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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
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sisters and children which a person may have (verses 28-30). The author then goes on to deal with the section of the palm below the thumb (verses 31-35) and that below the small finger (verses 36-39). Amongst the latter are included some lines which would point out how many wives or husbands the person would have. There are, then, the lines indicating the religious tendencies (Vrata Rekha V. 40), potentialities of research (Margana Rekha V. 41), and pious tendencies (V. 42). The author then goes on to describe the significance of the whirl marks (Bhramara V. 43) and conch marks (Samkha V. 44). The form and colour of the nails are then treated (verse 45), continued by a treatment of the marks of fish, lotus, cross, etc. (verses 46-53). The significance of too many lines or too few lines on the palm is then shown (verse 54). What sort of hand denotes possibilities of service to humanity is then explained (verse 55). How certain specific marks aggravate or assuage, heighten or decrease the effect of other marks and signs is then shown (V. 56). The effect of the life line and family line joining together is then stated (V. 57) and then the effect of the form and make up of the hand as a whole is given (V. 58-59). What lines indicate a would be saint or teacher is then explained (V. 60); and, lastly, the author meekly tells us that his object in writing the book was only to enable religious missionaries to prejudge the potentialities of a person and then only administer the religious oaths and vows to him or her.
Unfortunately, the author has not given us anywhere his name or date of the composition; and there is no material at present available to me to determine these with any precision.
The language of the work is almost pure Maharashtri Prakrit, there being only the vowels left with or without the Ya-sruti when ta' is dropped; 'tha' never being changed to ‘dha' but always to 'haand und being the past participle absolute termination.
The work, small though it be, is valuable as it enriches our knowledge about the literature in Prakrit devoted to technical subjects.
I take this opportunity to thank the authorities of the Bharatiya Inana Pitha Kashi, for undertaking to publish this work in their series.
King Edward College,
Amraoti. April, 1947.
P. K. Modi.
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