આચાર્ય જયવંતસૂરિકૃત શૃંગારમંજરી : એક અનન્ય સંપાદન (Acharya Javantsuri Kruta Shungaramanjari : Ek Anany Sampadan)

Summary

This article introduces the Shringara-manjari, a poetic work attributed to the Jain Acharya Javant Suri, and highlights the scholarly labour involved in editing it from scattered manuscripts. The narrative weaves themes of love and devotion, using aesthetic emotion as a medium for moral reflection. Composed in ornate metres and containing around 2450 verses, the poem recounts episodes that juxtapose worldly affection with spiritual aspiration, showing how love can symbolise a devotee’s longing for liberation. The author describes the painstaking process of collating variant readings from surviving manuscripts held in Jain libraries, consulting commentaries and reconstructing metre to produce a critical edition. Historical references suggest the text may have been composed around the fifteenth or sixteenth century, though oral tradition credits Javant Suri. By situating the work within the broader spectrum of Jain literature, the article reveals a creative dimension in which poets explored beauty and emotion without compromising spiritual intent. The publication of this critical edition expands the corpus of Gujarati and Sanskrit poetics and invites further research into neglected Jain literary masterpieces.