Review: The Dharma-ratna-karandaka of Vardhamanasiiri

Summary

This review covers Municandravijaya’s critical edition of the Jain manual ‘Dharma‑ratna‑karandaka’ by Vardhamanasiiri. The text comprises twenty chapters on topics such as the nature of dharma, devotion to the Jina, ethical conduct and renunciation. Municandravijaya collated multiple palm‑leaf and paper manuscripts from libraries in Vadodara, Patan and Surat, providing a critical text with variant readings and a Gujarati translation. Kansara summarises selected chapters, highlighting the work’s emphasis on practical ethics and spiritual discipline, and praises the editor’s explanatory notes. He notes that the edition is an important resource for students of Jain ethics and for preserving manuscript heritage.