PREFACE

      Merumandara Puranam is a well known tamil classic . It is a mine of information relating to Jaina philosophy and religion . The author Vamanacharya who was also known as Mallishenacharya , was the Guru of Irugapa, the minister of Hari-Hara II of Vijayanagar. Hence his age would be some were about the end of the 14th century. From internal evidence as well as evidence from inscriptions it is clear that the author was well versed in Tamil as well as Sanskrit. The way in which he uses Sanskrit and Prakrit technical terms in tamilised from is very instructive. It is not necessary to enumerate the several merits of the work which is of high literary excellence . They will be evident even to the casual reader . The book is offered of the public for the first time in complete form. The successful publication of the work is due mainly to the help and encouragement which I derived from Mr. K. Appaswami Sastriar of Vidoor a cousin of mine and a distinguished student of my father . I owe to him the lucid commentary which he wrote for me and which is based upon a traditional commentary transmitted orally from guru to student of which illustrious line of scholars he happens to be the last . Though the commentary is given shape to just now it has all the weight and importance of the trational and authoritative commentary by an oldmaster . Further, I must acknowledge my thanks to Mr. T. Authy Nainar for allowing the first 3 sargas of which he holds the copy right. To be included in this work , to Mr. V. Arumugam Servai for seeing the manuseript through the press and also to Mr. T. V. Kalyanasundara Mudaliar for the several valuable suggestions which he offered to me in the matter of editing the work , in the 6th sarga where there is comparative study of Indian philosophy , I made several alterations in the commentary . For any inaccuracy that may have crept into the interpre - tation of the stanz as concerned , on account of these changes , I take the full responsibility . I have added a philosophical introduction in Tamil with the hope that he would help understanding the philosophical and religious doctrines relating to Jainism . The introduction is largely drawn from Gunarthana's commentary called "Tarka Ranasya - Dipika" on Haribhadra's "Shad-darsana-Samuchchaya" and hence it does not claim any originality.

Madras,