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ACĂRYA VIJAYAVALLABHASŪRI COMMEMORATION VOLUME
bad, Poona and Baroda also. If Ācāryaśri had done nothing in the field of education except the foundation of Sri Mahāvīra Jaina Vidyālaya, his name would have been a historic milestone for posterity as an outstanding pioneer of education amongst the Jainas. This institution, started in a very humble and noble way, has now attracted the appreciative attention of the people of other faiths also. This move, mooted more than forty years before, was a forerunner to starting of many social, cultural, religious and educational institutions in Gujarāt, Rajasthān, the Punjab and many other states of undivided India. This was due to the great efforts of Acāryasri. This serves as a valuable landmark in the cultural history of India.
Inspite of his multifarious activities, literature did not escape his attention. His poems inspired by original ideas are rich in meaning and deep with thought. He was well-versed in astrology and mathematics. Rich repositories of old manuscripts, rare coins and other antiquities providing links with the ancient history, always absorbed his mind. He believed that many problems, confronting loose links of Indian History and Culture, would remain unsolved in the absence of a systematic research of Jaina Literature. This erudite savant was anxious to start a research institute to bring to light the valuable storehouses of knowledge, now literally trapped in the ancient repositories, and to marshall the existing data in the framework of modern research. Such efforts, he stated, would result in fertilizing the barren field of Jaina research and bring to the forefront the message propounded by Lord Mahāvīra.
A SILENT PATRIOT
He was a patriot without ostensible fanfare. He wore khaddar and was an ardent advocate of propagation of Hindi as national language. Swadeshism found an echo in his speeches. His illuminating address at a vast cosmopolitan gathering held some months before his death during the prohibition week in Bombay, provided a pointer to his growing popularity amongst all sections of the people. Lucidity and effective presentation of the ideal of prohibition prompted many persons not only to give up wine but forgo all intoxicants.
• His speeches were always a rip-roaring success, whether the occasion was an open air meeting or cloistered halls for religious discourses, He was ready-witted and always open to answer all questions. Persons of all
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