PT. SADASUKH DAS KASLIWAL

PT. SADASUKH DAS KASLIWAL
A renowned prose writer Pt. Sadasukh Das was born at Jaipur around 1795. A much contented and religiously tolerant person he was employed in the State service at a small salary. While Sawai Madho Singh wished to raise his salary he requested that instead of pay raise he may be allowed to leave his office 1-2 hours early in order to devote more time for literary work and self enlightenment. Pleased with this, Madho Singh had raised his pay as well as allowed him to go early every day.

He devoted most of his time to reading, writing and religious preachings. Pt. Jaichand Chabra and Munnalal Sanga were his religious teachers. He produced several learned Pandits like Pannalal Sanghi, Nathuram Doshi and Paras Das Nigotya. He earned wide fame as a learned Pandit and impressive and simple religious preacher.

Parmeshthi Saha Agarwal of Arrah had sent his Arthaprakashika Tika on Tatwartha Sutra, worth 5000 couplets, to him for modification. Pt. Sadasukh had very scholarly modified and enlarged it worth 11,000 couplets. This and Ratnakarand-shravakachar Bhasha Tika are his more important works.

The death of his only son Ganeshilal in 1864 at the young age of 20 years had broken him in his old age. His devotee and patron Seth Mool Chand Soni had taken him to Ajmer where he did not live for long and died in Samadhi-maran. During his last days he had called his main deciples Pt. Pannalal Sanghi and Bhanwar Lai Sethi from Jaipur and advised them to propagate Jain religion and literature in the country and establish a good Sanskrit Pathshala. They had accordingly undertaken the work of preparing large number of copies of Jain scriptures and had also established a Sanskrit Pathshala at Jaipur. As a result of this thousands of copies of works of Jain scholars of Jaipur were distributed in different parts of the country.

Literary Works : Bhagwati Aradhana Bhasha Vachnika (1849), Tatwartha Sutra (a small Bhasha Tika in 1853), Tatwartha Sutra Artha-prakashika (a large Bhasha Tika in 1857) Samayasar Natak Bhasha Vachnika (1857), Aklankashtaka Bhasha Vachnika (1858), Mrityu Mahotsava (1861), Ratnakarand-shravakachar Bhasha Tika (1863), Nitya Niyam Puja (1864). It is believed that he had also composed Rishi Mandal Puja.