जैनविद्या संस्थान, श्रीमहावीरजी

The article introduces **Shri Mahavirji**, a major Digambara Jain pilgrimage center situated on the banks of the Gambhir River in Hindaun Tehsil, Sawai Madhopur District, Rajasthan. Located approximately 175 km from Jaipur and Agra and 300 km from Delhi, the site is known for its revered idol of Lord Mahavira, a red-stone and marble Digambara image believed to have emerged miraculously from underground about four centuries ago. The shrine attracts both Jain and non-Jain devotees and provides extensive facilities for pilgrims. The managing committee of the pilgrimage center is presented not only as a religious body but also as an institution engaged in social welfare. Besides maintaining the temple and pilgrim services, it supports local development through educational, medical, water, electricity, and infrastructure initiatives. It also provides scholarships for needy students, assistance to elderly, disabled, and widowed individuals, and supports healthcare services, including Ayurvedic and planned natural-therapy facilities. The article explains that Jain pilgrimage centers historically functioned as important centers of learning and cultural preservation. Inspired by this tradition, the management established a literary research department around thirty-seven years earlier under the guidance of Pandit Chainsukhdas Nyayatirtha and the efforts of Ramchandra Khinduka. This department prepared catalogues of Jain manuscript collections, brought numerous previously unknown Jain works to scholarly attention, and published important texts. To expand these activities, the **Jainvidya Institute (Institute of Jainology)** was established. Its objectives include editing and publishing unpublished Jain literature in Prakrit, Apabhraṃśa, Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada, Rajasthani, Hindi, and other languages; publishing original and translated Jain texts; preparing reference works and indexes; preserving manuscripts; providing research facilities; publishing scholarly studies; promoting Jain art and culture; organizing seminars and lectures; supporting Jain studies in universities; preserving devotional traditions through recordings; and utilizing modern media for the dissemination of Jain culture. The Institute planned seven major divisions: a library and manuscript section, a research department, a popular-literature division, an art division, a translation division, a publicity and public-relations division, and a modern printing department. At the time described, the library held approximately 13,000 printed books and more than 3,500 manuscripts, including numerous collections of hymns, rituals, narratives, and devotional literature. Among its notable holdings are manuscript copies of Pushpadanta’s *Uttarapurana* and other important Jain works preserved in different scripts and languages. Ongoing projects included the preparation of a Jain Purana lexicon, a *Ṣaṭkhaṇḍāgama* lexicon, and research on Apabhraṃśa literature. The Institute also published the research journal *Jainvidya* and organized scholarly meetings and lectures. The document further describes a yearly **Mahavir Award** of ₹5,000 for distinguished literary contributions and outlines the composition of the Institute’s governing committee. It concludes by expressing confidence that the Institute will develop into an internationally significant center contributing to the ethical, social, cultural, and intellectual advancement of society through the study and dissemination of Jain knowledge.

Summary reviewed by a volunteer editor.