ARCHARYA BHADRABAHU -I

ARCHARYA BHADRABAHU -I
Leader of the undivided Sangha

Today, most Jains adhere to either of two great traditions: Digambar or Shvetambar. But in antiquity there was only one Jain tradition, and a man named Bhadrabahu holds the distinction of having been the leader of the undivided Sangha.

Teacher - student lineages recorded separately by both the Shvetambar and Digambar traditions join each other when they are traced back to Bhadrabahu, the very last individual to have attained the state of Shrut Kevalin, an authority on the 14 original Purva texts handed down from Mahavira’s own times.

The teachings of omniscient Lord Mahavira were compiled 12 Anga text and 14 Purvas. The Purvas were regarded as part of the twelfth Anga, entitled Drishtivada. These texts were passed down from teacher to student by a well-regulated system of oral tradition and mnemonics. Teacher recited them and students memorized them. All Jain principles are based on these texts. After Lord Jambu (fifth century BC) who, in all time since, would be the last human being to achieve omniscience, Jain monks and scholars were guided only by these texts. Those who knew all of these texts are called Shrut Kevalins, indicating that although they did not have full and total Keval Jnan through those texts.As already mentioned, Acharya Bhadrabahu was simply the last Shrut Kevalin. Since there have been other Jain acharyas with the name Bhadrabahu , he is sometimes referred to as Bhadrabahu I.

Bhadrabahu was born at Pundravardhan, now in Bangladesh. During his time, the secondary capital of the Mauryans was the city of Ujjain. While there Bhadrabahu was able to perceive through is nimitta jnan (subtle cognition of causes andeffects) that there would occur a 12-year famine across North India. He decided the famine would make it harder for monks to survive as it would naturally make them a burden on a society already in need. He thus migrated with a group of monks to South India bringing with him Chandragupta, the aging founder of the Mauryan Empire turned Jain monk. While Bhadrabahu was away the remaining monks in the North realized that the sacred scriptures were being forgotten. A monk named Sthulabhadra convened a ouncil to recompile the Purva scriptures. However, because Sthulabhadra’s own knowledge of these texts was imperfect, he wanted Bhadrabahu to study the sections missing from his memory. Bhadrabahu taught Sthulabhadra, but forbade him to teach the Purvaa to others upon witnessing a demonstration by Sthulabhadra of certain extra corporal powers, which indicated that with time these sacred scriptures would become corrupted. Thus, the 14 Purvas in their original form died with these two men.

Bhadrabahu remains an exemplar of dedication to first principles at any cost.After him, the Sangha split into two separate teacher-student lineages of monks.Digambar monks belong to the lineage of Acharya Vishakha and Shvetambar monks follow the tradition of Sthulabhadra. Bhadrabahu composed some new texts as well. In the Shvetambar tradition, Brihatkalpa, Vyavahara, and Nisitha are considered his works.

The Birth And Death of Chanakya!

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Who was Chanakya
Chanakya Was Not Kautilya

Death of Chanakya

by Jayakrishnan Nair

Kautilya or Chanakya or Vishnugupta, as per popular legend, was the teacher of the first Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta. He was responsible for destroying the Nanda dynasty, which was ruling Magadha, and installing Chandragupta on the throne. He is also known as the author of Arthashastra, an elaborate treatise on economics and government. He was responsible for uniting the Indian states for fighting against the attack by Alexander of Macedonia around 327 BC.

Chanakya is a fascinating historical character because here was a manwho achieved so much in the time period 300 BC. What was happening inthe world during that period? Darius I had expanded his empire fromNorth India in the east to Macedonia in the west. The NativeAmericans in Central America were in the formative period of theMayan Civilization. Aristotle, the student of Plato and teacher of Alexander of Macedonia, had established the Lyceum, a school in Athens. It would be at least two hundred years for the Roman Empire to be established and three hundred years for Christ to be born[1] .

By the time of Chanakya in India, Buddha and Mahavira had discovered their paths of enlightenment two hundred years back. Takshasilâ had established itself as a place of learning and it was there that Panini had written the Sanskrit Grammar. The new states in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh by uttarapatha along the base of the Himalayas maintained contact with Takshasilâ and at the eastern end of the uttarapatha was the kingdom of Magadha with its capital city, Pataliputra. Chanakya's life was connected to these two cities, Pataliputra and Takshasilâ[2] .

Where did this man come from? What was his lineage? Was he born in Takshasilâ or Pataliputra? Or was he from Kerala? How did he die? Didthe kingmaker die of natural causes or was he murdered? Literature is abundant with theories of his origins, while there is almost no information on his life after he crowned Chandragupta as the king of Magadha. But recently I found a piece of information on his life after that event, and how he died.

Before we get to his death, let us find out where he came from. First of all, was there a person called Chanakya? Did he live during the same time as Chandragupta Maurya? There is a reason to doubt that Chanakya lived during the same time as Chandragupta Maurya because Megasthenes, who was the Greek Ambassador in the court of Chandragupta, never mentioned Chanakya in his book Indika[3] . Butthen, Indika of Megasthenes is not available in its entirety but onlyas fragments in the writings of later Greek historians. So theabsence of reference to Chanakya in Indika does not prove or disprovethe existence of Chanakya.

Another theory is that Chanakya was a Kerala Brahmin who someho wreached the court of the Nanda king at Pataliputra[4]. But then, Kerala did not have any Brahmin population during the time of Chanakya. The first people to arrive in Kerala were the Ezhavas who came from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar sometime around 230-200 BC. These first immigrants were Buddhists and were Emperor Ashoka's subjects. The Nambudiri Brahmins arrived in Kerala only around 500-600 AD[5].

The next theory is that Chanakya was a North Indian Brahmin, born and educated in Takshasilâ. He was physically ugly, had a disgusting complexion and his limbs were deformed2. Chanakya came all the way from Takshasilâ to Pâtaliputra in pursuit of learning. Pâtaliputra was a famous center of learning and it is considered a compliment that a teacher from one of the greatest centers of learning in Takshasilâ would come to this city in eastern India[6].

According to another historian, Chandragupta was spotted by Chanakya when he was a boy of eight or nine years. Chanakya is described as a resident of Takshasilâ, and he returned to his native city with theboy, whom he educated for a period of seven to eight years[7] .

As per Jain tradition, Chanakya was born in the village Canaka in theGolla district as the son of a Brahmin named Canin and his wifeCaneúvarî. Canin was a well-known Jain layman and learned Jain monks frequented his house. Caneúvarî had a child who had teeth which was already developed, and when the monks were informed of the birth of this child, they told Canin that he would be a king. Hearing this news, Canin destroyed the teeth of the child.

While there are many theories about the origins of Chanakya, there is less information about him after Chandragupta was crowned the king of Magadha. Even the popular serial Chanakya by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, which was shown on Doordarshan, ends at this point. The only information I could find about Chanakya's life after this period is in the book `The Lives of the Jain Elders' by the Jain monk Hemacandra.

While Chanakya served as the Prime Minister of Chandragupta Maurya, according to Hemacandra, he started adding small amounts of poison in Chandragupta's food so that he would get used to it. The aim of this was to prevent the Emperor from being poisoned by enemies[8].

One day the queen, Durdha, shared the food with the Emperor while she was pregnant. Since she was not used to eating poisoned food, shedied. Chanakya decided that the baby should not die; hence he cutopen the belly of the queen and took out the baby. A drop (bindu) o fpoison had passed to the baby's head, and hence Chanakya named him Bindusara.

When Bindusara became a youth, Chandragupta gave up the throne and followed the Jain saint Bhadrabahu to Karnataka and settled in a place known as Sravana Belagola. He lived as an ascetic for some years and died of starvation according to Jain tradition[9].

Chanakya meanwhile stayed as the Prime Minister of Bindusara.Bindusara also had a minister named Subandhu who did not like Chanakya. One day he told Bindusara that Chanakya was responsible forthe murder of his mother. Bindusara asked the nurses who confirmed this story and he became very angry with Chanakya.

Chanakya, on hearing that the Emperor was angry with him, thought that anyway he was at the end of his life. He donated all his wealth to the poor, widows and orphans and sat on a dung heap, prepared to die by total abstinence from food and drink. Bindusara meanwhile heard the full story of his birth from the nurses and rushed to beg forgiveness of Chanakya. But Chanakya would not relent. Bindusara went back and vent his fury on Subandhu, who asked for time to begfor forgiveness from Chanakya.

Subandhu, who still hated Chanakya, wanted to make sure that Chanakya did not return to the city. So he arranged for a ceremony of respect, but unnoticed by anyone, slipped a smoldering charcoal ember inside the dung heap. Aided by the wind, the dung heap was on fire and the man behind the Mauryan Empire and the author of Arthashastra was burned to death.

R.C.C. Fynes writes in the introduction to the translation of `TheLives of the Jain Elders' that the stories told by Hemacandra are legend and not history. Historical reality may or may not be the basis of these legends. So we do not know if the story of the death of Chanakya is history or legend. But this is the only one I could find.

Footnote:
This is an amateur attempt to understand Indian history. This article is in no way a complete survey of all literature available of the era. I wrote this article based on the books in my possession to express my understanding of that period in Indian history.

Notes:
[1] Microsoft Encarta, 2003 Edition
[2] Keay, John, India: a history, Harper Collins, 2000, Pg 60-62
[3]Rangarajan L.N., The Arthashatra, Penguin Books, 1992, Pg 19
.[4]Ibid, Pg 16
[5]Balakrishnan V., History of the Syrian Christians of Kerala,Kerala Publications, 1999, Pg 50
[6]Mookerji, Radha Kumud, Chandragupta Maurya and his Times, Motilal Banarasidass Publishers, Fourth Edition, Pg, 18
[7]Ibid, Pg 16
[8]Hemacandra, The Lives of the Jain Elders, Oxford University Press,Canto 8
[9]Radha Kumud Mookerji, Chandragupta Maurya and his Times, Motilal Banarasidass Publishers, Fourth Edition, Pg 40

Jainism in Bengal: history

Asiatic Society of Bangladesh

Jainism One of the major Indian religions, Jainism is still a living religion in some parts of the subcontinent. Though Bengal was its cradle, its followers are hardly met within the area.

According to Jaina annals, the tenets of the religion were preached by twenty-four Tirthankaras, of whom the twenty-third, Parshvanatha, and the twenty-fourth, Mahavira, are historical figures. The latter, a contemporary of Gautam Buddha, lived between 540 and 468 BC and Parsvanatha preceded him by about two hundred and fifty years. The Jaina tenets owe their origin to the teachings of Parsvanatha and Mahavira. The teaching of Parsvanatha is called Chaturayama. It outlines a four-fold path to salvation, i.e., kindness to all living beings, avoidance of telling lies, abjuration of theft and the non possession of belongings. In the next step Mahavira added another.It was not to wear any dress. Thus the Jainas were divided into two sects. The followers of Parsvanatha are called Shvetamvara, those who wear white clothes, while the followers of Mahavira are called Digamvara, which means nude (literally, the sky is the cover).

Bengal witnessed the advent of Jainism during the life time of Mahavira who came to Radha (southern part of present West Bengal) top reach his tenets. It is believed that twenty-two out of the twenty-four Tirthankaras had attained their spiritual power in a mountainous region called Pareshnath Pahad in West Bengal. According to Bodhisattvavadanakalpalata, Jainism was a living religion in pundravardhana (northern Bengal) in the fourth century BC. The then leader of the Jaina church was Bhadrabahu, a native of Pundravardhana, who is credited with the compilation of a number of canons called Kalpasutra. After his departure one of his disciples,Godas by name, took over the charge of the Jaina church at Pundravardhana. His followers are called Godasgana. In course of its subsequent development, the sect of Godasgana was divided into fourmore sub-sects called Tamraliptikiya, Kotivarsiya, Pundravardhania and Dhasikharvatika. So it may be considered that the whole of Bengal came under the influence of the Jinas (the preachers of the Jaina tenets) by the 4th-3rd century BC.

Archaeological remains clearly testify that Jainism was a living religion in Bengal during the early historic period. alexander cunningham first discovered a Jaina image at Mahasthangarh (Mahasthangad) in 1879, which was later on moved to the varendra research museum, in 1912. It is worth mentioning here that huen-tsang, the 7th century Chinese pilgrim found numerous digambara Jainas in Pundravardhana (northern Bengal) and samatata(southeastern Bengal).

The other well-known archaeological remains are as follows:
1. Standing Mahavira, black basalt, 73.6cm height, bangladeshnational museum, c 10th-11th century AD;
2. Standing Parsvanatha, black basalt, 60.9cm height, DinajpurMuseum, c 10th-11th century AD;
3. Standing Tirthankara, black basalt, 93.9cm height, DinajpurMuseum, c 9th-10th century AD;
4. Standing Shantinatha, black basalt, 65 cm height, VarendraResearch Museum;
5. Standing Rsvanatha, black basalt, c 10th-11th century AD,collected from Medinipur;
6. Standing Parsvanatha, black basalt, c 11th century AD, collectedfrom Bankura;
7. Standing Parsvanatha, black basalt, c 11th century AD, collectedfrom 24 Parganas;
8. Seated Rsvanatha, black basalt, 99cm height, Varendra ResearchMuseum.

Vestiges of other remains have also been reported from Biharinath ,Bahilara, Dharapath, Harmasra, Deulvirya, Pareshnath, Ambika Nagar,Chingry Devi, Barokala, Dhida and Kenduya of West Bengal. Some other fragmentary collections have also been made from paharpur and Lalmai-Mainamati. A fragmentary iconic representation is on display in the asutosh Museum, Calcutta. It may have been collected from Faridpur.All these, however, prove that Jainism was in vogue throughout Bengal till 11th century AD.

Structural remains relating to Jaina centres of religious activitiesin Bengal are almost nil. The Gupta copper-plate found at Paharpur(c 5th century AD) refers to a Jaina monastery in the villageVatagohali. In course of digging in 1980-81 at Paharpur, vestiges of earlier structures have been traced below the 8th-9th century level.Scholars believe that these earlier structures may be related to theJaina monastery at Vatagohali. Two temples dedicated to the worshipof Tirthankara are still to be seen at Satmatha of Bogra town and Bakshi Lane of Meherpur town. But architecturally they are of 19th century origin. According to the local people these were built by some merchants who hailed from Gujrat of India.

The Jainas of Bengal were the followers of the Digamvara canon. Itis evinced by the fact that all the images of the Tirthankaras found in Bengal are nude. In every piece, the Tirthankara is depicted in kayatsarga, otherwise known as the Samapadathanaka pose. In a few pieces they are surrounded by their fellow Tirthankaras. But not a single piece other than Tirthankara has yet been found. In this connection it may be pointed out that the Jainas of other regions of the subcontinent pay their homage, besides the Tirthankaras, tosalak puruch, acharya, bahubali, yaksa-yaksi, chakravarti, basudeva,baladeva, shasana devi, dikpala, ksetrapala, navagraha, agni,nairit, brahma, shruti devi and harin-gomes. These facts prove that though Jainism was in vogue in Bengal in the early historic period,yet it never attained further elaboration in the country as it did else where. [Gopal Krishna Das]

Bibliography PC Bagchi, 'Development of Religious Ideas' in RCMajumdar (ed), History of Bengal, Vol-1, Dacca, 1968 (2nd edn); AKRoy, A History of the Jainas, New Delhi, 1984.