Acknowledgment

First of all, I bow in reverence to Lord Jhulelal for the opportunity to take up this thesis which helped gain insight into the inspiring life story and teachings of the deity. Next, I would like to thank my respected late Father and Mother, Shri Gopalji Govardhandas Thakkar and Smt. Chandramani Gopalji Thakkar from whom I received the gift of faith and devotion.

My sincere thanks to my guide Dr. Manjiri Bhalerao for the valuable guidance and support I received from her for my Ph.D. study and for her patience and motivation. Her guidance helped me all the way during my research and writing of this thesis. I thank the Head of the Department of Shri Balmukund Lohia Centre Sanskrit and Indological Studies Dr. Shripad Bhat for his guidance and encouragement. I thank faculty members Dr. Shreenand Bapat, Dr. Hema Dole and Dr. Ambarish Khare for their guidance. I thank Neelima Joshi from staff and the Librarian and Library staff of Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth. I thank the Head of the Ph.D. department Dr. Sunanda Yadav and Medha Bhagwat and the staff.

I am thankful to the Vice-Chancellor Dr. D. J. Tilak and to Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth for giving me this opportunity to undertake this research.

I would like to thank the stalwarts in this field, Dr. G. B. Deglurkar, Dr. A. P. Jamkhedkar and Dr. G. U. Thite for their valuable suggestions and encouragement.

I thank Professor Goverdhan Sharma ‘Ghayal’ for his guidance and for helping me with valuable reference material. I thank the staff of Sindhi language department at Balbhrati Textbook Bureau, Pune.

I thank Dr. Ravindra Muley, Dr. Jayanti Tripathi, Dr. Divakar Mohanty and Dr. Kaveri Jadhav of Centre for Advanced Study in Sanskrit (CASS) and Dr Shailaja Katre, Head of the Dept of Sanskrit and Prakrit Studies at S.P. Pune University for their guidance.

I thank Dr. Ashok Aklujkar of the University of British Colombia, Canada.

I thank the Librarian Meghana Deshpande, Asst. Librarian Prasad Konde and the staff of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute Library, S.P. Pune University’s CASS and

Sanskrit and Prakrit Department Library and Deccan College Library for providing reference material.

I thank writer Lakhmi Dada Khilani, Ex-Director and permanent trustee, Sahibji

Bijlani, permanent trustee, Director Kamalji Nihlani, Asst. Librarian Ms. Chandraji Ramchandani-Khemnani and Librarian Mukeshji Tilokani at The Institute of Sindhology, Adipur, Kutch, (Gujarat) for providing valuable reference material on the subject.

I thank Gauri Vakharkar for her enthusiasm and valuable inputs in this research.

I thank Balkrishna Joshi, Ketaki Gokhale, Sujata and Bhargavi Pandit and Jancy Joseph for the computer related technical help.

I thank my family for the wholehearted support and help that I received throughout the period of my research. I express my thanks to my wife Jyotsna, son Hemant, daughter in law Vaidehi, my brother Amit, his wife Hemali, my nephew Sahil, my niece Riya, my cousin Gaurang, my nephew Rajiv and his wife Shweta and my grandson Veer. My thanks to my sister in law Bharati Thakkar for the valuable time spared by her for interaction and discussion on the subject. I thank Dimple Ruparel (USA) and Falguni Joisher.

I thank Pratapbhai Thakkar and Kumarji Tanna for providing rare literary sources.

I thank my colleagues and cohorts Amol Bankar, Rohini Mangave, Enjoo Lim, Madhura Kulkarni, Gauri Kate, Abhijit Mohire, Shilpa Sonawane and Parag Purandare.

I thank my friends Archana and Anand Gune, Rita Thakkar, Ashokji Patharkar, Keky Dadi Burjor and Ms. and Mr. Wankadia (Mumbai) and Dr. Triveni Mathur.

Without the precious support of everyone mentioned above, it would not have been possible to conduct this research.

I might have missed the names of some individuals and institutions through oversight and would also like to thank them for their help in my research.

Harish Gopalji Thakkar