English Translator’s Note
Prem Chand Jain, Bengaluru (mob: +91 9483956058)
Supreme venerable, paragon saint, the longest-standing initiated female saint among all other male and female saints, Ganinipramukh Shri Gyanmati Mataji is the single female ascetic who has composed about 400 Jain scriptural treatises comprising prose, poetry in Hindi & Sanskrit together with translation & commentary on many classical literature of Jain philosophy, metaphysics and religion.
She has also successfully developed many Jain places of pilgrimage by inspiring Jain community. She possesses such a spiritual & magic power and attraction that wherever she moves, the Jain community of that place abides by her inspiration of developmental works.
Whatever developmental works and sculpture of Jain idols she thought of and undertook are all completed. None of them have stopped or left unbuilt for want of financial resources. She always keeps herself busy in writing /researching some or the other works for glorifying the religion irrespective of her old age of eighty years.
None of the Aryikas of the known past has written such a huge/voluminous literature and there is little probability that any other can even touch this golden record in future as well. I have gone through her present work ‘Shri Gautam Gandhar Vaani’, page by page, word by word and felt that such an important work should be given wide publicity among non-Hindi speaking Jains.
Especially youths of southern and north-eastern States of our country as well as the Jains living abroad who prefer to read either in their mother tongue or in English, hence I personally visited Pujya Mataji at Hastinapur and narrated my wish to translate this work in English. She gladly conceded to my feeling by raising her hands in blessing.
My son Dr. P.K Jain & my daughter-in-law Smt. Shubhra Jain have extended great help in completing and finalizing this work. I owe debt of gratitude to both of them. Pragyashramni venerable 105 Aryika Shri Chandnamatiji also guided me and gave important suggestions for finalizing this useful work.
This present translation in English is a result of blessings of both the senior Mataji. I pay my respectful Vandaami to both of them and to all other venerable Aryika Mataji of the congregation who are devoted austere and learned. I hope many non-Hindi speaking people will be benefited by this work.