Books Received
By Unexhibited
Summary
The “Books Received” section of the volume lists recent publications of interest to scholars and readers of Jainism. It begins with a notice of H. C. Bhayani’s editorial work on Jinaratna’s Līlāvatī‑sāra, published by the L.D. Institute of Indology in Ahmedabad in 1983. This edition contains an introduction and a Sanskrit abridgement of Jineśvara Sūri’s medieval Prakrit romance Līlāvai‑kahā, comprising 58 preliminary pages and 443 pages of text, and is priced at Rs. 81.00. The book bridges the gap between Prakrit literature and later Sanskrit adaptations, making an important narrative accessible to new readers. Next, the section mentions Seven Pearls of Wisdom by Jagadish Chandra Jain, published in Bombay in 1984. This slim volume of 24 pages is sold for Rs. 5.00 and offers seven stories from traditional Jaina sources, making didactic tales accessible to a popular audience. The third entry is Jainism: A Select Bibliography, edited by Satyaprakash and issued by the Indian Documentation Service in Gurgaon, Haryana, in 1984. Spanning 101 pages and priced at Rs. 60.00, this compilation classifies articles and writings about Jainism gleaned from journals and newspapers over a twenty‑two‑year period (1962–1983). It serves as a research tool for students seeking to survey modern scholarship on Jainism. The final entry is Jayanta Bhatta’s Nyāyamañjarī, edited by Nagin J. Shah and published by the L.D. Institute of Indology in 1984. This volume, consisting of nine introductory pages and 180 pages of text, includes a Gujarati translation of the third aṅhika of Jayanta Bhatta’s treatise on logic and is priced at Rs. 21.00. The section provides concise bibliographic details—editor, publisher, publication year, pagination and price—without extended commentary. Its inclusion underscores Jain Journal’s role in promoting awareness of new scholarly editions, bibliographies and translations. By informing readers about available resources, the journal encourages engagement with primary texts and secondary literature. The diversity of the listed works—from classical literature to modern bibliographic compilations—demonstrates the breadth of contemporary Jaina studies and reflects ongoing efforts to make texts available in regional languages. Such notices foster cross‑disciplinary research and help scholars stay abreast of developments in the field.
Conclusion
The “Books Received” notice serves as a practical resource for students and researchers by briefly cataloguing new publications in Jaina literature and scholarship. Its listings reflect ongoing efforts to edit and translate classical texts as well as to compile modern bibliographies. By acknowledging these works, the journal fosters scholarly exchange and invites readers to explore the expanding corpus of Jaina studies.