Sudarshan Jain
Jainism is one of the oldest living religions of the world. The term Jaina means the devotee of Jinas (Spiritual Victors). Jinas are called so because they have won victory over passions of attachment, aversion, etc. that defile the soul. As a result, they have attained omniscience and supreme bliss. They are enlightened human teachers. They are also called Tirthankaras (Ford-makers). Here in the context, ford means tirthankara's words and teaching which help living beings to cross the ocean of misery or transmigratory existence. In every half-cycle of Time there flourish twenty-four Tirthankaras. The twenty-fourth Tirthankara of the present half-cycle of Time is Vardhamana, known as Mahavira.
Mahavira was born in 599 B.C. in a royal knightly family in Kshatriyakunda, a wellknown city of the ancient kingdom of Videha (modern Bihar). At the age of thirty, to find out the path to Ultimate Release from all misery he renounced the world, he embarked upon a spiritual career and lived a life of a Jaina ascetic. After twelve years of severe spiritual discipline of self-culture, self-control, austerities and deep meditation, he totally exterminated attachment completely and attained omniscience (kevalajnana). He became a perfected soul and prophet (Tirthankara). During the next thirty years of his career as a prophet he travelled on foot from place to place giving his message of peace and goodwill for the welfare of all living beings, without any discrimination of race, class, caste or sex. Eleven men accepted his spiritual leadership and became his chief disciples (ganadhara). He founded the order of nuns with Candanabala as its first member. The number of male and female ascetics increased and reached upto about 50,000. The lay followers were about half a million.
Mahavira's parents were followers of Parshva, the penultimate Tirthankara, who lived about 250 years earlier in Varanasi. The historicity of Parshva is proved by the modern historians and scholars. So Mahavira was not the founder of Jaina religion. He was the rejuvenator, propagator and exponent of Jaina religion which had been taught by Parshva and other omniscient teachers of his ever present and imperishable Jaina tradition.
Initially the followers of Jainism lived throughout the Ganges Valley. Around the time of Ashoka (250 B.C.) most Jainas migrated to the city of Mathura on the Yamuna river. Later, many travelled westword to Rajasthan and Gujarat and south word to Maharashtra and Karnataka, where Jainism rapidly grew in popularity.
The Jaina canon contains some sixty texts and is divided into three main group, the Purva (old texts : 14 books), the Angas (limbs : 12 books) and the Angabahya(subsidiary canon). Not all are extant. In addition to the threefold canon itself, there are extensive commentaries written in Prakrit and Sanskrit by the monk scholars. The Tattvartha Surta, written in the second century A.D., belongs to this group. Its author Umasvati is held in high esteem by both Svetambar and Digambar tradition. It for the first time presents in Sanskrit the entire canonical material on various subjects in aphoristic style and in classified form succinctly and systematically. In Jainism, the essence of religion lies in an intuitive apprehension of the purity of consciousness. According to Jainism, the love of truth is inherent in each self, but it requires spiritual exercise for its manifestation. Once this love of truth is manifested, it will lead the self to liberation sooner or later.
The conduct of a person, in the Jain view cannot be isolated from his way of life. For the true Jaina, Truth and Values are inseperable. This is where right knowledge comes in. As Acharya Samantabhadra in his Yuktyanushasanam (Verse 15) says :
"Without knowing the real nature of things, all moral distinctions between bondage and liberation, merit and demerit, pleasure and pain will be absurd."
The values of Jain religion are based on five vows viz.- non-violence, devotion to truth, non-stealing, celibacy and non-possession. The entire life style of the Jain Shravak and the Jain Sadhu emanates from these vows and the foremost is non-violence.
Ahimsa, non-violence, has been the sheet-anchor of Jainism. Ahimsa is one of the basic virtues. No where else in the other religious traditions has this basic virtue been so scientifically, scrupulously and thoroughly integrated with the main doctrine. Jainism is the only tradition which has consistently allowed this tenet soak into the very essentials of its teachings and practices. This singular uncompromising emphasis on Ahimsa is the special and exclusive feature of Jainism. In Jainism, Ahimsa is not mere human sympathy; it is empathy, the urge to identify oneself completely with other persons, other living beings, with the whole universe.
Bhagwan Mahavir said, "If you kill someone, it is yourself you kill. If you overpower someone, it is yourself you overpower. If you torment some one, it is yourself you torment. If you harm someone, it is yourself you harm." A wise man knows this and so he does not kill, nor does he overpower or torment anyone.
The heart of Jainism is non-violence. Positively stated, Jainism is a religion of compassion, universal love and friendliness. It aims at the welfare of all living beings, and not of man alone. It maintains that living beings are infinite, all so called empty spaces in the universe are filled with minute living beings. According to it, there are countless single-sense organisms that take the subtlest possible units of material elements -earth, water, fire and air - as their bodies. Fresh earth is alive but when it is baked it becomes dead. Fresh water from a well, etc. is alive but when it is boiled or influenced by mixing some other substance it becomes dead. Vegetables, trees, plants, fruits, etc. do have life but when they are dried, cut or cooked they die. To avoid injury to them as far as possible, man is advised to use them discreetly. He should resist from polluting water, air, etc. and thereby perpetrating violence to them. Worms, insects, animals, etc. help in keeping ecological balance thus they help man. And domestic animals have for ages been a constant and faithful aid to man in civilizing himself. From the ultimate standpoint of their original pure pristine state, all living beings are uniform in their nature. Jainism teaches to look upon them as upon one's own self.
Inflicting injury to them is inflicting injury to one's ownself. The Jain dictum parasparopagraho jivanam, that is 'living beings render service to one another' offers an endearing alternative to the modern Darwinian formula of 'survival of the fittest.' The life of a living being is a life of mutual cooperation andassistance. Industry, labour, service and sacrifice of innumerable living beings are there behind the sustenance and growth of an individual. Thus every individual is indebted to the universal society of all beings. Even virtues and meritorious qualities can never be cultivated and fostered in isolation.
This concept of Ahimsa, non-violence, has evolved from logical thinking and from experience. It has an almost empirical basis. It has emerged from the doctrine of the equality of all souls. Everyone wants to live, nobody likes to die. Violence enters first in thought, it then manifests itself in speech and then in deeds. That is why they say that war is born in the minds of men. The quest for ahimsa is centred in Anekantavada, the philosophy which accomodates a multiplicity of points-of-view and of perspectives.
In Jain philosophy Ahimsa is said to be the supreme religion and himsa is considered to be source of all evil and of all miseries. Ahimsa is not limited to not harming the human beings, it extends to all living beings. This philosophy believes in the unity of life and regards all living beings as equal. He who can be cruel to animals can be cruel to human beings too. Further, cruelty is not only an aspect of external behaviour, but it is also an inner evil tendency. He who is cruel at heart will behave cruelly towards animals as well as human beings. He who is compassionate at heart, will behave compassionately towards all. Moreover, the jain religion believes in the cycle of birth and rebirth. The soul is in one Yoni (existence) today; it may be in another Yoni tomorrow. It may be a fly today and a human tomorrow. This being so, man has no right to harm other living creations. One should behave sympathetically towards all, friends as well as foes. In fact there should be no enemy. Such is the importance of Ahimsa in Jain philosophy.
(Nothing is higher than the Meru mountain; nothing is vaster than the sky. Similarly, there is no better religion than Ahimsa).
It is one of the tenets of Jainism that all living beings desire life and not death. No one has the right to take away the life of any other being; to kill a living being is the greatest of sins. Life is dear to everyone, and we must have respect for life. Not only "Love and Let Live" but "Live and Help Others Live" should be our principle. Just as the head of a family looks after the welfare of the members of the family, a human being, who enjoys the highest place in the evolution of life, should look after the welfare of other lower orders of creations.
The universe is full of living creations, big and small, and, therefore, it is impossible to exist without killing or injuring some of the smallest of the living beings. Even in the process of breathing, or drinking or eating, we almost unconsciously kill many sentient beings ? Therefore, according to Jainism the minimum of killing should be our ideal. Moreover, it is more serious where killing is done intentionally or through indifference. Therefore, great care should be taken in all our daily activities to see that the minimum of violence is committed by our deeds, speech and mind.
In the universe, there are different forms, different orders, of life, such as human beings, animals, insects, trees and plants, bacteria and even still smaller lives which perhaps be seen only through the most powerful of microscopes. Jainism has classified all the living beings according to their sense organs.
Jainism firmly believes that life is sacred, irrespective of caste, colour, creed or nationality and therefore not only physical or mental injury to life should be avoided, but all possible kindness should be shown towards all the living things. This should be the true spirit of Ahimsa. Jainism believes that more weapons are in no way an effectiveanswer to weapons. Lord Mahavir has emphatically declared in "Acharanga Sutra" that one weapon may be stronger or superior to another, but the path of Ahimsa or peace remains unsurpassed. Fire cannot be put out by fire. It is our duty to stop adding fuel to the fire. Jaina scriptures say that a piece of blood-stained cloth cannot be washed with blood, we need water to do it. To achieve peace, world peace, we have to stop the race of armaments and we have to have an unshakeable faith in Samyag Darshana in the effective validity of Ahimsa. For who can claim final and absolute victory in the race for armaments? Like Arjuna the nations believing in violent means shall have to declare, "Nor do we know which for us is better whether we conquer them or they conquer us." Ahimsa teaches us that recourse to armed force is an infallible sign of the brute in man, that war neither profits the victor nor the vanquished.
The second great vow is Truth. To speak the truth, one require moral courage. Only those who have conquered greed, fear, anger, jealousy, ego, vulgarity, frivolity etc. can speak the truth when required.
Jainism always advocates the generous view, the view that there can be a grain of truth in what the other persons say, Anekantadrishti, for truth is relative. As you have full faith in what is truth from your point of view, so too one should make room for the view-point of others. Thus, Anekantavada (Theory of many-sidedness) enables one to tolerate and co-ordinate a wide range of points-of-view in a spirit of co-operation even if at times, these may be contradictory. This is the true method involving ceaseless endeavour to search out truth. To regard everything from a relative point of view and to see an element of truth in everything, this is Anekantavada. Not 'mine is the truth' but 'truth is mine' should be one's motto.
Anekantavada is the heart of Jainism. It constitutes its most significant contribution to religious thought, and especially in the field of ethics. It teaches that the kingdom of truth can be reached through plurality of ways. It also teaches not to impose one's own thoughts or views on others, and to try to reconcile the thoughts or view-points of others with one's own. This principle, therefore, if earnestly put into practice shows us how to overcome our personal view of things, which is often short-sighted, selfish and partial. It shows us how to remove discord and disharmony and establish concord and harmony in life, by being catholic and tolerant in our outlook and attiude towards others.
The principle of Anekantavada should be applied to every field of life. It shows how to respect candid opinions of all free thinkers of the world; the roots of modern democracy could be traced in this Jaina principle. It establishes unity in diversity. It promises reconciliation of divergent or conflicting statements, thoughts, ideologies, systems, religions etc. The principle of Anekantavada therefore can be a great instrument for promoting peaceful co-existence and unity in the world.
Another great vow is the vow of non-stealing. Man should abandon all kinds of stealing. We should not take anything that is not given to us. Nor should we help anyone take what is not given to him.
The fourth great vow is that of celibacy. Bhagwan Mahavir added this great vow to the four of Parshvanath's and estabished its distinct importance. He said that all physical and mental miseries of the world are caused by the thirst for sensual pleasures. For all sensual pleasures are ultimately harmful.
The fifth great vow is of non-possession. Possession is the source of evil. Possession is not only the acquisition or accumulation of things but also temptation for and attachment to things. No wonder C. Rajgopalachari wrote, "Restraint is the mark of Indian Culture." This sense of possession is the source of all the five evils viz. violence, untruthfulness, stealing, sensual pleasure and attachment. Today we see that the chief cause of the boundless miseries of the present world is man's uncontrolled tendency to possess. Man believes that possession brings happiness. But in fact possession is thecause of miseries and bondage. Possession enslaves man to external things. As the bee sucks honey from the flower without destroying it, so the welfare seeking man should do the least possible harm to another in his worldy life. Thus, expounding the five great vows Bhagwan Mahavir says, "As the wind blows across flaming fire, so ideal people observing these vows will pass through the Samsara (transmigratory existence) and attain eternal joy." Lord Mahavir has said that wants and desires have no end and only the sky is the limit for them.
Attachment to wordly objects results in the everlasting cycle of birth and death. Therefore, one who aspires spiritual liberation should withdraw from all attachment to pleasures which arises because of the indiscriminate uses of the five senses.
Jainism believes in the potential divinity of man. Given freedom for development, every individual can attain supreme spiritual progress. Hence, any interference with an individual's development would lead to spiritual degeneration. Violence is nothing but such an interference with individual freedom, hence, it must be shunned in thought, word and deed.
Bhagwan Mahavir discarded the false importance of gender and caste and established the importance of good conduct.
(One is a Brahmin, a Kshatriya, a Vaishya or a Shoodra according to one's Karma). Thus, he led shoodras out of the darkness of slavery and lifted them up from beastliness to godliness. He said that a man or woman irrespective of his or her caste could practise religion. In fact, he said that a Monk should not have any self conscionsness regarding his apperance, knowledge, penance or celibacy. This was Bhagwan Mahavir's profoundly revolutionary social vision. He changed the whole situation. This true insight given from the depth of his soul made a permanent impact on the society. Bhagwan Mahavir expressed his thoughts fearlessly and firmly and liberated people from the bondage of a certain class of people, from the practices of violence and mental slavery. He led the society out of the bondage of the caste system. It is really regrettable that even in some civilised countries, prejudice due to colour, race, or nationality still persists and keeps the people divided anongst themselves. Experience teaches us that colour or racial arrogance cannot continue to exist for long. Humanity has to be reminded again and again that the entire human race is but one family, irrespective of differences of colour, race or nationality. "All humanity is one ", is one of the fundamental teachings that Jainism offers.
There are three distinct contributions of Jainism to Indian Culture viz. Equality (Sama), Self-control (Shama) and Dignity of labour (Shrama).
The three jewles of Jainism, namely Right Faith, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct depend upon the principle of equality. In the Bhagwad Gita the same principle is enshrined as the inner poise or the evenness of mind (Samatvam) or equal mindedness (Sama Chittatvam or Samata) and the man who attains this is called the one who sees with an equal eye (Sarvatra-sama-darshana). This principle of equality must be attained both in thought and in action. In thought it is the principle of Anekanta, in action it is the principle of Ahimsa.
The one significant thing that we have inherited from Bhagwan Mahavir is the art of living. I would add that he teaches the art of dying as well. The Jain way of living does not mean mere having and holding the breath; it means living a balanced life by keeping away from anger, hatred, wailing and complaining.
The basic nivrutti stand-point characterising Jainism is laid out as the foundationon which the entire structure of Jaina philosophy, with all its salient features, is raised systematically and homogeneously. Tapas or the sustained mortification and control over the body as related to the Jiva is elaborated and insisted on in the Jaina Canons. Even the harsher and more rigorous features of tapas are stressed. Upavasa and Sallekhana and Brahmacharya have been the distinctive features of Jainism. Principally, Jaina ethics specifies five minor vows (anuvratas), three social vows (gunavratas), and four Spiritual vows (shikshavratas) to be carried out by the householder.
In addition to the five minor vows, the householder observes three social vows that govern his external conduct in the world. Then there are four spiritual vows that reflect the purity of his heart. They govern his internal life and are expressed in a life that is marked by charity (dana).
Jain thinkers have prescribed sub-minor-vows as precautionary measurnes. First, there is reference to the Shalyas or disturbing factors such as ignorance, deceit and self-interest from which a person should free himself. The shalyas represent the negative requirements for the perfect practice of the vratas. In addition, there are the four bhavanas (virtues) that represent the positive means of supporting the vratas. These qualities, which a votary of non-violence must possess, are maitri (love, friendship), pramoda (joy and respect), karunya (compassion), and madhyastha (tolerance toward living beings). Next, there are the twelve minor vows known as anuprekshas (reflections). Broadly stated, the twelve topics of meditation are designed to serve as aids to spiritual progress to produce detachment and lead the devotee from the realm of desire to the path of renunciation.
In this way Jaina ethics prescribe thirty-five rules of conduct for the householder. By observing these rules, he comes to possess all of the twenty-one qualities that a fully developed individual must possess.
Having observed all the rules of conduct and having passed through the eleven religious stages (pratimas), the householder is now qualified to become an ascetic. The life of a monk is marked by a spirit of detachment. Through the practice of yoga and meditation, he finally attains the highest knowledge and becomes an enlightened soul. This is the ultimate end of human life according to Jaina ethics.
Besides these, Jaina ascetics lead a life of purity, celebacy, simplicity, selfless service and perfect austerity. They have nothing to claim of their own and all the living beings are their friends par excellence. One vow of spiritual discipline (shikshavrata) that the householder takes is that of hospitality to the monks (Atithi-Samvibhaga-Vrata). This involves the supply of food, books, medicine, etc. Acharya Samantabhadra calls the vow of hospitality physical service (Vaiyavratya). It makes the householder the parent of the monk. Monks who are sick, aged, and helpless are thus taken care of in their time of need. The ideal of such physical service was practised particularly in the area of medical help (Aushadhi Dana) and created a communal sense of security (Abhaya Dana).
Social service is a prominent outcome of Jaina ethics. It prescribes six daily duties for every householder, viz. adoration of the deity (Jina), veneration of the Gurus, study of literature and scriptures, practice of self discipline, observance of fasts and the curbing of appetites and giving of charity.
Moreover, Jainism is a leading religion in providing hospitals for animals and birds. Its epitome of true spirituality is found when a monk, wrapped in contemplation, takes time to mend the broken wing of a little sparrow.
Women have been accorded equal status in the Jain religion. In fact, there were more women in the order of Lord Mahavir than men. The scriptures record many tributes to exceptional women. The care of women, especially in critical situations, is given a higher priority than that of men. Mothers of the Tirthankaras are given special honourthrough communal worship. Legends abound in which women of high spiritual merit such as Brahmi, Sundari, Mallikumari, and Rajimati have come to the aid of men. Women have been recognized for their exceptional contributions in the field of education, culture and religion.
Jainism propounds that every man must first put a limit to the acquisition of property, and then entirely devote his time for public good. People engaged in independent professions such as lawyers, doctors, merchants, engineers, etc. must retire when they reach the limits fixed for them and thus make room for others to earn. Dig-vrata and Desha-vrata, limiting one's activities within certain prescribed sectors and within certain boundaries in a country also contribute in a way to lessen economic conflicts. It is expected of every well-to-do person to give ABHAYA DAN (The gift of fearlessness) to all those who are worried with the problem of food, shelter and clothing.
Ahimsa together with Aparigraha constitutes the ethical wholeness of self-control or self-restraint in social relationship; self-control is also the basis of higher spiritual life. It is happiness (Shreya) rather than pleasure (Preya) which is the goal of life. Thus self-purification (Atma-shuddhi) and not the acquisition of earthly or heavenly pleasures is the aim of life. The obstacles in the forms of delusion, ignorance and craving must be rooted out by practising the different vows or Vratas, throughout life, hence, the importance of a realised soul rather than of some mysterious agency is emphasised.
Jaina ethics are directed towards the liberation of the individual. Its orientation is therefore religious. Its end is the spiritualization of all areas of life in order to prepare individuals for the achievement of his ultimate goal. Its primary precept applicable to king and commoner alike is : Do your duty and do it in as humane a spirit as you can.
Jainism permits no distinction between religion (Dharma) and morality because both are concerned with the well-being of the individual in the world. The practice of Dharma enables them to achieve this end. In the words of the well-known Acharya Samantabhadra, "Religion is something which takes the living beings out of the worldly misery and establishes them in the highest bliss." This interconnection between religion and morality imparts to Jainism its distinctive feature.
Aparigraha has an economic aspect according to which one should set a limit to one's own needs, it is also enjoined that whatever surplus one may accumulate beyond these needs should be disposed of through charities. Aparigraha is the only means whereby the growing gulf between the rich and the poor can be peacefully bridged and a fair distribution of wealth achieved. Therefore, business dealings must be conducted in the non-acquisitive spirit of Aparigraha
Jainism's ancient advocacy of vegetarianism is receiving global attention today due to severe food shortages in certain parts of the world and to the researches of the scientific community. Vegetarianism is the only viable answer to world hunger. It is now a fairly well established fact that whatever is necessary or desirable for human nutrition in meats or flesh foods equally well found in and at times actually derived from vegetable products. Thus Jaina ethics train good, dutiful and morally conscious citizens who can help in maintaining world peace. Jainism asks us to subdue our passions and always act with mindfulness and caution. The neglect of these ethical rules results in individual and national crimes. By stressing the importance of pure, simple and honest life for the house-holders Jainism paves the way for the world peace.
The ethical code of Jainism is the most beautiful blend of Achara and Vichara (conduct and reflection). Almost all the usual group of virtues regarding conduct or Achara (like satya, ahimsa, brahmacharya, asteya, aparigraha) which are propounded in various religions finally owe their immense importance mainly to Jaina tradition. Jainism fosters the inculcation of all these virtues in its votaries through a very wise and practical hierarchical scale of anu-vratas, maha-vratas, etc. On the side of reflection or Vichara, it is Jainism which has stressed right from its very beginning tattvachintana. It is due to this insistence on tattvachintana in Jainism that we find that it is the Jainas who have been almost the sole originators in literary compositions in most of Indian languages. Jainism has contributed ably and subtly to very many chapters in the history of Indian philosophy.
The contribution of Jainism to Indian thought and life has been very significant. Actually vegetarianism as a habit prevailing throughout the Indian continent, atleast in states like Gujarat and Rajasthan, is an evidence of the Jain influence. Indian literature, sculpture, architecture and painting as also every other aspect of life have been significantly influenced by Jainism. To do justice to all these will require a separate book. Here it is Sufficiant it to say that almost every student of Indian culture or visitor to the Indian subcontinent has been considerably impressed by the sculpture and the arts of Jain temples, Jain paintings and the "inexhaustible stock of Jain literature".
The Jains played a very important part, first in the development of the ancient Prakrit languages, as also of the Dravidian languages of the South Tamil and Kannad. Somewhat later they adopted Sanskrit to elucidate the contents of the original prakrit canon and gradually produced a vast Sanskrit literature comprising valuable works on almost all subjects : Philosophy, logic, grammar, laxicography, poetics, politics, mathematics, astronomy and astrology. Indian literature in all its branches is thus indebted to the achievements of Jaina authors.
The Sanskrit literature of the Jainas contains a number of major philosophical and literary classics which belong to the ancient heritage of India. Umasvati, Siddhasena Divakara, Samantabhadra, Vidyananda, Haribhadra and Hemachandra made contribution which are enduring landmarks in the development of Indian thought and culture.
As regards the Jaina influence in the South, the laborious researches of Burness, Buhler, Burges Hoernle, Jacobi and Lewis Rice have almost conclusively proved that the Jainas profoundly influenced the political, religious and literary institutions of India. The Kural, an ethical poem of considerable importance in ancient Tamil literature, was composed about the 1st Century A.D., by Saint Tiruvalluvar, who was definitely a sympathizer of Jainism. It is also now almost certain that the Tolkappiyam, an authoritive work on Tamil grammar which is perhaps the earliest among the Tamil texts was composed by a Jaina. Among the other important Tamil works of Jaina authorship may be mentioned the Naladiyar and the like, composed during the early centuries of the Christian Era.
The "Augustan Age" of Tamil literature was the period of the predominance of the Jainas in intellect and learning. Jainism became the religion of some of the Pandyan Kings. Nevertheless they retained in full their intellectual vitality which had in earlier times produced such classical works as the "Kural", Valaiyapati, Silappadikaram and Jivaka Shinamani. Three of the five Tamil Mahakavyas, were composed by Jain writers. Moreover, the Jainas continued to enrich the Tamil vocabulary by introducing a large numbers of Sanskrit derivatives and bringing them into conformity with Tamil Phonetics.
The Jainas rendered valuable and extensive services to Kannada literature also. Some of the greatest among the Jaina poets flourished during the 10th Century A. D., the Golden Age of Kannada literature. Thus Ponna, a Jaina Saint upon whom the Rashtrakuta King Kannara conferred the title Kavichakravarti, composed Shantipurana and Bhuvanaika Ramabhyudaya during the period. Next we come to the great poet Pampa who was regarded as the father of Kannada literature. Another great Jaina writer of Kannada prose and poetry in that century was Chamundaraya, who besides being an able administrator and warrior, was a patron of Ranna, among others. It was he who had the colossal image of Gomateshvara carved at Shravana Belgola. Jaina influence on Telugu deserves careful investigation.
Almost every decade during medieval times in Gujarat saw a progressive enrichment of Gujarati literature with remarkable creations, major contributions here being the books written by the Jaina saints. Moreover, the unique service of the Jain Bhandaras in preserving the manuscripts, especially those on palm-leaves, is very memorable. Besides book-writing, the Jaina have carried out the laudable task of preserving and spreading knowledge.
The Jainas were also great patrons of art. Indian art, both Northern and Southern, owes to them a number of remarkable monuments. And in architecture their achievements are still greater.
As singular edifices illustrating the beauty of Jaina art, both in design and elaboration of workmanship, one may cite the temples of Mount Abu.
In South India, too, idol worship and temple building on a grand scale may be attributed fianlly to Jaina influence. The colossal monolithic Jaina statues of the South, such as that of Gomateshvara at Shravan Belgola, are among the wonders of the world. The grandeur of Jain sculpture is an outstanding aspect of Jain heritage. The inspiring dignity of Shatrunjay temples, the stately vastness of Shravan Belgola, the fine subtleties of Ranakpur tirtha and the artistic carvings of Delvada temples - are some of the unique examples of the Indian Cultural heritage. The Jaina literature is written in several Indian languages so as to reach many people is a rich compendium of diverse interests. The writings of these acaryas have manifold attractions not only for those in Jaina studies but also for lovers of literature, history, culture, philosophy, and comparative religion. It is to this vast source that we now turn for an understanding of Jaina beliefs of the universe, religion and mortality.
It was however, at the hands of Shalivahana the great artist who flourished in the reign of the connoiseeur of art, the Mogul Emperor Jehangir that Jaina art of painting attained its glory. In the private collection of Shri Narendra Singh Singhi of Calcutta, there is a manuscript Shalibhadracharita illuminated by this artist with more than 20 paintings, some of which are superbly executed. Jainism has thus significantly enriched Indian culture in the fields of ethics, philosophy, literature, science and aesthetics.
Lord Mahavir emphasized that man should not only care for the welfare and advancement of his soul but also help the soul of all sentient beings towards the same goal by giving them protection and by helping them to march forward on the path of salvation. He who loses his soul, loses everything.
Self-help and self-reliance constitute the basic motto of Jain religion. According to the Jain religion, 'Atma' is the creator of weal and woe : the notion of exploiting others by way of labour does not occur in this system. One of the twelve vows of a Jain Shravak specifically mentions that he would never expropriate others means of livelihood. One has to appreciate the inner meaning and spirit of such preaching.
In a book entitled "Dharmabindu Prakaran" Haribhadrasuri has enjoined upon the Jain Shravak to make his living in a judicious way. The Sadhu way of life is the climax of the self-reliant life style of the Jaina.
The Jaina have a rich political heritage. There were Jaina Kings like Chola King in the South and Kumarpal in Gujarat. And their royal counsellor or the minister always happened to be a Jain Shravak. This was the tradition in Gujarat and Rajasthan generation after generation. Alongwith administration, these ministers always kept in mind the welfare of the state and enjoyed the total confidence of the rulers. The Jain Shravakas also always remained trustworthy and honest and never betrayed anybody. The names of Vastupal-Tejpal, Vimalshah and Udayan Mantri have become immortal for their royal devotion and religious steadfastness.
The life style of the Jain Shravak is also remarkable. When the Kings were given to amorous pastime, drinking and gambling, it is noteworthy that the Jain communitycould remained aloof from all these vices. It was because of their strong will power, moral devotion and honesty that Jain Shravaks were appointed as Ministers by the Kings. Honesty is characteristic trait of the Jain Shravak heritage. Temperamentally the Jainas are averse to vices. The ancient Acharyas themselves conducted a drive so as to keep the Jain gentlemen away from seven vices that is alchoholism, non-vegetarianism, gambling, hunting, theft and keeping harlots. Ultimately this has come to stay as the symbolic life style of Jainas through the centuries.
The Jaina Sangh has been a democratic system for the last 2500 years, where every individual member of the community is heard and attended to. This democratic functioning amongst the Jainas is almost unique.
The social heritage of the Jainas is equally remarkable. The inscription of Chittodgadh bears evidence to the fact that Emperor Kumarpal gave donation for Shiva temples. The temples at Sopara constructed by Vastupal refer to a mosque built by Vastupal. Jagdushah gave land to the Muslims. Vijay Vallabhasuriji Maharaj was helpful in the construction of a gurudwara. Buddhisagarji Maharaj provided inspiration for constructing hostel for Harijans.
For world peace Ahimsa becomes an absolute necessacity. It must be practised throughtout the world in every city, village and town. Man must be made conscious of the supreme value of his soul and the utter uselessness of destructive weapons and armaments.
Nowadays people seem to think that religion has little importance in modern life, and that it cannot play any significant part in shaping the character of the people. To this, we could say in the words of Joseph Gear, "Those who have lived among the Jainas find them very kindly people, and better men because of their religion."
We should unite at this crucial juncture of world history and carry on ceaseless efforts to save humanity from extinction. It is essential that we try our best to revitalize our religious and moral principles and unite to ensure peace and harmony. Jainism preaches amity towards all beings, compassion for the miserable and detachment towards possessions.
In order to discourage violence, Bhagwan Mahavir proclaimed that the entire human race is one. At a time when communalism, hatred, violence and terrorism have become rampant in contemporary times, this preaching of Bhagwan Mahavir should be our true ideal. Indeed, we have many ideals before us but it is time to practice them.
If a world religion of this order is made to emerge, I have no hesitation in saying that most of the tenets of Jainism will always find a proud of pride in it. The Greeks used to say, "Call no man happy until he be dead." Whereas Jainism on the other hand, claims : "Call every man happy who lives his life following truthfully the principles of Jainism."
The message of Jainism has even a greater relevance today. By following this path, it will be possible for us to make a meaningful use of the wonderful inventions of science and technology and make them truely blissful and create global society free from hunger and hate - at peace with itself and with its environment. Thus there will be a heaven on this earth. What more does a human being want ?
Nov 21, 2008
Nov 19, 2008
Jain Studies in the west
Dr. Noel King
Santa Cruz, CA, U.S.A
Dr. Surendra Singhvi
Spring Valley, OH, U.S.A
Early Western Knowledge of Jainism Many westerners well versed in European culture had read and wondered at the stories brought back from ancient India by the Greeks. They were told that there were in that far-off land naked philosophers who gave themselves to the solitary; neither they possessed home nor material, and could not be coerced even by Alexander himself. They observed strict continence, ate little and willingly gave themselves to death. The stories are rather in a muddle because even to this day few scholars versed in Indian lore and the western classical languages have bothered to go over these accounts with care and detail they deserve.However, a discernable eye that knows something about Jainisim and monastic features of its holy people suggest that the medieval Cathari's may have had contacts with the Jains and thereby were influenced. This is indeed quite possible, though the connecting link may be the overlap of Mani's teachings with Jainism.
Study of Jainism Before GandhiA century before the arrival of Virchand Gandhi to the West, the work of the Orientalists and the missionaries in India were quite exhaustive in 179s-1820s. In this regard, the account of the German scholarship in Jainology is very rich. Dr. George Buhler (1837-1898) who taught at Elphinstone College, Bombay from 1863 to 1878 collected large number of Jain manuscripts; established the antiquity of Jain ascetic lines of spiritual and teaching descent from inscriptional studies and wrote books on various subjects.Herman Jacobi (1850-1937) produced two volumes on Jain texts. In Boston with its Harvard Indological scholars, the first Indian work reaching U.S. is a book printed and published by the American Mission Press in Bombay in the 1840s. Its title page speaks of :"Historical researches on the origins of the Buddha and Jaina religions, embracing the leading tenets of their systems as found prevailing in various countries."
- James Bird esq, M.R.A.S., F.R.G.S., Bombay Printed at the American Mission Press T. Graham, Printer, 1847
The book is beautifully printed with colour-tinted works of lithographic are; describes a colossal image of a Trithankara as 'words cannot well convey an idea of this magnificent sculpture;' or of the Jaina ascetics as 'the ultimate object is to obtain a state of perfect apathy or quiescence through the practice of abstraction and mortification.' Kalpasutra and Nava Tatva translation was done by Rev.J.Stevenson *1847). Life and Stories of Jaina Saviour Parsvanatha is another valuable work on Jainism published by Prof. Mauric Bloomfield, who was born in Austria and moved to Milwaukee at the age of four. He studied at Chicago, Furnam is South Carolina and Yale; went as a Fellow to John Hopkins where Lanman, the doyen of Sanskrit Studies in the United States, was establishin School in Sanskrit. Obtaining his Ph.,D. in 1879, Bloomfield went off to Berlin and Leipzig for further studies. In 1881, he returned to John Hopkins as Prof. of Sanskrit. Late in his career, he began his work in Jain Maharashtri and Jainology.
Coming of Gandhi to AmericaFollowing the Columbian Exhibition of 1892 in Chicago, the Parliament of World Religions was planned by a group of religious leader and institutions - a Swedenborg follower, a Presbyterian, a Ukrainian and the Vatholic Churches. Virchand Gandhi, an English educated Jain thinker and social reformer of the times, came to America as a delegate to the Parliament representing Jain religion. Gandhi, was introduced at the Parliament as 'a lawyer from Bombay and one of the chief exponents of Jain religion.' In his own words Gandhi introduced Jainism in its most brevity: "I come from India, the mother of religions. I represent Jainism, a faith older than Buddhism, similar to it in ethics, but different from it in its psychology, and professed by 1.5 million of India's most peaceful and law abiding citizens." Of the Parliament, Gandhi observed that 'it has (also) been the dream of Atmaramji's life. I am (as such) commissioned to offer congratulations on the achievement of the consummation of that grand idea, of convening a Parliament of Religions." Again in his main address Gandhi reiterated that he speaks " simply as the mouthpiece of Muni Atmaramji, the learned High Priest of the Jaina community of India."Gandhi delivered a short no-nonsense, highly condensed and technical account of the ethics and history of the Jains, their books, precepts and practices. The word 'Hindu' in his speeches he used is in its generic and geographical sense: 'people following a certain type of culture and originate in a certain area.' In the Conference Plenary, he was to refute a speaker who had "cast reflection upon the chastity of the women who serve in Hindu temples. Gandhi, maintaining the dignity and the decor, responded:" I did not want to allow free scope to an un- Christian spirit which seemed to interpose from time to time. I am glad that no one has dared to attack the religion I religion I represent. It is as well they should not. But every attack has been directed to the abused existing in our society."The thought of Gandhi and its akinness to his guru, Atmaramji, can be traced in considerable detail in the Chicago-Prashnottar, a valuable compendium of Jaina doctrine of the day and age in logical terms.After the Parliament, Gandhi stayed on a while in the United States. He contributed a paper titled 'Christian Missions in India' found in The Arena of 1895. While still in the West, He captured the hearts and minds of many, and a permanent work was begun. An overview of his teaching and the integration of his religion with plans for education, social reform, politics etc., can be seen in the work if his English disciple Herbert Warren.
Study of Jainism After GandhiColebrook and Buchanan acknowledged it. Margret Sinclair Stevenson spoke with affection of the women, pundits and instructors who taught her so much with generous patience. Schubring rejoiced in the company of his Jain colleagues and in community events. As foreign scholars began studying Jainism, Jains themselves also produced their own works with editions and critical texts.William Norman Brown (1892-1975) from Balitmore studied at John Hopkins and Varanasi and taught at Jammu. His works included Jain miniatures and manuscript illustrations. Champat Raj Jain (1867-1942), who had Bar-at-Law from England (1892-1897), wrote many books on Jainism. His important publications are Kay of Knowledge, Confluence of Opposites, Jain Logic, Jain Psychology, What is Jainism, Jain Law, Jain Penance, Jain Penance, Jain Culture, Jain also worked on Jain archaeological findings.Barrister Jugmandir Lal Jain (1881-1927) who went to Oxford (1906-1910) devoted much of his time to the study of Jain scriptures and literature. He translated Tatthvarthasutra, Atmanushasana, Pancastikayasara, Samayasara, Jica-Karma Kanda, and initiated the translation of Gommatasara. His The Library in London, and Central Jain Publishing House in India.Dr. Hiralal Jain (1898-1973), who followed J.L. Jaini, completed the translation of Gommatasaara (1923); edited 16 volumes of Satkhandagama Siddhana (1935-1959) and Prakrit works. Heinrich Zimmer, whose main career had been in Germany, gave courses of lectures at Columbia in New York in 1942-43 on the philosophies of India including Jain teachings. He died before they were finalized in writing for publication. They were edited and put through Press by Joseph Canpbell, Oriented Mythology: The Masks of God (1962) and Zimmer's Philosophies of India, Bollingen Series, Vol. XXVI.
Y. J. Padmarajiah's, A Comparative Study of the Jaina Theories of Reality and Knowledge published in 1963, is his work (1947-4952) for which the degree of Doctor of Philosophy was awarded by Oxford University.
The work of Kendal W. Folkert, the promising Jainologist from Harvard, raised many critical question of his predecessors in the best revisionist style. He questioned the focusing on texts for Jainas do not have a narrow authoritative cannon such as the sixteenth and later century European Christians had imagined. He questioned how any philologist sitting in Europe or America can think he understands what he is studying. His article in the Penguin Handbook of Living Religions is one of hte best encyclopedia articles.
R. Willians Jaina Yoga is basically a technical discussion of medieval texts but also portrays Jain ideas of physiology, psychology and holistic approach to health. Prof. Padmanabh S. Jaini's The Jaina Path of Purification has rightly been hailed as one of the best studies sin the religions of South Asia in this century and certainly the best on Jainism. More recently, he has Gender and Salvation: Jaina Debated on the Spiritual Liberation of Women wherein he presents tightly and meticulously argued analysis of ancient Jain discussions about whether only the totally unclothed can reach the goal, whereas most agree it is indecorous for a woman to appear before mixed groups unclothed. Even long ago and even among male ascetics who are well known throughout world history for their suspicion of womanhood, the Jain community has had strong groups of those who insisted on women's absolute and universal rights.
La Voie Jaina, Histoire, Spiritualite, Vie des ascetes pelerines de I'nde (1985) by N. Shanta is a field-work of total immersion.
Harvard Pluralism Project supervised by Prof. Diane Eck has a number of papers on the Jain side of the research prepared by Holly Seeley.
Structural Development in Jaina DiasporaEmergenca into self-consciousness if the world-wide Jaina diaspora - people of Jain faith domiciled overseas - calls for their strict retention not only to discover ways of retaining them in modern environment but demands to think of the : laity and the house-holders.' their strengths and what they can do. It is they who are the mainstream and backbone of Jainism in the west. In this sense, a house-holder is a person in his or her own right, not just a deficient monk or nun. The fluidity and inter-dependence with elements recognized as specific, pointing to a certain primordiality of Jain features,may or may not present with a positive change for the fullest development of the community as in the case of Jaina diaspora. They demand a new and tightly defined, but to work within the present condition a structural development in social, psychological and physical contexts, both of the individual and of the institutions. It is to emerge fresh and new in the choosen environment taken for granted on the good promise and premise.
The organizational structures through the establishment of societies and associations in North America began in the early 1960s as the Jaina community grew numerically. Following is the list of some organizations:
Jain Centre of New York (1966) changed to Jain Society of America at Queens. It has temple building with community oriented activities.
Jain Centre of Boston (1973) has temple with Community oriented activities. It pioneered the publication of Jain Directory of North America, and regularly brings out updated editions.
Jain Meditation International Centre (1975) founded by Gurudev Chitrabhanu. Meetings and Lecture on meditation etc., caters mainly for westerners.
Siddhachalam (1983) founded by Acarya Sushil Kumarji. It is Jain ashram and resident community of monks and nun, laymen and laywomen on 108 acres of hill top near Pocono mountains in Blairstown, New Jersey.
Jain Society of Chicago, IL. It built America's largest Jain temple complex in 1993.
Jain Society of Washington D.C. It acquired property and established Jain temple in 1987. Dr. Manoj Dharamsi was its active President till 1993.
Jain Society of South California, CA. It established a Jain temple and library in 1986.
Jain Society of New Jersey, NJ. It has established Jain temple.
Jain Society of Northern Texas, TX. It has established temple in Richardson.
Jain Society of Toronto (1981) has the largest temple building in Canada, and has community oriented activities to observe Jaina festivals and pravacans.
International Mahavir Jain Mission, USA & Canada (1986) It was founded by Acarya Sushil Kumarji. It is involved in Jain Campls during the summer months of August both at Siddhachalam and Nigra Falls, Canada. The Toronto organization often promotes Jain Seminars in Canadian universities. And in conjunction with Jain Society of Toronto, it produced shows on Jainism for public television in 1989-90.
Jain Meditation and Philosophy (1981) It is established by its President Irena Upenick. Mainly caters to westerners on meditation, Vegetarianism, fasting and Jaina basic philosophy. Independently it promotes Jaina precepts and practice among westerners through networking.
Rooplal Jain Lecture Foundation (1990), Toronto. Founded with the aim of promoting academic study of Jain religion. Sponsors annual Jain lectures at the University of Toronto, and it began its first lecture in 1990 delivered by Prof. Padmanabh S. Jainni of the University of California, Berkeley.
Jain Federation of North America (JAINA) founded in 1981 with Lalit Shah as the President. Dr. Manoj Dharamsi was elected after a few months, and he continued devising developmental plans up to 1985 when it had its first Bi-ennuak Cibcention organized on a large scale in Detroit, MI. At this gathering, a quarterly magazine, Jain Digest was launched with S.A. Bhuvanendra Kumar of Mississauga, Canada as its editor, elected by Directors of JAINA. The first issue of Jain Digest came out in memory of the Air India bomb victims travelling from Toronto to Bombay in 1986. In 1989, it established JAINA Library in Lubbock, Texas and Toronto Canada with funds provided by Dr. Premchand Gada of Lubbock, Texas. In the same year, Young Jains of America and Matrimonial Information Bureau were established under the leadership of Dr. Urmila Talsania of Chicago and Fakirchand Dalal of Baltimore repectively.
Bramhi Society U.S.A. and Canada (1989) It was founded by a group of twelve individuals from the U.S.A. and Canada to make a contribution in a contemporary environment to the study and promotion of Jaina reflection in the West. It has begun the publication of Jinamanjare, a bi-annual Journal, with the first issue in October 1990. S.A. Bhuvanendra Kumar is the founder and editor.
In 1991 Bramhi Society organized Jain Youth Exchange is association with Young Jains of U.K., and the Jaina Federation of North America.
These organizations and asscociations while are important indeed, the onus for the development of Jainism in the West falls squarely upon the Jaina laity who lives the life in mainstream America. The term laity in Jain sense has altogether different meaning then in the Christian parlance. In Jainism, it means those who follow the faith but have nit entered monastic life - being monks or nuns. The term laity in Jainism consists of an intimate symbiosis of four orders, namely - male and female renunciates, women and men, and so in the American condition, the onus inevitably falls on the latter two to bring out Reality and Truth in terms of Jain precepts and practices. Similarly, it is largely their task to maintain symbiosis with the ascetics.
Ordinary renunciates in the West understand a very little of their importance in this symbiotic inter-relationship, as propagators of Jaina gospel and making history; however they will be the originators in the given situation.
Where were those Jains of 1960s - 1990s? Whence and why did they come? What did the principles of religion teach them? A lot unanswerable questions arise now, and if it is not addressed properly, the Jain diaspora in the west will manifest itself in an unstructured and highly ambiguous condition.
The four teachings which the Jains have unflinchingly witnessed: co-dependence as part of an organically interrelated universe, positive non-violence in all its aspects, the aspects, the realization that there are various paths to the Truth and the importance of the feminine. The educational task and maintaining of it through these four Jaina covevant will indeed insure strength to the organizational structure and to the Jaina diaspora in the West.
Santa Cruz, CA, U.S.A
Dr. Surendra Singhvi
Spring Valley, OH, U.S.A
Early Western Knowledge of Jainism Many westerners well versed in European culture had read and wondered at the stories brought back from ancient India by the Greeks. They were told that there were in that far-off land naked philosophers who gave themselves to the solitary; neither they possessed home nor material, and could not be coerced even by Alexander himself. They observed strict continence, ate little and willingly gave themselves to death. The stories are rather in a muddle because even to this day few scholars versed in Indian lore and the western classical languages have bothered to go over these accounts with care and detail they deserve.However, a discernable eye that knows something about Jainisim and monastic features of its holy people suggest that the medieval Cathari's may have had contacts with the Jains and thereby were influenced. This is indeed quite possible, though the connecting link may be the overlap of Mani's teachings with Jainism.
Study of Jainism Before GandhiA century before the arrival of Virchand Gandhi to the West, the work of the Orientalists and the missionaries in India were quite exhaustive in 179s-1820s. In this regard, the account of the German scholarship in Jainology is very rich. Dr. George Buhler (1837-1898) who taught at Elphinstone College, Bombay from 1863 to 1878 collected large number of Jain manuscripts; established the antiquity of Jain ascetic lines of spiritual and teaching descent from inscriptional studies and wrote books on various subjects.Herman Jacobi (1850-1937) produced two volumes on Jain texts. In Boston with its Harvard Indological scholars, the first Indian work reaching U.S. is a book printed and published by the American Mission Press in Bombay in the 1840s. Its title page speaks of :"Historical researches on the origins of the Buddha and Jaina religions, embracing the leading tenets of their systems as found prevailing in various countries."
- James Bird esq, M.R.A.S., F.R.G.S., Bombay Printed at the American Mission Press T. Graham, Printer, 1847
The book is beautifully printed with colour-tinted works of lithographic are; describes a colossal image of a Trithankara as 'words cannot well convey an idea of this magnificent sculpture;' or of the Jaina ascetics as 'the ultimate object is to obtain a state of perfect apathy or quiescence through the practice of abstraction and mortification.' Kalpasutra and Nava Tatva translation was done by Rev.J.Stevenson *1847). Life and Stories of Jaina Saviour Parsvanatha is another valuable work on Jainism published by Prof. Mauric Bloomfield, who was born in Austria and moved to Milwaukee at the age of four. He studied at Chicago, Furnam is South Carolina and Yale; went as a Fellow to John Hopkins where Lanman, the doyen of Sanskrit Studies in the United States, was establishin School in Sanskrit. Obtaining his Ph.,D. in 1879, Bloomfield went off to Berlin and Leipzig for further studies. In 1881, he returned to John Hopkins as Prof. of Sanskrit. Late in his career, he began his work in Jain Maharashtri and Jainology.
Coming of Gandhi to AmericaFollowing the Columbian Exhibition of 1892 in Chicago, the Parliament of World Religions was planned by a group of religious leader and institutions - a Swedenborg follower, a Presbyterian, a Ukrainian and the Vatholic Churches. Virchand Gandhi, an English educated Jain thinker and social reformer of the times, came to America as a delegate to the Parliament representing Jain religion. Gandhi, was introduced at the Parliament as 'a lawyer from Bombay and one of the chief exponents of Jain religion.' In his own words Gandhi introduced Jainism in its most brevity: "I come from India, the mother of religions. I represent Jainism, a faith older than Buddhism, similar to it in ethics, but different from it in its psychology, and professed by 1.5 million of India's most peaceful and law abiding citizens." Of the Parliament, Gandhi observed that 'it has (also) been the dream of Atmaramji's life. I am (as such) commissioned to offer congratulations on the achievement of the consummation of that grand idea, of convening a Parliament of Religions." Again in his main address Gandhi reiterated that he speaks " simply as the mouthpiece of Muni Atmaramji, the learned High Priest of the Jaina community of India."Gandhi delivered a short no-nonsense, highly condensed and technical account of the ethics and history of the Jains, their books, precepts and practices. The word 'Hindu' in his speeches he used is in its generic and geographical sense: 'people following a certain type of culture and originate in a certain area.' In the Conference Plenary, he was to refute a speaker who had "cast reflection upon the chastity of the women who serve in Hindu temples. Gandhi, maintaining the dignity and the decor, responded:" I did not want to allow free scope to an un- Christian spirit which seemed to interpose from time to time. I am glad that no one has dared to attack the religion I religion I represent. It is as well they should not. But every attack has been directed to the abused existing in our society."The thought of Gandhi and its akinness to his guru, Atmaramji, can be traced in considerable detail in the Chicago-Prashnottar, a valuable compendium of Jaina doctrine of the day and age in logical terms.After the Parliament, Gandhi stayed on a while in the United States. He contributed a paper titled 'Christian Missions in India' found in The Arena of 1895. While still in the West, He captured the hearts and minds of many, and a permanent work was begun. An overview of his teaching and the integration of his religion with plans for education, social reform, politics etc., can be seen in the work if his English disciple Herbert Warren.
Study of Jainism After GandhiColebrook and Buchanan acknowledged it. Margret Sinclair Stevenson spoke with affection of the women, pundits and instructors who taught her so much with generous patience. Schubring rejoiced in the company of his Jain colleagues and in community events. As foreign scholars began studying Jainism, Jains themselves also produced their own works with editions and critical texts.William Norman Brown (1892-1975) from Balitmore studied at John Hopkins and Varanasi and taught at Jammu. His works included Jain miniatures and manuscript illustrations. Champat Raj Jain (1867-1942), who had Bar-at-Law from England (1892-1897), wrote many books on Jainism. His important publications are Kay of Knowledge, Confluence of Opposites, Jain Logic, Jain Psychology, What is Jainism, Jain Law, Jain Penance, Jain Penance, Jain Culture, Jain also worked on Jain archaeological findings.Barrister Jugmandir Lal Jain (1881-1927) who went to Oxford (1906-1910) devoted much of his time to the study of Jain scriptures and literature. He translated Tatthvarthasutra, Atmanushasana, Pancastikayasara, Samayasara, Jica-Karma Kanda, and initiated the translation of Gommatasara. His The Library in London, and Central Jain Publishing House in India.Dr. Hiralal Jain (1898-1973), who followed J.L. Jaini, completed the translation of Gommatasaara (1923); edited 16 volumes of Satkhandagama Siddhana (1935-1959) and Prakrit works. Heinrich Zimmer, whose main career had been in Germany, gave courses of lectures at Columbia in New York in 1942-43 on the philosophies of India including Jain teachings. He died before they were finalized in writing for publication. They were edited and put through Press by Joseph Canpbell, Oriented Mythology: The Masks of God (1962) and Zimmer's Philosophies of India, Bollingen Series, Vol. XXVI.
Y. J. Padmarajiah's, A Comparative Study of the Jaina Theories of Reality and Knowledge published in 1963, is his work (1947-4952) for which the degree of Doctor of Philosophy was awarded by Oxford University.
The work of Kendal W. Folkert, the promising Jainologist from Harvard, raised many critical question of his predecessors in the best revisionist style. He questioned the focusing on texts for Jainas do not have a narrow authoritative cannon such as the sixteenth and later century European Christians had imagined. He questioned how any philologist sitting in Europe or America can think he understands what he is studying. His article in the Penguin Handbook of Living Religions is one of hte best encyclopedia articles.
R. Willians Jaina Yoga is basically a technical discussion of medieval texts but also portrays Jain ideas of physiology, psychology and holistic approach to health. Prof. Padmanabh S. Jaini's The Jaina Path of Purification has rightly been hailed as one of the best studies sin the religions of South Asia in this century and certainly the best on Jainism. More recently, he has Gender and Salvation: Jaina Debated on the Spiritual Liberation of Women wherein he presents tightly and meticulously argued analysis of ancient Jain discussions about whether only the totally unclothed can reach the goal, whereas most agree it is indecorous for a woman to appear before mixed groups unclothed. Even long ago and even among male ascetics who are well known throughout world history for their suspicion of womanhood, the Jain community has had strong groups of those who insisted on women's absolute and universal rights.
La Voie Jaina, Histoire, Spiritualite, Vie des ascetes pelerines de I'nde (1985) by N. Shanta is a field-work of total immersion.
Harvard Pluralism Project supervised by Prof. Diane Eck has a number of papers on the Jain side of the research prepared by Holly Seeley.
Structural Development in Jaina DiasporaEmergenca into self-consciousness if the world-wide Jaina diaspora - people of Jain faith domiciled overseas - calls for their strict retention not only to discover ways of retaining them in modern environment but demands to think of the : laity and the house-holders.' their strengths and what they can do. It is they who are the mainstream and backbone of Jainism in the west. In this sense, a house-holder is a person in his or her own right, not just a deficient monk or nun. The fluidity and inter-dependence with elements recognized as specific, pointing to a certain primordiality of Jain features,may or may not present with a positive change for the fullest development of the community as in the case of Jaina diaspora. They demand a new and tightly defined, but to work within the present condition a structural development in social, psychological and physical contexts, both of the individual and of the institutions. It is to emerge fresh and new in the choosen environment taken for granted on the good promise and premise.
The organizational structures through the establishment of societies and associations in North America began in the early 1960s as the Jaina community grew numerically. Following is the list of some organizations:
Jain Centre of New York (1966) changed to Jain Society of America at Queens. It has temple building with community oriented activities.
Jain Centre of Boston (1973) has temple with Community oriented activities. It pioneered the publication of Jain Directory of North America, and regularly brings out updated editions.
Jain Meditation International Centre (1975) founded by Gurudev Chitrabhanu. Meetings and Lecture on meditation etc., caters mainly for westerners.
Siddhachalam (1983) founded by Acarya Sushil Kumarji. It is Jain ashram and resident community of monks and nun, laymen and laywomen on 108 acres of hill top near Pocono mountains in Blairstown, New Jersey.
Jain Society of Chicago, IL. It built America's largest Jain temple complex in 1993.
Jain Society of Washington D.C. It acquired property and established Jain temple in 1987. Dr. Manoj Dharamsi was its active President till 1993.
Jain Society of South California, CA. It established a Jain temple and library in 1986.
Jain Society of New Jersey, NJ. It has established Jain temple.
Jain Society of Northern Texas, TX. It has established temple in Richardson.
Jain Society of Toronto (1981) has the largest temple building in Canada, and has community oriented activities to observe Jaina festivals and pravacans.
International Mahavir Jain Mission, USA & Canada (1986) It was founded by Acarya Sushil Kumarji. It is involved in Jain Campls during the summer months of August both at Siddhachalam and Nigra Falls, Canada. The Toronto organization often promotes Jain Seminars in Canadian universities. And in conjunction with Jain Society of Toronto, it produced shows on Jainism for public television in 1989-90.
Jain Meditation and Philosophy (1981) It is established by its President Irena Upenick. Mainly caters to westerners on meditation, Vegetarianism, fasting and Jaina basic philosophy. Independently it promotes Jaina precepts and practice among westerners through networking.
Rooplal Jain Lecture Foundation (1990), Toronto. Founded with the aim of promoting academic study of Jain religion. Sponsors annual Jain lectures at the University of Toronto, and it began its first lecture in 1990 delivered by Prof. Padmanabh S. Jainni of the University of California, Berkeley.
Jain Federation of North America (JAINA) founded in 1981 with Lalit Shah as the President. Dr. Manoj Dharamsi was elected after a few months, and he continued devising developmental plans up to 1985 when it had its first Bi-ennuak Cibcention organized on a large scale in Detroit, MI. At this gathering, a quarterly magazine, Jain Digest was launched with S.A. Bhuvanendra Kumar of Mississauga, Canada as its editor, elected by Directors of JAINA. The first issue of Jain Digest came out in memory of the Air India bomb victims travelling from Toronto to Bombay in 1986. In 1989, it established JAINA Library in Lubbock, Texas and Toronto Canada with funds provided by Dr. Premchand Gada of Lubbock, Texas. In the same year, Young Jains of America and Matrimonial Information Bureau were established under the leadership of Dr. Urmila Talsania of Chicago and Fakirchand Dalal of Baltimore repectively.
Bramhi Society U.S.A. and Canada (1989) It was founded by a group of twelve individuals from the U.S.A. and Canada to make a contribution in a contemporary environment to the study and promotion of Jaina reflection in the West. It has begun the publication of Jinamanjare, a bi-annual Journal, with the first issue in October 1990. S.A. Bhuvanendra Kumar is the founder and editor.
In 1991 Bramhi Society organized Jain Youth Exchange is association with Young Jains of U.K., and the Jaina Federation of North America.
These organizations and asscociations while are important indeed, the onus for the development of Jainism in the West falls squarely upon the Jaina laity who lives the life in mainstream America. The term laity in Jain sense has altogether different meaning then in the Christian parlance. In Jainism, it means those who follow the faith but have nit entered monastic life - being monks or nuns. The term laity in Jainism consists of an intimate symbiosis of four orders, namely - male and female renunciates, women and men, and so in the American condition, the onus inevitably falls on the latter two to bring out Reality and Truth in terms of Jain precepts and practices. Similarly, it is largely their task to maintain symbiosis with the ascetics.
Ordinary renunciates in the West understand a very little of their importance in this symbiotic inter-relationship, as propagators of Jaina gospel and making history; however they will be the originators in the given situation.
Where were those Jains of 1960s - 1990s? Whence and why did they come? What did the principles of religion teach them? A lot unanswerable questions arise now, and if it is not addressed properly, the Jain diaspora in the west will manifest itself in an unstructured and highly ambiguous condition.
The four teachings which the Jains have unflinchingly witnessed: co-dependence as part of an organically interrelated universe, positive non-violence in all its aspects, the aspects, the realization that there are various paths to the Truth and the importance of the feminine. The educational task and maintaining of it through these four Jaina covevant will indeed insure strength to the organizational structure and to the Jaina diaspora in the West.
The Schisms in Jain Tradition
A. K. Roy
The first of these schisms, as we have already seen, happened during the life of Mohair himself. Its leader was his own son-in-law Jamali. Jamali broke away with his followers from Mahavira, fourteen years after the latter had attained omniscience. the point on which Jamali differed from Mohair would appear to an outsider to be mere quibble.
The second schism was started by Tissagutta in Rajagriha. This happened also during the life time of Mohair and only two years after Jamali's schism. Tissagutta's followers were called Jivapaesiyas. They controverted Mahavira's view that the soul is permeated in all the atoms of the body.
The third schism was led by Asadha at Seyaviya, 214 years after the death of Mohair. Asadha's followers were called Avattiyas, and they held that there was no difference between gods, saints, kings and other beings.
The fourth schism was started by Assamitta in Mihila 220 years after Mahavira's death. Assamitta was a disciple of Kodinna who was a disciple of Mahagiri. Assamitta's followers were called Samuchcheyas and they held that since the end of all life will come some day, the effects of good or bad deeds are immaterial.
The fifth schism was started by Ganga at Kullakatiriya, 228, years after the death of Mohair. Ganga was a disciple of Dhanagutta, another disciple of Mahagiri. His followers were called Dokiriyas, and they held that two opposite feelings such as cold and warmth could be experienced at the same time.
The sixth schism arose in Antaranjiya and was started by Sadulaya, otherwise known as Rohagutta, 544 years after the death of Mohair. Sadulaya is said to have been the author of the Vaisheshika sutra. His followers were called Terasiyas and they held that between life and non-life there is a third state 'no-jiva'. According to the kalpa-sutra, the Terasiya sect was founded by Rohagutta a disciple of Mahagiri.
The seventh schism was led by Gottamahila at Dashapura, 584 years after Mahavira's death. His followers were called Abaddhiyas and they asserted that jiva was not bounded by karman.
No trace of these seven schisms is now left in the Jaina religion.
The Eighth Schism - Digambaras and Shvetambaras
the Jaina community is divided into two sects Digambara and Shvetambara. Both the sects have exactly the same religious and philosophical beliefs and practically the same mythology. The only noticeable difference is the mythology of the two sects is regarding the sex of the ninetieth tirthankara Malli. The Shvetambaras believe that Malli was a Woman, while Digambaras think that Malli was a man. This difference of opinion about Malli arises out of the few differences in the beliefs of the two sects. The Digambaras think that it is not possible for a woman to achieve salvation and as all trithankaras do achieve salvation, the nineteenth trithankara could not have been a woman. Another difference between the two sects is that the Digambaras think that all Jaina ascetics should follow the example of Mohair and remain nude, while the Shvetambaras think that the practice of remaining nude known as jinakalpa was given up by the great teachers of the Church within a few generations after Mohair and they had started wearing white garments. This practice was known as sthavirakalpa. The present - day ascetics according to the Shvetambaras need to follow only these great teachers (sthaviras), and it was not necessary to practice the jinakalpa. The third point on which the two sects differ regarding the food of the kevali. The Digambaras maintain that a kevali does not need any intake of food while the Shvetambaras think that they do. The point is academic, both the sects are unanimous that nobody is going to become a kevali in the foreseeable future.
Digambaras also deny two of the Shvetambara beliefs about Mahavira, that Mahavira's embryo was taken from the womb of the Brahamana woman Devananda and transferred to the womb of Trishala, and also that Mahavira had married and had a daughter. (Other minor difference between these two communities are given later).
It will be noticed that these and similar other differences are of a minor nature and do not affect the main tenets of the religion which were essentially same for both the sects. On the other hand these differences minor though they might be have cleaved the Jaina community into two distinct groups with practically no inter-mixing on the religious or even social plane ; for even inter-marriage between the two sects is not ordinarily permissible. This was because the two communities have necessarily their own temples the Digambaras having the images of the tirthankaras nude and the Shvetambaras clothed. Due to some reasons mentioned later the Digambaras refuse to recognize the canonical books of the Shvetambaras, and have their own texts.
Thus we see that the two sects swearing allegiance to Mahavira and his teachings behave in their practical religious life as two different societies. How a community with the same religious philosophy started behaving at some point of time as two distinct communities is not clearly known. The early religious literature of both the sects is practically silent on this point. It is thus possible to conjecture that the Church was undivided in the beginning the more orthodox one among the monks practicing nudity and the others not discarding clothes. Perhaps nudity was optional in the beginning it became later the fixed manner of all those who adopted it considering it to be the orthodox way of Jainism. the Separation of the Digambaras and shvetambaras according to this thinking was thus a gradual process and there was no point of the time when there was any actual schism. This appears to be a plausible theory.
A slight modification of this theory would be that Hemachandra was wrong, and the jinkaplika was never given up. One group of Jaina ascetics continued to practice it throughout, and this group was later called Diagmbara. The great scholar of Jainism Hoernle has argued in his essay on the ajivikas in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics that originally the Digambaras were those Ajivika who were unhappy at he behavior of their leaders Makkhali Goshala at he time of his death. After leaving his sect they had joined Mahavira and had become the latter's follower. Thus the Digambaras as a group were separate form the time of Mahavira himself. Horernle's conjecture is based mainly on two grounds. Firstly not only did the Ajivikas practice strict nudity but also a few of their customs resembled those of Digambara monks to some extent. On this latter point Hoernle has cited some instance which do not seem to be bore out by facts. For instance Hoernle says that Ajivikas used to carry a stick and so do the Digambra monks now a days. As a matter of fact Shvetambara monk who may carry a stick and not a Digambara monk who can have practically no earthly possession. The second point on which Hoernle bases his arguments is that many ancient authors and lexicographers have confused the Ajivikas with the Digambaras.
The Jaianas themselves both Shvetambaras and Digambaras have there own versions as how the schism between them occurred. These appear in their later books composed long after the alleged occurrences. As stated earlier these are mere legends and cannot be verified as history. The Shvetambara version is given in Avashyakabhashya a work of about 500 A.D. The Legend is as follows:
A person called Shivabhuti who had founded a sect called the Bodiya in the city of Rathvirapura. The occasion for doing this arose in this manner:
Shivabhuti had won many battles for his king and the latter showered honors on him. Naturally, Shivabhuti became very proud and used to return home late at night. His mother on the complaint of her daughter-in-law refused to open the door one night and asked him to go to the place the door of which was likely to find open. getting wild Shivabhuti entered such a place which, however, turned out to be monastery. He asked the head priest to initiate him but the priest refused to do so, whereupon Shivabhuti himself plucked out his hair and wandered as a monk.
After some time this self-imitated monk Shivabhuti happened to come to the same place. The king his former friend sent him a costly garment as a gift.
Shivabhuti's superior protested and disallowed him to use such a garment. When Shivabhuti did not listen to his advice the teacher tore off that garment and used it as a mattress. Getting wild and excited Shivabhuti gave up all clothing.
(A slightly different version of this says that the occasion for it arose when once, his teacher, expounding the texts to class came up against the following alluding to a special stage of Jinakalpa.
"Jinakalpias were of two kinds. Some of them might have the necessary requisites, and others not. On hearing it Shivabhuti asked his teacher.; 'While there is the system of Jinakalpa why should be there be the bondage of clothes? A monk following jinakapla and living in solitude should following the principles of austerity, including nudity". The teacher tried to bring him round but Shivabhuti would not be persuaded and gave up all clothing. Thus created schism in the community).
His sister Uttara also followed him and she also became naked. But when the courtesans of the city complained that nobody would go the them seeing the ugly nature 9of the female body, Shivabhuti disallowed his sister to accept nudity. Thus nudity was started by the Bodiyas under Shivabhuti. The Bodiyas presumably were later called the Digambaras. This the eighth schism according to the Shvetambaras occurred on 609 A.D. or A.D. 83
The Digambara version of how the Shvetambaras broke away form the main Church which the Digambaras call the Mulasangha is completely different. It was recorded much later. The first record is found in Harisena's Brihakatakosa of A.D. 931. This is as follows :
In the reign of Chandragupta Marurya Bhadrabahu had predicted a terrible famine in the country of Magadha, for a period of 12 years. Hence a part of the community migrated to South India under his leadership, while the rest remained in Magadha.
When after some time the leaders met together in Ujjayini the famine was still there and hence they allowed the monks to wear a piece of cloth to hide shame while on the begging tour. But even when the famine was over these minks refused to give up the use of the piece of cloth. The conservative elements protested against this. And thus these Ardhaphalakas proved to be the forerunner of the Shvetambara sect.
The final separation came later due to Chandralekha queen of king Lokpala of Valabhipura. It is related that these Ardhaphalaka monks were invited by her ; but seeing them neither clothed nor naked the king was disappointed and the queen therefore asked them to dress completely. Therefore the Ardhaphalakas began to put on white clothes and came to be called Shvetapatas. This happened in A.D. 80.
(There is a reference to a Svhetapapa community in a grant issued in the the fourth regal year by the Kadamba king Mrigeshavarma. The grant of a village was made to a community of Jainas living in the city of Vaijayanti. The village was divided into three shares the first to the holy Arhat the Second to the eminent ascetics called Shvetapapas, who were intent on practicing the true religion and the third for the eminent ascetics called Nirgaranthas. Thus the Shvetapatas and Nirganthas in this city in Karnataka worshipping the same image of Arhat in a temple. Whether the Shvetapapas referred to in the inscription and the Shvetapatas sect referred to in the above Digambara legend were the same is not known).
There is a serious weakness in this Digambara version : It is not supported by the earliest Digambara epigraph that mentions famine. This epigraph, at Shravana Belogola, says that Bhadrabahu had predicted the famine in Ujjayini and not in Magadha; moreover he himself is not recorded to have accompanied the community to South India. Thus there are contradictions in the Digambara versions. On the other hand the Shvetambara version as to how the Church split into two is a bit too puerile for such an important event. It appears that all these stories were invented long after the actual split which in the beginning must have been a gradual process which was completed some time at he end of the 5th century. We do not know when actually the two sects finally separated but we have epigraphic records to prove that even in the 3rd century A.D. the difference, if any within the community was not sharp. The images found at Kankali-tila in Mathura belong to this period. They depict the tirthankaras in a nude state. Yet the donors of these images presumably belonged are the shvetambara sect for the shakhas and Ganas to which they belonged are the same of the donors were nuns or the disciples of nuns. Thus though the images were in the Digambara style the worshipers did not observe the Digambara orthodoxy about disallowing women to become nuns. Or the disciples of nuns. The exact dates of the Mathura inscription cannot be determined. They are dated in the Kusana era and the dates mentioned are from 5 to 98 of this era. However, the controversy as to when the Kusana era stated is not yet over and if we go by the date suggested by R.C. Majumdar then this era started in A.D. 244, and therefore the Mathura Jaina inscriptions belong to a period from the middle of the 3rd century to the middle of the 4th century. The inscription of Kajum in the Gorakhpur district refers to the installation of five images of Adikartis. This inscription is dated A.D. 460. The images found here are nude. The conclusion would be that the difference in beliefs of the two sects if they had at all parted company by that time, was not up to then clear-cut and both the sects worshiped nude images.
The actual parting of the ways perhaps came come time near the middle of the 5th century, when the Valabhi council was held. It is said that the canon of the Shvetambaras had been reduced to a state of disorder and was even in danger of being lost altogether. Hence in the year 980 after the Death of Mahavira a Council was held in valabhi in Gujarat presided over by Devarddhi Ksahmashramana the head of the school for the purpose of collecting texts and writhing them down. The twelfth Anga containing the puvvas had already gone astray at that time. This is why we find only eleven Angas in the recession which is supposed to be identical with that of Devarddhi.
The Digambaras completely deny the authority of the texts collected by this Council. They say that not only was the knowledge of the 14 Puvvas lost at an early period, but that 436 years after Mahavira's nirvana the last person who knew all the 11 Angas has died. The leaders who succeeded him knew less and less Angas as time went on, until the knowledge of these works was completely lost 683 years after Mahavira's nirvana. Thus the Valabhi council when the two sects actually parted company. As stated earlier all the tirthankaras either in the standing position and nude, or if seated in the crossed legged position are sculptured in such a way that neither garments not genitals are visible. Thus upto the Kusana period both the sects worshipped nude images. The earliest known image of a tirthankara with a lower garment is standing Rishabhnatha discovered at Akota in Gujarat. The date of his image has been fixed at the later part of the fifth century. This was shortly after the period of Valabhi Council.
The geographical distribution of the sects also would give some support to the theory that the Valabhi Council was the chief reason of the schism. It is found that the main concentration of the Shvetambaras is round about and within 500 kilometers of Valabhi. Most of the Jainas in Gujarat and western Rajasthan are Shvetambaras, while most of the Jain of the eastern Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and the Jainas of the South India are Digambaras.
It is possible that so far as the Jainas of northern India were concerned, they might have had a Council of their of there own at Mathura. Its President was Skandila. This name does not occur in the list of Sthaviras of the Kalpa-sutra, but the name of Shandilya occurs 33rd in the list. Jacobi remarks in this connection : "I think Shadilya is the same as Skandila, who was president of the Council of Mathura, which seems to have been the rival of that in Valabhi."
In other words, those who accepted the literature edited and collected at Vallabhi as canonical were later called Shvetambaras, and those who either has their own Council at Mathura, or did not have any Council at all as in South India, were later called Digambaras.
The Digamabaras of South India, long before the time the Valabhi Council of the Shvetambaras had met had started developing their own sacred literature. They had to do this because according to them the last of the acharyas who knew even a part of the angas had died 683 years after the death of Mahavira. The name of this acharya was Bhutavali. Nobody was left who knew even a part of the original canon. The next point off according to some Digambara lists was Bhadrabahu II. Kundakunda who claimed to be the disciple of this Bhadrabahu, therefore started writing the sacred books of the Digambaras. He is said to have written altogether 84 such books. The names of all the work composed by kundakunda are not known. But three of his works, viz., Samayasara, Pravachanasara, and Panchasikayasara are considered so important by the Digambaras that together they are called Prabhritatraya or Saratrraua, a name which reminds one of the prasthanatraya of the Vedantists. Indeed Kundakunda is considered so important a personality in the Digambara hagiology that a popular Digambara benedictory verses runs thus :
Mangalam Bhagavana Viro, mangalam Gautamogani,
Mangalam Kundakundyadyau, Jaina dharmostu mangalam.
To the Digambaras thus Kundakunda is an important a teacher as Sudharma is to the shvetambars.
Kundakunda was followed by many other Digambara writhers such as Vattakera, Kartikeya Svamin, etc. Practically all these authors belonged to South India. Thus by the early centuries of the Christian era while the intellectual center of the Shevtambaras was developing in western India, the Digambaras had their own intellectual center on south-west Karnataka. Perhaps this geographical separation of the intellectual centers was the main reason why the two sections of the Jainas drifted. To some extent even the gods began to differ: The Digambaras in South West Karnataka made Bahubali, a son of the first tirthankara one of their most important deities and built colossal statues for him. Bahubali on the other hand is scarcely, if at all, mentioned in the Shvetambara mythology.
The Digambaras called their Church, the Mula Sangha or the Main Church. The Mula sangha is then said to have branched of into Nandi, Sinha, etc. But all Digambaras to whatever gaccha they might belong claim the descent of their gaccha uttimately from the Mula Sangha.
In the first few centuries of the Christian era the dominant sect among the Jainas of the Deccan and South India were the Digambaras. Only one inscription - a grant - has been found in these parts of India which refers to the Shvetapatas (Shvetambaras) by name. This is the Devagira (Dharwar district) inscription of king Mrigeshavarmana referred to earlier. His period according to Saletore was A.D. 475-490).
The difference between the Shvetambaras and the Digambaras
The total number of points on which the Digambars differ form the Shvetambaras are eighteen, These are listed below:
The Digambaras do not accept the Shvetambara beliefs :
1. That a kevali needs food;2. That a kevali needs to evacuate (nihara);3. That women can get salvation. (In order to get salvation a woman has according to the Digamabaras to be born again as a man).4. That Shudras can get salvation;5. That a person can get salvation without forsaking clothes;6. That a house-holder can get salvation;7. That the worship of images having clothes and ornaments is permitted;8. That monks are allowed to possess fourteen (specified) things;9. That the tirthankara Malli was a woman;10. That the eleven of the 12 original Angas (canonical works) still exists;11. That Bharata Chakavarti attained kevali hood while living in his palace;12. That a monk may accept food from a Shudra;13.That Mahavira's embryo was transferred form one womb to another; and Mahavira's mother had fourteen auspicious dreams before he was born. The Digambaras believe that she had actually 16 such dreams;14. That Mahavira had a sickness due to the tejolesya of Goshala;15 That mahavira had married and had a daughter;17. That Marudevi went for her salvation riding and elephant; and 18. That a monk may accept alms form many houses.
THE FIRST SEVEN SCHISMSThe main schisms of the Jaina Church was the one between the Shvetambaras and the Digambaras. The Shvetambaras believe that even before this schism, there had been seven other schisms. These schisms had started when certain important leaders had then taken away their followers and established what one might call separate sects. However, these schisms had little permanent effects, for the newly born sects had either disappeared or had joined the main Church again on the death of their leaders. The seven schisms have been all described together in Avashyaka Niryukti, VII, 56-100. (The Digambaras do not know of these seven schisms at all).
The first of these schisms, as we have already seen, happened during the life of Mohair himself. Its leader was his own son-in-law Jamali. Jamali broke away with his followers from Mahavira, fourteen years after the latter had attained omniscience. the point on which Jamali differed from Mohair would appear to an outsider to be mere quibble.
The second schism was started by Tissagutta in Rajagriha. This happened also during the life time of Mohair and only two years after Jamali's schism. Tissagutta's followers were called Jivapaesiyas. They controverted Mahavira's view that the soul is permeated in all the atoms of the body.
The third schism was led by Asadha at Seyaviya, 214 years after the death of Mohair. Asadha's followers were called Avattiyas, and they held that there was no difference between gods, saints, kings and other beings.
The fourth schism was started by Assamitta in Mihila 220 years after Mahavira's death. Assamitta was a disciple of Kodinna who was a disciple of Mahagiri. Assamitta's followers were called Samuchcheyas and they held that since the end of all life will come some day, the effects of good or bad deeds are immaterial.
The fifth schism was started by Ganga at Kullakatiriya, 228, years after the death of Mohair. Ganga was a disciple of Dhanagutta, another disciple of Mahagiri. His followers were called Dokiriyas, and they held that two opposite feelings such as cold and warmth could be experienced at the same time.
The sixth schism arose in Antaranjiya and was started by Sadulaya, otherwise known as Rohagutta, 544 years after the death of Mohair. Sadulaya is said to have been the author of the Vaisheshika sutra. His followers were called Terasiyas and they held that between life and non-life there is a third state 'no-jiva'. According to the kalpa-sutra, the Terasiya sect was founded by Rohagutta a disciple of Mahagiri.
The seventh schism was led by Gottamahila at Dashapura, 584 years after Mahavira's death. His followers were called Abaddhiyas and they asserted that jiva was not bounded by karman.
No trace of these seven schisms is now left in the Jaina religion.
The Eighth Schism - Digambaras and Shvetambaras
the Jaina community is divided into two sects Digambara and Shvetambara. Both the sects have exactly the same religious and philosophical beliefs and practically the same mythology. The only noticeable difference is the mythology of the two sects is regarding the sex of the ninetieth tirthankara Malli. The Shvetambaras believe that Malli was a Woman, while Digambaras think that Malli was a man. This difference of opinion about Malli arises out of the few differences in the beliefs of the two sects. The Digambaras think that it is not possible for a woman to achieve salvation and as all trithankaras do achieve salvation, the nineteenth trithankara could not have been a woman. Another difference between the two sects is that the Digambaras think that all Jaina ascetics should follow the example of Mohair and remain nude, while the Shvetambaras think that the practice of remaining nude known as jinakalpa was given up by the great teachers of the Church within a few generations after Mohair and they had started wearing white garments. This practice was known as sthavirakalpa. The present - day ascetics according to the Shvetambaras need to follow only these great teachers (sthaviras), and it was not necessary to practice the jinakalpa. The third point on which the two sects differ regarding the food of the kevali. The Digambaras maintain that a kevali does not need any intake of food while the Shvetambaras think that they do. The point is academic, both the sects are unanimous that nobody is going to become a kevali in the foreseeable future.
Digambaras also deny two of the Shvetambara beliefs about Mahavira, that Mahavira's embryo was taken from the womb of the Brahamana woman Devananda and transferred to the womb of Trishala, and also that Mahavira had married and had a daughter. (Other minor difference between these two communities are given later).
It will be noticed that these and similar other differences are of a minor nature and do not affect the main tenets of the religion which were essentially same for both the sects. On the other hand these differences minor though they might be have cleaved the Jaina community into two distinct groups with practically no inter-mixing on the religious or even social plane ; for even inter-marriage between the two sects is not ordinarily permissible. This was because the two communities have necessarily their own temples the Digambaras having the images of the tirthankaras nude and the Shvetambaras clothed. Due to some reasons mentioned later the Digambaras refuse to recognize the canonical books of the Shvetambaras, and have their own texts.
Thus we see that the two sects swearing allegiance to Mahavira and his teachings behave in their practical religious life as two different societies. How a community with the same religious philosophy started behaving at some point of time as two distinct communities is not clearly known. The early religious literature of both the sects is practically silent on this point. It is thus possible to conjecture that the Church was undivided in the beginning the more orthodox one among the monks practicing nudity and the others not discarding clothes. Perhaps nudity was optional in the beginning it became later the fixed manner of all those who adopted it considering it to be the orthodox way of Jainism. the Separation of the Digambaras and shvetambaras according to this thinking was thus a gradual process and there was no point of the time when there was any actual schism. This appears to be a plausible theory.
A slight modification of this theory would be that Hemachandra was wrong, and the jinkaplika was never given up. One group of Jaina ascetics continued to practice it throughout, and this group was later called Diagmbara. The great scholar of Jainism Hoernle has argued in his essay on the ajivikas in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics that originally the Digambaras were those Ajivika who were unhappy at he behavior of their leaders Makkhali Goshala at he time of his death. After leaving his sect they had joined Mahavira and had become the latter's follower. Thus the Digambaras as a group were separate form the time of Mahavira himself. Horernle's conjecture is based mainly on two grounds. Firstly not only did the Ajivikas practice strict nudity but also a few of their customs resembled those of Digambara monks to some extent. On this latter point Hoernle has cited some instance which do not seem to be bore out by facts. For instance Hoernle says that Ajivikas used to carry a stick and so do the Digambra monks now a days. As a matter of fact Shvetambara monk who may carry a stick and not a Digambara monk who can have practically no earthly possession. The second point on which Hoernle bases his arguments is that many ancient authors and lexicographers have confused the Ajivikas with the Digambaras.
The Jaianas themselves both Shvetambaras and Digambaras have there own versions as how the schism between them occurred. These appear in their later books composed long after the alleged occurrences. As stated earlier these are mere legends and cannot be verified as history. The Shvetambara version is given in Avashyakabhashya a work of about 500 A.D. The Legend is as follows:
A person called Shivabhuti who had founded a sect called the Bodiya in the city of Rathvirapura. The occasion for doing this arose in this manner:
Shivabhuti had won many battles for his king and the latter showered honors on him. Naturally, Shivabhuti became very proud and used to return home late at night. His mother on the complaint of her daughter-in-law refused to open the door one night and asked him to go to the place the door of which was likely to find open. getting wild Shivabhuti entered such a place which, however, turned out to be monastery. He asked the head priest to initiate him but the priest refused to do so, whereupon Shivabhuti himself plucked out his hair and wandered as a monk.
After some time this self-imitated monk Shivabhuti happened to come to the same place. The king his former friend sent him a costly garment as a gift.
Shivabhuti's superior protested and disallowed him to use such a garment. When Shivabhuti did not listen to his advice the teacher tore off that garment and used it as a mattress. Getting wild and excited Shivabhuti gave up all clothing.
(A slightly different version of this says that the occasion for it arose when once, his teacher, expounding the texts to class came up against the following alluding to a special stage of Jinakalpa.
"Jinakalpias were of two kinds. Some of them might have the necessary requisites, and others not. On hearing it Shivabhuti asked his teacher.; 'While there is the system of Jinakalpa why should be there be the bondage of clothes? A monk following jinakapla and living in solitude should following the principles of austerity, including nudity". The teacher tried to bring him round but Shivabhuti would not be persuaded and gave up all clothing. Thus created schism in the community).
His sister Uttara also followed him and she also became naked. But when the courtesans of the city complained that nobody would go the them seeing the ugly nature 9of the female body, Shivabhuti disallowed his sister to accept nudity. Thus nudity was started by the Bodiyas under Shivabhuti. The Bodiyas presumably were later called the Digambaras. This the eighth schism according to the Shvetambaras occurred on 609 A.D. or A.D. 83
The Digambara version of how the Shvetambaras broke away form the main Church which the Digambaras call the Mulasangha is completely different. It was recorded much later. The first record is found in Harisena's Brihakatakosa of A.D. 931. This is as follows :
In the reign of Chandragupta Marurya Bhadrabahu had predicted a terrible famine in the country of Magadha, for a period of 12 years. Hence a part of the community migrated to South India under his leadership, while the rest remained in Magadha.
When after some time the leaders met together in Ujjayini the famine was still there and hence they allowed the monks to wear a piece of cloth to hide shame while on the begging tour. But even when the famine was over these minks refused to give up the use of the piece of cloth. The conservative elements protested against this. And thus these Ardhaphalakas proved to be the forerunner of the Shvetambara sect.
The final separation came later due to Chandralekha queen of king Lokpala of Valabhipura. It is related that these Ardhaphalaka monks were invited by her ; but seeing them neither clothed nor naked the king was disappointed and the queen therefore asked them to dress completely. Therefore the Ardhaphalakas began to put on white clothes and came to be called Shvetapatas. This happened in A.D. 80.
(There is a reference to a Svhetapapa community in a grant issued in the the fourth regal year by the Kadamba king Mrigeshavarma. The grant of a village was made to a community of Jainas living in the city of Vaijayanti. The village was divided into three shares the first to the holy Arhat the Second to the eminent ascetics called Shvetapapas, who were intent on practicing the true religion and the third for the eminent ascetics called Nirgaranthas. Thus the Shvetapatas and Nirganthas in this city in Karnataka worshipping the same image of Arhat in a temple. Whether the Shvetapapas referred to in the inscription and the Shvetapatas sect referred to in the above Digambara legend were the same is not known).
There is a serious weakness in this Digambara version : It is not supported by the earliest Digambara epigraph that mentions famine. This epigraph, at Shravana Belogola, says that Bhadrabahu had predicted the famine in Ujjayini and not in Magadha; moreover he himself is not recorded to have accompanied the community to South India. Thus there are contradictions in the Digambara versions. On the other hand the Shvetambara version as to how the Church split into two is a bit too puerile for such an important event. It appears that all these stories were invented long after the actual split which in the beginning must have been a gradual process which was completed some time at he end of the 5th century. We do not know when actually the two sects finally separated but we have epigraphic records to prove that even in the 3rd century A.D. the difference, if any within the community was not sharp. The images found at Kankali-tila in Mathura belong to this period. They depict the tirthankaras in a nude state. Yet the donors of these images presumably belonged are the shvetambara sect for the shakhas and Ganas to which they belonged are the same of the donors were nuns or the disciples of nuns. Thus though the images were in the Digambara style the worshipers did not observe the Digambara orthodoxy about disallowing women to become nuns. Or the disciples of nuns. The exact dates of the Mathura inscription cannot be determined. They are dated in the Kusana era and the dates mentioned are from 5 to 98 of this era. However, the controversy as to when the Kusana era stated is not yet over and if we go by the date suggested by R.C. Majumdar then this era started in A.D. 244, and therefore the Mathura Jaina inscriptions belong to a period from the middle of the 3rd century to the middle of the 4th century. The inscription of Kajum in the Gorakhpur district refers to the installation of five images of Adikartis. This inscription is dated A.D. 460. The images found here are nude. The conclusion would be that the difference in beliefs of the two sects if they had at all parted company by that time, was not up to then clear-cut and both the sects worshiped nude images.
The actual parting of the ways perhaps came come time near the middle of the 5th century, when the Valabhi council was held. It is said that the canon of the Shvetambaras had been reduced to a state of disorder and was even in danger of being lost altogether. Hence in the year 980 after the Death of Mahavira a Council was held in valabhi in Gujarat presided over by Devarddhi Ksahmashramana the head of the school for the purpose of collecting texts and writhing them down. The twelfth Anga containing the puvvas had already gone astray at that time. This is why we find only eleven Angas in the recession which is supposed to be identical with that of Devarddhi.
The Digambaras completely deny the authority of the texts collected by this Council. They say that not only was the knowledge of the 14 Puvvas lost at an early period, but that 436 years after Mahavira's nirvana the last person who knew all the 11 Angas has died. The leaders who succeeded him knew less and less Angas as time went on, until the knowledge of these works was completely lost 683 years after Mahavira's nirvana. Thus the Valabhi council when the two sects actually parted company. As stated earlier all the tirthankaras either in the standing position and nude, or if seated in the crossed legged position are sculptured in such a way that neither garments not genitals are visible. Thus upto the Kusana period both the sects worshipped nude images. The earliest known image of a tirthankara with a lower garment is standing Rishabhnatha discovered at Akota in Gujarat. The date of his image has been fixed at the later part of the fifth century. This was shortly after the period of Valabhi Council.
The geographical distribution of the sects also would give some support to the theory that the Valabhi Council was the chief reason of the schism. It is found that the main concentration of the Shvetambaras is round about and within 500 kilometers of Valabhi. Most of the Jainas in Gujarat and western Rajasthan are Shvetambaras, while most of the Jain of the eastern Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and the Jainas of the South India are Digambaras.
It is possible that so far as the Jainas of northern India were concerned, they might have had a Council of their of there own at Mathura. Its President was Skandila. This name does not occur in the list of Sthaviras of the Kalpa-sutra, but the name of Shandilya occurs 33rd in the list. Jacobi remarks in this connection : "I think Shadilya is the same as Skandila, who was president of the Council of Mathura, which seems to have been the rival of that in Valabhi."
In other words, those who accepted the literature edited and collected at Vallabhi as canonical were later called Shvetambaras, and those who either has their own Council at Mathura, or did not have any Council at all as in South India, were later called Digambaras.
The Digamabaras of South India, long before the time the Valabhi Council of the Shvetambaras had met had started developing their own sacred literature. They had to do this because according to them the last of the acharyas who knew even a part of the angas had died 683 years after the death of Mahavira. The name of this acharya was Bhutavali. Nobody was left who knew even a part of the original canon. The next point off according to some Digambara lists was Bhadrabahu II. Kundakunda who claimed to be the disciple of this Bhadrabahu, therefore started writing the sacred books of the Digambaras. He is said to have written altogether 84 such books. The names of all the work composed by kundakunda are not known. But three of his works, viz., Samayasara, Pravachanasara, and Panchasikayasara are considered so important by the Digambaras that together they are called Prabhritatraya or Saratrraua, a name which reminds one of the prasthanatraya of the Vedantists. Indeed Kundakunda is considered so important a personality in the Digambara hagiology that a popular Digambara benedictory verses runs thus :
Mangalam Bhagavana Viro, mangalam Gautamogani,
Mangalam Kundakundyadyau, Jaina dharmostu mangalam.
To the Digambaras thus Kundakunda is an important a teacher as Sudharma is to the shvetambars.
Kundakunda was followed by many other Digambara writhers such as Vattakera, Kartikeya Svamin, etc. Practically all these authors belonged to South India. Thus by the early centuries of the Christian era while the intellectual center of the Shevtambaras was developing in western India, the Digambaras had their own intellectual center on south-west Karnataka. Perhaps this geographical separation of the intellectual centers was the main reason why the two sections of the Jainas drifted. To some extent even the gods began to differ: The Digambaras in South West Karnataka made Bahubali, a son of the first tirthankara one of their most important deities and built colossal statues for him. Bahubali on the other hand is scarcely, if at all, mentioned in the Shvetambara mythology.
The Digambaras called their Church, the Mula Sangha or the Main Church. The Mula sangha is then said to have branched of into Nandi, Sinha, etc. But all Digambaras to whatever gaccha they might belong claim the descent of their gaccha uttimately from the Mula Sangha.
In the first few centuries of the Christian era the dominant sect among the Jainas of the Deccan and South India were the Digambaras. Only one inscription - a grant - has been found in these parts of India which refers to the Shvetapatas (Shvetambaras) by name. This is the Devagira (Dharwar district) inscription of king Mrigeshavarmana referred to earlier. His period according to Saletore was A.D. 475-490).
The difference between the Shvetambaras and the Digambaras
The total number of points on which the Digambars differ form the Shvetambaras are eighteen, These are listed below:
The Digambaras do not accept the Shvetambara beliefs :
1. That a kevali needs food;2. That a kevali needs to evacuate (nihara);3. That women can get salvation. (In order to get salvation a woman has according to the Digamabaras to be born again as a man).4. That Shudras can get salvation;5. That a person can get salvation without forsaking clothes;6. That a house-holder can get salvation;7. That the worship of images having clothes and ornaments is permitted;8. That monks are allowed to possess fourteen (specified) things;9. That the tirthankara Malli was a woman;10. That the eleven of the 12 original Angas (canonical works) still exists;11. That Bharata Chakavarti attained kevali hood while living in his palace;12. That a monk may accept food from a Shudra;13.That Mahavira's embryo was transferred form one womb to another; and Mahavira's mother had fourteen auspicious dreams before he was born. The Digambaras believe that she had actually 16 such dreams;14. That Mahavira had a sickness due to the tejolesya of Goshala;15 That mahavira had married and had a daughter;17. That Marudevi went for her salvation riding and elephant; and 18. That a monk may accept alms form many houses.
Nov 18, 2008
Jaina Art and Architecture in Karnataka
Dr.K.V. Ramesh
I
Those of you who, on hearing the title of my paper, expect me to give a list of the Jaina monuments of Karnataka with their locations, dates and descriptions will be surely disappointed after listening to me. As a matter of fact, what I have chosen to do, of my own choice, is to try to trace the origins of Jaina architecture in Karnataka and them to shift the burden of my paper to my own conclusion on what the Jaina monuments of Karnataka, alreay well written upon, have and have not achieved. In doing this I have not spared my own conscience, nor have I spared the inevitable historical manifestations of Jainism; but, all in good faith. The motivation behind this paper is my firm belief that what our troubled land needs today is Mahavira's pristine teachings shorn of spiritual and material accretions thrust upon them by almighty time as the author of history. Though the ink on this paper is still wet, the thoughts which have gone into its contents nave lingered on in my mind for years at a stretch. I had all along been searching for a forum in which to voice them. I hope I have at last found one this morning though your expectations and my protestations may not be the same.
II
In his 'editorial observations' which appears as the prologue for the monumental three volume publication on 'Jaina Art and Architecture' published by the Bharatiya Jnanapith (New Delhi: 1974), the learned editor Shri A. Ghosh observes: "It is difficult' to conceive of any Jaina artistic or architectonic creation that does not pertain to, and can be isolated from, the mainstream of Indian art and architecture. No doubt, the special religious and mythological concepts of Jainism produced sculptural forms not found in the creations of other denominations, but even these conformed to the style of the region and period to which they belonged. Thus, while representation of the Samauasarana, Nandisuara-dirpa, Ashtrapada, etc., typical of Jaina mythology, are peculiarly Jaina, in the style of execution even they followed the contemporary style of the region in which they were produced."
Further on, continuing in the same vein, he says "There is no religion-wise difference in the sculptural embellishments of the religious edifices. The same richness of life is apparent in the sculpture of all religions, except where it is strictly religious in character. Call them Yaksis, attendants, nayikas, apsarasas, surasundaris or alasa-kanyas, they appear everywhere, singly or in mithunas, and nothing in the austere tenets and practices of any religion could prevent their appearance in places of worship. There is no gainsaying the fact that the above observations should be constantly kept in mind by anyone trying to make an objective assessment of the achievements of the patrons of Jainism in the fields of art and architecture.
Now, to get to the subject of my paper, which is Jaina art and architecture in Karnataka, if we are to believe epigraphical information of the 7th century A.D., and there is no reason why we should not, the history of Jainism in Karnataka goes back eto the pre-Asokan Mauryan period with the migration, from the north, of Bhadrabahusvamin and a large number of his disciples and their settlement in the hilly tracts of Sravanabelgola. But in Sravanabelgola itself no architectural activity seems to have been initiated prior to the nineth century A.D.
This is in stark contrast with what happened just a little latern in the extreme south of the peninsula, in the Pandyan region to be more precise. It is generally accepted, on strong circumstantial evidences that part of the migrant Jaina clergy and laity proceeded further south and settled themselves in the hilly tracts of the Pandyan country where we find in the rock-beds and some of the natural or slightly worked out caverons Jaina inscriptions in Tamil a few of which were, according to me, not merely of the Mauryan but of the pre-Asokan decades.
We do not find such epigraphical and rock-cut confirmation of Jaina activities in the Mauryan period at Sravanabelgola which was many times better suited for such activities.
I can think of at least two possible explanations of this striking contrast:
1. In that early phase of extreme Jaina austerity, simplicity and self-abregation, which was still the case when Jainism reached Kamataka, no beds were cut out on the rocks and no caverns worked upon lest such acts should detract from quiet essential Jaina tenets;
2. Even the simple enough act to commemoratively engraving the names of the hundreds of Jaina asceties who attained samadhi by lying down on the rock surfaces was not done because those early Jaina migrants to Sravanabelgola did not carry with them a script.
This stark austerity, devoid of embellishments or, for that matter, even any type of rock-cuttings to render ascetic life less uncomfortable, is tellingly brought home by the description of the expansive, cold rock-surfaces scattered all over Sravanabelgola and, one of which Prabhachandra lay down and attained samadhi early in the 3rd century B.C. as prithula-tal-astirnna-tatasu sitasu sitalasu.
Be that as it may, epigraphical references to the construction or existance of Jaina places of worship in Karnataka begin to trickle in only from the 4th-5th centuries A.D. Ignoring for a moment .the possibility of a marginal error of a few decades, I may point out here that the relatively datable history of Karnataka's Jaina monuments commences towards the end of the 5th century A.D. with an epigraphical controversy generated by the Gudnapur inscription of Ravivarman of the early kadamba ruling house of Banavasi. The said controversy centres round what is, in all probability, a significant correction introduced in the text of that lithic record by the original engraver himself. From line 12 of this pillar inscription we learn that Kadamba Ravivarman caused the construction of a temple for Manmatha (tena uesma Manmathasyedam Ravina ksitindrena karitam). Further on in line 17 the same temple is referred to as that of Kama. Here the Sanskrit word for temple, as originally engraved, was devalaya. Subsequently, however, the letter de was corrected to read jt and the horizontal bottom line of the following letter va was erased so that devalaya could be read as jinalaya. While editing this inscription my friend Dr. B.R. Gopal, without pointing out that such correction had been effected, adopted the reading ji na laya as the intended one and had forcefully argued, drawing support from literary sources, that Kama, installed in that jinalaya was none other than Bahubali and that the worship of Bahubali in Karnataka can be dated back to the close of the 5th century A.D. Though the case for the Jaina orientation of the Gudnapur temple that was is further strengthened by the reference, further on in the same inscription, to the alaya of Padmavati, more likely the Jaina Yaksi of that name, some senior scholars have equally forcefully questioned the veracity of Dr. Gopal's conclusions. It is likely that further excavations, if conducted at Gudnapur, may help in bringing this controversy to an end. If, as a result, Dr. Gopal should be proved right we would be looking at the ruins of what would be the earliest datable brick-built Jaina temple in Karnataka. This is because, though we know from inscriptions that Ravivarman's predecessors and some Ganga rulers of Southern Karnataka who had preceded him in date, had also built Jaina temples, we have not so far been able to identify the sites of their construction or ruins.However, a clear picture and also a continuous history of Jaina art and architecture in Karnataka becomes available to us from the middle of the 6th century A.D. with the establishment of the Chalukyan hegemony in northern Karnataka and the consolidation Ganga power in Southern karnataka. And this continuous history of Karnataka's Jaina art and architecture always inevitably .reminds us of the wise words of A. Ghosh which I had quoted at the very commencement of this paper. The only difference is that in the case of Karnataka Ghosh's words are truer than in the case of mo'st other regions of India. For, with the exception of Gujarat, it was in Karnataka that Jainism enjoyed for long centuries great popularity, following and opulence, three necessary prerequisites for continuing architectural activities.
And, we can think of at least two very good reasons for this happy situation. One is that from early times Jainism had become an integral part of the religious life and rituals of even technically 'non-Jaina households. I have often been telling such of my friends as are interested in epigraphical data that even in those households in which men were staunch followers of Saivite and Vaisnavaite faiths, womenfolk had been equally staunch adherents of the Jaina faith. In fact the present day survival of a member of important pockets of Jainism in Karnataka is not a little due to the sustenance that religion had received from women at least until the middle of the 14th century A.D.
The other reason is that the Chalukyas, who had for the first time elevated the land of the Kannadiga to the status of a chakrauarti-ksetra, had made it their declared policy, prompted either by an enlightened outlook or by political exigencies, to patronise all the major religions of the Deccan with equal vigour. For proof I can do no better than take recourse to the text of an Alampur inscription of Chalukya, Vrjayditya (696-734 A.D.). While his own sua-dharma was Saivism, for promoting which he had done enough, Vijayaditya is eulogised in that record as having showered equal patronage on Vaisnavism, Buddhism and Jainism:
So= vjad=Bhagavatam-BauddhauJi nendra ma tam-asritan,Sva-dharma-kriyaya visuamtirthyan-santarpayan-nripat
Therefore it is that we find in the Karnataka of the Chalukya-Ganga period due representation having been given to Jainism whether it is rock-cut caves or allstone or brick religious edifices. This catholic policy did not end up as the fad or fancy of a single dynasty or of a single historical epoch but was bequeathed to their posterity by the Chalukyas and the Gangas. In the case of Jainism, unlike in the case of Buddhism, the effective application of this policy was rendered easier by the fact that Jainism had more or less patterned itself after the fashion of the brahmanical faiths in the matter and mores of rituals of everyday worship and hence fell in line, again more or less, with the same kind of architectural needs and designs. This meant that not much more of innovations and techniques were demanded of the artisans and engineers and not much more of extra investments from the patrons.
In this normal course I should at this stage give a chronological-cumdescriptive account of the Jaina monuments, sculptures, wood-carvings, and paintings of Karnataka. I, however, desist from doing so partly because I have no expertise in that field and partly because many such accounts have been earlier given by highly competent scholars in many publications. On the other hand I propose to share with you thoughts which had formed in my mind whenever I had visited Jaina monuments in any part of Karnataka. And, as an epigraphist, I had, indeed, had many such opportunities.
When one approaches a Jaina basadi in Karnataka from the front, more of ten than not, before he enters the m'ain building, he sets his eyes on the lofty, exquisitely carved manastambha raising skyward and cannot but be at once impressed. I have no doubt that Walhouse's words of ecstacy on seeing the manastambhas in front if the basad is of South Kanara hold good for all of them anywhere in Karnataka. He says "The whole capital and canopy are a wonder of light, elegant, highly decorated stone-work; and nothing can surpass the stately grace of those beautiful pillars whose proportions and adaptation to surrounding scenery are always perfect, and whose richness of decoration never offends".
Behind the manastambhas you have the basad is, either wholIy ruined or in various stages of survival or thoroughly and richly renovated. Speaking purely on a personal note, and without for a moment intending in the least to detract from their artistic excellence, value and appeal, I may reveal here that these splendid basadis of Karnataka had always generated in my mind great awe tinger with a sense of sadness. This sadness stems from my apprehension that religious quintescence and ostentation are two elements of contradiction and incompsibility, inversely proportionate to each other. It is after all true that all religions the world over have suffered progressive erosion of their intrinsic utilitarian values even as external manifestation of grandeur and astentation became progressively more and more pronounced. I am afraid well established facts of historical development prove that Jainism is no exception to this. Many are the basadis in Karnataka the ostentatious artistic and architectural beauty of which have been glorified by inscriptional poets of the past. For example. the massive Tribhuvana-chudamani -Chaityalaya of mudabidure, built in the thirties of the 15th century is graphically described by a contemporaneous inscriptional poet as follows:
Lalita-stambha-kadambamam madana-kayzamloveyam dvara-chitra-lata-bandhaman-vdgha-bhittiyanadhishthan-adiym tere-ter-olavim bannisi pelal-an-ariyen-ondamballen-a chaitya - kan salamam bhavisi Visvakarman-anugindamsvshamam tuguvam
This verse may be fully translated as follows:
"I cannot indeed describe in words graceful enough the various parts of the caityalaya such as the multitudes of elegant pillars, the madanika-bearing stouts, the frame-work of the sloping roof, the artistic creeper-bands at the doorway, the strong (or excellent) walls, the basement etc. but I know for sure one thing that Visvakarma, the celestial architect, on beholding the skillful execution of the caitya, sways his head in admiration.
Those who have seen this basadi will easily agree with me that there is no element of poetic exaggeration whatsoever in the above description. However, my own and purely personal thought is that the builders of this basadi, and there were so many of them, had travelled far from those remote times of Mahavira, but not necessarily on the path advocated by him.
But the tinge of sadness and the great awe that grip me when I am admiringly viewing the basadi vanishes the moment I stand before the cells face to face with the sublime serenity that exudes from every inch of the venerable idols of worship. The feeling of noble humanism promoted in our minds by these images in comparable with similar feelings we experience when we see those monolithic colossi, those absolute wonders unique for Karnataka, the open air Bahubali images at Sravanabelgola, Karkala and Venuru. Speaking in common of all these three Jaina colossi Walhouse observes: "The salient characteristics of all these colossi are the broad, square shoulders, very massive at the setting on of the arms; ... the thickness and remarkable length of the arms themselves; the tips of the fingers... nearly reaching the knees; the hands and nails very full, large and well-shapes. Considering the great massiveness of the upper part of the burst, the waist appears unnaturally slender; the legs are well proportioned... All the colossi are distinguished by cirspy, close-curled hair and pendulous ears". All these In their totally, when viewed in their natural surroundings unfailingly inculcate in the viewers mind the greatness of the Jaina's unselfish sacrifice for humanity. Before '1 conclude, I will revert once again to the tinge of sadness I have referred to above and confess that I do not suffer from such affliction when I visit and look at the gorgeous Saivite and Vaisnavite edifices, surely because, from time immorial, wasteful ostentation has been an inalienable part of the brahmanical faiths. On the other hand Jainism was born as a well meaning intellectual protest against these practices and extraneous elements. And in my reckoning, notwithstanding volumes that have been written on the artistic excellence of the Jaina monuments of Karnataka and elsewhere, which is all very true and is there for all to see, their role in the direct dissemination of the noble message of Jainism among the nonJainas has been minimal. And this statement comprehends even the material manifestations of later Jainism. For, I recollect, with consternation, seeing at Nagai in North Karnataka a miniature, improvised temple in which a Digambara Jaina image, broken wt.ere it matters, in installed and worshipped by the local people as the goddess bettale- Basamma i.e. the naked asamma.
But this innocent misconception demonstrates in a telling, though not exemplary, manner the total merger of Jainism into the fabric of the everyday socioreligious life of the Kannadiga and of Karnataka. All that now remains for the devote followers of the Jaina to do is to remove such miscorkeptions and place Jainism and its art and architecture in proper perspective. With the firm hope that this will happen sooner or later, I will conclude by borrowing the words of a 15th century Chiftain of Karnataka:
alliya jinalayangal-ellavanatibhaktiyinda vandipe nan
'I salute, with great devotion, all the Jaina temples of Karnataka'.
I
Those of you who, on hearing the title of my paper, expect me to give a list of the Jaina monuments of Karnataka with their locations, dates and descriptions will be surely disappointed after listening to me. As a matter of fact, what I have chosen to do, of my own choice, is to try to trace the origins of Jaina architecture in Karnataka and them to shift the burden of my paper to my own conclusion on what the Jaina monuments of Karnataka, alreay well written upon, have and have not achieved. In doing this I have not spared my own conscience, nor have I spared the inevitable historical manifestations of Jainism; but, all in good faith. The motivation behind this paper is my firm belief that what our troubled land needs today is Mahavira's pristine teachings shorn of spiritual and material accretions thrust upon them by almighty time as the author of history. Though the ink on this paper is still wet, the thoughts which have gone into its contents nave lingered on in my mind for years at a stretch. I had all along been searching for a forum in which to voice them. I hope I have at last found one this morning though your expectations and my protestations may not be the same.
II
In his 'editorial observations' which appears as the prologue for the monumental three volume publication on 'Jaina Art and Architecture' published by the Bharatiya Jnanapith (New Delhi: 1974), the learned editor Shri A. Ghosh observes: "It is difficult' to conceive of any Jaina artistic or architectonic creation that does not pertain to, and can be isolated from, the mainstream of Indian art and architecture. No doubt, the special religious and mythological concepts of Jainism produced sculptural forms not found in the creations of other denominations, but even these conformed to the style of the region and period to which they belonged. Thus, while representation of the Samauasarana, Nandisuara-dirpa, Ashtrapada, etc., typical of Jaina mythology, are peculiarly Jaina, in the style of execution even they followed the contemporary style of the region in which they were produced."
Further on, continuing in the same vein, he says "There is no religion-wise difference in the sculptural embellishments of the religious edifices. The same richness of life is apparent in the sculpture of all religions, except where it is strictly religious in character. Call them Yaksis, attendants, nayikas, apsarasas, surasundaris or alasa-kanyas, they appear everywhere, singly or in mithunas, and nothing in the austere tenets and practices of any religion could prevent their appearance in places of worship. There is no gainsaying the fact that the above observations should be constantly kept in mind by anyone trying to make an objective assessment of the achievements of the patrons of Jainism in the fields of art and architecture.
Now, to get to the subject of my paper, which is Jaina art and architecture in Karnataka, if we are to believe epigraphical information of the 7th century A.D., and there is no reason why we should not, the history of Jainism in Karnataka goes back eto the pre-Asokan Mauryan period with the migration, from the north, of Bhadrabahusvamin and a large number of his disciples and their settlement in the hilly tracts of Sravanabelgola. But in Sravanabelgola itself no architectural activity seems to have been initiated prior to the nineth century A.D.
This is in stark contrast with what happened just a little latern in the extreme south of the peninsula, in the Pandyan region to be more precise. It is generally accepted, on strong circumstantial evidences that part of the migrant Jaina clergy and laity proceeded further south and settled themselves in the hilly tracts of the Pandyan country where we find in the rock-beds and some of the natural or slightly worked out caverons Jaina inscriptions in Tamil a few of which were, according to me, not merely of the Mauryan but of the pre-Asokan decades.
We do not find such epigraphical and rock-cut confirmation of Jaina activities in the Mauryan period at Sravanabelgola which was many times better suited for such activities.
I can think of at least two possible explanations of this striking contrast:
1. In that early phase of extreme Jaina austerity, simplicity and self-abregation, which was still the case when Jainism reached Kamataka, no beds were cut out on the rocks and no caverns worked upon lest such acts should detract from quiet essential Jaina tenets;
2. Even the simple enough act to commemoratively engraving the names of the hundreds of Jaina asceties who attained samadhi by lying down on the rock surfaces was not done because those early Jaina migrants to Sravanabelgola did not carry with them a script.
This stark austerity, devoid of embellishments or, for that matter, even any type of rock-cuttings to render ascetic life less uncomfortable, is tellingly brought home by the description of the expansive, cold rock-surfaces scattered all over Sravanabelgola and, one of which Prabhachandra lay down and attained samadhi early in the 3rd century B.C. as prithula-tal-astirnna-tatasu sitasu sitalasu.
Be that as it may, epigraphical references to the construction or existance of Jaina places of worship in Karnataka begin to trickle in only from the 4th-5th centuries A.D. Ignoring for a moment .the possibility of a marginal error of a few decades, I may point out here that the relatively datable history of Karnataka's Jaina monuments commences towards the end of the 5th century A.D. with an epigraphical controversy generated by the Gudnapur inscription of Ravivarman of the early kadamba ruling house of Banavasi. The said controversy centres round what is, in all probability, a significant correction introduced in the text of that lithic record by the original engraver himself. From line 12 of this pillar inscription we learn that Kadamba Ravivarman caused the construction of a temple for Manmatha (tena uesma Manmathasyedam Ravina ksitindrena karitam). Further on in line 17 the same temple is referred to as that of Kama. Here the Sanskrit word for temple, as originally engraved, was devalaya. Subsequently, however, the letter de was corrected to read jt and the horizontal bottom line of the following letter va was erased so that devalaya could be read as jinalaya. While editing this inscription my friend Dr. B.R. Gopal, without pointing out that such correction had been effected, adopted the reading ji na laya as the intended one and had forcefully argued, drawing support from literary sources, that Kama, installed in that jinalaya was none other than Bahubali and that the worship of Bahubali in Karnataka can be dated back to the close of the 5th century A.D. Though the case for the Jaina orientation of the Gudnapur temple that was is further strengthened by the reference, further on in the same inscription, to the alaya of Padmavati, more likely the Jaina Yaksi of that name, some senior scholars have equally forcefully questioned the veracity of Dr. Gopal's conclusions. It is likely that further excavations, if conducted at Gudnapur, may help in bringing this controversy to an end. If, as a result, Dr. Gopal should be proved right we would be looking at the ruins of what would be the earliest datable brick-built Jaina temple in Karnataka. This is because, though we know from inscriptions that Ravivarman's predecessors and some Ganga rulers of Southern Karnataka who had preceded him in date, had also built Jaina temples, we have not so far been able to identify the sites of their construction or ruins.However, a clear picture and also a continuous history of Jaina art and architecture in Karnataka becomes available to us from the middle of the 6th century A.D. with the establishment of the Chalukyan hegemony in northern Karnataka and the consolidation Ganga power in Southern karnataka. And this continuous history of Karnataka's Jaina art and architecture always inevitably .reminds us of the wise words of A. Ghosh which I had quoted at the very commencement of this paper. The only difference is that in the case of Karnataka Ghosh's words are truer than in the case of mo'st other regions of India. For, with the exception of Gujarat, it was in Karnataka that Jainism enjoyed for long centuries great popularity, following and opulence, three necessary prerequisites for continuing architectural activities.
And, we can think of at least two very good reasons for this happy situation. One is that from early times Jainism had become an integral part of the religious life and rituals of even technically 'non-Jaina households. I have often been telling such of my friends as are interested in epigraphical data that even in those households in which men were staunch followers of Saivite and Vaisnavaite faiths, womenfolk had been equally staunch adherents of the Jaina faith. In fact the present day survival of a member of important pockets of Jainism in Karnataka is not a little due to the sustenance that religion had received from women at least until the middle of the 14th century A.D.
The other reason is that the Chalukyas, who had for the first time elevated the land of the Kannadiga to the status of a chakrauarti-ksetra, had made it their declared policy, prompted either by an enlightened outlook or by political exigencies, to patronise all the major religions of the Deccan with equal vigour. For proof I can do no better than take recourse to the text of an Alampur inscription of Chalukya, Vrjayditya (696-734 A.D.). While his own sua-dharma was Saivism, for promoting which he had done enough, Vijayaditya is eulogised in that record as having showered equal patronage on Vaisnavism, Buddhism and Jainism:
So= vjad=Bhagavatam-BauddhauJi nendra ma tam-asritan,Sva-dharma-kriyaya visuamtirthyan-santarpayan-nripat
Therefore it is that we find in the Karnataka of the Chalukya-Ganga period due representation having been given to Jainism whether it is rock-cut caves or allstone or brick religious edifices. This catholic policy did not end up as the fad or fancy of a single dynasty or of a single historical epoch but was bequeathed to their posterity by the Chalukyas and the Gangas. In the case of Jainism, unlike in the case of Buddhism, the effective application of this policy was rendered easier by the fact that Jainism had more or less patterned itself after the fashion of the brahmanical faiths in the matter and mores of rituals of everyday worship and hence fell in line, again more or less, with the same kind of architectural needs and designs. This meant that not much more of innovations and techniques were demanded of the artisans and engineers and not much more of extra investments from the patrons.
In this normal course I should at this stage give a chronological-cumdescriptive account of the Jaina monuments, sculptures, wood-carvings, and paintings of Karnataka. I, however, desist from doing so partly because I have no expertise in that field and partly because many such accounts have been earlier given by highly competent scholars in many publications. On the other hand I propose to share with you thoughts which had formed in my mind whenever I had visited Jaina monuments in any part of Karnataka. And, as an epigraphist, I had, indeed, had many such opportunities.
When one approaches a Jaina basadi in Karnataka from the front, more of ten than not, before he enters the m'ain building, he sets his eyes on the lofty, exquisitely carved manastambha raising skyward and cannot but be at once impressed. I have no doubt that Walhouse's words of ecstacy on seeing the manastambhas in front if the basad is of South Kanara hold good for all of them anywhere in Karnataka. He says "The whole capital and canopy are a wonder of light, elegant, highly decorated stone-work; and nothing can surpass the stately grace of those beautiful pillars whose proportions and adaptation to surrounding scenery are always perfect, and whose richness of decoration never offends".
Behind the manastambhas you have the basad is, either wholIy ruined or in various stages of survival or thoroughly and richly renovated. Speaking purely on a personal note, and without for a moment intending in the least to detract from their artistic excellence, value and appeal, I may reveal here that these splendid basadis of Karnataka had always generated in my mind great awe tinger with a sense of sadness. This sadness stems from my apprehension that religious quintescence and ostentation are two elements of contradiction and incompsibility, inversely proportionate to each other. It is after all true that all religions the world over have suffered progressive erosion of their intrinsic utilitarian values even as external manifestation of grandeur and astentation became progressively more and more pronounced. I am afraid well established facts of historical development prove that Jainism is no exception to this. Many are the basadis in Karnataka the ostentatious artistic and architectural beauty of which have been glorified by inscriptional poets of the past. For example. the massive Tribhuvana-chudamani -Chaityalaya of mudabidure, built in the thirties of the 15th century is graphically described by a contemporaneous inscriptional poet as follows:
Lalita-stambha-kadambamam madana-kayzamloveyam dvara-chitra-lata-bandhaman-vdgha-bhittiyanadhishthan-adiym tere-ter-olavim bannisi pelal-an-ariyen-ondamballen-a chaitya - kan salamam bhavisi Visvakarman-anugindamsvshamam tuguvam
This verse may be fully translated as follows:
"I cannot indeed describe in words graceful enough the various parts of the caityalaya such as the multitudes of elegant pillars, the madanika-bearing stouts, the frame-work of the sloping roof, the artistic creeper-bands at the doorway, the strong (or excellent) walls, the basement etc. but I know for sure one thing that Visvakarma, the celestial architect, on beholding the skillful execution of the caitya, sways his head in admiration.
Those who have seen this basadi will easily agree with me that there is no element of poetic exaggeration whatsoever in the above description. However, my own and purely personal thought is that the builders of this basadi, and there were so many of them, had travelled far from those remote times of Mahavira, but not necessarily on the path advocated by him.
But the tinge of sadness and the great awe that grip me when I am admiringly viewing the basadi vanishes the moment I stand before the cells face to face with the sublime serenity that exudes from every inch of the venerable idols of worship. The feeling of noble humanism promoted in our minds by these images in comparable with similar feelings we experience when we see those monolithic colossi, those absolute wonders unique for Karnataka, the open air Bahubali images at Sravanabelgola, Karkala and Venuru. Speaking in common of all these three Jaina colossi Walhouse observes: "The salient characteristics of all these colossi are the broad, square shoulders, very massive at the setting on of the arms; ... the thickness and remarkable length of the arms themselves; the tips of the fingers... nearly reaching the knees; the hands and nails very full, large and well-shapes. Considering the great massiveness of the upper part of the burst, the waist appears unnaturally slender; the legs are well proportioned... All the colossi are distinguished by cirspy, close-curled hair and pendulous ears". All these In their totally, when viewed in their natural surroundings unfailingly inculcate in the viewers mind the greatness of the Jaina's unselfish sacrifice for humanity. Before '1 conclude, I will revert once again to the tinge of sadness I have referred to above and confess that I do not suffer from such affliction when I visit and look at the gorgeous Saivite and Vaisnavite edifices, surely because, from time immorial, wasteful ostentation has been an inalienable part of the brahmanical faiths. On the other hand Jainism was born as a well meaning intellectual protest against these practices and extraneous elements. And in my reckoning, notwithstanding volumes that have been written on the artistic excellence of the Jaina monuments of Karnataka and elsewhere, which is all very true and is there for all to see, their role in the direct dissemination of the noble message of Jainism among the nonJainas has been minimal. And this statement comprehends even the material manifestations of later Jainism. For, I recollect, with consternation, seeing at Nagai in North Karnataka a miniature, improvised temple in which a Digambara Jaina image, broken wt.ere it matters, in installed and worshipped by the local people as the goddess bettale- Basamma i.e. the naked asamma.
But this innocent misconception demonstrates in a telling, though not exemplary, manner the total merger of Jainism into the fabric of the everyday socioreligious life of the Kannadiga and of Karnataka. All that now remains for the devote followers of the Jaina to do is to remove such miscorkeptions and place Jainism and its art and architecture in proper perspective. With the firm hope that this will happen sooner or later, I will conclude by borrowing the words of a 15th century Chiftain of Karnataka:
alliya jinalayangal-ellavanatibhaktiyinda vandipe nan
'I salute, with great devotion, all the Jaina temples of Karnataka'.
JAINA ART AND ARCHITECTURE IN ANDHRA
Dr. I. K. Sharma
The Jainological studies in respect of Andhradesa have not been comprehensive. Except casual references in P.B. Desai's work, Jainism in South India, and some Jaina Epigraphs, (Sholapur, 1957) and stray notices in A. Ghosh, (ED) Jaina Art and Architecture, Bharatiya Jnanapith (New Delhi, 1975), Vols. I to III; practically no work has appeared on Jaina art and architecture in so far Andhra is concerned. This being so (Late) S. Gopala Krishna Murthy has brought out a work entitled Jaina Vestiges in Andhra in the year 1963 published by Department of Archaeology, Government of Andhra Pradesh. But this work does not specifically deal with the development Of Jaina art and architecture, but provides an interesting narrative on many sites with scattered sculptures of this faith. However, mention should be made of on account of literary sources compiled by (late) Mallampalli Somasekhara Sarma entitled "Jainamatamu" - Telugu Encyclopaedia, Vol. III, (1959), pp. 544-553.
The work of Appayarya, a poet in the Court of Prataparudradeva (1295-1328 A. D.) of the Kakatiya dynasty goes by the name Jinendra Kalyanabhyudayam.l Kalyana here means festivity of worship or jubilation pertaining to Jaina cult. Another work is Padmakavi's Jainendrapuranam.
I. BACKGROUNDIt is held generally that Jaina migration took place from North and Vardhamana Mahavira organised the first Jaina community, the Mu/asangha, its eleven disciples who were named Ganadharas. Ganas are groups of Jains who caused the expansion of Jaina philosopy. Out of these, three were well known and regarded as Kevalis. They were Gautama, Jambu Swami and Arya Sudharma. They in turn had disciples who were known as Sruta Kevalis who were five - Vishnu, Nandimitra, Aparajita, Govardhana, Sthulabhadra and Bhadrabahu. Bhadrabahu, the last Sruta keuali was a contemporary of Chandra Gupta Maurya (315 B.C.) The traditional association of Bhadrabahu with Sravana (Mana) Belgola, its hold as a centre of Digambara Jainism in Deccan has been well known. Subsequently, the great Kundakundacharya, who was regarded as the founder of this Mulasamgha, and his lineage Kundanvaya appears to have made Sravanabelgola a sacred resort of Jains from all over the country. His first name was Padmanandl and since he hailed from the village Kundakunda, he got the name Kundakundacarya subsequently. The various theories regarding the location of the village, date of this acarya, his proper name and suffix have been re-examined recently by A.V. Narasimha Murthy but still no sound explanation is forthcoming. The mulasamgha branched off into four upa-samghas viz., Nandi, Sena, Deva and Simha and each subdivided into ganas and in turn contained several gacchas. All these owed to the mulasamgha for the religious guidance.
Inspite of the fairly reliable traditional accounts attesting an early spread of Jains to Sravanabelgola,it is surprisisngthat .no vestiges are3 available there or even in Deccan for that matter which could be pushed back to Mauryan or post Mauryan times; while correspondingly on the sbuth-east coastal strip, more surer evidencdes, like the early Brahmi records over simple rock caverns and brds are available at such noteworthy sites as Sittannavasal (Pudukkottai), Arittapatti and Tirupparankunram in district Madurai (Tamilnadu). It is interesting to note that one of the early settlements in the Sangam period, (3rd to 5th century A. D.), Tiruppadirippuliyur was called 'Pataliputra' in the coastal part of South Arcot between Cuddalore and Chidambaram. In the Kannada country till date not a single rock-cut Jaina cavern attributable to a pre-Christian era was reported nor any Jain vestiges have been known prior to 5th century A. D. It appears Digambara Jainism did not reach Tamilnadu from' Sravanabelgola centre but through Orissa-coastal Andhra route in early centuries B. C.
We learn from Mulacara and Pravachanasara, which were composed during the early centuries of the Christian era, that permanent habitation for the Jaina ascetics at a place is forbidden. Mulacara ordains the monks to stay in a deserted house, under a tree or burial ground or in natural caves. So the varshavasa of the Jains were mostly natual rock shelters or the way-side hills and forest areas. Therefore, not many vestiges could be assigned to this faith in specific terms.
II. JAINA TENETS:Digambara Jainism has kept up strict ascetic codes and the ritual observances continued unaltered inspite of the tremendous growth in the activities of Jaina Sangha in South India. Ascetic life lends purity, uniqueness and unsullied fame to Jainism among Indian religions. Jaina scriptures lay three modes of Sallekhana, that is voluntary starvation, standing motionless till death. Vardhamana, known as Nathaputra, (son of Natha clan of Kshatriyas) added to the Jaina Chaturyama, dharma, (Ahimsa, Brahmacharya, Truth and Nonstealing), the fifth one Aparigriha (non-possession) thereby to complete victory over desire. Thus a Jina or Kevali should practice and attain three basic means of liberation Samyakdarsana, Samyakjnana, and Samyakcharita.
III. SOME TRACES OF EARLY JAINISM IN ANDHRAThere are no authentic evidences of premedieval Jaina remains in Andhra. According to Jaina traditional accounts, Mahavira is reported to have visited Kalinga country. Hathigumpha Prasasti refers to the episode of kind Nadaraja of Magadha who took away the figure (Agajinam) to his capital. King Kharavela (2nd cent B. C) restored it back to the basadi at Kumaragiri near Bhuvaneshavare in Orissa and caused in his 13th regnal year caves and resorts at (Udayagiri / Khandagiri ) for Sramanas. Maharaja Kharavele appears to have made a dent into coastal Andhara too during his 11th regnal year and captured the coastal market town of Pithunda, which was an ancient metropolis designated by Ptolemy as the capital of Maisoloi5 (Machilipatnam). Seafaring merchants are stated to be travelling by boat from Champa (Kampuchea) to Pihumda even in the days of Mahavira.. King Kharavela also speaks of a Confedaracy of Tamil countries with whom he fought and defeated. So early Jaina impact could have been the result of Kharavela's expeditions along the South East Coast.
When exactly Jainism spread to coastal Andhra? How it reached? are the questions that defy a clear answer. We have made a reference to a major centre of Jainism in Karnataka. Its influence over the entire south India is well documented. The acharyas belonging to the mulasangha reached far and wide. This could be through Cuddapah (Gangaperuru, Danavulapadu)6 Badvel route to Nellore in the coatstal strip. Queen Ayyana . Mahadevi, wife of Kubja Vishnuvardhana Maharaja (A. D. 624-41), the eastern Chalukyan monarch, gifted the village named Musinikonda to Nidumba basadi at Bezawada. In coastal Andhra, this is the first Jaina establishment, perhaps a cave or an open rock shelter caused originally by Ayyana Mahaddevi probably located in the Mallikarjuna hill, which has been subjected to total modernisation and almost all historical monuments have been destroyed in recent years. Later on Vishnuvardhana-III (A. D.718-755), had restored the gifts given to this very Jaina temple for the regular worship of Arahats. The Eastern Chalukyan rulers Gunaga Vijayaditya (849-893 A. D.) and later on Amma-II (945-970 A. D.) have patronised Jainism on a large scale. The Bezwada basadi had monks from far off Surashtra and it appears the early Chalukyan rulers of Andhra had exchanges with the Jaina centres of North - Mathura and Western India as well, besides the major Sravanabelgola the Jain Principle centre of Karnataka.
IV. VADDAMANU, DISTRICT GUNTURVaddamanu is a small village in district Guntur 34 Km. from Guntur on Amaravati road and 10 Km south east of Amaravati, the famous Buddhist site of world renown. The highest hill called Peddakonda has yielded several remains and relics associated with stupas and monasteries as a result of extensive excavations during the years 1981-85. The view that these structures datable to early centuries B.C. are of Jaina affiliation sprang up mainly from the place named Vaddamanu taken to be Vardhamana by the excavators of the site. In fact the name is also held as Vadlamanu due to its rich paddy (Vadlu) fields on the banks of Krishna. There is no doubt that bouldered Stupa at the summit of the hill, and rock caverns, are of the early date associated with N.B.P. and Punch-marked silver coins revealing the Magadhan influence. But to align these structures of early centuries B.C. to Jaina faith is not borne by any evidence except some short label inscriptions noticed (13-on stone and 214 on pottery) on the sculpturedarchitectural members, pots, bowls used by the inmates of the monastic units located here. It may, at the outset, be- noted that in ancient India, monasteries were resorts of-moving monks, be they Jain, (Nirgranthas), Buddhist or of Brahmanical faith.
Having taken for granted that Vaddamanu is Vardhamana, and hence a Jain Kshetra scholars attempted to dovetail the literary references from Brihat Kalpa Sutra which refers to king Samprati, a patroniser of Jainism, who made his influence felth in Andhra and is as old as Mahavira. T.V.G. Sastry8 and Mrs. Kasturi Bai9 who have published several inscriptions from this place have repeatedly connected some of these short label records to Jaina acharyas, ganas and sanghas of early centuries B. C. and A. D.
I would like to state that these shorter inscriptions, and a few somewhat longer are merely the names of the monks like Ara - taken for Aranathaj asari (da) am: arhata, (VDM, 620), Uttarudhal0 Gadodasa, and Utaradas, etc. Sanghasll like Ukkasa, Nagara, Gavanti Sangha of Gayanasakha; Kulas like Nandige, Pratiga; names like Vadhama (564/1), Maha (564/2), Veera (617/2), Vadhamana Pavate (567/6), Risabo (567/6), Nemi (573/14) have all been taken to be the names of Jaina Tirthan-karas and places. Somewhat lengthy record on a harmika slab which is incomplete reads, "Vadhamana nivasikasa Dhanumitisa Samatukasa Pithuka sa Bhatukasa Chu/a Dhanutikasa ku (mar and Sastry links up this Dhanumita, resident of Vadhamanu to a Dhamati of an inscription from Mathura who is cited as an inhabitant of Punyavardhanal2. This is apparently a very imaginative linkage without basis. Punyavardhana is a place closer to Mathura and several such pious places exist in GangaYamuna doab. It is again interesting for us to note that some references like Jinanevihara, Parivara Sameta (569/4); Samprati Vihare Vadhamanu Pavatake{567/8); {Bhikshukasa}, Pithuda pura nivasikasa; Bhokavadhana pava (te); antevasa (566/9) Varanasa pati (618/4), Nepano Gamanidana (574/8); merely refer to frequent visit of monks from various places to this hill monastery and not that the monastery is aligned to exclusively Jains. Terms like Jina, arhata apply both for the followers of Buddhism as well as Jainism. There is no question of building of Stupas and monasteries in early Jainism and the Stupa of Kankalitila, Mathura, came to existence only during the Kushan period. The monastic life of Jainas has never been in permanent structures, they have dwelt merely in open resorts, way ward Rock shelters for the rainy season (Varshavasa). The monasteries, both Rock cut-in caves, halls, as well as structural viharas were not necessarily for a particular sectarian but meant for nanadesis belonging to various faiths. In the light of what has been stated above, we are of the view that Vaddamanu has no exclusive Jaina art and architectural relics. On the other hand from recently edited copper plate grants issued by Prithivi Mula Raja discovered from Kondavidu Fort (Guntur dt.), the existence of an Aryabhikshu Sangha at Vardhamani-mahavihara established by the Maha Meghavahana confirms that Vaddamanu was a flourishing Buddhist centre with several bhikshu Sanghas right upto 5th century A. D. enjoying royal patronage. In fact Digambara Jainism in early centuries B. C. or A. D. (before the advent of Mulasangha of Sravanabelgola), has no base in Andhra. Dynasties like Pallava, Chalukya, Nolamba, Rashtrakuta, Chola and Kakatiya, no doubt patronised Jainism in Andhra after this Sravanabelgola impact, wave after wave. The rock caverns reported in the Coastal Tamilnadu were only transient shelters and early Jaina monachism did not permit permanent residences to its ascetics and this holds good in respect of Andhra too.
IV. LATER HISTORICAL SITES:The Kalyani Chalukya, Kakatiya and the Velanati Chola rule witnessed asfairly large concentration of Jaina architectural establishments. The square Sikhara over a plain stepped pyramidal tower, and Trikutas involving Triple shrines on plan with a front pillared mandapa are frequently seen as Vardhamana pura, Pragatur while single towered temples are at Kambaduru. Peddatumbalam, etc. But there has not been many rock cut ventures and hardly we get any pillarad caves as in the Brahmanical and Buddhist estasblishments. The extact examples known to us from Ramatirtham (Dt. Vigaz) Siddulayyakonda (Dt.Nellore), Hanumankonda (Dt. Warangal) and Chippagiri are merely shelters under the cover of huge granite boulders and the ledges. These rock caverns are of the times of the Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas to begin with and continued by their successors like the later Chalukya and Kakatiya dynasties. Carved middle size or miniature temple models of various types found in Vemulavada, Padmakshi, and Vijayawada give us an idea of the Jaina temple styles. These models closely recall the early Chalukyan monolithic temples found at Mahanandi, Satyavolu, Kadamara Kaluva, Alampur, etc. These are usually Chaumukhas or Chauvisis intended for four or twenty four Tirthankaras.
Bhima Saiki younger brother of Chalukya, Vijayaditya-II of Vengi (806-846 A.D.) was given protection by the Rashtrakuta Gonvinda-III, who placed him near Hanumakonda in early 9th century A. D. Saiki favoured Jainas who first established a colony in the Fort, a Durga Tank and rock shelters in the bouldered hills.
During the Kakatiya times Jainism has come to the fore as the early members of the dynasty adopted Jasinism.
Bodhan (Dr. Niamabad )Known anciently as Paudanyapura during the Rashtrakuta rule. this place has become a Jaina centre. A place of Gommata, it served as a capital of Rashtrakuta king Nityavarsha Indra (915-927 A. D.) The Jaina image is known as Kukkutesvara. In Andhra, the figure of Gommata is rarely seen. In Pithapuram, a Gommata is found which is called Kukkutesvara - as Kukkuta sarpas surround him.15 The Vaisyas in Andhra are called Komatis (a native Telugu word) being followers of Gomatha. They are traders by profession and followers of Jainism.
Vemulavada: (Karimnagar district).Arikesari-II (930-955) ruled at Vemulavada. The Kannada poet Pampa,16 the author of Adipurana, originally from Vengimandala, joined the court of Arikesari being a Jaina. A big Jaina temple named as Subhadhama Jinalaya was raised. Arikesari-III donated a village (A.D. 966) to the Jaina pontif Somadeva Suri, who belonged to the Gaula Sangha of North Indian origin. Interestingly this gift was to cause maintenance like white washing. daily offerings, and worship - "Khandasphutita nava Sudhakarma, Bali, naivedyartham". It is therefore, clear that the Brahmanical ritual modes were adopted in toto, though Tirthankaras in Jainism were certainly not Gods. Though the temple got ruined we still see the Paravsnatha image of red sandstone erected in the present Raja Rajesvaralaya. Several other Tirthankara figures are found scattered in various temples here. (five Pasrsvanatha, three Vardhamanas, Suparsvanatha, a Gommata, and four others). Vemulavada was undoubtedly a big Jaina centre in Telangana.
The literary works like Yasastilaka by Somadeva and Adipurana by Pampa speak of the pre-eminence of Jainism in Telangana. The Sanigram inscription of Beta-I reveals the gift to Yuddhamatta Jinalaya. Beta-II also patronised Jaina-basadis.
The Padmakshi temple inscription of the times of ProlaIII (1117 A. D.) records the construction of Kadalalaya basadi. The Garuda banner of Pratapa Rudra is regarded by some scholars as the lanchana of Santinatha, the 16th Tirthankara. Ekasila was a Jaina resort. Several Jaina images were found in the Fort area. The Vardhamana (P1.1), Parsvanatha (P1.2), model shrine with Tirthankaras in niches (P1.3), all of back basalt are typically Kakatiyan. Padmakshi temple on Hanumakonda hill was continuously patronised. The steep narrow path is an arduous are a but ascetic Jains chose such places only. The Jaina basdi here enjoyed perpetual grants during the time of Pratapa Rudra17 who held all the Samayas (faiths) in equal esteem.
The Kadalalaya basadi or Padmakshi temple is built on a large rocky out crop. The rick built Sikhara and ardhamandapa, no doubt impressive ones, are later constructions. The sanctum is formed by a natural cavern and with a closed Cella all facing north. Seated Pasrsvanatha on lotus and a royal lady holding up an umbrella and a chief ten by the side are often taken as Mailama and her husband (P1.4). The standing Tirthankara in Kayotsarga with a seated Yaksha - Yakshini were carvings in bold relief on the left boulder closer to garbhagriha (P1.5). Significantly among the several Jaina figure carvings, a bookrest (Vyasapitha) is shown. Hanumakonda hill was a place of learning, like Sravanabelgola.
There are numerous rock carvings on the Hill at the northern boundary of the Fort and recall the rock shelters of Vallimalai and Siyamangalam in Tamilnadu.
The row of Tirthankaras (P1.6) in niches on the north face afford a grand look for their oval forms and superior workmanship on hard trap. Parsvanatha, Yakshi Padmavati, a sitting Tirthanakara in neatly cut niches are examples arising out of later Ganga-Rashtrakuta influence.18
Kollipaka: Jaina temple was built by Kumara Tailapa. The Purnaghata on the door jambs of stone, mana stambhas, carvings of Adinatha, Padmavati and the high stone torana are fine specimens.
The Raja Raja Jinalaya was built during the time of Anantavarman 1187 A.D. The metre high Parsvanatha is very impressive. The Jaina temple at Chippagiri ( on the hill), comprises of a garbhagriha, ardhamandapa and maha. mantapa, and a mukha mandapa. The Navranga has Kakshasana all around interiorly as in the Kakatiya or later Chalukyan period.
Ramathirtham,(Vizag): There are two caves or open shelters under a huge live rock. The way is rough. On the Gurubhakta hill at a distance of one Km. we find a natural cave sheltering a Jain figure (PI.7). Vimaladitya's guru Trikalayogi Siddhantadeva who belonged to desigana visited Durgamkonda. This Jaina monk is shown in relief on the rock and three more figures Chandraprabha (PI. 7 A). Parsvanatha, and Chandraprabha (PI. 7B, C) out of local khondolite resemble the Rashtrakuta examples. Chandavolu, capital of Velanati Chola's(12-13th century A.D.) has also several Jaina figures.
Kanchumurru, (West Godavari) was a rendezvous of Jains during the time of Ammaraja-II. A lady named Chamekamba pupil of Acharya Arhanandi, raised a temple called Sarvalokasraya Jinabhuvana.19
Penukonda in West Godavari has a Parsvanatha, which is a renowned place of learning. Jina bhushana Bhattaraka one of the Chaturdasa Vidyasthanas of Jains (PI.8). Aryavatam in East Godavari district, near Draksharama has a Jainapadu. The Vardhamana image of grey granite from here is of an early period and has the aureole and the Triple parasol. The chauri bearers and Lions back-to-back make it Simhasana. The facial expression and serene pose in dhyana make this figure pleasant looking. Tirthanakaras existed in the Kakinada town hall compound also. Biccavolu has a fine example of Vardhamana (P1.9) now in Madras Museum. This appears to be a Rashtrakuta - Vengi Chalukya make and falls into the early class of figures, like the Aryavatam example. We are reminded of the similar Jaina sculptures of Ellora.
JAINA TEMPLES IN NELLORE DISTRICT:Nellore is known as Vikrama Simhapuri. According to Boswel.20 Vikrama Simhapura and Mulasthanesvara temples were caused by one Mukkanti (Trinetra) a legendary Pallava king. Nellore and its surroundings revealed several Jaina vestiges.21 which provide a fresh data on the nature, early history and spread of this religion.
1. Parsvanatha Image in the Town Hal I (Pl.10)In the premises of Nellor Progressive Union's (Town Hall) library a relief sculpture of a Jaina Tirthankara is planted in position.
This stone slab measures 1.14 metres length and 63 cm. wide out of black basalt rock. In the central part of the stone is a figure standing erect (samapadas sthanaka), nude in Kayotsarga posture. A seven-hooded snake protects the head of the image which has the Trichatravali, the symbol of royality. Besides the Prabhavali, the tiruvasi torana raised over Kudya-stambhikas was held by makaravyala mukha at the base. At the ends of these pillars are the attendant gods of the Jaina pantheon. Samvara enraged at the severe austerities of Parsvanatha Tirthankara attempts to disturb him from penance. A heavy dowopour of rain and storm was caused resulting in total deluge around the standing Parsvanatha. At this juncture Dharanendra, the Naga king came up from the Patala along with his consort Padmavati to protect the Jina. Dharanendra becomes a carytide yaksha and spreads out his hoods on the head of Parsvanatha to ward off the rain, while Padmavati holds up the feet by placing lotus flowers. Thus the Naga couple is depicted here standing either sides with folded hands while the Sankha and Lotus (Padmadala) are up the waters as if emerging to protect the central figure. In the central part are two whisk bearers. The upper loop of the torana is held by a set of elephant riders. Above the festoon is a Gandharva playing the drum.
The above sculpture was reported from the area closer to the Cathedral Church where a stepped tank also existed. This lateritic tank is now taken over by the Fisheries Department which is closer to the former bus stand. The sculpture was however shifted to the premises of the Nellore Town Hall. The stepped tank has still some ancient features preserved. The spot is called Enugulamitta, the tank was the Sarovara for the Parsvanatha temple.
Not only the above find, but another figure of Parsvanatha was noticed in the compound wall of the old bungalow of District Judge in Dargamitta area.22 Though defaced, the image has all the characteristics detailed above (no. 1) with the exception that no elephant riders are shown among the Paribhramana devatas.
Jina Vardhamana (P.11)This impressive image of Vardhamana is presently within the Narasimhasvami temple in Danduvari Street, Nellore. Some regard the figure as Mahavishnu and worship it. The image is kept within an iron-bar door on the left side room of the Gopuradvara. This rare specimen is made out of black basalt and highly polished. Seated in Dhyana, the figure is 1.16 metre high with well marked forehead, long nose, distended ears and full neck, throat marked by tri-rekhas, and head with vamavrita curls imparted the look of a peal of custard apple. The radiating face sumptuous and sturdy shoulders and in quite meditative posture, the Vardhamana looks in every sense a Manmadtha Jina. The vahana (mount) is Lion but since the base part is embedded in the earth, this is not visible.
It is reported that originally the above image was within the premises of an old tank (pushkarini) built of lateritic blocks. The large tank was also closed in 1900 when the District Collector's office was raised at the very same place. It appears that during this work was going on, excavation around the sculpture revealed a temple pian. In view of the fineness of the image, the locals who were much impressed, shifted the same to the nearby Narasimhasvami temple in Danduvari Street. Several carved pieces of the temple and also the laterite blocks were used as building materials in the construction.
The above evidences when put together bring to light the existence of a Jaina Temple with an image of Vardhamana and a tank (pushkarini) was in its front. It is very important and also interesting to note that the image is called 'Konetiraya' by the elders of the town. Thus the consecreted Vardhamana was regarded as the king (raya) and greatly revered.
It may be seen from the above facts that in Nellore proper there have been in existence at least three Jaina temples and sarovaras. As prescribed in the Jaina-agamas, for the ritual of Samavasarana, Sveta or Dhaval Saras (Lotus Tank) was a must. Hence the temples of Jina at Nellore had invariably been associated with stepped tanks whose remains were traceable. This ritual tradition was streamlined and observed strictly by the Digambaras during 8th-9th centuries A. D. The Mula Sangha of Sravanabelagola (Dist. Hassan, Karnataka State), was the seat of several Digambara acharyas of renown and the Svetasarovara here was the most sacred pushkarani for Jinas in the whole country.
Digambara Jainism spread from Karnataka to the region through Siddhout-Cuddapah and Badvel perhaps at the behest of Acharya Simhanandi of Sravanabelgola during 7th-8th century A. D.
4. SOME MORE JAINA SETTLEMENTS IN NELLORE DISTRICT:It is relevant to mention here some more Jaina remains in Nellore District. Robert Sewell and Goapala Krishna Murthy.23 mention as Jaina temple at Kanuparthi padu village which is 20 Km east of Nellore. The Jaina temple here was built by Karikala Chola of legolldary fame. But during the thirty seventh year of the Chola King Raja Raja Deva his consort Pramiladevi caused steps to the Palmlichamda and gifted lands for maintenance of the mopastery.24 The image of Parsvanatha Jina in this village bears close resemblance to the figure from Nellore described above.
Ruins of a Jaina temple along with the figure of Parsvanatha are traceable at Krishnapatnam under the silt (P1.12). The image is enshrined as a mulabera and the Sasanadeuatas, respectively Dharanendra yaksha and goodess Padmavati are paying obeissance from' either sides. Although foundational inscriptions are not traced. the Jaina vestiges in jhe Nellore region were of 9th century A. D. and during the later Telugu Chola times these were renovated and expanded too.
The style of Jaina figures in Nellore district resemble those of the Chalukyas and nearer Bapatla. Nellore also became famous during A. D. 849-893 A. D. during the reign of Gunaga Vijayaditya, 25 the Eastern Chalukyan king His vassal Panduranga enriched Kandukur to look like Bezwada in its grandeur and ruled the Nellore region.26
It might be of topical interest to critically examine some of the local temples in Nellore. More specifically the temple of goddess Irukala Paramesvari worshipped under the name of Yerukalamma as a Sakti presiding the place. The temple is located in Mulappet at the North east-wards of Svarnala Cheruvu, now popular as Nellore tank. This temple is built with lateritie blocks. Kulottunga CholaIII (1178-1226) offered worship to this deity and gave munificient gifts. Though defaced, the goddess like Chamundi has owl as lanchchana. She is the counterpart of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.
From the Jaina inscriptions of South India the set of Sasanadevatas governing the Jaina temples and settelements have come to stay. In some other parts of south India we find similar practice in vogue. Two Jaina temples dedicated respectively to Vrshabhanatha ( 748-749 A. D.) and Chandranatha (1190-91 A.D.) existed at Perumandur village27 in Dindivanam Taluk of South Arcot district. The Jaina-Yakshas set up here were named as Irivikula Sundari Perumbali and Manganayaki named after the donor of the temple of images. The presiding deity of the Nellore temple was called like-wise Irukala-paramesvari or Irukalamma could thus be regarded as a Jaina Sasanadevi and the Svarnalacheruvu was the dhavalasaras for the Jaina ritual of Samavasarana.
It can also be reasonably held that "Lion" being the Vahana of Vardhamana Jina the king or rayadu of the place, the toponym Simhapuri to Nellore came to vogue. The Jaina acharya Simhanandi laid the seeds of Jainism, for the first time at this place, and this event also might justify the name Simhapuri to Nellore. In any case there is no doubt of the hold of Jainism in Nellore region.
Culturally the village names ending with Palli, Palai andPadu signifiedJaina settlements. In thes records of Kulottunga Chola-III (1178 1226), Nellore is called Pallinati or Palai Vikrama Simhapuri. It is quite reasonable to take the Konetirayad!,1, the principal Jina at the Jaina temple datable to 9th century A. D. as the owner of the older Jaina village. We may conclude that the name Simhapuri to Nellore originated from its being an important place of Jainism during the times of acharya Simhanandi.28
SlDDHULAYYAKONDA: (Village Saidapuram): (14° 12'N: 79° 44'E)This place is located 50 Km. from Nellore South-West, 30 Km. East of South Rapur, A recent discovery by G. R.Gehlot.29 Superintending Archaeologist, Hyderabad Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India and his colleagues is of great importance, as this is first and only rock-cut shelter (Pl.13) dedicated to Jaina faith in the area after Vallimalai in the neighbouring North Arcot district of Tamilnadu.
The sturdy Jaina Tirthan kara figures with trichatravali customary three-tiered umbrella, seated on a Simhasana in Sattva-paryanka are fixed inside Kudu like aurole. There are two such Tirthankaras, the first one measures .60 cm x 40 x 10 cms (Pls.14 and 15) is Adinatha flanked by two standing male chouri-bearers, while the other is Vardhamana, (56 x 38 x 10 cm) the Prabhavali, in tiers, with the seated Matanga Yaksha on the right, and Siddhayika on the left: The Vamavrita curls, trirekha of the neck and round bulged face and sturdy body features clearly reflect the characteristics of Vallimalai Tirthankaras and also Siyamangalam. Like in the rock caves, the cave of Siddulagavulu has an opening of a long bouldered frontage with an entrance door-way, the dripledge cut on the face of the rock above the top line meant to arrest the main water directly falling into the cave (PI. 13). This Jaina cave appears to have been ocupied in later periods by Alvars. The Jaina images too are regarded by the locals as alvars or generally Siddhu/u i.e. hermits.
Danavalapadu (district Cuddapah)According to the inscription of Rashtrakuta Nityavarsha Indra-III (915-927 A.D.) caused a Jaina basti at this place and installed on a Pitha the image of Santinatha, 16th Tirthankara. Danavalpadu presents an evolved state of ritual and iconography presents an evolved state of ritual and iconography of Jains. Several white granite/sandstone sculptures have been brought to Madras Govt. Museum. These include carved mandapa pillars, and nishidika stones, and Chaumukhas. Within a circular ridged Pitha amidst the temple ruins, (PLs. 16 & 17) clearly betray their original installation. The divinities carved in relief on the side edge of the circular Pitha (PL 18) are unique examples and chaumukhas were meant for the ablution of Santinatha. The structural jaina temple is an extensive basadi on the banks of Pennar river (PL 19). A ghat with stepped descent was also provided for use of the Jains. The introduction of abhisheka mar~s an advancement in the Jaina ritual and the sculptured Pithas with water chuta is a speciality of Danavalapadu.
The Jaina temples, Chaumukhas, a pedestal for Tirthankaras, 3-metre high figures of Parsvanatha (two in granite and Padmavati were unearthed (PL 20). Except a few at site rest are in Madras Museum. The Sarvatobhadrika was a set up in a square temple with openings at the four directions. A seated Jina, is seen who attained Kaivalya. In this case the figures could be those of Mahavira, Neminatha or Rishabhanatha.
Dharmayaram, in Ongole taluk of Prakasam district, is known as Dharmapuri for its being a place of Jaina Dharma. Two long hill ranges provided shelter to Jains. A Jinalaya was constructed at the east of the village proper by Duggaraja the Commander-in-Chief of Gunaga Vijayaditya. This Jinalaya was named as Katakabharana Jinalaya and several land grants were caused. Among the figures found in the village, Parsvanatha, and a grey stone Tirthankara now in Sub Collector's office are good examples. Munugodu in Sattenapalli Tq. was a Jaina Kshetra. It has the name-Prithvi tilaka Jaina basadi of the Svetambara Jainas. Kulotunga Choda-I, during his 37th regnal year gave land grants.
Anantapur Area:After Konakondla, important Jaina relics were noticed at Pedda Tumbalam, Chinatumbalam. Kambadur, Nayakahalli Adoni; Penukonda and more prominently Hemavati. We shall consider a few examples among these sites in a rapid way.
Hemavati, anciently known Henjeru, a capital of Nolambas who ruled between 8th-10th century A. D. and kept close contacts with Pallavas Gangas of Karnataka.
A figure of Adinatha (PI. 21) seated on a raised Simhasana Trichattravali, flanked by male chauries is an installed image and inscribed too in 9th-10th century characters. Another Jaina Tirthankara, Vardhamana in dhyana reveals the supple Nilamba features. Hemavati patronised Jains and a temple existed here. At Kambadur, the Jaina temple facing north has a plain tiered tower (pyramidal) over the garbhagriha, fronted by an ardhamandapa, a pillared hall all within a stone prakara wall. The door frame of the Pratoli shows Purnaghatas and a Jaina figures on the Lalata of the over door frame indicates its Jaina affiliation. A Jaina temple named Brahma-Jinalaya housing Parsvanatha is seen within Tailagiri Fort, in Amarapuram village of Anantapur district.
At Adoni hill, the rock-cut seated Jinas in a neat row (three nos) on the hill remind us Hanumakonda. Parsuanatha in Kayotsarga, Padmavati-Dharanendra. The huge are of Rashtrakuta vintage, boulders close the entrance.
Tadipatri on the banks of Pennar has two Jaina te!T1ples, one of Chandranatha, the other for Parsvanatha. These perhaps had been founded in 1208 A. D. by Chola Chieftan Vijayaditya by name.
BRONZES FROM BAPATLA AREA:Several bronzes of Jaina faith were found near Bapatla. Of these two are bells, eleven Tirthankaras and attendent Yaksha- Yakshini figures. These are now preserved in State Museum, Hyderabad. They are datable to 11th-12th century A.D.
Vardhamana seated in dhyana is flanked by Yaksha-Yakshini (P1.22) with chauris carved above. He has a Prabha surmounted by a Chatrauali, Parsvanatha is seated on an elaborate Simhasana with a prabha behind his head (P1.25). Yakshi Ambika with the child is shown below holding the branch of mango-tree (P1.26). Others include Parsvanatha, Neminatha, Padmaprabha, a Vidyadevi, etc. (P1.23, 24).
OTHER JAINA IMAGES IN THE STAGE MUSEUM, HYDERABADa. Patancheruuu : Hyderabad area is stated to have several Jaina basad is. Standing Bahubali in Kayotsarga with creepers entwining his legs is a powerful representation. The image is of 12th century A. D. Mahavira with 23-Tirthankaras carved around is impressive. The Jaina Sarasuati is an example of a robust female in supple form, with several ornaments on the body. A Chaumukha with Sikharais interesting.
An important centre of Jainism is Nizamabad. The Parsvanatha image with all the Maha Purusha lanchanas is interesting.
b. Kurikyal, Karimnagar district: An image of Yakshi chakresvari, attendent of Adinatha is a dated example with an inscription of the donor king Jinavallabha, brother of Pampa, the great Kannada poet (950 A.D.).
c. Chilukuru: A very robust figure of Parsvanatha is sandstone measuring 3.25 em. height standing in Kayotsarga was found at Chilukuru, just 20 Km. from Hyderabad. Another Mahavira seated in Padmasana in dhyanamudra, was of black basalt and one metre high. Two chauri bearers were also found.
The Jainological studies in respect of Andhradesa have not been comprehensive. Except casual references in P.B. Desai's work, Jainism in South India, and some Jaina Epigraphs, (Sholapur, 1957) and stray notices in A. Ghosh, (ED) Jaina Art and Architecture, Bharatiya Jnanapith (New Delhi, 1975), Vols. I to III; practically no work has appeared on Jaina art and architecture in so far Andhra is concerned. This being so (Late) S. Gopala Krishna Murthy has brought out a work entitled Jaina Vestiges in Andhra in the year 1963 published by Department of Archaeology, Government of Andhra Pradesh. But this work does not specifically deal with the development Of Jaina art and architecture, but provides an interesting narrative on many sites with scattered sculptures of this faith. However, mention should be made of on account of literary sources compiled by (late) Mallampalli Somasekhara Sarma entitled "Jainamatamu" - Telugu Encyclopaedia, Vol. III, (1959), pp. 544-553.
The work of Appayarya, a poet in the Court of Prataparudradeva (1295-1328 A. D.) of the Kakatiya dynasty goes by the name Jinendra Kalyanabhyudayam.l Kalyana here means festivity of worship or jubilation pertaining to Jaina cult. Another work is Padmakavi's Jainendrapuranam.
I. BACKGROUNDIt is held generally that Jaina migration took place from North and Vardhamana Mahavira organised the first Jaina community, the Mu/asangha, its eleven disciples who were named Ganadharas. Ganas are groups of Jains who caused the expansion of Jaina philosopy. Out of these, three were well known and regarded as Kevalis. They were Gautama, Jambu Swami and Arya Sudharma. They in turn had disciples who were known as Sruta Kevalis who were five - Vishnu, Nandimitra, Aparajita, Govardhana, Sthulabhadra and Bhadrabahu. Bhadrabahu, the last Sruta keuali was a contemporary of Chandra Gupta Maurya (315 B.C.) The traditional association of Bhadrabahu with Sravana (Mana) Belgola, its hold as a centre of Digambara Jainism in Deccan has been well known. Subsequently, the great Kundakundacharya, who was regarded as the founder of this Mulasamgha, and his lineage Kundanvaya appears to have made Sravanabelgola a sacred resort of Jains from all over the country. His first name was Padmanandl and since he hailed from the village Kundakunda, he got the name Kundakundacarya subsequently. The various theories regarding the location of the village, date of this acarya, his proper name and suffix have been re-examined recently by A.V. Narasimha Murthy but still no sound explanation is forthcoming. The mulasamgha branched off into four upa-samghas viz., Nandi, Sena, Deva and Simha and each subdivided into ganas and in turn contained several gacchas. All these owed to the mulasamgha for the religious guidance.
Inspite of the fairly reliable traditional accounts attesting an early spread of Jains to Sravanabelgola,it is surprisisngthat .no vestiges are3 available there or even in Deccan for that matter which could be pushed back to Mauryan or post Mauryan times; while correspondingly on the sbuth-east coastal strip, more surer evidencdes, like the early Brahmi records over simple rock caverns and brds are available at such noteworthy sites as Sittannavasal (Pudukkottai), Arittapatti and Tirupparankunram in district Madurai (Tamilnadu). It is interesting to note that one of the early settlements in the Sangam period, (3rd to 5th century A. D.), Tiruppadirippuliyur was called 'Pataliputra' in the coastal part of South Arcot between Cuddalore and Chidambaram. In the Kannada country till date not a single rock-cut Jaina cavern attributable to a pre-Christian era was reported nor any Jain vestiges have been known prior to 5th century A. D. It appears Digambara Jainism did not reach Tamilnadu from' Sravanabelgola centre but through Orissa-coastal Andhra route in early centuries B. C.
We learn from Mulacara and Pravachanasara, which were composed during the early centuries of the Christian era, that permanent habitation for the Jaina ascetics at a place is forbidden. Mulacara ordains the monks to stay in a deserted house, under a tree or burial ground or in natural caves. So the varshavasa of the Jains were mostly natual rock shelters or the way-side hills and forest areas. Therefore, not many vestiges could be assigned to this faith in specific terms.
II. JAINA TENETS:Digambara Jainism has kept up strict ascetic codes and the ritual observances continued unaltered inspite of the tremendous growth in the activities of Jaina Sangha in South India. Ascetic life lends purity, uniqueness and unsullied fame to Jainism among Indian religions. Jaina scriptures lay three modes of Sallekhana, that is voluntary starvation, standing motionless till death. Vardhamana, known as Nathaputra, (son of Natha clan of Kshatriyas) added to the Jaina Chaturyama, dharma, (Ahimsa, Brahmacharya, Truth and Nonstealing), the fifth one Aparigriha (non-possession) thereby to complete victory over desire. Thus a Jina or Kevali should practice and attain three basic means of liberation Samyakdarsana, Samyakjnana, and Samyakcharita.
III. SOME TRACES OF EARLY JAINISM IN ANDHRAThere are no authentic evidences of premedieval Jaina remains in Andhra. According to Jaina traditional accounts, Mahavira is reported to have visited Kalinga country. Hathigumpha Prasasti refers to the episode of kind Nadaraja of Magadha who took away the figure (Agajinam) to his capital. King Kharavela (2nd cent B. C) restored it back to the basadi at Kumaragiri near Bhuvaneshavare in Orissa and caused in his 13th regnal year caves and resorts at (Udayagiri / Khandagiri ) for Sramanas. Maharaja Kharavele appears to have made a dent into coastal Andhara too during his 11th regnal year and captured the coastal market town of Pithunda, which was an ancient metropolis designated by Ptolemy as the capital of Maisoloi5 (Machilipatnam). Seafaring merchants are stated to be travelling by boat from Champa (Kampuchea) to Pihumda even in the days of Mahavira.. King Kharavela also speaks of a Confedaracy of Tamil countries with whom he fought and defeated. So early Jaina impact could have been the result of Kharavela's expeditions along the South East Coast.
When exactly Jainism spread to coastal Andhra? How it reached? are the questions that defy a clear answer. We have made a reference to a major centre of Jainism in Karnataka. Its influence over the entire south India is well documented. The acharyas belonging to the mulasangha reached far and wide. This could be through Cuddapah (Gangaperuru, Danavulapadu)6 Badvel route to Nellore in the coatstal strip. Queen Ayyana . Mahadevi, wife of Kubja Vishnuvardhana Maharaja (A. D. 624-41), the eastern Chalukyan monarch, gifted the village named Musinikonda to Nidumba basadi at Bezawada. In coastal Andhra, this is the first Jaina establishment, perhaps a cave or an open rock shelter caused originally by Ayyana Mahaddevi probably located in the Mallikarjuna hill, which has been subjected to total modernisation and almost all historical monuments have been destroyed in recent years. Later on Vishnuvardhana-III (A. D.718-755), had restored the gifts given to this very Jaina temple for the regular worship of Arahats. The Eastern Chalukyan rulers Gunaga Vijayaditya (849-893 A. D.) and later on Amma-II (945-970 A. D.) have patronised Jainism on a large scale. The Bezwada basadi had monks from far off Surashtra and it appears the early Chalukyan rulers of Andhra had exchanges with the Jaina centres of North - Mathura and Western India as well, besides the major Sravanabelgola the Jain Principle centre of Karnataka.
IV. VADDAMANU, DISTRICT GUNTURVaddamanu is a small village in district Guntur 34 Km. from Guntur on Amaravati road and 10 Km south east of Amaravati, the famous Buddhist site of world renown. The highest hill called Peddakonda has yielded several remains and relics associated with stupas and monasteries as a result of extensive excavations during the years 1981-85. The view that these structures datable to early centuries B.C. are of Jaina affiliation sprang up mainly from the place named Vaddamanu taken to be Vardhamana by the excavators of the site. In fact the name is also held as Vadlamanu due to its rich paddy (Vadlu) fields on the banks of Krishna. There is no doubt that bouldered Stupa at the summit of the hill, and rock caverns, are of the early date associated with N.B.P. and Punch-marked silver coins revealing the Magadhan influence. But to align these structures of early centuries B.C. to Jaina faith is not borne by any evidence except some short label inscriptions noticed (13-on stone and 214 on pottery) on the sculpturedarchitectural members, pots, bowls used by the inmates of the monastic units located here. It may, at the outset, be- noted that in ancient India, monasteries were resorts of-moving monks, be they Jain, (Nirgranthas), Buddhist or of Brahmanical faith.
Having taken for granted that Vaddamanu is Vardhamana, and hence a Jain Kshetra scholars attempted to dovetail the literary references from Brihat Kalpa Sutra which refers to king Samprati, a patroniser of Jainism, who made his influence felth in Andhra and is as old as Mahavira. T.V.G. Sastry8 and Mrs. Kasturi Bai9 who have published several inscriptions from this place have repeatedly connected some of these short label records to Jaina acharyas, ganas and sanghas of early centuries B. C. and A. D.
I would like to state that these shorter inscriptions, and a few somewhat longer are merely the names of the monks like Ara - taken for Aranathaj asari (da) am: arhata, (VDM, 620), Uttarudhal0 Gadodasa, and Utaradas, etc. Sanghasll like Ukkasa, Nagara, Gavanti Sangha of Gayanasakha; Kulas like Nandige, Pratiga; names like Vadhama (564/1), Maha (564/2), Veera (617/2), Vadhamana Pavate (567/6), Risabo (567/6), Nemi (573/14) have all been taken to be the names of Jaina Tirthan-karas and places. Somewhat lengthy record on a harmika slab which is incomplete reads, "Vadhamana nivasikasa Dhanumitisa Samatukasa Pithuka sa Bhatukasa Chu/a Dhanutikasa ku (mar and Sastry links up this Dhanumita, resident of Vadhamanu to a Dhamati of an inscription from Mathura who is cited as an inhabitant of Punyavardhanal2. This is apparently a very imaginative linkage without basis. Punyavardhana is a place closer to Mathura and several such pious places exist in GangaYamuna doab. It is again interesting for us to note that some references like Jinanevihara, Parivara Sameta (569/4); Samprati Vihare Vadhamanu Pavatake{567/8); {Bhikshukasa}, Pithuda pura nivasikasa; Bhokavadhana pava (te); antevasa (566/9) Varanasa pati (618/4), Nepano Gamanidana (574/8); merely refer to frequent visit of monks from various places to this hill monastery and not that the monastery is aligned to exclusively Jains. Terms like Jina, arhata apply both for the followers of Buddhism as well as Jainism. There is no question of building of Stupas and monasteries in early Jainism and the Stupa of Kankalitila, Mathura, came to existence only during the Kushan period. The monastic life of Jainas has never been in permanent structures, they have dwelt merely in open resorts, way ward Rock shelters for the rainy season (Varshavasa). The monasteries, both Rock cut-in caves, halls, as well as structural viharas were not necessarily for a particular sectarian but meant for nanadesis belonging to various faiths. In the light of what has been stated above, we are of the view that Vaddamanu has no exclusive Jaina art and architectural relics. On the other hand from recently edited copper plate grants issued by Prithivi Mula Raja discovered from Kondavidu Fort (Guntur dt.), the existence of an Aryabhikshu Sangha at Vardhamani-mahavihara established by the Maha Meghavahana confirms that Vaddamanu was a flourishing Buddhist centre with several bhikshu Sanghas right upto 5th century A. D. enjoying royal patronage. In fact Digambara Jainism in early centuries B. C. or A. D. (before the advent of Mulasangha of Sravanabelgola), has no base in Andhra. Dynasties like Pallava, Chalukya, Nolamba, Rashtrakuta, Chola and Kakatiya, no doubt patronised Jainism in Andhra after this Sravanabelgola impact, wave after wave. The rock caverns reported in the Coastal Tamilnadu were only transient shelters and early Jaina monachism did not permit permanent residences to its ascetics and this holds good in respect of Andhra too.
IV. LATER HISTORICAL SITES:The Kalyani Chalukya, Kakatiya and the Velanati Chola rule witnessed asfairly large concentration of Jaina architectural establishments. The square Sikhara over a plain stepped pyramidal tower, and Trikutas involving Triple shrines on plan with a front pillared mandapa are frequently seen as Vardhamana pura, Pragatur while single towered temples are at Kambaduru. Peddatumbalam, etc. But there has not been many rock cut ventures and hardly we get any pillarad caves as in the Brahmanical and Buddhist estasblishments. The extact examples known to us from Ramatirtham (Dt. Vigaz) Siddulayyakonda (Dt.Nellore), Hanumankonda (Dt. Warangal) and Chippagiri are merely shelters under the cover of huge granite boulders and the ledges. These rock caverns are of the times of the Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas to begin with and continued by their successors like the later Chalukya and Kakatiya dynasties. Carved middle size or miniature temple models of various types found in Vemulavada, Padmakshi, and Vijayawada give us an idea of the Jaina temple styles. These models closely recall the early Chalukyan monolithic temples found at Mahanandi, Satyavolu, Kadamara Kaluva, Alampur, etc. These are usually Chaumukhas or Chauvisis intended for four or twenty four Tirthankaras.
Bhima Saiki younger brother of Chalukya, Vijayaditya-II of Vengi (806-846 A.D.) was given protection by the Rashtrakuta Gonvinda-III, who placed him near Hanumakonda in early 9th century A. D. Saiki favoured Jainas who first established a colony in the Fort, a Durga Tank and rock shelters in the bouldered hills.
During the Kakatiya times Jainism has come to the fore as the early members of the dynasty adopted Jasinism.
Bodhan (Dr. Niamabad )Known anciently as Paudanyapura during the Rashtrakuta rule. this place has become a Jaina centre. A place of Gommata, it served as a capital of Rashtrakuta king Nityavarsha Indra (915-927 A. D.) The Jaina image is known as Kukkutesvara. In Andhra, the figure of Gommata is rarely seen. In Pithapuram, a Gommata is found which is called Kukkutesvara - as Kukkuta sarpas surround him.15 The Vaisyas in Andhra are called Komatis (a native Telugu word) being followers of Gomatha. They are traders by profession and followers of Jainism.
Vemulavada: (Karimnagar district).Arikesari-II (930-955) ruled at Vemulavada. The Kannada poet Pampa,16 the author of Adipurana, originally from Vengimandala, joined the court of Arikesari being a Jaina. A big Jaina temple named as Subhadhama Jinalaya was raised. Arikesari-III donated a village (A.D. 966) to the Jaina pontif Somadeva Suri, who belonged to the Gaula Sangha of North Indian origin. Interestingly this gift was to cause maintenance like white washing. daily offerings, and worship - "Khandasphutita nava Sudhakarma, Bali, naivedyartham". It is therefore, clear that the Brahmanical ritual modes were adopted in toto, though Tirthankaras in Jainism were certainly not Gods. Though the temple got ruined we still see the Paravsnatha image of red sandstone erected in the present Raja Rajesvaralaya. Several other Tirthankara figures are found scattered in various temples here. (five Pasrsvanatha, three Vardhamanas, Suparsvanatha, a Gommata, and four others). Vemulavada was undoubtedly a big Jaina centre in Telangana.
The literary works like Yasastilaka by Somadeva and Adipurana by Pampa speak of the pre-eminence of Jainism in Telangana. The Sanigram inscription of Beta-I reveals the gift to Yuddhamatta Jinalaya. Beta-II also patronised Jaina-basadis.
The Padmakshi temple inscription of the times of ProlaIII (1117 A. D.) records the construction of Kadalalaya basadi. The Garuda banner of Pratapa Rudra is regarded by some scholars as the lanchana of Santinatha, the 16th Tirthankara. Ekasila was a Jaina resort. Several Jaina images were found in the Fort area. The Vardhamana (P1.1), Parsvanatha (P1.2), model shrine with Tirthankaras in niches (P1.3), all of back basalt are typically Kakatiyan. Padmakshi temple on Hanumakonda hill was continuously patronised. The steep narrow path is an arduous are a but ascetic Jains chose such places only. The Jaina basdi here enjoyed perpetual grants during the time of Pratapa Rudra17 who held all the Samayas (faiths) in equal esteem.
The Kadalalaya basadi or Padmakshi temple is built on a large rocky out crop. The rick built Sikhara and ardhamandapa, no doubt impressive ones, are later constructions. The sanctum is formed by a natural cavern and with a closed Cella all facing north. Seated Pasrsvanatha on lotus and a royal lady holding up an umbrella and a chief ten by the side are often taken as Mailama and her husband (P1.4). The standing Tirthankara in Kayotsarga with a seated Yaksha - Yakshini were carvings in bold relief on the left boulder closer to garbhagriha (P1.5). Significantly among the several Jaina figure carvings, a bookrest (Vyasapitha) is shown. Hanumakonda hill was a place of learning, like Sravanabelgola.
There are numerous rock carvings on the Hill at the northern boundary of the Fort and recall the rock shelters of Vallimalai and Siyamangalam in Tamilnadu.
The row of Tirthankaras (P1.6) in niches on the north face afford a grand look for their oval forms and superior workmanship on hard trap. Parsvanatha, Yakshi Padmavati, a sitting Tirthanakara in neatly cut niches are examples arising out of later Ganga-Rashtrakuta influence.18
Kollipaka: Jaina temple was built by Kumara Tailapa. The Purnaghata on the door jambs of stone, mana stambhas, carvings of Adinatha, Padmavati and the high stone torana are fine specimens.
The Raja Raja Jinalaya was built during the time of Anantavarman 1187 A.D. The metre high Parsvanatha is very impressive. The Jaina temple at Chippagiri ( on the hill), comprises of a garbhagriha, ardhamandapa and maha. mantapa, and a mukha mandapa. The Navranga has Kakshasana all around interiorly as in the Kakatiya or later Chalukyan period.
Ramathirtham,(Vizag): There are two caves or open shelters under a huge live rock. The way is rough. On the Gurubhakta hill at a distance of one Km. we find a natural cave sheltering a Jain figure (PI.7). Vimaladitya's guru Trikalayogi Siddhantadeva who belonged to desigana visited Durgamkonda. This Jaina monk is shown in relief on the rock and three more figures Chandraprabha (PI. 7 A). Parsvanatha, and Chandraprabha (PI. 7B, C) out of local khondolite resemble the Rashtrakuta examples. Chandavolu, capital of Velanati Chola's(12-13th century A.D.) has also several Jaina figures.
Kanchumurru, (West Godavari) was a rendezvous of Jains during the time of Ammaraja-II. A lady named Chamekamba pupil of Acharya Arhanandi, raised a temple called Sarvalokasraya Jinabhuvana.19
Penukonda in West Godavari has a Parsvanatha, which is a renowned place of learning. Jina bhushana Bhattaraka one of the Chaturdasa Vidyasthanas of Jains (PI.8). Aryavatam in East Godavari district, near Draksharama has a Jainapadu. The Vardhamana image of grey granite from here is of an early period and has the aureole and the Triple parasol. The chauri bearers and Lions back-to-back make it Simhasana. The facial expression and serene pose in dhyana make this figure pleasant looking. Tirthanakaras existed in the Kakinada town hall compound also. Biccavolu has a fine example of Vardhamana (P1.9) now in Madras Museum. This appears to be a Rashtrakuta - Vengi Chalukya make and falls into the early class of figures, like the Aryavatam example. We are reminded of the similar Jaina sculptures of Ellora.
JAINA TEMPLES IN NELLORE DISTRICT:Nellore is known as Vikrama Simhapuri. According to Boswel.20 Vikrama Simhapura and Mulasthanesvara temples were caused by one Mukkanti (Trinetra) a legendary Pallava king. Nellore and its surroundings revealed several Jaina vestiges.21 which provide a fresh data on the nature, early history and spread of this religion.
1. Parsvanatha Image in the Town Hal I (Pl.10)In the premises of Nellor Progressive Union's (Town Hall) library a relief sculpture of a Jaina Tirthankara is planted in position.
This stone slab measures 1.14 metres length and 63 cm. wide out of black basalt rock. In the central part of the stone is a figure standing erect (samapadas sthanaka), nude in Kayotsarga posture. A seven-hooded snake protects the head of the image which has the Trichatravali, the symbol of royality. Besides the Prabhavali, the tiruvasi torana raised over Kudya-stambhikas was held by makaravyala mukha at the base. At the ends of these pillars are the attendant gods of the Jaina pantheon. Samvara enraged at the severe austerities of Parsvanatha Tirthankara attempts to disturb him from penance. A heavy dowopour of rain and storm was caused resulting in total deluge around the standing Parsvanatha. At this juncture Dharanendra, the Naga king came up from the Patala along with his consort Padmavati to protect the Jina. Dharanendra becomes a carytide yaksha and spreads out his hoods on the head of Parsvanatha to ward off the rain, while Padmavati holds up the feet by placing lotus flowers. Thus the Naga couple is depicted here standing either sides with folded hands while the Sankha and Lotus (Padmadala) are up the waters as if emerging to protect the central figure. In the central part are two whisk bearers. The upper loop of the torana is held by a set of elephant riders. Above the festoon is a Gandharva playing the drum.
The above sculpture was reported from the area closer to the Cathedral Church where a stepped tank also existed. This lateritic tank is now taken over by the Fisheries Department which is closer to the former bus stand. The sculpture was however shifted to the premises of the Nellore Town Hall. The stepped tank has still some ancient features preserved. The spot is called Enugulamitta, the tank was the Sarovara for the Parsvanatha temple.
Not only the above find, but another figure of Parsvanatha was noticed in the compound wall of the old bungalow of District Judge in Dargamitta area.22 Though defaced, the image has all the characteristics detailed above (no. 1) with the exception that no elephant riders are shown among the Paribhramana devatas.
Jina Vardhamana (P.11)This impressive image of Vardhamana is presently within the Narasimhasvami temple in Danduvari Street, Nellore. Some regard the figure as Mahavishnu and worship it. The image is kept within an iron-bar door on the left side room of the Gopuradvara. This rare specimen is made out of black basalt and highly polished. Seated in Dhyana, the figure is 1.16 metre high with well marked forehead, long nose, distended ears and full neck, throat marked by tri-rekhas, and head with vamavrita curls imparted the look of a peal of custard apple. The radiating face sumptuous and sturdy shoulders and in quite meditative posture, the Vardhamana looks in every sense a Manmadtha Jina. The vahana (mount) is Lion but since the base part is embedded in the earth, this is not visible.
It is reported that originally the above image was within the premises of an old tank (pushkarini) built of lateritic blocks. The large tank was also closed in 1900 when the District Collector's office was raised at the very same place. It appears that during this work was going on, excavation around the sculpture revealed a temple pian. In view of the fineness of the image, the locals who were much impressed, shifted the same to the nearby Narasimhasvami temple in Danduvari Street. Several carved pieces of the temple and also the laterite blocks were used as building materials in the construction.
The above evidences when put together bring to light the existence of a Jaina Temple with an image of Vardhamana and a tank (pushkarini) was in its front. It is very important and also interesting to note that the image is called 'Konetiraya' by the elders of the town. Thus the consecreted Vardhamana was regarded as the king (raya) and greatly revered.
It may be seen from the above facts that in Nellore proper there have been in existence at least three Jaina temples and sarovaras. As prescribed in the Jaina-agamas, for the ritual of Samavasarana, Sveta or Dhaval Saras (Lotus Tank) was a must. Hence the temples of Jina at Nellore had invariably been associated with stepped tanks whose remains were traceable. This ritual tradition was streamlined and observed strictly by the Digambaras during 8th-9th centuries A. D. The Mula Sangha of Sravanabelagola (Dist. Hassan, Karnataka State), was the seat of several Digambara acharyas of renown and the Svetasarovara here was the most sacred pushkarani for Jinas in the whole country.
Digambara Jainism spread from Karnataka to the region through Siddhout-Cuddapah and Badvel perhaps at the behest of Acharya Simhanandi of Sravanabelgola during 7th-8th century A. D.
4. SOME MORE JAINA SETTLEMENTS IN NELLORE DISTRICT:It is relevant to mention here some more Jaina remains in Nellore District. Robert Sewell and Goapala Krishna Murthy.23 mention as Jaina temple at Kanuparthi padu village which is 20 Km east of Nellore. The Jaina temple here was built by Karikala Chola of legolldary fame. But during the thirty seventh year of the Chola King Raja Raja Deva his consort Pramiladevi caused steps to the Palmlichamda and gifted lands for maintenance of the mopastery.24 The image of Parsvanatha Jina in this village bears close resemblance to the figure from Nellore described above.
Ruins of a Jaina temple along with the figure of Parsvanatha are traceable at Krishnapatnam under the silt (P1.12). The image is enshrined as a mulabera and the Sasanadeuatas, respectively Dharanendra yaksha and goodess Padmavati are paying obeissance from' either sides. Although foundational inscriptions are not traced. the Jaina vestiges in jhe Nellore region were of 9th century A. D. and during the later Telugu Chola times these were renovated and expanded too.
The style of Jaina figures in Nellore district resemble those of the Chalukyas and nearer Bapatla. Nellore also became famous during A. D. 849-893 A. D. during the reign of Gunaga Vijayaditya, 25 the Eastern Chalukyan king His vassal Panduranga enriched Kandukur to look like Bezwada in its grandeur and ruled the Nellore region.26
It might be of topical interest to critically examine some of the local temples in Nellore. More specifically the temple of goddess Irukala Paramesvari worshipped under the name of Yerukalamma as a Sakti presiding the place. The temple is located in Mulappet at the North east-wards of Svarnala Cheruvu, now popular as Nellore tank. This temple is built with lateritie blocks. Kulottunga CholaIII (1178-1226) offered worship to this deity and gave munificient gifts. Though defaced, the goddess like Chamundi has owl as lanchchana. She is the counterpart of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.
From the Jaina inscriptions of South India the set of Sasanadevatas governing the Jaina temples and settelements have come to stay. In some other parts of south India we find similar practice in vogue. Two Jaina temples dedicated respectively to Vrshabhanatha ( 748-749 A. D.) and Chandranatha (1190-91 A.D.) existed at Perumandur village27 in Dindivanam Taluk of South Arcot district. The Jaina-Yakshas set up here were named as Irivikula Sundari Perumbali and Manganayaki named after the donor of the temple of images. The presiding deity of the Nellore temple was called like-wise Irukala-paramesvari or Irukalamma could thus be regarded as a Jaina Sasanadevi and the Svarnalacheruvu was the dhavalasaras for the Jaina ritual of Samavasarana.
It can also be reasonably held that "Lion" being the Vahana of Vardhamana Jina the king or rayadu of the place, the toponym Simhapuri to Nellore came to vogue. The Jaina acharya Simhanandi laid the seeds of Jainism, for the first time at this place, and this event also might justify the name Simhapuri to Nellore. In any case there is no doubt of the hold of Jainism in Nellore region.
Culturally the village names ending with Palli, Palai andPadu signifiedJaina settlements. In thes records of Kulottunga Chola-III (1178 1226), Nellore is called Pallinati or Palai Vikrama Simhapuri. It is quite reasonable to take the Konetirayad!,1, the principal Jina at the Jaina temple datable to 9th century A. D. as the owner of the older Jaina village. We may conclude that the name Simhapuri to Nellore originated from its being an important place of Jainism during the times of acharya Simhanandi.28
SlDDHULAYYAKONDA: (Village Saidapuram): (14° 12'N: 79° 44'E)This place is located 50 Km. from Nellore South-West, 30 Km. East of South Rapur, A recent discovery by G. R.Gehlot.29 Superintending Archaeologist, Hyderabad Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India and his colleagues is of great importance, as this is first and only rock-cut shelter (Pl.13) dedicated to Jaina faith in the area after Vallimalai in the neighbouring North Arcot district of Tamilnadu.
The sturdy Jaina Tirthan kara figures with trichatravali customary three-tiered umbrella, seated on a Simhasana in Sattva-paryanka are fixed inside Kudu like aurole. There are two such Tirthankaras, the first one measures .60 cm x 40 x 10 cms (Pls.14 and 15) is Adinatha flanked by two standing male chouri-bearers, while the other is Vardhamana, (56 x 38 x 10 cm) the Prabhavali, in tiers, with the seated Matanga Yaksha on the right, and Siddhayika on the left: The Vamavrita curls, trirekha of the neck and round bulged face and sturdy body features clearly reflect the characteristics of Vallimalai Tirthankaras and also Siyamangalam. Like in the rock caves, the cave of Siddulagavulu has an opening of a long bouldered frontage with an entrance door-way, the dripledge cut on the face of the rock above the top line meant to arrest the main water directly falling into the cave (PI. 13). This Jaina cave appears to have been ocupied in later periods by Alvars. The Jaina images too are regarded by the locals as alvars or generally Siddhu/u i.e. hermits.
Danavalapadu (district Cuddapah)According to the inscription of Rashtrakuta Nityavarsha Indra-III (915-927 A.D.) caused a Jaina basti at this place and installed on a Pitha the image of Santinatha, 16th Tirthankara. Danavalpadu presents an evolved state of ritual and iconography presents an evolved state of ritual and iconography of Jains. Several white granite/sandstone sculptures have been brought to Madras Govt. Museum. These include carved mandapa pillars, and nishidika stones, and Chaumukhas. Within a circular ridged Pitha amidst the temple ruins, (PLs. 16 & 17) clearly betray their original installation. The divinities carved in relief on the side edge of the circular Pitha (PL 18) are unique examples and chaumukhas were meant for the ablution of Santinatha. The structural jaina temple is an extensive basadi on the banks of Pennar river (PL 19). A ghat with stepped descent was also provided for use of the Jains. The introduction of abhisheka mar~s an advancement in the Jaina ritual and the sculptured Pithas with water chuta is a speciality of Danavalapadu.
The Jaina temples, Chaumukhas, a pedestal for Tirthankaras, 3-metre high figures of Parsvanatha (two in granite and Padmavati were unearthed (PL 20). Except a few at site rest are in Madras Museum. The Sarvatobhadrika was a set up in a square temple with openings at the four directions. A seated Jina, is seen who attained Kaivalya. In this case the figures could be those of Mahavira, Neminatha or Rishabhanatha.
Dharmayaram, in Ongole taluk of Prakasam district, is known as Dharmapuri for its being a place of Jaina Dharma. Two long hill ranges provided shelter to Jains. A Jinalaya was constructed at the east of the village proper by Duggaraja the Commander-in-Chief of Gunaga Vijayaditya. This Jinalaya was named as Katakabharana Jinalaya and several land grants were caused. Among the figures found in the village, Parsvanatha, and a grey stone Tirthankara now in Sub Collector's office are good examples. Munugodu in Sattenapalli Tq. was a Jaina Kshetra. It has the name-Prithvi tilaka Jaina basadi of the Svetambara Jainas. Kulotunga Choda-I, during his 37th regnal year gave land grants.
Anantapur Area:After Konakondla, important Jaina relics were noticed at Pedda Tumbalam, Chinatumbalam. Kambadur, Nayakahalli Adoni; Penukonda and more prominently Hemavati. We shall consider a few examples among these sites in a rapid way.
Hemavati, anciently known Henjeru, a capital of Nolambas who ruled between 8th-10th century A. D. and kept close contacts with Pallavas Gangas of Karnataka.
A figure of Adinatha (PI. 21) seated on a raised Simhasana Trichattravali, flanked by male chauries is an installed image and inscribed too in 9th-10th century characters. Another Jaina Tirthankara, Vardhamana in dhyana reveals the supple Nilamba features. Hemavati patronised Jains and a temple existed here. At Kambadur, the Jaina temple facing north has a plain tiered tower (pyramidal) over the garbhagriha, fronted by an ardhamandapa, a pillared hall all within a stone prakara wall. The door frame of the Pratoli shows Purnaghatas and a Jaina figures on the Lalata of the over door frame indicates its Jaina affiliation. A Jaina temple named Brahma-Jinalaya housing Parsvanatha is seen within Tailagiri Fort, in Amarapuram village of Anantapur district.
At Adoni hill, the rock-cut seated Jinas in a neat row (three nos) on the hill remind us Hanumakonda. Parsuanatha in Kayotsarga, Padmavati-Dharanendra. The huge are of Rashtrakuta vintage, boulders close the entrance.
Tadipatri on the banks of Pennar has two Jaina te!T1ples, one of Chandranatha, the other for Parsvanatha. These perhaps had been founded in 1208 A. D. by Chola Chieftan Vijayaditya by name.
BRONZES FROM BAPATLA AREA:Several bronzes of Jaina faith were found near Bapatla. Of these two are bells, eleven Tirthankaras and attendent Yaksha- Yakshini figures. These are now preserved in State Museum, Hyderabad. They are datable to 11th-12th century A.D.
Vardhamana seated in dhyana is flanked by Yaksha-Yakshini (P1.22) with chauris carved above. He has a Prabha surmounted by a Chatrauali, Parsvanatha is seated on an elaborate Simhasana with a prabha behind his head (P1.25). Yakshi Ambika with the child is shown below holding the branch of mango-tree (P1.26). Others include Parsvanatha, Neminatha, Padmaprabha, a Vidyadevi, etc. (P1.23, 24).
OTHER JAINA IMAGES IN THE STAGE MUSEUM, HYDERABADa. Patancheruuu : Hyderabad area is stated to have several Jaina basad is. Standing Bahubali in Kayotsarga with creepers entwining his legs is a powerful representation. The image is of 12th century A. D. Mahavira with 23-Tirthankaras carved around is impressive. The Jaina Sarasuati is an example of a robust female in supple form, with several ornaments on the body. A Chaumukha with Sikharais interesting.
An important centre of Jainism is Nizamabad. The Parsvanatha image with all the Maha Purusha lanchanas is interesting.
b. Kurikyal, Karimnagar district: An image of Yakshi chakresvari, attendent of Adinatha is a dated example with an inscription of the donor king Jinavallabha, brother of Pampa, the great Kannada poet (950 A.D.).
c. Chilukuru: A very robust figure of Parsvanatha is sandstone measuring 3.25 em. height standing in Kayotsarga was found at Chilukuru, just 20 Km. from Hyderabad. Another Mahavira seated in Padmasana in dhyanamudra, was of black basalt and one metre high. Two chauri bearers were also found.
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