A 17.5kg labour of love called Sripal Ras

It took him five years of painstaking work and repeated editing, but he is finally done. City businessman Premal Kapadia, 62, recently published the Sripal Ras — a 400-year-old religious saga based on the lives of King Sripal and his wife, Queen Mayana — in a set of five volumes.

To make this important 1,252-verse work composed in a pre-modern language Marugurjara available to all, it has been published in Gujarati, Hindi and English. “We wanted to do justice to the content and artwork in these volumes. We got it printed by a leading German press to ensure the highest quality,” says Kapadia.

Breach Candy resident Kavita Jain, who bought a set, says, “The content, production values and packaging have raised the bar, internationally, on how coffee table books ought to be published and designed. I think Kapadia had done all Indians proud.”

“When Gautama Ganadhara, Bhagwan Mahavir’s most senior disciple, gave a discourse on the Navapada to a religious assembly, including King Shrenika, he enlightened them on extraordinary achievements, fulfilment and prosperity attained in this life and the lives to come, by its worship. He related the story that has become known as the Sripal Ras,” explains Kapadia. “I feel humbled that I was chosen for this task.”

Asked about its price (Rs14,000), he says, “We wanted it to reach the maximum number of people, which is why we have priced it so low. Given its production quality, on which we have not compromised, it’s a steal. For example, the finest Irish linen has gone into the binding.”

With a print run of 8,000, doesn’t that add up to a lot? “This is not commerce. We are giving away more than half the copies to religious institutions, temples and universities,” says Kapadia.

He adds, “Even Manish Modi, who runs the Hindi Granth Karyalay at CP Tank, which will be the only outlet stocking the set, is selling it for no margin. Making a profit was never the idea.”

The Jains believe anyone who worships the Jinas and follows in their footsteps, putting into practice rational perception, rational knowledge, rational conduct and rational penance, shall attain liberation.

There are nine padas that are central to Jain practice — Arihanta (embodied omniscient being), Siddha (liberated omniscient being), Acarya (head of the Jain community, both lay and ascetic), Upadhyaya (teacher of Jain ascetics), Sadhu (Jain ascetic), Darshana (perception), Jnana (knowledge), Caritra (conduct), and Tapa (penance).

Though many works have been composed in Jain literature to show the importance of the padas, the Sripal Ras is the most significant. “It is prescribed reading during the annual holy Navapad Oli period, which is coming up. Every year for a few days in the Ashvin and Chaitra months austerity is observed with a special kind of worship, holy recitation and meditation in honour of the Navapad. The stories of Sripal and Mayanasundari are connected with this observance,” explains Kapadia.