Religious Movements (600 BCE)
Jainism
The Jain doctrine is much older than the Buddhism one, but it is difficult to say precisely
how old it is.
The names of two Jain Tirthankaras, Rishabha and Arishtanemi, are found in the Rig
Veda.
The Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana describe Rishabha as an incarnation of
Narayana.
The word Jaina means follower of a Jina, which means victor, a person who has attained
infinite knowledge and teaches others how to attain moksha, i.e., liberation from the cycle
of rebirth.
There are 24 Tirthankaras in Jainism(Tirthankara means ford builder i.e., one who builds
fords that help people across the ocean of suffering)
The first Tirthankara was Rishavadeva.
Malli, the 19th Tirthankara, was a woman.
Neminatha, the 22nd one, may have belonged to the Saurashtra region of Gujarat.
Parsvanatha was the 23rd Tirthankara.
According to the Kalpasutra of Bhadrabahu, Parsvanath was a Kshatriya.
His father’s name-Asvasena, king of Banaras
His spouse- Prabhavati(daughter of king Naravarman)
At the age of 30 he became an ascetic.
After deep meditation for 83 days , he attained the highest knowledge called Kevalam.
He had 8 Ganas and 8 Ganadhars.
His four main teachings were – 1. Ahimsa, 2. Satya, 3. Asateya (Non-stealing),
4. Aparigraha (Non-Possession).
Mahavira adopted all these four teachings and added one more, that is Brahmacharya to
it.
Parsvanath died at the age of 100 years “on the summit of Mount Sammeta”.
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Vardhamana Mahavira
24th Tirthankara
Other names- Vardhamana, Nyaputta,Kevala,Ativira
Symbol- Lion
Tree-Shala
Born- 540 BCE (Kundagrama, a city near Vaishali, capital of Videha)
Died-468 BCE (Pavapuri, near Patna)
Father’s name- Siddhartha(head of the Kshatriya clan called the Jnatrika)
Mother’s name- Trishala (sister of Chetaka, who was the ruler of Chetaka)
Spose- Yasodha
Daughter’s name- Priyadarshana(whose husband Jamali became the first disciple of
Mahavira)
At the of 30 , after the death of his parents , he renounced his family, undertook severe
fasts, meditated under the Ashoka tree, and discarded his clothes.
According to the tradition he achieved Kevala Jnana under a Sala tree on the bank of the
river Rijupalika near Jrimbhikagrama at the age of 43 after 12 years of rigorous
penance.
From now onwards he was called Jaina, Nirgrantha (free from all bonds) and Mahavira.
Mahavira’s Teachings
Mahavira rejected the authority of the Vedas and the Vedic rituals.
He did not believe in the existence of God.
He believed in Karma and the transmigration of Soul.
He laid great emphasis on Ahimsa.
In Jainism the devotees have been classified in five categories, in the descending order;
(a) Tirthankara,(b) Arhat, who is about to attain nirvana,(c) Acharya, the head of the
ascetic group, (d) Upadhyaya, (e) Sadhu.
The Jaina Discipline
The Triratna (three gems) of Jainism consists of Right Faith (Samyag-darshana), Right
Knowledge (Samyag –jnana), and Right Conduct (Samyag-charitra).
For the laity, the basic discipline consists of the Anuvratas, which are a modified form of
the Mahavratas of monks and nuns.
According to Jain discipline, the only things a monk can carry are a small broom
(rajoharana) for brushing insects away before sitting down and a water gourd
(kamandalu) for toilet hygiene.
Followers of Jainism
Mahavira founded the Jain sangha.
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He had 11 ardent followers called Ganadhars, 10 of whom died in Mahavira’s life time.
Only one, Arya Sudharman, survived and became the first Thera after the death of
Mahavira.
Abhaya Kumara, a son of king Bimbisara, was a follower of Mahavira.
Jainism was favoured by Udayin and the Nanda kings.
Ujjain was a great Jaina centre where saints like Kalkacharya and Gardbhilla lived.
Bhadrabahu, the greatest ever Jain exponent of Jain philosophy was also an inhabitant of
Ujjain.
Chandragupta Maurya was also a Jain devotee.
According to the Jain tradition, Bhadrabahu spread Jainism in South India.
Sects in Jainism
Jains are divided into two major sects: the Digambara & Svetambara
Digambaras believe that women can’t achieve liberation without first being reborn as a
man.
Digambaras live completely naked.
Svetambaras monks can have a few possessions: 1.simple white clothing,2.a begging
bowl.
Jain literature and Jain Councils
Both the Svetambara and Digambara sects called their sacred books the Agama-
Siddhanta.
Both of them agree in calling the 12 Angas as the first and most important part of their
canon.
The Siddhanta comprises 46 books.
The 14 Purvas (the textbook of old Jain scriptures) which Mahavira himself had taught to
his Gandharas were perfected by Sambhutavijaya and Bhadrabahu.
12 Upanga Agamas(These are the explanations to Angas)
6 Chedasutras(These are the texts related to the behavior of Monks and Nuns)
4 Mulasutras(These are texts which provide a base in the earlier stages of the monkhood)
10 Prakirnaka Sutras(These are texts on miscellaneous subjects)
2 Culikasutras(These are texts which further enhance the meaning of the Angas).
Acharang Sutra is the first of the 11 Anga Agamas. It is the first text that was studied by
the Jain monks.
Kalpasutras was written by Bhadrabahu. It contains the biographies of the Jain
Tirthankaras, most notably Parsvanath and Mahavira, including the latter’s Nirvana.
First Jain Council- Held at Pataliputra about 300BC. Presided by Sthulabhadra
Second Jain Council- Held at Valabhi in Gujarat in 512 AD .Presided by
Devardhigani.12 Angas was compiled here in Ardha-Magadhi language.
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Royal Patrons of Jainism
Asoka’s grandson Samprati accepted Jainism.
Kharvela of Orissa professed Jainism.
South India- The Gangas,the Kadambas,the Chalukyas, and the Rahtrakutas patronized
Jainism.
The rock-cut caves at Badami and Aihole have the figures of Jain Tirthankaras which
belongs to the early Chalukya period.
Chalukya ruler Somadeva and Ganga ruler Nitimarga gave liberal grants to Jain
temples.
In Kanchi, Samantabhadra preached this religion and in Gujarat Sidharaja Jaisingh, the
most popular king, professed Jainism.
King Amoghavarsha of the Rashtrakuta dynasty wrote Ratnamalika, a very popular
drama on Jainism.
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