sanskrit composition which comes nearest in character to the chronicles of Medieval Europe and of the Muhammadan East. Together with the later Kashmir chronicles which continue Kalhana’s narrative, it is practically the sole extant specimen of this class.

The author’s object is to offer a connected narrative of the various dynasties which ruled Kashmir from the earliest period down to his own time. The final portion of the work, considerable both in extent and historical interest, is devoted to the accounts of the events which the author knew by personal experience or from the relation of living witnesses. These events are narrated from the point of view of a more or less independent chronicler and by no means the purely panegyrical object of the court-poet."

"Kalhana’s Rajatarangini is the most famous historical poem which records the oldest and fullest history of the legendary kings of Kashmir as well as gives accounts of the Kashmirian kings of the historical period. It consists of eight chapters and draws upon earlier sources, notably the Nilamata Purana.

Sir Stein recognising the inestimable value of the only work of its kind, succeeded in publishing the critical edition of the text as early as in 1892.

The interest of this treatise for Indian history generally lies in the fact that it represents a class of Sanskrit composition which comes nearest in character to the chronicles of Medieval Europe and of the Muhammadan East. Together with the later Kashmir chronicles which continue Kalhana’s narrative, it is practically the sole extant specimen of this class.

Its author’s object is to offer a connected narrative of the various dynasties which ruled Kashmir from the earliest period down to his own time. The final portion of the work, considerable both in extent and historical interest, is devoted to the accounts of the events which the author knew by personal experience or from the relation of living witnesses. These events are narrated from the point of view of a more or less independent chronicler and by no means the purely panegyrical object of the court-poet."

The term Hindu is referred to the religious life of the people of India, and Spirituality understood as wisdom about the way back into the ground of pluralism of religious forms. These two volumes are structured along the division between the classical and the post classical.Twenty seven scholars from around the world shed light on the spiritual beauty of Hinduisms poetry art and temples, festivals and music, as well as the contributions of modern pioneers such as Swami Vivekananda Sri Aurobindo, Mahatma Gandhi and others.

"The Present volume is part of a series entitled World Spirituality: An Encyclopedic History of the Religious Quest, which seeks to present the spiritual wisdom of the human race in its historical unfolding. Drawing upon the highest level of scholarship around the world, the volume gathers together and presents the richness of the spiritual heritage of the human race, It is designed to reflect the autonomy of the tradition in the historical development. This volume presents the eternal, thielen dimensions of Hinduism. The articles included in this volume are discussed under different eight parts. Each put contains number of articles devoted to the theme of the individual part. These are (1) The Vedic Spirit, (2) The Spiritual Horizon of Dharma, (3) The Sraname Spirituality, (4) The Spiritual Quest for Innortatity and freedom, (5) Vedanta as Reflective Spirituality, (6) Vedanta as Devotion, (7) Spirituality and Human life , (8) Contemporary Expressions of the Classical spirit.

Review:

The articles are both instructive and interesting, authentic and objective. Any reader, a student or a scholar will find in nut-shell a treasure of vital, educative information. - R. T. VYAS"

Most people (even in India) have not heard the name of Anu-Gita. This is so because, although Anu-Gita is an important part of the Mahabharata, no scholarly study of it, in a simple language, has so far been published. This gap will be filled by this pioneering book, which explains under what circumstances was the Gita taught by Lord Krishna to Arjuna, for the second time. This book is divided into two parts. Part I presents the Sanskrit-shlokas of Anu-Gita, along with their translation in simple English. Part II explains the main points of similarity, as well as dissimilarity, between Gita and Anu-Gita.

This book presents the social message of the Mahabharata in the form of a ten-point call for the good of all. Since this message is primarily given, in ther termminology of loksamgraha, in Bhagavad-Gita (Which is the centre-piece of the Mahabharata)the technique of presentation adoped here is Gita supportive, i.e. indirect as well as selective. This book is accompained with simple meaning in English, take the form of eighteen chapters.

" It was in 1942 that the late Dr. V.S. Sukthankar was engaged to deliver four lectures on the 'Meaning of the Mahabharata' under the auspices of the University of Bombay. However, the fourth and last lecture was not delivered on account of his sad sudden demise on the morning of the day fixed for it.

The Manuscript (Ms.) of these lectures-a veritable treasure to cherish had remained lost to the world of scholars for the long period of fifteen years. It beard the title ""Four Lectures on the Meaning of the Mahabharata."" This rather heavy-looking title has been abridged here in publication into the substantial title ""On the Meaning of the Mahabharata."" In a great many places, sentences or paragraphs have been placed in rectangular brackets in pencil. This bracketed material has been retained in the body of this book. Secondly, an alternative word or phrase is occasionally found written with a pencil in the margin along with an underscoring of the relevant word or words in the text. It is thought advisable to retain the text of the script as it stands, leaving such marginal alternatives alone. However, there is one exception: Dr. Sukthankar had rewritten in pencil almost a whole para at the end of the third lecture. This pencil-script is incorporated in the body of the book. A facsimile of this page is reproduced as the frontispiece. An English rendering of the German quotation from OLDENBERG is given in an Appendix for the convenience of the general reader. In Index I Sanskrit quotations are printed in Devanagari for the benefit of those not quite conversant with the transiliteration."

"Here the collected papers explore the whole question of the relation between the mythopoetic and the moral in the context of the Mahabharata. Here we have a story of extreme complexity, characters that are unforgettable, and a cosmic context in which gods and men alike grapple with destiny. The obligations of kinship and friendship jostle with each other. The women characters, as in everyday life, seem to bear a very heavy load of the burden of life and to stand in a key position in almost every conflict. We are presented with predicaments at every turn. At times these predicaments seem to be aggravated by social structure. At other times they are cushioned by it. Philosophical tangles tied up with karma and dharma are interwoven with the mythopoetic material. Perhaps philosophical issues are pinpointed rather more than they are in Greek epic literature.

The essays in this book treat the Mahabharata from an unusual angle, fastening on the moral dilemmas it presents. How universal are the dilemmas faced by the characters in the story, and are the dilemmas in fact resolved? In dealing with these questions, the discussions range over the meaning of the purusarthas, the institutions of marriage and the family, the concept of action in the Gita and the special predicaments faced by Draupadi, Arjuna and others. These studies invite the scholar to reflect afresh on the text and encourage the general reader to find in epic literature much that is relevant to life today."

"This book questions the conventional wisdom that a fully matured theory of the yugas-Hinduism's ages of the world-is integral to the Mahabharata, and it illustrates how traditional commentators and modern scholars have read the later Puranic yuga theory into the Mahabharata, in particular when it comes to placing the action at the beginning of the current terrible Kali Yuga. Luis Gonzalez-Reimann discusses the meaning of key terms in the epic by examining the text and early Buddhist sources. This book also traces the sectarian appropriation of the yuga system in later literature and documents how modern religious movements have used the system to proclaim the arrival of a new, prosperous Krta Yuga, a phenomenon that coincides with New Age expectations.

Review:
""This original and well-researched study sheds considerable new light on the history and development of the theory of cyclical time, one of the most critical concepts in our understanding of the religious and cosmological thought of Hindu India. Luis Gon"