| Pat : Se emer a3Jainism isa religion which appeals ro the ye lat first sight. Visitors to places lke Ranakpur or Shravanabelagola will verify this observation, Paradexically Jainism is at the same time one of the least known religions in the world. With this opening sentence on pageone, KureTivze invites the reader after acquainting him or her with the main tenets of the world’s classical religion of ‘non-violence, to join him on a fascinating pilgrimage. ‘The past Glories of India have been and stil are a favourite subject in books and films, In this book with its 350 illustrations spread over 280 pages, Kure Titzeenfolds a sequence of glories which have been kept alive to the present-day. Preserved intact by ‘men and women who —like dragons (see page 252)—guard a great treasure. If Mahatma Gandhi should be named the greatest politician of the 20° century, which seems likely, the still lee known name of the third great son of India, namely Mahavira, should be added to the znames of Gautama Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi. Mahavira (-greachero) isthe elder ofthe three. ‘A world without wars is not yet a world without violence. This obvious fact needs to be seen and admitted. What is being preached to the people in the Western democracies was and stil: make peace, no sar! This falls too short. What is needed now isto propagate both peace and ahimsa (non-violence). ‘The guarded ‘treasure’ mentioned above is the knowledge of how the daily practice of non-violence can be learned and perpetuated. Adherence to he principle of non-violence, as devised by Mahavira, has not only motivated kings and generals to voluntarily atone for their committed acts of force, but at the same time led to the creation of great works of art. This remarkable achievement in the history of the world’s religions makes a guided pilgrimage tothe religion of non-violence, as outlined in this fist Pictorial Guide to Jainism an enjoyable venture—and be it ‘only an imaginary journey at first.Dear Dharambandhu, Jaina is pleased to bring this book, JAINISM: A Pictorial Guide to the Religion of Non-Violence by Mr. Kurt Tivze. Mr. Titze, a German national very much interested and a follower ofJainism visitedall these placesin the old Indian wayuusing local conveyancesand staying with Jain families. Reading thisbookisalmost like taking the pilgrim ofthese places. This book does not only revive the memories of those who have been to these places but also kindles a deep desire to visit these marvelous Templesand Teerths which only JAINS have it over centuries. Hope you have already read the book JAENA Philosophy and Religion (English translation of Jaina Darshana by Munisri Nayayavijayaji) made available to you by Jaina Book Source. Jaina sincerely thanks Sti N.P. Jain of Publisher M/sMotilal Banarsidassfor hiskind cooperation in making this book available in time and at a reasonable cost. JAIJINENDRA JAINA N.A.JAINISM A Pictorial Guide to the Religion of Non-Violence If anybody developed the doctrine of non-violence, it was Lord Mahavira, think over it and translate it into action Mahatma GandhiJAINISM A Pictorial Guide to the Religion of Non-Violence by Kourr Tirze with contributions by Kaus BRUHN Jvont Prasap JAIN Nos Q. Kinc Vitas A. SANGAVE and others MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PRIVATE LIMITED @ DELHIFin Biiton: 1998 Second Revved Edition: 2001 Copyright © Kure Tie, 1998 {All Rights Reserved. ISBN: 81:208:1554 Design, layout, gpeset and the photographs —taken with a Leica GL. camera—are, Tunless otherwie specified, by the author For the symbol of Ahimie on the ile-page turn to page 234 Alo available at MOTILAL BANARSIDASS 41. UA. Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi 110 007 8 Mahalaxiai Chamber, Warden Road, Mumba 400 026 120 Rojapewah High Road, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004 256, th Main II lock, Jayanagar, Bangalore 560 011 ‘sanas Plaza, 1302 Bajé Rao Road, Pune 411 002 8 Camac Street, Rotkata 700 017 Ashok Rajpath, Patna 800 008 ‘Chowk, Varanasi 221 001 By JAINENDRA PRAKASH JAIN AT SHIR JAINENDRA PRESS, ‘AaB NARAINA, PHASES, NEW DELHI 110 028 AND. PUBLISHED BY NARENDRA PRAKASIJAIN FOR MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PRIVATE LIMITED, [BUNGALOW ROAD, DELHI 110 007‘To KAILASH CHAND JAIN of Safiarjang Development Area, New Delhi, who made me write this book by first befriending me and my wife Martha at Parasnath Hill in Bihar in February 1989 and who thereafter, by just being himself, opened our ears and eyes to the moral and artistic beauty of Jainism A Jaina saying of old: The one who writes or makes others write, the one who hears, or makes others hear, the ‘one who gives or makes others give is noble and a sharer of punva (puny salutary karma)CONTENTS Page ix Contributors x Acknowledgements 1 About this Book 3 Meaning of Jainism — ViLAS A. SANGAVE 5 The Jinas: their Names and Emblems 6 The Face of the Jina in Jaina Art (a selection) 7 The Story of a Father and his two Sons 3 Map of India showing Jaina Places of Pilgrimage 14 Monks and Nuns in Jainism 29 Karnataka 30 Aihole 45. Karkala 33. Pattadakal 46 Moodabidri 33 Badami 48° Venur 36 Hampi 49 Halebid 39 Humeha 52 Shravanabelagola 42 Varanga $8 Gommatagiri 59 The Genesis and Spirit of Jaina Art ~ Jyoti PRASAD JAIN. 62 Tamilnadu 62. Sirukadambur 70 Melsittamur 65° Ennayiramalai 74° Tirumalai 67 Tirakkot 76 Valathy 68 Thirunarungkondai 77 Jaina Culture — VILAs A. SANGAVE 78 Maharashtra 79 Anjaneri 91 Muktagiri 81 Gajpamha 94 Karanja 82. Mangi-Tungi 97 Photos of a Diksha 87 Ellora 98 Ramtek 100. Central India 101 The Jaina Art of Gwalior and Deogarh ~ KLAUS BRUHN 19 Vidisha 126 Khajuraho 120. Chanderi 128 Sonagiri 122 Papora 129° Mahavieji 123° Ahar 130 Chulagiri 125 Kundalpur 132 Pavagiri (Un) 134 Delhi . 138 Hastinapur 140 Rajasthan 141 Jaipur 148 Bikaner vii142 Sanganer 150 Jaisalmer 143° Ajmer 152. Osian 144 Ladnun 155 ‘Grand Tour’ of five Sacred Jaina Sites 156 Holy Abu 162 dar 159° Achalagadh 166 Taranga Hill, 160 Kumbharia 170 Rajasthan (continued) 170 Sirohi 178 Ranakpur 172 Mirpur 181 Udaipur 176 Sadri 185 Chittorgarh 187 Gujarat 188 Ahmedabad 195 Shatrunjaya and Patitana, 190 Patan 198 Gimar 194 Shankheshvara 200 Kutch 202 Bihar 203 Rajgir 208 Madhuban / Sammeta Shikhara 207 Pavapuri 212. Charitable and Social Tradition in Jainism 214 Eye-camp 221 Dharmasthala 216 Veerayatan / Rajg 224 Bahubali (Kolhapur) 219 Jaina Women’s Ashram 227 Kindness to Animals 228 Symbols, Mantras and Parables in Jainism Padukas / The Five Auspicious Events inthe Life ofa Trthankara / The Asta Mangalas | The Samavasarana | The Siddha-chakra / New Symbol of Jainism / Two Parables! Offerings / Namokar Mantra ~ The Song of the Soul 242 Music and Dance in Jainism 248 First Jaina Temple in Europe 249 Jaina Dawn in the West — NoeL Q. KING 254 Padampura and Haridwar, two new Temples 257 Appendixes Distribution of Jainas / Bibliography / Glossary / Addresses and Notes / Index / Opinions MAPS AND SITE PLANS: India 13 + Kamataka 28 + Aihiole 30 + Hampi 38 + Moodabidri 46 + CChandragiri 54 + Shravanabelagola Town 55 + Tamilnadu 66 * NW Maharashtra 78 + Mangi-Tungi 82, 83 + Ellora Jaina Caves 87 + NE Maharashtra: Muktagir / Karanja / Ramtek 91 + Deogarh / Chanderi / Tikamgath / Papora / Ahar / Sonagit Sironji 100 + Deogarh Temples 117 + Mahavirji 129 + Chulag and Un 130 + Dethi Chandni Chowk 134 + Delhi and Hastinapur 138 + Central Rajasthan 140 + Jaipur 141 + Jaisalmer Fort 151 + Mt. Abu / Achalagadh / Kumbharia / dar / Taranga 14 + Dilwara Temples 155 + Taranga Temple 168 * Rajasthan: Sirohi and Southern Aravalli Range 170 + Ranakpur 180 + Udaipur 182 + Chittorgarh Fort 186 + Gujarat (Hindi map) 187 + Gujarat 188 + Patan 191 Shatrunja ‘Temple City 197 + Gimar 198 * Kutch 200 + Bhadreshwar 201 + Central Bihar 202 + Rajgir 204 + Distribution of Jainas 257,CONTRIBUTORS Prof. Dr. KLAUS BRUHN was born in Hamburg, Germany, and pursued Indian Studies at the university of his hometown under Walther Schubring and Ludwig Alsdorf. Inspired by a suggestion made by Dr. U.P. Shah whom he visited in Baroda (now Vadodara) in 1954, he travelled to Deogarh and was at once convinced that a study of the Jaina temples there ‘would be most rewarding, A two-and-half-year scholarship granted by the Government of, India enabled him to stay at the site of his research during three consecutive seasons. In 1969 — by that time he was Professor of Indology in the Freie Universitit Berlin — his mono- graph The Jina-Images of Deogarh, a large-size book with 297 photos, numerous drawings and maps, was published in the Netherlands by E.J. Brill, Leiden. Ever since Prof. Bruhn has specialised in Jaina literature, Jaina art and Indian iconography Dr. JYOTI PRASAD JAIN, who lived and worked in Lucknow (U.P.) but died before the plan of the present book materialised, is known for his lucid style of writing, a virtue greatly appreciated by new-comers to the religion and philosophy of Mahavira. His Religion and Culture of the Jains, to name just one of his publications, saw three editions within seven years (1975, 1977 and 1982); a rare occurrence in the field of Jaina book publishing, Prof. Dr. NOEL Q. KING was bor at Taxila in what is now Pakistan, He was familiar with Jainism as a young child but only got to know Some of the deeper teachings from the Army Mess Caterer at Chittagong and Mingaladon (now Bangladesh and Myanmar) towards the end of World War I. He studied at Oxford and Nothingham and has served in Universities in England, Ghana, Uganda, the Indian Punjab and the South Pacific. Presently Professor Emeritus of History and Comparative Religion of University of California at Santa Cruz. Prof. Dr. VILAS ADINATH SANGAVE, Honorary Director Shahu Research Institute, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, bor in 1920 and educated at Poona and Bombay, was the first and so far the only sociologist who successfully undertook the task of writing a comprehensive social survey of the far and widely scattered Jaina community. The first edition of this work entitled JAINA COMMUNITY A Social Study, came out in 1959. The second revised edition bears the imprint of Popular Prakashan Private Ltd., Bombay, 1980. For other noteworthy publication of Dr. Sangave which should be of interest to readers of the present book see Bibliography. Professor Sangave is a renowned speaker in English, Marathi and Hindi As to the short quotations from writings of other authors, see the Name Index under: V.S. Agrawala; Gopilal Amar; Muni Gurudev Amar; King Ashoka (ace. 269 8c); Baron von Blomberg; John E. Cort; Helmuth Dietmar; Krishna Deva; Saryu Doshi: Paul Dundas: June Fog; Mahatma Gandhi; J.C. Harle; Hermann Jacobi; Helen M. Johnson; Count Hermann Keyserling; Acharya Sushil Kumar; Payal Kumar (in The Hindustan Times), Ravi Kumar, Padmanabh S. Jaini; Jodh Singh Mehta; José Pereira; Sister Nivedita; Fernad Nuniz; S. Settar; U.P. Shah; L.M. Singhvi: R. Srinivasan; Ralph Strohl; Michael Tobias; Carlos G. Valles, S.J. ~ Texts not assigned to a particular author o translator are by Kurt Titze who also drew most of the maps.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For a free-lance writer of limited means like myself who has no connection to a university and therefore no chance of getting a scholarship or some kind of grant, it is no easy matter to study and do fieldwork, on and off for quite some years, with just one objective in mind ~ the writing and composing of a book the kind of which has not been attempted before and ‘well knowing that the returns from it will by far not equal the expenses incurred. This being so, and there is no use lamenting over it, Lam all the more indebted and grateful to the many individual Jainas who went out of their way to help us two strangers ~ that is my wife and me ~ to get on the right bus, to find a roof for the night, to reach a particular sacred Jaina site not marked on any tourists? map; and who invited us into their homes for a meal, offered us seats in their pilgrims’ buses, took us — as it happened to us in Tamilnadu ~ on motor-bikes to places we would never have found by ourselves, and who never failed to draw our attention to particularly appealing objects of Jaina art. As to us, observing all the while the pleasure they found in showing us something of their cherished faith, heightened our determination to do our part in making this religion better known in the world. The following names may stand for those many helpers in time to whom we offer our thanks in vivid rememberance: Padmashri Sumatibai Shah, Sholapur; Smt. Surekha S. Shah, Gulbarga (formerly Raichur); Dipak Sutaria, Ahmedabad; Satish Sangai, Amaravati; Nirmalchand Soni, Ajmer and Madras; Mohan S. Jain, Bombay; Sanjay Jain, Calcutta; Veerendra Heggade, Dharmasthala; Ashok Kumar Jain, Delhi; Akshaya K. Jain and R.P. Jain (Co- ordinator for promotion of Jainism abroad) New Delhi; A. Shetthu and Pon Appandai Rajan, Gingee; Kothari Surendrakumar Popatal, Idar; Ajit Kumar Singh Kasliwal, Indore; Ajit Bharat Kumar, Palitana; A.K. Jain, Noida (U.P.); Mayur Vrajal Shah, Patan; Mahavir Minda, Udaipur. As to whom we might express our gratitude for the good luck which was with us during our travels when it mattered to be at the right place on the right day must remain an open question. Without these unexpected encounters with religious events, and with acharyas, bhattarakas, monks, nuns and knowledgeable lay persons at places as far apart as Madhuban in Bihar, Idar in Gujarat and Gingee in Tamilnadu, this book would not have been written and illustrated the way it eventually has. Luck further followed me when it came to asking scholars working in various fields of Jainology for contributions, and to selecting short quotations from other authors, the aim being to entice the prospective reader to ask himself questions about the fascinating body of Jaina teaching, art, history and cosmology, and to take up one or other of the books mentioned in the bibliography. ‘The chapter of Jaina Art of Gwalior and Deogarh by Prof. Klaus Bruhn, was specially written for this book, as was the one by Prof. Noel King of Corralitos, California, whom T happened to meet in New Delhi at the initiation ceremony of an elderly layman into monkhood (see page 95). The chapters by Dr. Vilas Sangave, whom I had the pleasure to meet twice at his home town of Kolhapur, and the ones by the late Dr. Jyoti Prasad Jain are slightly edited texts from earlier publications. To all these distinguished scholars named in my book I would like to express my gratitude. "To Prof. Willem Bollée of Heidelberg University, Germany, who critically accompanied my work from the beginnig, I am indebted for valuable suggestions of how to improve the flow of the text and for his advice to go and meet ~ next time we visit Gujarat - Muni Jambuvijaya. This we did in due course and returned greatly enriched by the Muni’s bless- ings. At Udaipur it was Shri Mahavir Minda who generously drove us about a hundred kilometres to the south where ~ on an open road ~ we met Acharya Kunthusagar and his group of munis. It is through encounters like these, to which I would like to add our meetings with Acharya Vimalsagar at Madhuban not long before his passing away, with Acharya Aryanandi at Ellora, with Acharya Sushil Kumar just one month before his death in Delhi, Acharya Vidhyasagar at Ramitek, Muni Gurudev Amar at Rajgir, Acharya Yashodev Suri at Palitana, and Archarya Gunratna Suri and the Terapanthi Acharyas Tulsi and Mahaprajna in Rajasthan, which leave a lastiig impression on one’s mind. Afier my first pilgrimages to sacred Jaina sites, undertaken between 1969 and 1985, it was Karmayogi Charukeerty Bhattarak Swami of Shravanabelagola who invited and encouraged me to contribute to his monthly English magazine GOMMATAVANT the reading ‘of which (sadly now no longer published) taught me much about Jainism. For this I should like to extend my thanks to His Holiness. Finally, my sincere thanks go to Shri Kailash Chand Jain of New Delhi who instilled in me the idea of a Pictorial Guide to Jainism and to whom this book is dedicated. And, being myself a stranger to the way books on Jainism-get published in India, it were his untiring ‘efforts in spite of his failing health, and the generous help of his sons Shri Subhash Chand Jain and Shri Magan Chand Jain as well as of Shri H.C. Jain, New Delhi, that my wife Martha and I have the great satisfaction of seeing this book published by the distinguished Jain publishing house of Motilal Banarsidass, Del Bellamont, Germany, 1998 Books as a rule travel slowly. That this one reached the Jaina diaspora in North America and Europe right after publication late in 1998 we gratefully owe to Dr. Mahendra Pandya and other leading members of the Federation of Jain Associations in North America (© JAINA) as well as to Nemu Chandaria, Co-ordinator of The Institute of Jainology, London, U.K., and especially to our ever helpful friend Ajit Benadi, President of Jain Association International (Germany). To the surprise of all concerned, the first edition was out of print in less than a year; a clear indicator that an illustrated guide to Jainism written for both Jainas and non-Jainas was long overdue. In response to some reviewers of the book, this edition contains an enlarged biblio- ‘graphy, As books on Jainism written for students of indology can be rather difficult to read, it was with some reluctance that I agreed to this proposal. Still, I should like to quote the sentence with which Dr. Paul Dundas, Lecturer in Sanskrit at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) and author of The Jains (1992), concluded a survey published in Religious ‘Studies Review, April 1997, under the title ‘Recent Research on Jainism’, It reads: “This survey xishows clearly that there is no dominant research methodology at work in recent Jain scholarship and that, compared to fifteen years ago, there is now also a gratifying large number of workers in the field with a wide variety of interests and approaches. Yet it is hastening to contemplate how imperfect our understanding of Jainism as a historical phenomenon remains at present. This situation can only change if university teachers commit themselves to integrating Jainism fully into courses on Indian religions and demon- strating to their students the unique interest of the Jain experience.” ‘An additional chapter in this issue features two new temples (pages 254/55). Westem scholars of Jainology keep emphasizing that the awareness of Jainism in the world at large ‘would receive a much needed boost if a relatively small part of the money spent on new temples were to be invested — so to speak — in “temples of the mind’, that is to say, in books, reprints of the canonical texts of both Shvetambara and Digambara with their ancient commentaries, well researched articles, documentary films, magazines for general readers, and translations of Jaina books into languages other than English. Ending these introductory notes to the second edition, I wish to thank all those who have helped to propagate my Guide to the Religion of Non-Violence for the sake of counter- poising the zei/geist (drift of thought) according to which humans are by nature addicted to selfishness and violence. A debatable assumption. My preoccupation with the teaching, of Mahavira has taught me that having been born a human is already a privilege because only humans have the potential ability to personally shape their lives and rise to ever higher levels of ethical consciousness. Busselton, Western Australia, November 2000, Kurt Titze The Jains form the most consistent and logical religious group know, and itis from them that I have learned most in ‘my own religious adventure. They reciprocate my affection and call ‘me an “honorary Jain”, a compliment which I gratefully accept. Carlos G. Valles, $.J.(see footnote page 21)Al some remote period the Jainas turned their attention to sacred mountain tops and covered them with religious shrines forming temple-cities. These mountain sanctuaries represent some of the most wonderful monuments of architecture and sculpture ever raised by the aspiring spirit of man, V.S. Agrawala (1954) ABOUT THIS BOOK Jainism is a religion which appeals to the eye at first sight. Visitors to places like Ranakpur or Shravanabelagola will verify this observation, Paradoxically, Jainism is at the same time one of the least known religions in the world. The aim of this book is not to explain this regrettable fact, nor to name any culprits for it, but to entice the reader to ask his way to spots and sites that are not mentioned in tourist guide books. To the Digambara Meru temple in Old Dell for example, or to the Veerayatan Ashram on the outskirts of Rajgir run by Jaina nuns, or to the rock-cut twenty-four Tirthankaras near Gingee in Tamilnadu. That an increasing number of people who pick up this book may do so instead of climbing the ramparts of yet another fort or of gazing at yet another collection of horrifying ‘weapons ~ this is the hope of the author. As there is more to any given religion than its houses of worship, the user of this guide is asked not to bypass the less spectacular sights. This would mean, for one thing, approaching a sacred place on foot rather than by motorized transport. Any- how, many Jaina sites of pilgrimage can only be reached by walking En route to a sanctuary like Sammeta Shikhara or Mangi-Tungi, a newcomer to Jainism will soon lose his feeling of being an outsider or even an intruder, pilgrims walking the same route beside him will see to this providing he looks upon himself as just being one of them and keeps to a few simple rules such as not smoking, not carrying articles made of fur or leather, and circumambulating the marked sacred spots clockwise. ‘Again and again, while frequenting those remote places of religious worship, the wanderer will be fascinated by the sight of turrets, cupolas and lofty spires crowning ‘a mountain range or lying nestled in the lap of mother earth. Whether it is a large stone-image of a Jina on the wayside bearing the marks of many a century, or a row of Tirthankaras chiselled into a huge boulder which suddenly comes into view around a comer, the beholder will for longer than just a fleeting moment be in accordance with the Jaina saints of old who criss-crossed this vast subcontinent barefooted for the sole purpose of keeping a faith alive that teaches, more so than any other 1religion, reverence to all that lives — humans, animals, plants. The Jaina saints of today are still following that path. At other times, the eyes of our imaginary traveller may capture a picture which will give him an insight into the essence of the religion of which by then he will have seen many a famous temple, a picture that, being little suited to a shot with the camera, will engrave itself in his mind. An example: It was in the small town of Shankesvara in Gujarat on a pleasant day in February. We (my wife and I) had come with the hope of meeting Muni Jambuvijaya, a senior Shvetambara monk, We were asked to sit down in front of a simple sereen of cloth behind which the muni (monk) had retired. After a while he emerged, and as he exchanged words with us he kept glancing at his raised left hand. There, on the tip of his thumb, a fly was sitting. Without showing any apprehension, as flies otherwise do, it sat there, and it was still resting there as the muni took his leave; later he would meet us again, T have forgotten the words which I have exchanged with Muni Jambuvijaya on that first encounter, but his loving glances at the fly on the tip of his thumb have remained in my memory; they taught me as much, perhaps even more, about the foremost message of Jainism than many a learned essay I had read on this subject until then, the message that all creatures are equally precious. then, this book be a first guide to regarding an undeservedly overlooked religion with open eyes and a loving he: Kurt Titze The Arhats and Bhagavats (the worthy and venerable ones) of the past, present, and future, all say thus, speak thus, declare thus, explain thus: all breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven away. Mahavira Acaranga Sutra (book I lest. 4, leson 1), tans, JacobiMEANING OF JAINISM Vilas A. Sangave Jainism is a religion propounded by a Jina. Principles enunciated by a Jina, constitute Jainism, and the follower of Jainism is known as a Jaina (or Jain, the editor). Further, a Jina is neither a supernatural being nor an incarnation of an all-powerful God, The word Jina means the conqueror or the victorious, that is, one who has conquered the worldly passions by one’s own strenuous efforts, Human beings are entitled to become Jinas and as such Jinas are persons of this world who have attained supreme knowledge, subjugated their passions and are free from any sort of attachments. Jainism is nothing but a set of principles preached by such persons known as Jinas. Hence Jainism is not an_apaurusheya religion, that is, a religion pro- pounded by a non-human being or based on a sacred book of non-human origin. On the contrary, Jainism is a religion of purely human origin and it has emanated from the mouth of a dignitary, a Jina, who has secured the omniscience and self-control by his own personal efforts. Thus, the people who worship the Jina or the Tirthankara and who follow the religious tenets proclaimed by the Jina are called the Jainas and their religion is Jainism, As the Jinas possessed the supreme knowledge, they are called the Kevali-Jinas, that is, the Jinas who attained infinite knowledge. These Kevali-Jinas are also of two kinds, viz., samanya-kevali and tirthankara-kevali. While the samanya-kevalis are those Jinas who are mainly concemed with their own salvation, the tithankara- Kevalis are the Jinas who after the attainment of infinite knowledge are not only concemed with their own salvation but are also concerned with showing the path of liberation to all. These tirthankara-kevalis are generally known as Tirthankaras (‘fordmakers’), because they are the builders of the ford (tirtha) which leads human beings across the great ocean of existence Emphasis on non-violence ‘The most distinctive contribution of Tirthankara Mahavira and Jaina acharyas (heads of mendicant groups) consists in their great emphasis on the observance of ahimsa, that is, non-injury to living beings, by all persons to the maximum extent possible. Ahimsa in full significance was realised and preached by twenty-three Tirthankaras preceding Tirthankara Mahavira who lived 2500 years ago in North India. In fact, the philosophy and rules of conduct laid down in Jaina religion have been based on the solid foundation of ahimsa which has throughout and consistently been followed to its logical conclusion. That is why the Jaina religion is considered as 3the religion of ahimsa. The significance of this principle of ahimsa was very power- fully reiterated ‘by Tirthankara Mahavira as the practices of committing violence on different pretexts had become rampant at that time, During the later Vedie period utmost importance was attached to the performance of sacrifices with a view to secure the favours of God and to avert His anger. ‘The sacrifices were very elaborate, complicated and hedged with various restrictions. ‘The peculiar characteristic of these offerings to a deity was that they were usually accompanied by the slaughter of animals. Along with this practice, the flesh-eating or non-vegetarian diet was extremely popular among the different sections of the people. Tirthankara Mahavira launched a vigorous attack against meat-eating and the performance of sacrificial rites by propagating the principle of ahimsa. He therefore asserted that as no one likes pain, one should not do unto others what one does not ‘want others to do unto oneself. Since all living beings possessed a soul the principle of non-injury was obviously extended to cover all living beings. He considered injury or violence of three kinds: firstly, physical violence, which covered Killing, wounding and causing any physical pain, secondly, violence in words which consisted in using harsh words, and, thirdly, mental violence, that implied bearing ill-feeling to- wards others. Further, he made it clear that violence or injury should be avoided in three ways, that is, it should not be committed, commissioned or consented to. All these teachings of Jaina religion regarding the strict observance of the principle of ahimsa to the maximum extent possible by every individual in society produced far-reaching effects in social fields. The practice of performing sacrificial rites and especially the slaughter of animals at the time of making offerings to a god considerably fell into disuse. Similarly killing of animals for hunting, sports and decoration purposes was greatly reduced. Further, the slaughter of animals and birds with a view to use their flesh as a form of diet slowly became unpopular. In this way injury to living beings was greatly reduced and the practice of vegetarian diet was adopted by large sections of population in different regions of the country. Thus Tirthankara Mahavira emphasised the basic fact that every living being has a sanctity and a dignity of its own and therefore one must respect it as one expects one’s dignity to be respected by others. He also firmly insisted that life is sacred irrespective of species, caste, colour, creed and nationality. In this way Tirthankara Mahavira convinced the people that the practice of ahimsa is both an individual and a collective virtue and showed that ahimsa has a positive force and a universal appeal ‘THE JINAS: THEIR NAMES AND SYMBOLS 1. Twenty-four Tirthankaras cut into a boulder in two rows. Near Gingee, South Arcot, ‘Tamilnadu. Fifth/sixth century ‘The universe, according to Jaina teaching, has no beginning and ‘no end. Time is an unbroken and never-ending succession of cosmic cycles, each of which consists of an upward swing named utsarpini and a downward one called avasarpini During the last phase of each downward swing as well as during the final stage of each upward half-cycle the religion of the Tirthankaras gradually loses its influence upon the people to the extent of total oblivion. The reason given for this state of change is the progressing deterioration of living conditions during the latter part of the downward half-cycle and the ease with which one can satisfy all one’s desires in the last phase of the up- ‘ward swing. Then, during the middle phases of every succeeding half-cycle, again twenty-four Tirthankaras are ‘born who once more revive the religion of ahimsa. In the current downward swing, Rishabhanatha was the first and Mahavira the last Tirthankara lustration 2 (below) gives the names and cognizances of the twenty-four Jinas of our era. The drawings follow the Shvetambara tradition as represented in the left column of the text. The method of marking the image of a Jina by a symbol carved below the figure was developed in the fifth/sixth centuries. In the beginning, it was almost exclusively practised by the Digambaras (and even there not regularly), but since the eleventhitwelfth centuries the device is also found in the art ofthe Shvetambaras. Shyetamba Early Digambara ae =r ag, a" tradi 1, Rishabhanatha or ‘Adinatha (bull) (bull) Ajitanatha (elephant) (elephant) Sambhavanatha (horse) (horse) Abhinandana (monkey) (monkey) 5, Sumatinatha (Krauncha bird) (Koka bird) Suparshvanatha (swastika) (nandyavarta symbol) Chiandraprabha (crescent). (crescent) Pushpadanta or Suvidhinatha (crocodile) (crocodile) 10, Shitalanatha (shrivatsa symbol) (swastika) 11. Shreyamsanatha (rhinoceros) (ehinoceros) 2 3 A 5 6, Padmaprabha (red lotus) _ (red lotus) zi 8 9, | ae 12, Vasupuiya (buffalo) (buffalo) oom x 13. Vimalanatha (boar) (boar) ee) 14, Anantanatha (faleon) (porcupine) Yi 15, Dharmanatha(vajra symbol) (vajra symbol) d 16, Shantnatha (antelope) (antelope) 17. Kunthunatha (goat) (goat) 18, Aranatha (nandyavarta symbol) (Tagara blossom) 19, Mallinatha (water-jar) _(water-jar) 20, Munisuvrata (tortoise) (tortoise) 21. Naminatha (blue lotus) (blue Totus) 2, Neminatha or were? gumcenn | 7 Aristanemi (conch) (conch) >| 23. Parshvanata (serpent) (Serpent) 24, Mahavira lion) ion)‘THE FACE OF THE JINA IN JAINA ART 3 Colossal head of a Jina, Sth century. Mathura Museum * 4 Bronze head of Adinatha, Found at Akota, Gujarat. th century. (Courtesy Baroda Museum) + 5 Head of a standing Parshvanatha. Humcha, Kamataka. Late ninth century + 6 Head of 2 seated Adinatha, Khajuraho Museum + 7 Head of a standing Mahavira. Bronze. 12th/13th century. ‘Tamilnadu, South Arcot district. (Courtesy Govt. Museum, Madras). 6THE STORY OF A FATHER AND HIS TWO SONS Man's craving for power has been the cause of much suffering in this world ~ and still is. Thus, understandably, mythologies, that is, accounts of how it may have begun with mankind, usually begin with the description of a merciless fight between g00d and evil. The need to kill and to be killed is thereby not questioned and conse- quently rejected but accepted as an unavoidable fact of life. The mythology of the Jainas takes off on a different note, Here, man is neither pictured as a helpless victim of sinister forces nor as a slave to his bodily needs and whims. Right from the beginning ~ vividly told in a story of a father and two of his sons — emphasis is laid on man’s innate ability to master his own destiny. No one and nothing but our mental blindness is to be blamed for our faults and misfortunes Not by chance, we may assume, has the open eye become a characteristic sign in Jaina art. The *keep-your-eyes-open-to-the-world’ is to the Jaina the first step towards understanding the world. In the annals of history few instances are recorded of ruling monarchs who at the height of their success voluntarily relinquished their powers and privileges. Jaina literature, in contrast, abounds in stories of princes and kings who gladly exchanged their pursuit of might and riches for the pursuit of knowledge. To forgo one’s power is not interpreted as a sign of weakness but of moral strength. A striking testimonial of this ethical ideal is the colossal image of Bahubali (also known as Gommata or Gommateshvara) at Shravanabelagola. With its height of almost eighteen metres it is the world’s tallest and in the view of many far-travelled men and women the most impressive monolithic statue. To merely name it an image of a Jaina saint, as writers of guide books tend to do, ignores the lofty message this monument stands for ~ man’s definite No to violence in thought, speech and deed, A war is averted Some millions of years ago, at a time when human beings used to grow to a height of five hundred bows, there lived in the city of Ayodhya a wise ruler named Rishabha. He had two wives, the first was to be the mother of his first-born son Bharata as well as of ninety-eight further male offsprings; his second wife bore him a son who came to be called Bahubali, the ‘Strong-Armed’ King Rishabha saw to it that his sons and with them the men of his kingdom were instructed in the various trades and handicrafts and in cultivating the land; to his daughters he imparted the arts such as writing, dancing, making music and many more such skills (old Jaina manuscripts list sixty-four ladies’ arts). watching a dance performance, as he liked to do, Rishabha 7witnessed the sudden death of Nilanjana, his favourite female dancer. Feeling deeply shaken by this unexplainable event, it dawned upon him that the day had come to abandon his hitherto carefree mode of living and turn his mind to that which is of a ‘more lasting nature than one’s mortal body. In fact ~ but this he did not know ~ it ‘was Indra, the king of the gods and also known as Shakra, who had staged the dancer's sudden death; by doing this he meant to open Rishabha's eyes, not primarily to the ever present threat of death, but to the need of reviving the religion of the Jinas and to accepting the task of becoming the first Tirthankara in the second half of the current cosmic cycle. Awakened to the heavenly call, Rishabha renounced his kingly rights and went on to divide his empire into two: the northern half with Ayodhya as capital he gave to his eldest son Bharata, the southern half with the royal city Podanapura was given to Bahubali. This settled, he disposed of all his belongings, including hi clothing, and took to the life of an ascetic in search of enlightenment. ‘At first all went well in the divided empire, But then a discus of the kind used in warfare was detected in Bharata’s armoury, a dise of stone which possessed the quality of never missing a target. Bharata was delighted with the pundits’ explanation that this occurrence must surely be interpreted as a sign from heaven that he, Bharata, had been chosen by the gods to be the universal monarch (chakravartin) over all the known kingdoms. The news of his having an invincible weapon spared Bharata the trouble of waging long wars. One prince after another saw no choice but to beg for submission under his supremacy. But then one day, having just retumed from another victorious display of military power, the magic discus stopped short at the city’s gate. All attempts to move it failed. The king’s astrologers who were summoned to the scene saw in it a sign that there was work left to be done by the discus, for none of his many younger brothers had as yet acknowledged his authority over them, nor had his half-brother Bahubali. Thus being reminded of this omission, Bharata, the proud and young chakravartin, had ambassadors sent to all his brothers with the message that they had no choice but either to kneel down to him or to join their father in the forest. All of them, except Bahubali, chose to follow the example of their father Rishabha, “O Lord,” these were the words they spoke to him in the forest, “O Lord, let us attain to a path like yours by which we may overcome the fear of loss of honour caused by subjection in existence after existence. For ascetics thrive happily in the forest along with lions, and have overcome the fear of humiliation which arises in the loss of honour.” * Bahubali, however, was not to y ield to Bharata’s boisterous demand. When the This andthe flowing quotation | ove to Dr. Ralph StoAs tanslaton of The Story of Bharata and Bahubali in The Clever Adteress, ede by Pls Grant, Delhi 1993,ambassador to Podanapura arrived back in Ayodhya with Bahubali’s sharply phrased reply, Bharata fell into a fit of anger and hastily he ordered his army to march towards the capital of his brother. When Bahubali was informed of the approaching forces, he reacted by putting his army on the alert. A fierce battle seemed inevitable, a battle in which many lives would be sacrificed for the selfish ends of a mere few. But then, as the soldiers of the two brothers were about to attick each other, the ministers of both parties joined hands and voices in a last attempt to stop the two pig-headed youngsters of royal descent. “Leave off this fighting,” they called out after they had been given permission to speak, “leave off this fighting, for it is without cause, yet causes the destruction of human life. In a battle like this there is much unrighteousness and a great loss of fame. A test of supremacy is possible in a completely different way. And in that contest between you, you must both bear defeat without anger or victory without pride. This is the correct way between brothers.” Bharata and Bahubali, thus being spoken to in the presence of their respective vassals, saw the point and accepted the proposal by their ministers to settle their dispute by a triple combat between themselves: (1) a battle of glances (the first to blink would be the loser); (2) a water-fight (the first to duck away from the splashes of the other lost), and, thirdly, a ‘fight of the arm’ (wrestling). Blood was not meant to be shed, this would have been against the religion which was about to be revived once again, With a show of great pomp the two kingly combatants entered the cleared arena between the confronting armies. The sign to fight was given; whereupon combat followed combat, In all three Bahubali was declared the winner. With a mighty shout he proclaimed victory. For the humiliated Bharata this was too much to bear; over- taken by the urge of revenge he aimed his magic discus at his brother, but instead of hitting him it flew thrice round his head, as if to honour the victor of the triple combat. Feeling ashamed of his ill-tempered outburst, Bharata knelt down to Bahubali and offered him his kingdom. At this very moment, Bahubali became aware of his own self-centred behaviour; he reposed and clearly in his mind he saw the futility of man’s craving for power and fame. No more of this for him! “Keep your kingdom,” he told Bharata, “and take mine as well.” For one full year, the narrator of the legend continues, Bahubali remained stand- ing, naked and without food and drink. Creepers wound their way up his limbs. His eyes are opened to the north from where the Himalayan peaks beckoned the awakened pilgrim. Outwardly he appeared calm, but inwardly he was fighting a battle with his proud ego. Only after another visit by Bharata and his two sisters in the course of which the former assured him once more of his devotion, whereas his 9This humane message of Shravanabelagola, the teaching of non-violence and universal peace, should be spread all over the globe, because the world today still requires education ‘and training in Ahimsa. It is absolutely necessary to bring home to the people of the world that non-violence is not merely a theoretical principle but also a practical way of life which can solve various problems clamouring for solution in the world and thus help in establishing universal peace and goodwill among the nations. Vilas A. Sangave 10two sisters dared to hint that it was about time for him to ‘dismount his elephant’, an Indian way of saying ‘discard your pride’, he shed the last fetters of self-love and attained enlightenment Bharata, who had turned into a just and peaceable monarch, was one of Bahu- bali’s many admirers. To honour him, he had a golden statue built at Podanapura which portrayed Bahubali in all his glory and in full size, that is, bow-length tall eae 9. The treble contest between Bharata and Bahubali as depicted on a small-scale panel kept in the Chaturmukha Temple at Karkala, Kamataka A dream shows the way What has been described this far took place during the third phase of the descending half of the present cosmic cycle of time. Some millions of years later ~ the natural size of man had by then shrunk to six feet and his allotted span of life to eighty years — there lived under king Rajmalla of Talakad (a district near today’s Mysore) an able and rich minister by the name of Chamundaraya. The time was nearing the end of the first Christian millennium. Chamundaraya and his family, especially his adored mother Kalaladevi, followed the religion of the Jinas. Then one day a Jaina monk by the name of Jinasena related 8 (opposite). Lord Bahubali of Shravanbelagola, also known as Gommata or Gommateshvara. At a height of almost eighteen metres it is the tallest free-standing monolithic image in the world. It symbolises the Jaina ideal of detachment and non-violence. Tenth century, last quarter. nto the minister’s mother the tale of the two half-brothers Bharata and Bahubali whereby he mentioned the golden statue at Podanapura which no living human had ever been allowed to behold. Greatly moved by the story, Kalaladevi beseeched her son to outfit a caravan and accompany her and Muni Jinasena to Podanapura so that she could pay homage at the feet of the golden statue. Chamundaraya consented, and soon they were on the way in search of the fabulous image of Bahubali of which no one knew where it might be found. After some days" travelling, they reached Shravanabelagola, which at that time was already a holy place for Jaina pilgrims. On Chandragiri, the smaller of the town’s two hills, they put up camp. During the night, Chamundaraya had a dream in which goddess Padmavati told him that it was not possible for mortal humans to go and see the statue as it was guarded by winged monsters, but he could rest assured that Ba- hubali would reveal himself in due course. The minister's mother dreamed a similar dream. Next morning, having observed the various religious rites, Chamundaraya took his bow, as he was told to do in his dream, and dispatched an arrow in the direction of Indragiri, the bigger of the two hills. At the very moment the arrow struck the tall upright rock on the summit of Indragiri, Chamundaraya had a vision: he saw, hidden in the protruding crag, the exquisitely sculptured image of Bahubali, He was overwhelmed by its beauty, and realised that they had reached the destination of their pilgrimage. ‘Chamundaraya succeeded — and this is no longer the account of a mythical legend but recorded history as found engraved on a stele of granite — in conveying his vision to a master sculptor who in turn knew how to guide and oversee his team of stone- masons in their allotted task of transforming the visualised picture of a saintly hero into a work of sculptural art. When at last the stone-masons put aside their hammers and chisels ~ it was the year 980 or thereabouts ~ the tale of a prince who conquered his ego and valued the pursuit of knowledge higher than swaying the sceptre of worldly power was successfully transplanted from the storehouse of the storytellers to the treasure-house of sacred art. Once more man has convinced himself of the truth he has known all along but which he desires and needs to be reminded of again and again, of the truth that man does not live on bread alone but that there are resources within him that make him create works of art of which he is unable to say if he himself or some supematural power guided his hands and imagination, 1210, Map of Indi showing a selection of the Jaina sacred places featured in this book. The total number of holy Jaina sites in India is estimated of over three hundred. i BHUTAN cacUTTA Bay of Bengal Acted 18-KUNDALPUR sahara oe on ae swoun meres oe en Eee 2, 2 So 2 ea : cade 10. YARKESHVARA 24: SHrA ieee Sie oe pera 27 TIRUNARUNGKONDAI 13-MANGETUNGE (2B- SITTANNAVASAL (For ths. 14, CHULAGI ‘ancient ste and he even older a eer anid Indian Ocean ‘lume 2, New Dan 1974) Bcee a ce eee er speak about them in this way: *These tre are fit for palaces, gates, houses, boats, eee ee ee os Sea oad cos Ra as Pao ea ee ae nee on ee eee f a ae a CN ere a a Ce ae ea er ees o feral eenMonks AND Nuns. It makes no difference, whether you adhere to the orthodox belief that Jainism is a periodically reoccurring religion or to the view, expounded in most books on Jainism by western authors, that it began with Mahavira (599-527 BC) or possibly with Parshva or Parshvanatha (the Sanskrit word natha, meaning *Lord’, is a ‘honorific’ implying respect) about 250 years earlier — the answer to the query as to how it began remains the same. It began — or began anew ~ with the appearance of a shramana (ascetic) of outstanding intellectual and moral status. The building of temples and the codification of the doctrines into symbols and written words came later, Even those Jainas, the Shvetambara Sthanakavasi and Terapanthi, who renounced the building of temples and the worship of idols have to this day retained their order of monks and nuns. In India, one must distinguish between two main streams of religious thought. One tradition, usually called Vedie (a name derived from the oldest books in Hinduism), has its origin in early man’s tendency to associate the forces of nature with gods and goddesses, Gods are, in the belief of humans, somehow resembling themselves. So, when it came to pacifying an angry god, making offerings was considered an effective device for obtaining results. The priest was born, arising from the experience that the preparation and presentation of offerings as well as the wording and enunciation of the accompanying prayers required personalities of a special disposition. They were soon forthcoming; and as the practice of making offerings occasionally does show the desired effect ~ the law of probability sees to that — the priest was on the way to becoming an honoured and indispensable member of the Vedic community. The other line of thought, known as the Shramana tradition, has its basis in the perception, arrived at by ascetic individuals after intense concentration and self-observation, that man is by no means that helpless and hapless animal-like creature he is commonly thought to be. On the contrary, he possesses within himself all the resources necessary for leading a life free of fear and mental suffering. All that is required of him is to acknowledge and to develop his mental and spiritual Jainism and Buddhism are both Shramana religions. Both have managed reason- ably well without a priestly caste. Both traditions, the Vedic and the Shramana, seem to have existed side by side for thousands of years. Not always peacefully. From the eighth century AD on-wards, in the south of India even earlier, Buddhists and Jainas suffered persecution at the hands of local Hindu and, somewhat later, Mu: zealots. That the Jaina religion — in contrast to Buddhism ~ survived the calamity of the at times relentless suppression is remarkable, Wanting to understand Jainism calls for making oneself acquainted with its ascetic tradition. Reading about it is helpful, but this can be rather tedious and 16‘might easily lead to misconceptions. Imagine someone who has never met a monk or nun happening to open the Jaina-Surras at the chapter in which the Jaina mendicants are advised not to brush their teeth. What will he make of that? He will, undoubtedly, acquire a false picture of the mendicants’ attitude to cleanliness. The reason not mentioned for this extraordinary rule in the Sutras makes sense if one is acquainted with the Indian custom, still in use today, of chewing one end of a freshly cut twig till it resembles a brush suitable for brushing one’s teeth. For a Jaina monk or nun to go about it in this way would be a violation of the vow not to harm living beings, plants included: “As our body is born, plants are born. As we grow, so plants grow. As we have consciousness, so plants have consciousness. As our body is damaged when cut, so a plant is damaged when cut.” Heeding this statement in the Sutrakritanga (book 1, lect.9, vs. 13), Jaina monks and nuns use their fingers for cleaning their teeth after ‘every meal; and as for them there is no nibbling at sweets between meals their sense of cleanliness is enhanced rather than impaired. In books on the world’s religions one frequently comes across incorrect statements, about matters concerning Jainism. The reason for this may to a great extent be due to the circumstance that their authors never had or never tried to find the opportunity of meeting Jaina monks and nuns in person. Those who subscribe to a merely mental picture of monkhood ~ this would apply to most Westerners ~ usually have a rather distorted view of religious asceticism. Only after one has actually met Jaina mendicants, listened and talked to them and. observed the matter-of-fact respect and devotion they receive from the laity, only then does one begin to see and comprehend the strong bonds which hold together this ancient but widely scattered community of individualists. There seems to be some- thing of a monk in about every Jaina, To stand apart ~ a typical ascetic virtue ~ and be able to circumscribe one’s place in the world is more to the liking of a believer in Jainism than to be submerged in a faceless mass of people. The Jaina ideal, moreover, is not the merging of one’s soul in a universal *world’-soul where all individuality ceases, but the unattached singular soul. The Acaranga Sutra, translated by Hermann Jacobi clearly states: “When the thought occurs to a mendicant: “I am myself, alone: I have nobody belonging to me, nor do I belong to anybody’, then he should thoroughly know himself as standing alone ~ aspiring to freedom from bonds” (book 1, lect. 7, lesson 6). ‘There are many books in which Westerners relate their life with Buddhist monks; most of them make good reading. There is as yet (1998), to my knowledge, no book about a Westemer’s prolonged association with Jaina ascetics.* Regrettably, for + One exception i book in French ale La vole aina by N. Shana, Pris 1985. For the English translation, nied The Unknown Pilgrims: History, Spray, life ofthe Jaina Women Ascetic, se bibliography 17whenever we chance upon a remark by non-Indians about their encounter with Jaina monks and nuns we would like to learn more about it, The following extract has been taken from a published letter by Miss June Fog of New York who spent a month as a disciple of the late Jaina head-nun Sadhvi Mrigavati at the Shvetambara Vallabh Smarak in Delhi. She writes: “I first met Sadhvi Shri Mrigavati Ji in 1976 on a spiritual pilgrimage to India...) What endeared me to her so thoroughly was that on my second fortuitous meeting in 1982, as I entered into her presence, she looked at me in the eyes clearly and lovingly and said, “I am not perfect!” That's all. I realised she ad- mitted her humanness and her humble- ness and her honesty touched me deeply. She saw beyond the persona the mask, She helped to see me, to love myself as | am, thereby enabling me to love all.(.... She helped me and, I am sure, many by her unparalleled exem- plary behaviour. Her selfless, benevo- lent, inspiring life stands as a beacon for all to follow.” As the monastic orders constitute the backbone of the Jaina religion, it is but logical that its two major sects have been named after the outward appearance of their respective monks. That community whose monks wear white garments is thus known by the name Shvetambara, mean- 12, Sadhvi Shri Mrigavati (1926-1986).* ing ‘white (cotton)-robed’, the other group whose monks go about naked is called Digambara, meaning ‘sky-robed’. The division into these two sects happened a few hundred years after Mahavira’s nirvana (death) in the year 527 BC according to tradition. What really caused the split remains an open question. It was, it seems, more a drifting apart due to the vastness of the Indian subcontinent than grave differences in questions of faith. Monks and nuns of the Sthanakavasi and Terapanth sects keep theit mouth covered by a so-called muhpatti, not as a precautionary measure against accidentally swallowing or inhaling insects, as many Westerners tend to think, but in order to protect the invisible “air-bodies’. These minute single-sense creatures, it is believed, are liable to get hurt and even killed by the moist stream of air we cannot help emitting whilst speaking. Shvetambara monks and nuns, who wear no muh- pattis, keep a white cloth at hand with which to cover their mouth while speaking, * Courtesy: Atma Vallabh Sansriti Mandi, 18The rite of ordination called diksha It was through acts of renunciations, undertaken by outstanding ascetics at a time Jong past, that the Jaina religion took its roots and began to grow and blossom, This in turn provides today’s followers of the twenty-four Tirthankaras with ample reason for looking upon every new act of renunciation as an event worthy of rejoicing and celebration, regardless of whether the aspirant is a minor or an adult of either sex and any age. Among the Shvetambara the novice must not be younger than eight or nine years. The Digambara aspirant to monkhood has to serve a lengthy period of probation, so he will as a rule have reached adulthood by the time the question of ordination arises. (For illustrations see pages 96, 97.) ‘The initiation ceremony, called diksha, varies little from one sect to another. In its centre stands the candidate’s oath of allegiance to the Five Great Vows (maha- vratas), their wording, in the translation of Hermann Jacobi, reads as follows (for the twenty clauses omitted here see, Acaranga Sutra, book 2, lect. 15): ‘The first great vow, Sir, runs thus: Trenounce all Killing of living beings, whether subtile or gross, whether movable or immovable. Nor shall I myself kill living beings, nor cause others to do it, nor consent to it. As long as I live, I confess and blame, repent and exempt myself of these sins in the thrice three- fold way, in mind, speech, and body. This is, Sir, the first great vow: Abstinence from killing any living beings. ‘The second great vow runs thus: Trenounce all vices of lying speech arising from anger or greed or fear or mirth. I shall neither myself speak lies, nor cause others to speak lies, nor consent to the speaking of lies by others. I confess and blame, repent and exempt myself of these sins in the thrice threefold way, in mind, speech and body. This is, Sir, the second great vow. The third great vow runs thus: Trenounce all taking of anything not given, either in a village or a town or a wood, either of little or much, of small or great, of livis or lifeless things. I shall neither take myself what is not given, nor cause others to take it, nor consent to their taking it. As long as 1 confess and blame, repent and exempt myself of these sins in the thrice threefold way, in mind, speech, and body. This is, Sir, the third great vow. 19‘The fourth great vow runs thus: renounce all sexual pleasures, either with gods or men or animals. I shall not give way to sensuality, nor cause others to do so, nor consent to their doing so. As long as I live, I confess and blame. repent and exempt myself of these sins in the thrice threefold way, in mind, speech, and body. This is, Sir, the forth great vow. ‘The fifth great vow runs thus: renounce all attachments, whether little or much, small or great, living or lifeless: neither shall I myself form such attachments, nor cause others to do so, nor consent to their doing so. As long as I live, I confess and blame, repent and exempt myself of these sins in the thrice threefold way, in mind, speech, and body. ‘This is, Sir, the fifth great vow. These five vows are meant to be observed by laymen and laywomen as well, but in a less strict way. Among them they are known as amvratas, meaning small vows. If, let us say, a Jaina layman is asked by a hunter the way a fleeing animal has taken, he should lie to him and send him off in the opposite direction. Monks and nuns are not supposed to respond in this way, they are bound to keep silence. According to Jaina teaching it is more the actual process of one’s actions than the underlying good or bad will which determines the kind and amount of karmic matter being drawn onto the soul by the respective deed. Jaina monks and nuns will never use force, not even in self-defence. Laymen however are no pacifists; if they themselves or their family or country are threatened they are free to fight the attacker and even to kill him, but they should know ~ and they do know — that by acting in this way their road to salvation is considerably lengthened. This explains why in the Jaina version of the Ramayana epic it is not Rama who finally kills the evil-doer Ravana, as it is the case in the Hindu story of Rama and Sita, but his brother Lakshmana. Herein we may detect one of the major differences between Hindu and Jaina ethics. Traditional Hindu law distinguishes between the killing of a Brahmin — about the most detestable crime ~ and the murder of a casteless person which is considered much less blameworthy. As to animals, in the view of Hindus some may never be killed, cows for example, others may. a Jaina this means bad logie, to him all acts of killings are sinful. Meeting Jaina monks and nuns Jaina ascetics will never either lock or unlock a door. Their detachment from every- day life as we know it does not make them recluses in the literary meaning of the 20word. On the contrary. The further they progress on the ‘path of purification’ (see P. S. Jaini’s The Jaina Path of Purification) the more they are in demand by the laity Jainas think of themselves as belonging to a ‘fourfold community” (chaturvidha- sangha) consisting of monks, nuns, laymen (shravakas) and laywomen (shravikas). Westemers are welcome to both the laity and the ascetics. To comply with the basic rules of conduct when calling on a member of a monastic order is not out- rightly expected from a non-Indian, but gladly appreciated, These rules are, to name a few, removing one’s footwear as well as any apparel made of leather or fur, not to wear shorts or sleeveless frocks or blouses, not to hand over any object from hand to hand but to place it on the ground in front of the seated monk or nun. Reciprocally, when being given something, one should not grasp at it but hold out both one’s hands palms up. Kneeling down to 2 monk with folded hands and asking for blessings, a common gesture for Jainas at which no words need be spoken, does at first not come naturally to a Westerner, but will after a while be looked upon and practised as a graceful way of expressing one’s esteem, Occasionally a monk will decline to answer one’s questions or suddenly fall silent; his motive for acting that way is not a whim of his but the vow, taken for that day, not to speak for a set lapse of time. Foreign students of Jainism, no matter of which age or sex, will have little difficulties in finding a group of monks or nuns with whom they will be permitted to travel ~ on foot, ‘TWO TRIBUTES OF RESPECT “Once 1 was giving a lecture to about a hundred Jain nuns, that is, to a hundred half faces and a hhundred white veils neatly arranged in rows before me. Now, when I talk I like to see my listeners, and it helps me to watch the effect of my words as reflected on their faces; but here I had only the broken mirrors of the half faces to watch. I said: “I am determined to have a good time with you, and I am not going to be satisfied until I get your smiles to show beyond your little white rags.” They laughed so heartily that I realised how when 4 person really smiles itis not only her lips that smile, but her whole face, as the eyes, brows, foreheads and cheeks of those loveable Sisters burst into sincere Joy in person-to-person communication. I had a great time with those splendid Sisters. None of them, however, unlocked the veil from even one ear, and the true ascetical tradition was upheld.” * In her fn Memorium to Muni Jayantavijaya, author of the book Holy Abu, Dr, Helen M. Johnson, an. ‘American scholar of Jainology, wrote, in 1949, about her encounter with Shvetambara monks (sadhus) the following: “In the spring of 1922, Shri Vijaya Dharma Suri and his group of disciples were in Indore and there I met Jain sadhus for the first time. I had the two handicaps of being a woman and. a foreigner in addition to lack of experience with sadhus, but from the first I was impressed by the thoughtfulness and consideration as well as the scholarly assistance of these monks...) From the time that the Jains, sadhus and laymen, knew that I was a student of Jainism, I have had most generous assistance (..) God by Carlos G. Valles. Anand, Gujarat, 1987: 123-141. Cals G, Valles i @ Spanish Jesuit who ; has published many * From Stetches ‘was sen 10 Inia in 1949 to start a university college inthe city of Ahmedabad, where he sil resides, books and writes in English, Spanish and Gujarat 21Walking, listening, teaching, avoiding actions harmful to living beings, bestowing blessings, these are, in addition to studying the scriptures, begging for food and meditating, the main duties of the Jaina monks and nuns, commonly known as sadhus and sadhvis, Muni is an older and more appropriate designation for a male ascetic. Aryir 13 (lef). Acharya Yashodevsuri, known for having revived the Jaina art of miniature painting. He has the visions ~the actual painting is done by Hindu artists. 14 (above). Acharya Kunthusagar. At the request ‘of passers-by he has interrupted his walk so that he may answer questions and bestow blessings. 15. Digambara muni on his walk to another tempo- rary abode. He carries a whisk-broom of a kind typical for ascetics ofthis sect, and a water-gourd, the content of which is meant for toilet purposes only, not for drinking. The broom, made from feathers shed by peacocks (not from killed birds) is used for gently removing insects,> stands for the Digambara nun, Jaina monks can easily be distinguished from Hindu sadhus by their not marking their bodies with paint or ash, and not wearing adorn- ments, Twice or three times a year they remove their hair from the scalp and face by pulling them out with their ‘own hands (not the eyebrows). This rte of hair-plucking is obligatory for the nuns as well. 16 (right). Muni Jambuvijaya, an internationally renowned scholar of Sanskrit. He would have the oft-cited saying ‘Live and let live!” altered into “Let live and live!” (See also About this Book, page 2.) a ee 17. Shvetambara nuns and monks carry long ‘wooden sticks, the upper end of which show a stylistically carved temple. Their fly-whisks are made, unlike the ones of the Digambaras, of woollen tufts. When taking them apart for in- specting them for insects, which they frequently do, an embroidery of coloured symbols, normally ‘covered by an outer cloth, becomes visible. 18. Muni Guptisagar, giving a lecture at a function at Indore, To his right Muni Nijanand- sagar, one of the few Digambara monks who are fluent in English. Jaina monks and nuns preach and lecture by request only; they have no need of manuscripts.19 (right). Detail of a wall-painting depicting the ritual of giving food to a Digambara monk, A ritual which has changed litle, as ean be observed from the following two photographs, Eighteenth century. Matha Temple, Shravanabelagola spoken. The entire procedure is accom- panied by an air of solemnity 20, To serve food to monks and nuns is regarded to be meritorious. The monk is wel- comed by walking round him three times and uttering the ‘words, “Come and enter; the the food here is pure.” ‘Pure’ is meant to say thatthe food does not contain meat, eggs, honey and other ingredients unacceptable for mendicants 21 (below). Shvetambara nuns ‘and monks collect their food in bowls by going from house to house, usually twice a day. Digambara ascetics visit only ‘one house and take food and drink but once a day, that is, atthe place where the alms are offered. They do not use a receptacle and eat while stand- ing. Each morsel is examined for impurities and no word is22 (left). Acharya Muni Aryanandi, founder of several Jaina schools in the State of Maharashtra. His exemplary life is mirrored in his face. It is men like him who are most esteemed in Jainism. 23 (below). To thoroughly wash oneself before going for alms is a daly routine of the Jaina monk. He cannot take a bath. However, state- ments like ‘Jain ascetics are to this day enjoined not to wash themselves? (Dundas 1992: 1, 134) do not tally with what one sees when meeting Jaina monks. a 24 (above) A Jaina temple at Tikamgarh, Acharya Nimalsagar on the way to nearby Papora with his ‘group of munis and ailakas(proba- tionary monks allowed to wear one piece of clothing), i givena festive welcome by the Digambara congre- gation ofthe town. A laywoman (siting opposite the Acharya) has the privilege of celebrating the rite in which a Jina statuette is anointed and worshipped in honour ofthe esteemed Acharya who died three years late, in 1995 aiiememmd,25 (left). ‘Sheer elegance and purity ofa Jaina nun as captured in a painting of a European artist ofthe past era of the East India Company’, c. 1855, (Courtesy M. K, Singhi, Caleuta ) 26 (above). Digambara head nun overseeing the study ‘of her junior nuns. Shantinatha Temple, Ramtek. 27. After the day's only meal, taken in seated posture ‘but without using a plate, the Digambara nun has her Peacock-feather fly-whisk — a kind of status symbol ‘ceremonially handed back to her. Partici- Pating in the rite of giving food toa ‘nun or monk affords no segregation of the sexes,28, Having walked all the way from Rajasthan, a group of ‘Sthanakavasi nuns has reached the outskirts of Shravanabela- ola in the far south. Sthanakavasis do not approve of idols, and temples; still they like to follow the tradition of going, ‘on pilgrimages to sacred Jaina places, 29 (below). A samani nun explains to the wife of the author the ceremonial inauguration of the tenth Acharya of the’ Terapanth sect in February 1994 (see chapter on Ladnun, .144), Determined to spread the Jaina message of ahimsa world-wide, Acharya Tulsi, the then ninth Acharya, estab- lished a lower order of male and female ascetics called samanas and samanis who are permitted, after six years ‘of schooling at Ladnun, o travel abroad, to use footwear ‘and to do away with the muhpatti(mouth cover) ~ to name just some of the concessions granted. 30 (above). Aryika Jnanamati who, in 1972, inspired the foundation of the Digambara Jaina Institute of Cosmographic Research and, a decade later, the building of the huge model of Jumbu-