LOKODAYA
GRANTHAMALA
The Jnanpith, devoted for publications, has a
leaning for modernity on the one Hand and convention
on the other. The Lokodaya Granthamala is meant
for the publication of literature on indian languages
and Hindi and High class creative literary works.
The Moortidevi Granthamala is devoted for the
works based on philosophy comtemplation and knowlege.
The publication of contemporary literature is
not confined to Hindi alone. The Jnanpith has
always felt that our people should have access
to the literature of other languages, too. It
is with this idea that Jnanpith started Rashtrabharati
Granthamala, which publishes Hindi translations
of works of Jnanpith Laureates and other eminent
writers of various Indian lanugages. The Granthamala
is thus not only making works of the best contemporary
Indian literarure accessible to the Hindi readers
but is also making its translation into other
Indian languages easier.
The Rashtrabharati Granthamala has published so
far 233 books translated into Hindi from : Urdu,
30; Marathi, 35; Bangla, 31; Oriya, 24; Kannada,
20 Gujarati, 11; Punjabi, 10; Malayalam, 10; Telugu,
9; English, 11; Assamese, 8; Tamil, 5; Sindhi,
2; Maithili, 2; other lauguages, 25.
The Lokodaya Granthamala has brought outs far
691 titles including 458 of creative literary
nature and 233 of the ones translated into Hindi
from different languages. The first publication
under the Lokodaya Granthamala was 'Muktidut',
1947.
Moortidevi Granthamala
Moortidevi Granthamala is the Oriental series
of Bharatiya Jnanpith publications. Named after
the Founder's mother, the series is, a synonym
of Bharatiya Jnanpith, which, as translated, is
the Indian pivot of knowledge. It was established
on 18-2-1944 'to conduct researches so as to bring
out the extinct and rare unpublished works of
knowledge and to give inpetus to the creation
of original contemporary literature for the benefit
of the people'. Mostly come up true to its objectives,
it was founded by Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain with
his wife Smt. Rama Jain, a philanthropist couple
whose interest in promoting art, culture, literature
and sports has left a legacy of inspiring public
welfare.
Immediately followed by the Lokodaya and Rashtra
Bharati Granthamalas the Moortidevi Granthamala
publishes scientifically edited canonical and
classic texts of philosophy, literature and other
disciplines of Indology in general and Jainology
in particular, in Prakrit, Sanskrit, Apabhramsa,
Hindi and English, with analytic introductions,
useful appendices and exact translation. These
publications have, thus, promoted up national
unity and bridged the gap between different languages.
These trends have been set by Dr. Hiralal Jain
and Dr. A.N. Upadhye who stand in the brilliant
line of the illustrious Indologists of the West.
The Moortidevi Granthamala has a sister series,
originally founded by late Pt. Nathuram Premi
in 1914 in the memory of Seth Manikchand Hirachand
of Mumbai. Having published 55 works in Prakrit,
Sanskrit and Apabhramsa, that series was taken
over and saved by Bharatiya Jnanpith from extinction.
Displayed in most of the commercial showcases
and adorning the shelves of Oriental libraries
all over the country and abroad these titles are
made available to the customers at no-loss-no-profit
basis, to flash our thought and culture up to
all the time and clime. First editions of this
type of technical texts takes nearly a decade
to shell; the commercial publishers
would, therefore, have hardly invested a huge
amount which the Jnanpith has been doing, that
also without any aid or grant from any agency
or the Government.
155 titles which have been brought out so far
include : 23 in Prakrit, 48 in Sanskrit, 22 in
Apabhramsa, 31 in Hindi, 16 in English, and 6
in Pali, Tamil, Kannada etc. These include : The
seven volumes of Mahabandha, which is the seventh
and last part of the colossal text of the second
century, Sat-khand-agama with its ninth century
commentary, is interknit with myriad ideas and
calculations attracting researches in metempsychosis,
information technology, mathematics and such other
disciplines; The Hari-vansa-purana of A.D. 783
and the Maha-purana of ninth century, divided
into Adi-purana and Uttara-purana, are full of
encyclopaedic material of socio-religious way
of life traced back to the days of proto-history.
The 3-volume Jaina Art and Architecture the same
also in Hindi translation, profusely illustrated
and produced on international standard is the
magnificent gift to the archaeology people working
even at university level.
The Moortidevi Granthamala has an ambitious planning
to carry on the glorious series and to make all
the out-of-print books available.
