Book Review

Summary

The book review in this issue highlights a broad range of Jain publications and translations and stresses the need to make specialist literature accessible. The reviewer notes that the multi‑volume project **Jaina Art and Architecture** is envisioned as a standard reference, with the first volume covering monuments and sculptures from about 300 B.C. to 1000 A.D. and demonstrating the editor A. Ghosh’s commitment to scholarly rigourhttps://jainqq.org/pagetext/Jain_Journal_1975_04/520038/2. The survey then turns to **Bharatke Digambar Jain Tirth**, a series covering holy places across India; its initial twelve parts focus on the North and U.P., with future volumes promised for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, South India and the eastern provinceshttps://jainqq.org/pagetext/Jain_Journal_1975_04/520038/3#:~:text=Delhi%20and%20also%20the%20Punjab,intelligible%20and%20a%20competent%20Hindi. The 15th‑century Sanskrit epic **Vir Vardhaman Carit** is praised for its nineteen‑chapter account of Mahavira’s life and for Sukhlalji’s faithful translationhttps://jainqq.org/pagetext/Jain_Journal_1975_04/520038/3#:~:text=Delhi%20and%20also%20the%20Punjab,intelligible%20and%20a%20competent%20Hindi. The review also introduces medieval Apabhramsha works. **Sirivala Cariu**, a 16th‑century epic, tells the story of Sripala and Mayana Sundari and illustrates the victory of virtue over vicehttps://jainqq.org/pagetext/Jain_Journal_1975_04/520038/4. **Vira Jininda Cariu**, an Apabhramsha Mahapurana on Mahavira composed during the Rastrakuta period, has been translated into Hindi by Hiralal Jain, while **Jaina Literature in Tamil** surveys Jain contributions to Tamil literature—from poetry and puranas to logic and medicinehttps://jainqq.org/pagetext/Jain_Journal_1975_04/520038/4. The review notes **Bharatiya Sristividya**, a comparative study of Jain, Buddhist and Hindu creation myths, and draws attention to biographies like **Mahavira, His Times and His Philosophy of Life** and the translation of **Kathakosa**https://jainqq.org/pagetext/Jain_Journal_1975_04/520038/4. Publications issued by Jain Visva Bharati dominate the latter portion of the review. The three‑volume **Anga Suttani** brings together eleven canonical Anga Sutras and is lauded as a valuable preservation of traditionhttps://jainqq.org/pagetext/Jain_Journal_1975_04/520038/6. The reviewer emphasises early conduct texts such as **Ayaro (Acarangasutra)** and the new editions of **Dasavealiyam** and **Dasavaikalik Uttaradhyayan**, as well as epics like **Bharat‑Bahubali Mahakavya**https://jainqq.org/pagetext/Jain_Journal_1975_04/520038/6. Modern biographies of Mahavira, including **Bhagavan Mahavir** by Acharya Tulasi and **Sraman Mahavir** by Muni Nathmal, are compared; the latter offers a specifically Sramana perspectivehttps://jainqq.org/pagetext/Jain_Journal_1975_04/520038/6. **Satyaki Khoj Anekantke Alokme** uses stories to explain the doctrine of Anekanta, while the translation **King Bimbisara and King Ajatasatru** is criticised as out of contexthttps://jainqq.org/pagetext/Jain_Journal_1975_04/520038/7. Overall, the reviewer sees these works as evidence of the growing vitality of Jain scholarship and an invitation to both specialists and general readers to explore its rich literary and historical legacy.