PRELUSIVE

We feel great pleasure in placing the book �Bharata and Bharata� written by late Dr. Prem Sagar Jain in the hands of the readers. This book which was originally written in Hindi in fulfilment of the desire of Hon�ble Prime Minister of India Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayi in regard to the origin of the name of our country known as Bharata, has now been translated in English by Shri Dhanyakumar Jaini under the Holy advice of Acarya Vidyananda Muniraja, a celebrated Digambara national saint.

It will not be out of place to point out that Jaina Vidya Samsthana ( Institute of Jainology ) established by Digambara jaina Atisaya Ksetra Sri Mahaviraji is actively engaged in presenting the multidimensional perspectives of Jaina Culture to the general public and scholars alike. In consonance with the spirit of the Atisaya Ksetra, the book, �Bharata and Bharata� is being published for imparting authentic information to the readers in regard to the origin of the name Bharata.

It is of capital importance to note that the earliest epigraphical reference to Bharatavarsa is found in the famous Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela. Besides, �all the main Puranas like the Visnu, Agni, Markandeya, Brahmanda, Skanda, Linga Purana, etc., unanimously record that India came to be styled as Bharata after Bharata Cakravarti, a supreme ruler and great victor, the son and successor of the mighty and enlightened paramount monarch and the first Jaina Tirthankata Adinatha or Rsbhanatha of the solar dynasty.� The author has thus set aside all the misgivings about the origin of the term, �Bharata� This proves beyond doubt that it is only with Bharata Cakravarti, the son of the first Tirthankara, that the origin of the name Bharata can be linked.

We express our deep sense of gratitude to Acarya Vidyananda Muniraja who very kindly handed over the floppy of the book �Bharata and Bharata� to Jaina Vidya Samsthana, Sri Mahaviraji for publication. Words are inadequate to express our gratefulness to Acarya Sri. We are thankful to Dr. Munish Chandra Joshi (Retd. Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India) for writing the foreword of this book.

We feel pride in dedicating this book to His Excellancy, Shri Bhairo Singh Shekhawat, Vice-President, Republic of India.

We are thankful to Shri Dhanyakumar Jaini for translating this book in English. Our thanks are due �to �Shri Ramchandra Premchand Khinduka Charitable Trust� for giving financial assistance towards this publication, and also to Dr. Veer Sagar Jain for assisting us in preparing the press copy of this book. We offer our thanks to the learned researchers of the Samsthana (Institute) and to M/s. Jaipur Printers Pvt. Ltd. for organising the publication of the book.


N. K. Sethi Narendra Patni                          Dr. Kamal Chand Sogani
              President                                                   Hon. Secretary

Samyojaka Managing Committee Jaina Vidya Samsthana Samiti
Digambara Jaina Atisaya Ksetra Mahavira Nirvana Day

�Sri Mahaviraji� 4 November, 2002