- A Study of Jain Activity in Western Orissa
- Development of Jainism in Bihar
- Development of Jainism outside Bihar
- Early Jain Influence in Goa
- Jainism in Andhra Pradesh
- Jainism in Bengal: history
- Jainism in Bihar
- Jainism in Karnataka
- Jainism in Kerala
- Jainism in Kerala
- Jainism in Kolhapur (I)
- Jainism in Kolhapur (II)
- Jainism in Maharashtra: History
- Jainism in South India
- Jainism In South India
- jainism in south India history & its cruel conversion to Hinduism
- Jainism in Wyanad
- Jains and Jainism in Kerala
Showing posts with label history of jainism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history of jainism. Show all posts
Jul 23, 2011
Jainism Regional History
Index
May 6, 2011
Tha Adinath Temple of Ranakpur
The Adinatha Temple of Ranakpur referred to the Dharna Vihara temple also after its builder. The impression it conveys is very different from that of the Dilwara temples. In the Dilwara temples, the atmosphere is one of peace and seclusion; this engendered by the smallness of the temples as well as by the illusion of their being hidden and concealed. In comparison, the temple at Ranakpur is grandiose and majestic, it has soaring shikhara towers and domes visible from a great distance.
This difference in style is due to the Adinatha temple being constructed later. In the 14th century the Muslim assaults, which had ravaged the country for so long, were abating. After recovering from the shock and devastation of these attacks, old values were in general abandoned and architectural conception and planning took on an entirely new dimension.
Around the same time, the kingdom of Mewar reached the zenith of its power. Under Rana Kumbha (1433-68), the kingdom grew to the size almost of an empire. The buildings reflected the growing power of the rulers, especially in the capital city of Chittaurgarh. In Ranakpur there is an inscription immortalising the king, which seems to demonstrate that he wished to associate the dynastic glory with this mighty temple. Unlike Mt. Abu, in Ranakpur we see a royal monument, which undoubtedly contributed to the grandeur of the place.
Dharna Shah and Construction of the Temple
The builder of the shrine, Dharna Shah belonged to a Rajasthani Jain family that held the title of Sanghapati (one who has borne the costs of the community pilgrimage). The name Shah or Sah indicates that he accumulated his wealth as a banker or as a merchant.
The builder of the shrine, Dharna Shah belonged to a Rajasthani Jain family that held the title of Sanghapati (one who has borne the costs of the community pilgrimage). The name Shah or Sah indicates that he accumulated his wealth as a banker or as a merchant.
According to Jain tradition, Dharna Shah gained the confidence of the king and appointed minister. At the age of thirty-two years, however, greatly influenced by the sermons of the monk Shri Somasundara Suriji, he retired from the world to practise celibacy. In a dream he saw a marvellous heavenly vehicle, the nalini-gulm-vimana (lotus flight), which impressed him so much that he suggested, his idea to the king that he want to construct a temple in this shape. The Rana agreed and donated land for the temple and township.
However, it was not as simple to execute the temples plan: fifty architects were not in a position to fulfil Dhahran's wish of combining the nalini-guhn-vmanai with a chaturmukha-temple (a temple with a "four-faced" image of the Tirthankara, facing the four cardinal directions). The later concept was important for him in order to emulate the famous Raj Vihara temple of King Kumarapala (refer to chapter on the history of the Jains). Finally, in Depaka, an architect from a neighbouring village, he found the man to bring this project to reality.
The temple said to begun in 1377 or 1387, depending on the source consulted. Tradition has it that the main structure of the temple finally inaugurated in 1441 in the presence of Dharna Shah and his teacher. Somasundara Suriji. However, there is something odd about the story, for if it took fifty-four or sixty-four years to construct the temple, at which point Dharna Shah must have been at least eighty-six years and his guru even older. The only source, which definitely dates to the time of the inauguration, is a forty-seven line inscription in Sanskrit. This is located on a pillar to the left of the entrance. The Jain sources go back at best to the 17th or 18th century.
The inscription of 1439 states that Dharna Shah as the builder and Depaka the architect. Nevertheless, the inscription is a typical example of a royal inscription from that period, glorifying Kumbha and his forty predecessors; this kind of inscription would be extremely rare if the king was not himself involved in the construction of the temple, as either donor or patron. In fact, it stated at the end of the inscription that'... King Rana Shri Kumbhakarna, established in his (Kumbhakarna's) own name, (the temple) of the first Lord of the Yuga, "Shri Chaturmukha" - known as Trilokya-di-paka; (the temple) was constructed by his grace and on his orders in the city of Ranakpur and it was inaugurated by Shri Soma-Sundarsuri'.
In this inscription, Rana Kumbha introduces himself as the main initiator of the project. The king had reigned only for seven years at the time the inscription was carved but, keeping in mind that at that point of time only a minute part of the whole complex, which was huge, had been completed. It is possible that the construction in existence until that point of time indeed undertaken and completed during Kumbha's reign. A comparison of this temple with the other projects of this ruler, who was a building enthusiast, merely confirms the possibility of its having been built during his reign.
What is puzzling is the information contained in sources belonging to a later period that sixty-four years were required for the construction of the temple, but perhaps these refer to the length of time required as a whole for its completion.
The Adinatha temple of Ranakpur (see page 45) situated in a valley on the western flank of the Aravalli hills between Jodhpur and Udaipur. Its vast area of 60 x 62 m is reminiscent of the size of a Gothic cathedral. Light coloured marble from the quarries of Sonana and Sewadi used for the construction. This marble does not achieve the radiant whiteness same as Mt. Abu. Typical of Jain architecture is the high boundary wall erected on an elevated foundation, known as the adisthana; this is a characteristic of the 15th century. Since the temple is situated on the slope of a hill on the western flank, the plinth at the main entrance in the west has been constructed visibly higher. Innumerable shikhara towers, small shikhara, cupolas and pyramids soar above the ensemble. They symbolise the lotus-flight-vehicle seen in Dharna Shah's dream. The tiny bells in the turrets form a charming contrast to the hugeness of the complex. The chiming of the bells at the slightest breeze recalls the serenity and peace, which are said to engulf the soul on stepping into the temple.
Ground plan of the Adinatha Temple
The Adinatha temple has been conceived of as a Chatur-mukha-prasada, i.e., the idol faces all four cardinal directions. This necessitates a cell (garbha griha, No. 1 in the plan) with four doorways. The entire ground plan, which is almost a square, derives from this basic conception.
The Adinatha temple has been conceived of as a Chatur-mukha-prasada, i.e., the idol faces all four cardinal directions. This necessitates a cell (garbha griha, No. 1 in the plan) with four doorways. The entire ground plan, which is almost a square, derives from this basic conception.
The sanctum is surrounded by halls, known as either the sabha mandapa (assembly halls) or ranga-mandapa (dance halls, No. 2 in plan). The one on the western side, in the axis of the main entrance, has been given prominence due to its size. As a result, the cell has been placed a little to the east; this accounts for the ground plan not being a perfect square. The central area of the temple is in the form of a crucifix and is encircled by an open rectangular courtyard (No. 3 in the plan); in comparison with older Jain temples, the courtyard here has not been given as much prominence.
Along the axis from the sanctum to the assembly halls, there are other halls which are three-storied: the meghanada mandapa (No. 4 in the plan), followed by the balana mandapa (portal halls, No.5 in the plan), which provide access to the temple.
On the one hand, the ground plan evolves from the central sanctuary in the four cardinal directions through a series of halls. On the other hand, there are spaces arranged around the square cell in the shape of perfect squares. Thus, the sanctum and the sabha mandapa are enclosed by a courtyard which is surrounded by a space formed by three halls on each side (the meghanada mandapa, flanked by two halls, No. 6 in the plan) and the corners are formed by large shrines (No. 7 in the plan). This in turn is bound by eighty devakulikas (subsidiary shrines) screened by a colonnade. In between these are the portals, which, on the north and south side, are each flanked by two highly extended shrines (No. 8 in the plan).
In the Adinatha temple, Depaka succeeded in harmoniously reconciling the differing conceptions. The shrine is first a Chaturmukha temple in which the Tirthankara, through his quadrupled image, conquers the four cardinal directions and hence the cosmos. Depaka was thus able to emulate the famous model of King Kumarapala, namely, the Raj Vihara in Siddhapura. At the same time the basic conception of a Jain temple, symbolising the Samavasarana (the pavilion from which a Tirthankara delivers his sermon) is also realised. The four cardinal directions, together with the centre, add up to the holy figure five, which represents the cosmos. This mode of counting is common all over Asia and is, therefore, self-explanatory.
The four shrines at the corners, which border on the courtyard, give the monument the appearance of a panchratha (five-shrine temple). This is a form, which is popular in Hindu temples as well. Since these shrines have been arranged in such a manner that they are located between the cardinal directions, they in turn produce the concept of the figure nine (centre of the world, cardinal directions and the directions in between). This is a very important basic concept, representing a mandala (Cosmo gram as the ground plan of the world). The ingenuity of the architect can be seen in the manner in which he combined the figures five and nine with one another.
Together with the extended shrines (No. 8 in the plan), the temple is surrounded by eighty-four devakulikas (No. 9 in the plan). It has the appearance of a classical Vihara (temple based on the ground plan of a monastery), a common structure amongst the Jains. The figure eighty-four is representative of the twenty-four Tirthankaras of the past, present and future, respectively, plus the so-called twelve eternal Tirthankaras, of whom four each stand for one aeon respectively. The builder of this temple complex undoubtedly wanted to emulate the design on the first Adinatha temples as conceived and constructed, according to legend, by the sons of the first Tirthankara Bharata and Bahubali. They too had eighty-four subsidiary shrines.
Despite the Islamic invasions of the 13th and 14th centuries, the Jains knew how to preserve the tradition of constructing their temples. In 1315, one Thakur Peru wrote a handbook on architecture, the Vastu-sara. According to him, in front of the garbha griha, axially there should be three mandapa. Depaka adhered to even these guidelines.
These details can be left out from the ground plan. I have deliberately gone into the minute because these conceptions often tend to be lost in the labyrinth like complexity of the interior. It should not, however, be forgotten, that at the time of the inauguration in 1441 only the central sanctuary with the shrine and the four sabha mandapa were complete, as well as the adjoining western axis, i.e., the meghanada mandapa and the structure of the main portal. The structure as it exists today is the result of a further century of continued construction. Innumerable donations have been made towards the project, even to the present day.
In comparison with the simplicity of the exterior, the interior is distinguished by a baroque-like ornate-ness. The individual sculptures may not always be of the highest order; their movements frequently seem to be clumsy and jerky (see Plate 39), the arms and legs are not proportionate, appearing to thin out and the noses are too pointed. The sculptures clearly are not as important as the architecture; the function of the sculptures is the decoration and ornamentation of the edifice and not, as is common in Europe, to highlight the value and beauty of sculpture per se. A feeling of horror vacui is evident, for relief covers every inch. Apart from the purely ornamental and floral motifs, the Jains also used the entire repertory of Hindu iconography: deities, celestial musicians, danseuses, ganas (pot-bellied dwarfs), elephants and maithunas (lovers) as well as stories from the great epics of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. The eight dikpalas (guardians of the cardinal points) are placed on top of the pillars and the domes are typically adorned with the sixteen Jain goddesses of knowledge as with celestial musicians and danseuses.
From among the innumerable figures, I would like to focus only on a few: Semi-circular 'carpets" (picture on left) for purging the soul of hatred and anger are placed in front of thresholds embellished with apostrophic masks of demons (kirthimukhas). Beside it are the typical conches; the sound of these is regarded as holy and is similar to the syllable 'Om'.
If one enters the temple from the western side and looks upwards in the balana mandapa (the portal hall), one sees the kichaka, (Photo page 1) a figure having one head and five bodies. This represents the five elements of which the material world is composed.
The portraits of the founder (photo on left below) and of the architect (photo on right below) are carved on the pillars of the western meghanada mandapa (three-storied hall, No. 4 in the plan). These portraits are almost inconspicuous; in the midst of the embellishment, together with figures of female musicians and danseuses, they do not attract any attention. Yet Dharna Shah saw to it that his portrait carved with folded hands facing the Tirthankara paying him eternal obeisance.
In the meghanada mandapa on the northern side, there is a large marble elephant (see page 94-95) dating back to 1687. On the back of the elephant is mounted the mahout and beside him Maidevi, the mother of Adinatha. She said to have come to hear the sermon of her son. Legend has it that on catching sight of him while still some distance away she achieved moksha. She would thus be the first person to have escaped the cycle of birth in this current epoch of decline and evil.
In the meghanada mandapa on the southern side, there are magnificent carvings on the ceiling. It, however, requires much effort to distinguish figures among the highly decorative reliefs. (Page 24) shows a nag demon, a circular medallion, with Krishna in the midst of the tangled coils of intertwined naginis (female serpents).
In the balana mandapa on the southern side, there are two reliefs measuring approximately a metre each. The reliefs face each other and apparently complement one another.
The Jambu dvipa, the circular continent of the middle world in the centre of which stands the world mountain Meru, represented on the eastern side. It is surrounded by mountains on which are located the abodes of the gods, and stylised forests. The entrances represented on the four sides are of special importance.
Facing this is the relief of the Nandishvara dvipa, the eighth island continent. In this case too four groups, consisting of thirteen mountains each, with temples atop them, surround the centre and form the figure fifty-two, which the Jains regard as holy. Although the centre looks identical to the one represented in the earlier relief, which is apparently the complement to this one, yet it is interpreted as being a pulsating 'Om'.
Stylised representations of the holy mountains are common to Jain temples. In page 2-3, the Shatrunjaya can be seen, appearing like a letter case in which the figure of Tirthankaras and temple towers has been arranged.
On the southern side of the temple, there is a splendid relief of Parsva, the twenty-third ford maker; He is seen standing flanked by two Jains and two female serpents carrying fans. A one thousand-headed serpent hood protects his head. Serpent gods and goddesses with human bodies frame the whole scene, their serpent tails knotted together. The two fan-carrying serpents are also joined with them.
Although this relief of perhaps the most popular Tirthankara dates back to only 1846, yet it is a hot favourite among visitors for purposes of photography. This may be due to the good lighting though the more probable cause is the serpent hood. Similar representations can be seen in other Jain temples and this has aroused curiosity. Consequently, the story of Parsva will be narrated here briefly, which may evoke associations for the European visitor concerning his own mythology.
Excursus: The Life of Parsva
As mentioned earlier in the paragraph on Parsva in the chapter on Jainism in all the previous incarnations of the Tirthankara. In contrast to him a hostile and evil brother who personified the darker side of human existence: selfishness and a craving for power.
As mentioned earlier in the paragraph on Parsva in the chapter on Jainism in all the previous incarnations of the Tirthankara. In contrast to him a hostile and evil brother who personified the darker side of human existence: selfishness and a craving for power.
The first time Parsva was born as Marabhuti, the son of a minister. He succeeded his father to the office. His evil brother, Kamatha, seduced his wife and was banished to the forest for this crime. Here, Kamatha practised the most severe asceticism in order to gain magical powers. Marabhuti heard of this, believed in the noble motives of the other and sought him out in the forest. He found him balancing on one leg with a rock held in his raised hands. Moved, he fell at his feet while Kamatha let the stone fall, killing Marabhuti.
Parsva was reborn as an elephant he had been conscious of regretting death in previous life. For a long time he roamed in the forest, charging wildly, frightening pious ascetics, until he one day came face to face with his former king. The king had renounced the world and he immediately recognised in the elephant his former minister. He succeeded in calming the elephant and imparted religious instruction to him, Transformed in to an elephant practising asceticism. His brother who had now been reborn as a huge snake again killed Parsva. Since he now died peacefully and surrendered to death, he was reborn as a god, whereas Kamatha reappeared as a hell being.
Thus, a cycle of three pious lives as human being, animal and god was completed and an evil counterpart was always at his side. The animal existence represents the primary stages of religious experience for the seeker. In Christianity, the corresponding level would probably be that of the Lamb of God.
Thus, a cycle of three pious lives as human being, animal and god was completed and an evil counterpart was always at his side. The animal existence represents the primary stages of religious experience for the seeker. In Christianity, the corresponding level would probably be that of the Lamb of God.
Subsequent cycles of birth are only as human being and god. Since in the very next incarnation, as Prince Agnivega, he for the first time renounced the world and becomes an ascetic, i.e., he had already achieved a higher level of knowledge. This time too his brother, now reborn as a poisonous snake, killed him. Parsva rose to a higher sphere of divinity, whereas Kamatha fell into a lower one of hell.
In the third cycle of birth, Parsva in his human existence had already achieved the Chakrarcivarti status; this implies that he had attained the status of a morally advanced conqueror of the world before renouncing the world. His brother killed him with an arrow and yet again, they were exposed to celestial joys or hellish agony, respectively.
The next time Parsva renounced his throne when he discovered his first grey hair. As an ascetic he gained such supernatural powers that all around him, land and living beings enjoyed happiness and harmony. As a result, when Kamatha now killed him, he was able to achieve the highest divine form of an Indra.
Parsva's life cycle had reached maturation; in his fifth human existence, he was born as a prince of Benares and very early, the omens revealed him a future Tirthankara. At the age of eight years, he took the basic Jain vows. The circle was now complete: on an excursion into the forest, he encountered Kamatha, who was now an ascetic. The company disturbed the latter and in order to work off his anger the ascetic seized his axe to split a log of wood. The young boy Parsva pleaded with him not to do so, since two snakes were sheltering in the log, but Kamatha ignored the plea and split the log, killing the two snakes.
At sixteen, Parsva undertook the greatest sacrifice and meditated standing in the forest. He was surrounded by an aura of peace. His brother, reborn as a low-level god due to the sustained asceticism, discovered him there and attacked him with all the supernatural powers at his disposal. However, a pair of snakes, the reincarnation of the two killed earlier by Kamatha, spread a gigantic hood over him as protection. This explains why Parsva represented with gigantic snake hood.
Gradually the Tirthankara broke free of the last shackles of his karma and achieved omniscience and moksha. Thereafter, he preached for almost seventy years and during this time, he was finally able to convert his brother. At the age of a hundred years, his soul, finally liberated, rose to the summit of the universe.
I have narrated the cycle of his births in detail as it could serve as an example of the ideal evolution towards moksha as imagined by the Jains. At the same time, these stories about Parsva, who was probably a historic personage, provide enough parallels with other religions of ancient times.
The later history of Ranakpur
During the reign of Aurangzeb (1658-1707) Muslim armies advanced through Mewar and pillaged Ranakpur. In later centuries, famines decimated the population in the surrounding area. The temple, which in parts had collapsed, abandoned and for a time it became a hideout for gangs of robbers.
During the reign of Aurangzeb (1658-1707) Muslim armies advanced through Mewar and pillaged Ranakpur. In later centuries, famines decimated the population in the surrounding area. The temple, which in parts had collapsed, abandoned and for a time it became a hideout for gangs of robbers.
It was only at the close of the 19th century that devout Jains returned to the site. One Seth Hemabhai Hattisingh from Ahmedabad had the shrine purified, and constructed a boundary wall. Since 1897, it been taken under the jurisdiction of the trust of Seth Anandji Kalyanji in Ahmedabad. The Seth showed great sensitivity whilst restoring Ranakpur in 1933-44.
Source: Jainism And The Temples Of Mount Abu And Ranakpur, Publisher: Gyan Gaurav Publishers. C-34, Sir Pratap Colony, Airport Road, Jodhpur Ph.: 91 291 2515861, 9414127863, Editor: Mr. Dilip Surana
Jun 12, 2010
Jainism And Druidism
-by Philip Carr-Gomm
Summary
Ever since scholars in the 17th century began to explore resemblances between European and Indian languages, the similarities between Celtic and Indian cultures, and Druidic and Vedic cultures has been noted. These theories were developed in the 1940s by scholars such as Georges Dumezil who accumulated a considerable body of evidence to support the theory that Indo-Europeans, originating in the Caucausus region, had migrated west and east, taking with them the same tripartite social structure and use of iron and the horse. Here we take another approach which explores parallels between the Celtic culture of the Druids and the earlier pre-Vedic civilisation of the Indus Valley and with the religion of Jainism.
The following essay should be treated as a tentative exploratory document, as notes from the beginning of a study of the resonances and connections between two of the world’s oldest religions. The word ‘resonance’ is used because we are dealing with two systems that are so far apart geographically, and whose origins are now both so far away in time, it is difficult to determine facts with the degree of accuracy demanded by the historian. And so, although we will be exploring this subject partly from a historical viewpoint, I hope we can also approach the relationship between the two systems from the point of view of the artist, the bard and mythographer who, like the mystic, senses connections which transcend time and space.
I first became aware of the potential connections between Jainism and Druidism over forty years ago. When I was a teenager I studied under the old Chief Druid and founder of The Order of Bards Ovates & Druids, Ross Nichols. He was an historian but also a poet, which gave him the ability to explore subjects at both the levels I have just referred to. Although he was dedicated to Druidry, he was a Universalist by nature, always seeking the common threads between religious systems, and trying to look beyond the outer forms to the inner core of teachings that transcend divisions. And so he was a Christian too, but he also felt very drawn to Jainism. He was a keen pacifist, vegetarian and naturist. Naturism, or nudism, was an idea that evolved in the 1920s as part of the process of the freeing of individuals from outmoded social restrictions that had started to occur following the First World War. It was all part of the move ‘back to Nature’ in which people sought to escape from the horrors of war, the alienation of city life, and rampant industrialization. They did not want anything, not even clothes, between them and the elemental forces of Nature: water, air and sunlight.
Ross lived on his own and was an ascetic, and so in a way his life paralleled that of a Jain monk of both the Digambara and Shvetambara variety, since at the Utopian Naturist resort of Spielplatz and later at The Five Acres Country Club, where he had a simple chalet, he lived like a ‘skyclad’ Digambara monk, while at Druid ceremonies at Stonehenge or on Glastonbury Tor he wore white robes, as do Shvetambara monks.
George Bernard Shaw was a famous naturist who once wrote “I adore so greatly the principles of the Jain religion, that I would like to be reborn in a Jain community.” Ross undoubtedly read this comment of the great playwright and himself wrote “Of the known cultural communities it is the Jains who seem most like a society from which Druidry could have originated.(1) ” He believed that Jainism influenced the West via a movement of ideas through Persia. In an essay he wrote, entitled ‘Sky Temples’ he described this influence by first offering an image of the two calls we probably all experience – for a life of plenitude and comfort, and a life of utter simplicity:
Man alternates between the ‘desert and the sown’. T.E.Lawrence has described how the Arab feels the purity and asceticism in the desert for a long stretch - then, overcome by desire for easier things, settles down awhile, becomes soft and shifty - then again, often at the call of the muezzin or some more way-out type of religious call, surges off to the desert again with an enormous sense of clearness and purity.
That is a dramatic version of a general truth. Hill-tops and open stone arrangements are without doubt of the essence of one religious tradition. It is at its oldest and clearest amongst the Jains.
This people and cult is long pre-Aryan, although it had a famous religious leader about the time of the Buddha, who met him - but neither made any impression on the other [This is not correct. There is no record of them meeting. Ed.] No tooled holy stones or temples on hills could serve the real God; the deity was one and unchanging and could not be shown save by natural stone nor worshipped save under the dome of sky. When their saints were represented they must be unattached even to clothes and make no gestures. Jains later had to compromise with Hinduism, but they seem to have taught it vegetarianism and a transcendental sense of God especially upon hills.
As cultures and peoples spread, probably this age-old puritanism and simplicity of belief passed on to Persia and added to it the sense of the purity and divinity of fire, from the ever-burning oil-land around Baku. The Magi according to Herodotus performed their worship entirely upon mountains. “They have no images of gods, no temples or altars and consider the use of them as a sign of folly… their wont, however is to ascend to the summits of the loftiest mountains and there to offer sacrifice to Zeus, which name they give to the whole circuit of the firmament… They likewise offer to the sun and moon, to the earth, to fire, to water and to the winds.” That is, they recognised one supreme god, the lesser godheads of the luminaries and the qualities of the four elements. Only later did they evolve a sun god Mittra or Mithras, who nearly displaced Christ.
Classical authors found striking parallels between the Persian Magi and the Druids. Both are reported as believing in the happy survival of the soul and in some sort of reincarnation; both therefore were indifferent to death. Both used stones as adjuncts to worship, the Druids adding trees; neither used any usual kinds of temples and both had the fourfold sense of direction and four elements. To them we must add the Jews, who possessed an elaborate temple and ritual but no images and made this image-less God completely exclusive. All these bodies therefore were obnoxious to the practical and administrative Romans.
Herodotus’ description of the Magi could apply almost word for word to Druids, except that western Europe did not seem to have cultivated worship upon actual mountains, probably because of climate, seasons and accessibility. But there were sacred hills. Druidry therefore is the third culture that we know of that maintained the true open-air tradition of reverence to the Supreme.(2)
Ross is suggesting here that three cultures are linked: the oldest, the Jains, and then the Magi or magicians of Persia, and the Druids of western Europe. In his essay he offers no other source for this theory, apart from the classical authors, but I do know of another that inspired him. When I was eighteen he recommended that I read ‘Studies in Proto-Indo-Mediterranean Culture’ by Henry Heras (Indian Historical Research Institute 1953). I remember I was living in Ireland at the time, and Heras’ great orange tome lay heavy on my desk as I tried – unsuccessfully I am embarrassed to say – to work my way through it. Today I would approach it with more enthusiasm.
Henry Heras (1888-1955) was a Spanish Jesuit historian who came to work in India in 1922. Such was his interest in the history of his new home that he founded the Indian Historical Research Institute four years later that was later renamed the Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture, which now flourishes in Mumbai as a research institute with its own museum (3). Heras also founded the Bombay Historical Society and was actively involved in the Indian Historical Records Commission, the Indian History Congress and the International Congress of Historical Sciences. He loved India so much he became an Indian citizen in 1947.
In the 1930s Heras became tremendously excited by the newly-discovered sites of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, which were proving such rich veins of information on the Indus Valley civilization. After 18 years and having written many articles on the subject he published his monumental work ‘Studies in Proto-Indo-Mediterranean Culture’ (4) which proposed a solution to the still undeciphered writing of Mohenjo-Daro. In this he suggested that there were cultural links between the Indus Valley Civilization and the Sumerian-Egyptian civilization.
Heras suggested that the Indus Valley people were Dravidians, and claimed that their language was a primitive form of Tamil. The Dravidians in South India were a megalith-building culture, and I remember Ross talking to me about the theory that the Druids of western Europe may have descended from the Dravidians, with the word Druid itself being descended from the word Dravidian.
A.L.Basham in his widely respected survey of India’s history, ‘The Wonder that Was India’, published in the same year as Heras’ master-work, writes of Heras’ belief that the Dravidians were the original inhabitants of the ancient Indus valley cities, but after reviewing the evidence, states ‘We can only say with certainty that some of the inhabitants of the Indus cities were of a type widely found further to the west, and that their descendants must survive in the present-day population of India’ (5). In a brief survey I have made on current thinking – fifty years on from Heras and Basham, it seems that little has changed, and indeed not much can be said with certainty about the origin of the inhabitants of these ancient cities.
Ross was excited by the thought of a great flow of ideas and peoples – with the inhabitants of the Indus valley fanning outwards northwest through present-day Afghanistan and Iran towards Europe, and south to influence the stone-building culture of the Dravidians of South India.
But where do the Jains come into the picture? Applying the rigid criteria of modern historical analysis, Paul Dundas, points out that the term ‘Jain’ may only have come into use in the early centuries of the Common Era, and that it originated as one component of a north Indian ascetic culture which flourished in the Ganges basin from around the eighth or seventh centuries BCE (6). The Indus Valley civilization was much earlier, was further west, and was believed to be at its height between 3300 and 1700 BCE. But other scholars hold to different opinions. Dr Jyoti Prasad Jaina supports the traditional Jain view that the religion emerged much earlier and that it was to be found in the Indus valley (7). Like Heras, he believes the ancestors of the Dravidians were there in Mohenjodaro, and that the archaeological evidence found there supports this theory. The great omniscient teachers of the Jain tradition are the Tirthankaras (meaning the ‘ford-makers’) and they are often depicted naked in the Urdhwa sthan kayotsarg position of standing meditation. Statues and coins depicting naked men in such a posture have been found in large quantities in the remains at Mohenjodaro. In addition, images of a bull found on many coins suggest a link with the very first Tirthankara, Rshabha Dev, whose symbol was the bull.
Professor Pran Nath Vidyalankar also considers the religion of the Indus Valley civilization was related to Jainsim, pointing out that a coin found there is imprinted with the word Jineswara, and that evidence of the Jain goddesses Srim, Hrim and Klim can be found at the sites, along with idols of a yogi protected by the hood of a snake, reminiscent of Tirthankara Suparsva. In addition the symbol of the swastika, used in Jainism, is found often in Indus Valley imagery, and can even be noted in the lay-out of the city streets (8).
The scholars quoted, and others, believe that Jainism emerged from a culture that was pre-Vedic, pre-Aryan, and Dravidian. In doing so, they suggest that Jainism is therefore one of the oldest religions in the world, that preceded the Vedic religion and Buddhism.
In reading Jain history I am reminded of the problems we encounter when we study the history of Druidism. At first glance we become enthusiastic as we believe we are uncovering a truly ancient tradition, only to find that if we follow a historical route we soon enter the field of speculation and possibility rather than certainty. Any attempt to explore the origins of Druidism encounters exactly the same problems as with Jainism – a paucity of hard data on which to base our knowledge. The trees of both traditions are buried deep in the soil of the past, and are hidden from the prying gaze of our intellects.
Instead we must content ourselves with the occasional insights provided by a statue here, a coin there, or perhaps a quote from an ancient text. Looking at the evidence for any possible link between the Jains and the Druids from the opposite position geographically, we can turn to the writings of that biographer of the Greek Philosophers, Diogenes Laertius, who said: ‘Some say that the study of philosophy was of barbarian origin. For the Persians had their Magi, the Babylonians or the Assyrians the Chaldeans, the Indians their Gymnosophists, while the Kelts and the Galatae had seers called Druids and Semnotheoi, or so Aristotle says in the ‘Magic’ and Sotion in the twenty-third book of his ‘Succession of Philosophers’… Those who think that philosophy is an invention of the barbarians explain the systems prevailing among each people. They say that the Gymnosophists and Druids make their pronouncements by means of riddles and dark sayings, teaching that the gods must be worshipped, and no evil done, and manly behaviour maintained.’(9)
Gymnosophist means naked sage, from the Greek gymnos - naked and sophia - wisdom. And it is just possible that this quotation offers us an insight into one way in which Jainism or proto-Jainism and Druidism may have interacted.
Beside the Jhumla river, a tributary of the Indus, just over 2300 years ago a group of these naked sages met the most powerful man in the world at that time, Alexander the Great, together with a man who was to become the first Skeptic philosopher - Pyrrho of Elis (10). Who knows what exchanges occurred between these sages and the Greek visitors, and to what degree ideas from the Indus Valley civilization made its way to the classical world and thence to the Druids as a result? We do know that Alexander found them so interesting that he invited one of them to return with him to his own land. Calanus, as he was called in the Greek version of his name, was said to offer wise counsel to Alexander and to have practiced sallekhana (voluntary death) in Persia, having fallen ill (11).
In the quotation of Diogenes we come back to Ross Nichols’ suggestion of the link between the Indus Valley civilization, Persia and the Druids, since he was talking about the three groups of sages mentioned in Diogenes: the Indian gymnosophists, the Persian magi, and the Celtic Druids.
An interesting feature of this supposed connection is that it suggests a relationship between Druidism and a pre-Vedic culture, whereas most comparisons, as noted in the summary given at the opening of this essay, point to the startling similarities between the Celtic and the Vedic Brahminical culture (12). There is clearly much work to be done here to tease apart and explore the connections between these two opposite poles of the Indo-European arc of civilisation, but let us now look briefly not at historical links but at similarities between Jainism and Druidism that would repay further study.
There are a number of variations in the forms of Druidry practiced currently. In the lineage that I follow, that of the Order of Bards Ovates & Druids, I continue in the tradition of my predecessor Ross Nichols and the Chiefs of his parent body, the Ancient Druid Order, that in the main were Universalist, Pacifist, Socialist-Egalitarian, Vegetarian and Naturopathic. These remind us of Jain ideals and cannot have arisen simply as a result of my predecessors emulating them. The socialist-egalitarian impulse was initiated by the founder of the Ancient Druid Order, George Watson Mac-Gregor Reid in the early 20th century, and can be found even earlier in a Druid-related context in the battle for equality between England and its Celtic neighbours. In a similar way Jainism is distinguished by its early rejection of the caste system and by Lord Mahavira’s acceptance that women could be nuns, even though his contemporary the Buddha at first rejected this idea.
Although we know that there was much war and fighting within Celtic culture, the Druids were known as peace-makers, as the following two quotations show:
‘For they [the Druids] generally settle all their disputes, both public and private… The Druids usually abstain from war, nor do they pay taxes together with the others; they have exemption from warfare.’ Julius Caesar
‘Often when the combatants are ranged face to face, and swords are drawn and spears are bristling, these men come between the armies and stay the battle, just as wild beasts are sometimes held spellbound. Thus even among the most savage barbarians anger yields to wisdom, and Mars is shamed before the Muses.’ Diodorus Siculus
Here we have an interesting example of an early practice reflecting the idea of ahimsa, that was taken so seriously by Ross Nichols that he became a committed pacifist before World War Two.
When I look at the Universalism introduced into modern Druidry by George Watson MacGregor-Reid in the early twentieth century, I cannot help seeing the Jain doctrine of anekanta, or many-sidedness, which attempts to understand issues from multiple perspectives while at the same time trying to cut through to the spiritual essence beyond differences.
Whereas the tradition of vegetarianism is ancient amongst the Jains, I suspect that within modern Druidry, the fact that some of us (but by no means all) are vegetarian is of recent origin. Ross Nichols may have been influenced by Jainism, but in general the influence more likely evolved through the Health Reform movement of the early twentieth century, of which MacGregor-Reid was a keen proponent.
Are there any other similarities between Druidry and Jainism? Druids of the Ancient Druid Order, prior to the Second World War, used the svastika as a symbol on their robes, until the Nazi perversion of it made this impossible. The oldest examples of svastikas come from the Indus Valley civilisation, but it is also found in many cultures, and in Druid lands it has been found on the bronze frontspiece of a ritual pre-Christian shield found in London’s River Thames near Battersea Bridge. Dating from the fourth century BCE, it is embossed with 27 svastikas in bronze and red enamel. On Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire, there is a stone known as the Swastika Stone, with a svastika-shaped pattern engraved on it. At the famous Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk numerous items bearing the svastika have been found, and the symbol has also been discovered on the hilt of a sword, and its accompanying belt, at Bifrons in Kent, in a grave of about the sixth century. The svastika is used by the Jains, Buddhists and Hindus but also by many other cultures, so it is impossible to say where the symbol originally came from, although – as stated – the Indus Valley seems to yield its earliest representation.
As a matter of interest, the Jain symbol of the Three Jewels of Right Faith, Right Knowledge and Right Action, is pictorially reminiscent of the three drops of inspiration or Awen in Druidry, that were said to emerge from Ceridwen’s cauldron (13).
There are further parallels. In the Jain view of the universe, there are three worlds: Upper, Middle and Lower, which remind us of the three worlds found in many systems, including the Anglo-Saxon and Shamanic, and adopted by many Druids now.
The Middle World is made up of a number of continents, on one of which humans live (14). Adjacent is another continent: Jambudvipa, the ‘Island of the Roseapple Tree’ (15), whose surface is divided into four terraces, each of which has pleasing forests of ‘prosperous trees’ (bhadrasal van) also described as ‘pink-flowery’ (16).
In the Jain concept of Time Cycles, humanity lives through twelve epochs. We are in the fifth, but in the first human beings only needed to eat once every four days, and all their desires were satisfied by ‘wish-fulfilling’ trees (kalpavruska) (17).
The tree and groves of trees have always been central features of Druidism, and the existence of sacred groves in the mythology and the physical landscape of both India and the Druid countries is intriguing.
Druids feel particularly close to trees, believing them to be sacred and to have a spirit. They would appreciate the Jain belief that all of life is sacred as described by Swati Chopra: ‘An attitude of reverence towards the earth, air, water, stems from the Jain belief that everywhere exist beings in different forms and in various stages of spiritual evolution. So if I cut a tree, I have killed a jiva (life) and therefore caused violence.’ (18) Jiva is translated more frequently as soul, and we can therefore say that Jains hold a belief that trees have souls, which is very close to the belief of Druids.
A few more associations of trees in Jainism need to be mentioned. In the Jain sutras, ten dome trees (Chaitya Vrkshas) are said to belong to the gods who reside in houses, while eight dome-trees belong to the cosmic gods. Just as the Buddha’s enlightenment is connected with the Bodhi tree, so in the sutras mention is also made of twenty-four Bodhi-trees associated with the twenty-four Tirthankaras who gained moksha (19). And, after his enlightenment, Mahavira the 24th Tirthankara, preached his first sermon at the shrine of a tree-spirit(20). A favourite place of meditation for a Druid is at the foot of a tree echoing this same idea that trees and the process of gaining liberation are mysteriously interrelated.
I have left perhaps the most significant similarity between Druidism and Jainism till last. We know, from the classical accounts, that the ancient Druids taught the doctrine of the transmigration of souls, or reincarnation. We lack the details of their teachings, however, and this is where I see a tremendous value in the study of Jainism for modern Druids, since the Jain tradition, of all the Dharmic religions, has the most detailed and ancient understanding of reincarnation and the associated doctrine of karma. The Jain libraries are in fact the oldest libraries in India. In working towards a renaissance of ancient traditions, a study of the past and of related cultures can help us reclaim our ancient heritage and lead us towards a more secure future. I hope that an increasing understanding between Druidism and Jainism, and indeed Hinduism and Buddhism, will bring many benefits and blessings.
To conclude I would like to emulate the Jain prayer that asks that I may be forgiven for any errors or misunderstandings I may have conveyed in this essay, and offer you a Druid prayer followed by the Universal Jain Mantra:
Deep within the still centre of my being
May I find peace.
Silently within the quiet of the Grove
May I share peace.
Gently and powerfully within the greater circle of humankind
May I radiate peace.
Awen, Awen, Awen
Om Namo Arihantanam - I bow to the Arihantas (ever-perfect spiritual beings)
Om Namo Siddhanam - I bow to the Siddhas (liberated souls)
Om Namo Ayariyanam - I bow to the Acharyas (spiritual leaders)
Om Namo Uvajjhayanam - I bow to the Upadhyayas (learned preceptors)
Om Namo Loe Savva-Sahunam - I bow to all the saints and sages everywhere in the world
Philip Carr-Gomm, from a talk given at the third International Conference and Gathering of Elders
Renaissance of Ancient Traditions: Challenges and Solutions
31st Jan to 5th Feb. 2009, Nagpur, India
NOTES
1. Philip Carr-Gomm, In The Grove of the Druids – The Druid Teachings of Ross Nichols (Watkins 2002) p.71
2. Ibid. p.50
3. See http://www.xaviers.edu/heras.htm
4. Henry Heras, Studies in Proto-Indo-Mediterranean Culture (Indian Historical Research Institute 1953)
5. A.L.Basham, The Wonder that Was India (Grove Press 1953) p.25
6. Paul Dundas, The Jains (Routledge 2002) p.17
7. Jyoti Prasad Jaina, The Jaina Sources of the History of Ancient India: 100 BC - AD 900 (Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers 2006)
8. The History of Jain Religion, Its Culture, Literature and Art in ‘Jainology and Comparative Religion & Philosophy’ MA Previous Course Papers, Jain Vishva Bjarati University, Ladnun, 2008.
9. Diogenes Laertius (3rd cent AD) Vitae Introduction, I, 5
10. Some scholars argue that Pyrrho’s doctrine of agnosticism - of the impossibility of certain knowledge - was inspired by the ideas of the gymnosophist Sanjaya - a contemporary of the Buddha and the Jain founder Mahavira. Others believe that any similarities in their doctrines are coincidental – that the language barrier between the two men would have prevented the exchange of such ideas.
11. Arrian of Nicomedia, Anabasis. Plutarch, in his Alexander, gives a slightly different account of Calanus’ end: ‘At the same time, Calanus having been a little while troubled with a disease in the bowels, requested that he might have a funeral pile erected, to which he came on horseback, and after he had said some prayers and sprinkled himself and cut off some of his hair to throw into the fire, before he ascended it, he embraced and took leave of the Macedonians who stood by, desiring them to pass that day in mirth and good-fellowship with their king, whom in a little time, he said, he doubted not but to see again at Babylon. Having thus said, he lay down, and covering up his face, he stirred not when the fire came near him, but continued still in the same posture as at first, and so sacrificed himself, as it was the ancient custom of the philosophers in those countries to do.’ There are 4 different classical accounts of this moment, each with variations. While the tales of the Ten Questions posed to the gymnosophists and Calanus’ use of the hide as a teaching tool may be apocryphal, the first account of Calanus’ death has the distinction of being the earliest record in western literature of this practice. See Paul LeValley, “The Gymnosophist Legacy in India 326 B.C.1604 A.D.” diss. Florida State University, 1987, pp. 618.
12. For numerous examples see Alwyn & Brinley Rees, Celtic Heritage, Ancient Tradition in Ireland and Wales (Thames & Hudson 1968) and Georges Dumezil The Destiny of a King University Of Chicago Press1988)
13. The three jewels are displayed above the svastika in the Pratika, the symbol of Jainism adopted in 1975 on the 2,500th anniversary of Mahavira’s enlightenment. In Druidry the three drops are displayed above the symbol of the ‘Three Bars of Light’ that also symbolise the positions of sunrise due east for the solstices, and ENE and ESE for the equinoxes.
14. The lower world is made up of a series of hells, the upper world of a series of heavens. Both are finite and those fortunate or unfortunate enough to end up in one of these places is eventually reborn in the Middle World, until finally achieving Moksha or liberation and ending up somewhere else altogether.
15. The Roseapple is a plant of tropical eastern Asia. The tree is cultivated in many parts of India for its fruit, which is of the size of a small apple, with a delicate, rose-water perfume. Varieties include Echinocactus Jambos, Echinocactus Malaccensis, and Syzygium Malaccensis, with common names: Jambos, Large-Fruited Rose Apple, Malay Apple, Rose Apple, Jambrosade, and Malabar Plum.
16. Natubhai Shah, Jainism, The World of the Conquerors (Motil Banarsidass Publisgers, Delhi, 2004) Volume II, p.32
17. ‘The basic ten varieties of needs were fulfilled by ten kinds of kalpa-vrikshas’ p.16 The History of Jain Religion, Its Culture, Literature and Art in ‘Jainology and Comparative Religion & Philosophy’ MA Previous Course Papers, Jain Vishva Bjarati University, Ladnun, 2008
18. Swati Chopra, The Gentle Conquerors, at http://www.lifepositive.com/
19. The History of Jain Religion, Its Culture, Literature and Art in ‘Jainology and Comparative Religion & Philosophy’ MA Previous Course Papers, Jain Vishva Bjarati University, Ladnun, 2008. p.10
20. Paul Dundas, The Jains (Routledge 2002) pp34-5
Summary
Ever since scholars in the 17th century began to explore resemblances between European and Indian languages, the similarities between Celtic and Indian cultures, and Druidic and Vedic cultures has been noted. These theories were developed in the 1940s by scholars such as Georges Dumezil who accumulated a considerable body of evidence to support the theory that Indo-Europeans, originating in the Caucausus region, had migrated west and east, taking with them the same tripartite social structure and use of iron and the horse. Here we take another approach which explores parallels between the Celtic culture of the Druids and the earlier pre-Vedic civilisation of the Indus Valley and with the religion of Jainism.
The following essay should be treated as a tentative exploratory document, as notes from the beginning of a study of the resonances and connections between two of the world’s oldest religions. The word ‘resonance’ is used because we are dealing with two systems that are so far apart geographically, and whose origins are now both so far away in time, it is difficult to determine facts with the degree of accuracy demanded by the historian. And so, although we will be exploring this subject partly from a historical viewpoint, I hope we can also approach the relationship between the two systems from the point of view of the artist, the bard and mythographer who, like the mystic, senses connections which transcend time and space.
I first became aware of the potential connections between Jainism and Druidism over forty years ago. When I was a teenager I studied under the old Chief Druid and founder of The Order of Bards Ovates & Druids, Ross Nichols. He was an historian but also a poet, which gave him the ability to explore subjects at both the levels I have just referred to. Although he was dedicated to Druidry, he was a Universalist by nature, always seeking the common threads between religious systems, and trying to look beyond the outer forms to the inner core of teachings that transcend divisions. And so he was a Christian too, but he also felt very drawn to Jainism. He was a keen pacifist, vegetarian and naturist. Naturism, or nudism, was an idea that evolved in the 1920s as part of the process of the freeing of individuals from outmoded social restrictions that had started to occur following the First World War. It was all part of the move ‘back to Nature’ in which people sought to escape from the horrors of war, the alienation of city life, and rampant industrialization. They did not want anything, not even clothes, between them and the elemental forces of Nature: water, air and sunlight.
Ross lived on his own and was an ascetic, and so in a way his life paralleled that of a Jain monk of both the Digambara and Shvetambara variety, since at the Utopian Naturist resort of Spielplatz and later at The Five Acres Country Club, where he had a simple chalet, he lived like a ‘skyclad’ Digambara monk, while at Druid ceremonies at Stonehenge or on Glastonbury Tor he wore white robes, as do Shvetambara monks.
George Bernard Shaw was a famous naturist who once wrote “I adore so greatly the principles of the Jain religion, that I would like to be reborn in a Jain community.” Ross undoubtedly read this comment of the great playwright and himself wrote “Of the known cultural communities it is the Jains who seem most like a society from which Druidry could have originated.(1) ” He believed that Jainism influenced the West via a movement of ideas through Persia. In an essay he wrote, entitled ‘Sky Temples’ he described this influence by first offering an image of the two calls we probably all experience – for a life of plenitude and comfort, and a life of utter simplicity:
Man alternates between the ‘desert and the sown’. T.E.Lawrence has described how the Arab feels the purity and asceticism in the desert for a long stretch - then, overcome by desire for easier things, settles down awhile, becomes soft and shifty - then again, often at the call of the muezzin or some more way-out type of religious call, surges off to the desert again with an enormous sense of clearness and purity.
That is a dramatic version of a general truth. Hill-tops and open stone arrangements are without doubt of the essence of one religious tradition. It is at its oldest and clearest amongst the Jains.
This people and cult is long pre-Aryan, although it had a famous religious leader about the time of the Buddha, who met him - but neither made any impression on the other [This is not correct. There is no record of them meeting. Ed.] No tooled holy stones or temples on hills could serve the real God; the deity was one and unchanging and could not be shown save by natural stone nor worshipped save under the dome of sky. When their saints were represented they must be unattached even to clothes and make no gestures. Jains later had to compromise with Hinduism, but they seem to have taught it vegetarianism and a transcendental sense of God especially upon hills.
As cultures and peoples spread, probably this age-old puritanism and simplicity of belief passed on to Persia and added to it the sense of the purity and divinity of fire, from the ever-burning oil-land around Baku. The Magi according to Herodotus performed their worship entirely upon mountains. “They have no images of gods, no temples or altars and consider the use of them as a sign of folly… their wont, however is to ascend to the summits of the loftiest mountains and there to offer sacrifice to Zeus, which name they give to the whole circuit of the firmament… They likewise offer to the sun and moon, to the earth, to fire, to water and to the winds.” That is, they recognised one supreme god, the lesser godheads of the luminaries and the qualities of the four elements. Only later did they evolve a sun god Mittra or Mithras, who nearly displaced Christ.
Classical authors found striking parallels between the Persian Magi and the Druids. Both are reported as believing in the happy survival of the soul and in some sort of reincarnation; both therefore were indifferent to death. Both used stones as adjuncts to worship, the Druids adding trees; neither used any usual kinds of temples and both had the fourfold sense of direction and four elements. To them we must add the Jews, who possessed an elaborate temple and ritual but no images and made this image-less God completely exclusive. All these bodies therefore were obnoxious to the practical and administrative Romans.
Herodotus’ description of the Magi could apply almost word for word to Druids, except that western Europe did not seem to have cultivated worship upon actual mountains, probably because of climate, seasons and accessibility. But there were sacred hills. Druidry therefore is the third culture that we know of that maintained the true open-air tradition of reverence to the Supreme.(2)
Ross is suggesting here that three cultures are linked: the oldest, the Jains, and then the Magi or magicians of Persia, and the Druids of western Europe. In his essay he offers no other source for this theory, apart from the classical authors, but I do know of another that inspired him. When I was eighteen he recommended that I read ‘Studies in Proto-Indo-Mediterranean Culture’ by Henry Heras (Indian Historical Research Institute 1953). I remember I was living in Ireland at the time, and Heras’ great orange tome lay heavy on my desk as I tried – unsuccessfully I am embarrassed to say – to work my way through it. Today I would approach it with more enthusiasm.
Henry Heras (1888-1955) was a Spanish Jesuit historian who came to work in India in 1922. Such was his interest in the history of his new home that he founded the Indian Historical Research Institute four years later that was later renamed the Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture, which now flourishes in Mumbai as a research institute with its own museum (3). Heras also founded the Bombay Historical Society and was actively involved in the Indian Historical Records Commission, the Indian History Congress and the International Congress of Historical Sciences. He loved India so much he became an Indian citizen in 1947.
In the 1930s Heras became tremendously excited by the newly-discovered sites of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, which were proving such rich veins of information on the Indus Valley civilization. After 18 years and having written many articles on the subject he published his monumental work ‘Studies in Proto-Indo-Mediterranean Culture’ (4) which proposed a solution to the still undeciphered writing of Mohenjo-Daro. In this he suggested that there were cultural links between the Indus Valley Civilization and the Sumerian-Egyptian civilization.
Heras suggested that the Indus Valley people were Dravidians, and claimed that their language was a primitive form of Tamil. The Dravidians in South India were a megalith-building culture, and I remember Ross talking to me about the theory that the Druids of western Europe may have descended from the Dravidians, with the word Druid itself being descended from the word Dravidian.
A.L.Basham in his widely respected survey of India’s history, ‘The Wonder that Was India’, published in the same year as Heras’ master-work, writes of Heras’ belief that the Dravidians were the original inhabitants of the ancient Indus valley cities, but after reviewing the evidence, states ‘We can only say with certainty that some of the inhabitants of the Indus cities were of a type widely found further to the west, and that their descendants must survive in the present-day population of India’ (5). In a brief survey I have made on current thinking – fifty years on from Heras and Basham, it seems that little has changed, and indeed not much can be said with certainty about the origin of the inhabitants of these ancient cities.
Ross was excited by the thought of a great flow of ideas and peoples – with the inhabitants of the Indus valley fanning outwards northwest through present-day Afghanistan and Iran towards Europe, and south to influence the stone-building culture of the Dravidians of South India.
But where do the Jains come into the picture? Applying the rigid criteria of modern historical analysis, Paul Dundas, points out that the term ‘Jain’ may only have come into use in the early centuries of the Common Era, and that it originated as one component of a north Indian ascetic culture which flourished in the Ganges basin from around the eighth or seventh centuries BCE (6). The Indus Valley civilization was much earlier, was further west, and was believed to be at its height between 3300 and 1700 BCE. But other scholars hold to different opinions. Dr Jyoti Prasad Jaina supports the traditional Jain view that the religion emerged much earlier and that it was to be found in the Indus valley (7). Like Heras, he believes the ancestors of the Dravidians were there in Mohenjodaro, and that the archaeological evidence found there supports this theory. The great omniscient teachers of the Jain tradition are the Tirthankaras (meaning the ‘ford-makers’) and they are often depicted naked in the Urdhwa sthan kayotsarg position of standing meditation. Statues and coins depicting naked men in such a posture have been found in large quantities in the remains at Mohenjodaro. In addition, images of a bull found on many coins suggest a link with the very first Tirthankara, Rshabha Dev, whose symbol was the bull.
Professor Pran Nath Vidyalankar also considers the religion of the Indus Valley civilization was related to Jainsim, pointing out that a coin found there is imprinted with the word Jineswara, and that evidence of the Jain goddesses Srim, Hrim and Klim can be found at the sites, along with idols of a yogi protected by the hood of a snake, reminiscent of Tirthankara Suparsva. In addition the symbol of the swastika, used in Jainism, is found often in Indus Valley imagery, and can even be noted in the lay-out of the city streets (8).
The scholars quoted, and others, believe that Jainism emerged from a culture that was pre-Vedic, pre-Aryan, and Dravidian. In doing so, they suggest that Jainism is therefore one of the oldest religions in the world, that preceded the Vedic religion and Buddhism.
In reading Jain history I am reminded of the problems we encounter when we study the history of Druidism. At first glance we become enthusiastic as we believe we are uncovering a truly ancient tradition, only to find that if we follow a historical route we soon enter the field of speculation and possibility rather than certainty. Any attempt to explore the origins of Druidism encounters exactly the same problems as with Jainism – a paucity of hard data on which to base our knowledge. The trees of both traditions are buried deep in the soil of the past, and are hidden from the prying gaze of our intellects.
Instead we must content ourselves with the occasional insights provided by a statue here, a coin there, or perhaps a quote from an ancient text. Looking at the evidence for any possible link between the Jains and the Druids from the opposite position geographically, we can turn to the writings of that biographer of the Greek Philosophers, Diogenes Laertius, who said: ‘Some say that the study of philosophy was of barbarian origin. For the Persians had their Magi, the Babylonians or the Assyrians the Chaldeans, the Indians their Gymnosophists, while the Kelts and the Galatae had seers called Druids and Semnotheoi, or so Aristotle says in the ‘Magic’ and Sotion in the twenty-third book of his ‘Succession of Philosophers’… Those who think that philosophy is an invention of the barbarians explain the systems prevailing among each people. They say that the Gymnosophists and Druids make their pronouncements by means of riddles and dark sayings, teaching that the gods must be worshipped, and no evil done, and manly behaviour maintained.’(9)
Gymnosophist means naked sage, from the Greek gymnos - naked and sophia - wisdom. And it is just possible that this quotation offers us an insight into one way in which Jainism or proto-Jainism and Druidism may have interacted.
Beside the Jhumla river, a tributary of the Indus, just over 2300 years ago a group of these naked sages met the most powerful man in the world at that time, Alexander the Great, together with a man who was to become the first Skeptic philosopher - Pyrrho of Elis (10). Who knows what exchanges occurred between these sages and the Greek visitors, and to what degree ideas from the Indus Valley civilization made its way to the classical world and thence to the Druids as a result? We do know that Alexander found them so interesting that he invited one of them to return with him to his own land. Calanus, as he was called in the Greek version of his name, was said to offer wise counsel to Alexander and to have practiced sallekhana (voluntary death) in Persia, having fallen ill (11).
In the quotation of Diogenes we come back to Ross Nichols’ suggestion of the link between the Indus Valley civilization, Persia and the Druids, since he was talking about the three groups of sages mentioned in Diogenes: the Indian gymnosophists, the Persian magi, and the Celtic Druids.
An interesting feature of this supposed connection is that it suggests a relationship between Druidism and a pre-Vedic culture, whereas most comparisons, as noted in the summary given at the opening of this essay, point to the startling similarities between the Celtic and the Vedic Brahminical culture (12). There is clearly much work to be done here to tease apart and explore the connections between these two opposite poles of the Indo-European arc of civilisation, but let us now look briefly not at historical links but at similarities between Jainism and Druidism that would repay further study.
There are a number of variations in the forms of Druidry practiced currently. In the lineage that I follow, that of the Order of Bards Ovates & Druids, I continue in the tradition of my predecessor Ross Nichols and the Chiefs of his parent body, the Ancient Druid Order, that in the main were Universalist, Pacifist, Socialist-Egalitarian, Vegetarian and Naturopathic. These remind us of Jain ideals and cannot have arisen simply as a result of my predecessors emulating them. The socialist-egalitarian impulse was initiated by the founder of the Ancient Druid Order, George Watson Mac-Gregor Reid in the early 20th century, and can be found even earlier in a Druid-related context in the battle for equality between England and its Celtic neighbours. In a similar way Jainism is distinguished by its early rejection of the caste system and by Lord Mahavira’s acceptance that women could be nuns, even though his contemporary the Buddha at first rejected this idea.
Although we know that there was much war and fighting within Celtic culture, the Druids were known as peace-makers, as the following two quotations show:
‘For they [the Druids] generally settle all their disputes, both public and private… The Druids usually abstain from war, nor do they pay taxes together with the others; they have exemption from warfare.’ Julius Caesar
‘Often when the combatants are ranged face to face, and swords are drawn and spears are bristling, these men come between the armies and stay the battle, just as wild beasts are sometimes held spellbound. Thus even among the most savage barbarians anger yields to wisdom, and Mars is shamed before the Muses.’ Diodorus Siculus
Here we have an interesting example of an early practice reflecting the idea of ahimsa, that was taken so seriously by Ross Nichols that he became a committed pacifist before World War Two.
When I look at the Universalism introduced into modern Druidry by George Watson MacGregor-Reid in the early twentieth century, I cannot help seeing the Jain doctrine of anekanta, or many-sidedness, which attempts to understand issues from multiple perspectives while at the same time trying to cut through to the spiritual essence beyond differences.
Whereas the tradition of vegetarianism is ancient amongst the Jains, I suspect that within modern Druidry, the fact that some of us (but by no means all) are vegetarian is of recent origin. Ross Nichols may have been influenced by Jainism, but in general the influence more likely evolved through the Health Reform movement of the early twentieth century, of which MacGregor-Reid was a keen proponent.
Are there any other similarities between Druidry and Jainism? Druids of the Ancient Druid Order, prior to the Second World War, used the svastika as a symbol on their robes, until the Nazi perversion of it made this impossible. The oldest examples of svastikas come from the Indus Valley civilisation, but it is also found in many cultures, and in Druid lands it has been found on the bronze frontspiece of a ritual pre-Christian shield found in London’s River Thames near Battersea Bridge. Dating from the fourth century BCE, it is embossed with 27 svastikas in bronze and red enamel. On Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire, there is a stone known as the Swastika Stone, with a svastika-shaped pattern engraved on it. At the famous Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk numerous items bearing the svastika have been found, and the symbol has also been discovered on the hilt of a sword, and its accompanying belt, at Bifrons in Kent, in a grave of about the sixth century. The svastika is used by the Jains, Buddhists and Hindus but also by many other cultures, so it is impossible to say where the symbol originally came from, although – as stated – the Indus Valley seems to yield its earliest representation.
As a matter of interest, the Jain symbol of the Three Jewels of Right Faith, Right Knowledge and Right Action, is pictorially reminiscent of the three drops of inspiration or Awen in Druidry, that were said to emerge from Ceridwen’s cauldron (13).
There are further parallels. In the Jain view of the universe, there are three worlds: Upper, Middle and Lower, which remind us of the three worlds found in many systems, including the Anglo-Saxon and Shamanic, and adopted by many Druids now.
The Middle World is made up of a number of continents, on one of which humans live (14). Adjacent is another continent: Jambudvipa, the ‘Island of the Roseapple Tree’ (15), whose surface is divided into four terraces, each of which has pleasing forests of ‘prosperous trees’ (bhadrasal van) also described as ‘pink-flowery’ (16).
In the Jain concept of Time Cycles, humanity lives through twelve epochs. We are in the fifth, but in the first human beings only needed to eat once every four days, and all their desires were satisfied by ‘wish-fulfilling’ trees (kalpavruska) (17).
The tree and groves of trees have always been central features of Druidism, and the existence of sacred groves in the mythology and the physical landscape of both India and the Druid countries is intriguing.
Druids feel particularly close to trees, believing them to be sacred and to have a spirit. They would appreciate the Jain belief that all of life is sacred as described by Swati Chopra: ‘An attitude of reverence towards the earth, air, water, stems from the Jain belief that everywhere exist beings in different forms and in various stages of spiritual evolution. So if I cut a tree, I have killed a jiva (life) and therefore caused violence.’ (18) Jiva is translated more frequently as soul, and we can therefore say that Jains hold a belief that trees have souls, which is very close to the belief of Druids.
A few more associations of trees in Jainism need to be mentioned. In the Jain sutras, ten dome trees (Chaitya Vrkshas) are said to belong to the gods who reside in houses, while eight dome-trees belong to the cosmic gods. Just as the Buddha’s enlightenment is connected with the Bodhi tree, so in the sutras mention is also made of twenty-four Bodhi-trees associated with the twenty-four Tirthankaras who gained moksha (19). And, after his enlightenment, Mahavira the 24th Tirthankara, preached his first sermon at the shrine of a tree-spirit(20). A favourite place of meditation for a Druid is at the foot of a tree echoing this same idea that trees and the process of gaining liberation are mysteriously interrelated.
I have left perhaps the most significant similarity between Druidism and Jainism till last. We know, from the classical accounts, that the ancient Druids taught the doctrine of the transmigration of souls, or reincarnation. We lack the details of their teachings, however, and this is where I see a tremendous value in the study of Jainism for modern Druids, since the Jain tradition, of all the Dharmic religions, has the most detailed and ancient understanding of reincarnation and the associated doctrine of karma. The Jain libraries are in fact the oldest libraries in India. In working towards a renaissance of ancient traditions, a study of the past and of related cultures can help us reclaim our ancient heritage and lead us towards a more secure future. I hope that an increasing understanding between Druidism and Jainism, and indeed Hinduism and Buddhism, will bring many benefits and blessings.
To conclude I would like to emulate the Jain prayer that asks that I may be forgiven for any errors or misunderstandings I may have conveyed in this essay, and offer you a Druid prayer followed by the Universal Jain Mantra:
Deep within the still centre of my being
May I find peace.
Silently within the quiet of the Grove
May I share peace.
Gently and powerfully within the greater circle of humankind
May I radiate peace.
Awen, Awen, Awen
Om Namo Arihantanam - I bow to the Arihantas (ever-perfect spiritual beings)
Om Namo Siddhanam - I bow to the Siddhas (liberated souls)
Om Namo Ayariyanam - I bow to the Acharyas (spiritual leaders)
Om Namo Uvajjhayanam - I bow to the Upadhyayas (learned preceptors)
Om Namo Loe Savva-Sahunam - I bow to all the saints and sages everywhere in the world
Philip Carr-Gomm, from a talk given at the third International Conference and Gathering of Elders
Renaissance of Ancient Traditions: Challenges and Solutions
31st Jan to 5th Feb. 2009, Nagpur, India
NOTES
1. Philip Carr-Gomm, In The Grove of the Druids – The Druid Teachings of Ross Nichols (Watkins 2002) p.71
2. Ibid. p.50
3. See http://www.xaviers.edu/heras.htm
4. Henry Heras, Studies in Proto-Indo-Mediterranean Culture (Indian Historical Research Institute 1953)
5. A.L.Basham, The Wonder that Was India (Grove Press 1953) p.25
6. Paul Dundas, The Jains (Routledge 2002) p.17
7. Jyoti Prasad Jaina, The Jaina Sources of the History of Ancient India: 100 BC - AD 900 (Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers 2006)
8. The History of Jain Religion, Its Culture, Literature and Art in ‘Jainology and Comparative Religion & Philosophy’ MA Previous Course Papers, Jain Vishva Bjarati University, Ladnun, 2008.
9. Diogenes Laertius (3rd cent AD) Vitae Introduction, I, 5
10. Some scholars argue that Pyrrho’s doctrine of agnosticism - of the impossibility of certain knowledge - was inspired by the ideas of the gymnosophist Sanjaya - a contemporary of the Buddha and the Jain founder Mahavira. Others believe that any similarities in their doctrines are coincidental – that the language barrier between the two men would have prevented the exchange of such ideas.
11. Arrian of Nicomedia, Anabasis. Plutarch, in his Alexander, gives a slightly different account of Calanus’ end: ‘At the same time, Calanus having been a little while troubled with a disease in the bowels, requested that he might have a funeral pile erected, to which he came on horseback, and after he had said some prayers and sprinkled himself and cut off some of his hair to throw into the fire, before he ascended it, he embraced and took leave of the Macedonians who stood by, desiring them to pass that day in mirth and good-fellowship with their king, whom in a little time, he said, he doubted not but to see again at Babylon. Having thus said, he lay down, and covering up his face, he stirred not when the fire came near him, but continued still in the same posture as at first, and so sacrificed himself, as it was the ancient custom of the philosophers in those countries to do.’ There are 4 different classical accounts of this moment, each with variations. While the tales of the Ten Questions posed to the gymnosophists and Calanus’ use of the hide as a teaching tool may be apocryphal, the first account of Calanus’ death has the distinction of being the earliest record in western literature of this practice. See Paul LeValley, “The Gymnosophist Legacy in India 326 B.C.1604 A.D.” diss. Florida State University, 1987, pp. 618.
12. For numerous examples see Alwyn & Brinley Rees, Celtic Heritage, Ancient Tradition in Ireland and Wales (Thames & Hudson 1968) and Georges Dumezil The Destiny of a King University Of Chicago Press1988)
13. The three jewels are displayed above the svastika in the Pratika, the symbol of Jainism adopted in 1975 on the 2,500th anniversary of Mahavira’s enlightenment. In Druidry the three drops are displayed above the symbol of the ‘Three Bars of Light’ that also symbolise the positions of sunrise due east for the solstices, and ENE and ESE for the equinoxes.
14. The lower world is made up of a series of hells, the upper world of a series of heavens. Both are finite and those fortunate or unfortunate enough to end up in one of these places is eventually reborn in the Middle World, until finally achieving Moksha or liberation and ending up somewhere else altogether.
15. The Roseapple is a plant of tropical eastern Asia. The tree is cultivated in many parts of India for its fruit, which is of the size of a small apple, with a delicate, rose-water perfume. Varieties include Echinocactus Jambos, Echinocactus Malaccensis, and Syzygium Malaccensis, with common names: Jambos, Large-Fruited Rose Apple, Malay Apple, Rose Apple, Jambrosade, and Malabar Plum.
16. Natubhai Shah, Jainism, The World of the Conquerors (Motil Banarsidass Publisgers, Delhi, 2004) Volume II, p.32
17. ‘The basic ten varieties of needs were fulfilled by ten kinds of kalpa-vrikshas’ p.16 The History of Jain Religion, Its Culture, Literature and Art in ‘Jainology and Comparative Religion & Philosophy’ MA Previous Course Papers, Jain Vishva Bjarati University, Ladnun, 2008
18. Swati Chopra, The Gentle Conquerors, at http://www.lifepositive.com/
19. The History of Jain Religion, Its Culture, Literature and Art in ‘Jainology and Comparative Religion & Philosophy’ MA Previous Course Papers, Jain Vishva Bjarati University, Ladnun, 2008. p.10
20. Paul Dundas, The Jains (Routledge 2002) pp34-5
Jun 10, 2010
Spread of Jainism in India and Abroad
Helmuth Von Glasnapp
As is well known and is accepted by all the historians, Jainism had already been established as an important religion in various provinces of
Jainism crossed
Kalkacharya, another Jaina monk, is said to have visited
Jaina art and architecture
The Jainas have been amongst the foremost in contributing to the field of art and architecture since the early days. The images of Tirthankara Rishabha deva and the figures of standing or seated nude yogins found inscribed on some terracotta seats are ample proof of the same. The relics of the prehistoric
Gupta period (4th to 7th C A.D.) is said to be the golden period of ancient indian culture. Harigupta, Siddhasana, Harisena, Ravikirti, Pujyapada, Patrakesari, Udyotanasuri and other famous Jain acharyas existed in this period and they actively helped in spreading the message of Mahavira all over
During the Chandela dynasty, Khajuraho, Devagarh, Mahoba, Madanapur, Chanderi, Ahar, Papora and
The inscriptional history of Jainism in
Andhrapradesha has been a stronghold centre of Jainism. Acharya Kundakunda (1st C A.D.), the spiritual leader of the time hailed from village Kondakunda, situated on the border of Andhra Pradesh. King Vishnuvardhana of Chalukyas, Akalavarsa, Amoghavarsa and Krashnaraja of Rashtrakutas, Bhima, Ganga Vijayaditya, Durgaraj etc. of Vengis, Tailapa, Vikramaditya of Badami Chalukyas, some kings of Velanatichoda period patronised Jainism by way of constructing temples, Vasadis and Vidyapeethas. Some of them, afterwards, were occupied by Virasaivaitas and Lingayatas, who have been great destroyers of Jaina monuments and the community as well.
Jainism in Karnakata goes back to at least Bhadrabahu and Chandragupta Maurya, who migrated to south via
Jainism entered Tamilnadu most probably from Kalinga in around 4th C B.C. Visakhacharya proceeded to Chola and Pandya countries with the entire Munisangha. It can be supported by the caverns containing beds carved out in the rock found in hills and mountains around the Pudukottai, Madura and Tinnevelly and rock-out sculptures and inscriptions in the hills of the north Arcot district which indicate the existence of Jainism in Tamilnadu in the 3rd C B.C. Kanchi was one of the important seats of learning in south India. It was the capital of Pallavas, who were mostly Jains in early centuries. The inscriptions of Jinakanchi refer to some prominent. Jainacharyas of the city, like Kundakunda, Samantabhadra, Jinachandra, Pujyapada, Akalanka, Anantavirya, Bhavanand, Mallisena etc. The north and south Arcot regions are very rich from the standpoint of Jaina architecture. Sittanavasal, Narttamalai, Tenimalai, Bommanmalai, Malamala and Samanar Kudagu had been the Jaina centre since last two thousand years. Most of these places have rich paintings and sculptures of Sittanvasala tradition which may be compared with
Madura was the capital of Pandyas who showed very favourable attitude towards Jainism. Its neighbouring hills, like Annaimalai, Nagamalai, Muttupatti, Eruvadi, etc. are very rich from Jaina sculptural and painting stand-point. Various Jaina epics were written in this period by prominent Jainacharyas like Pujyapada, Vajranandi, Aryanand and Patrakesari. Afterwards, jainism was patronised by Kadamba kings . Thus, the survey of Jainism in south
Their devotees committed heavy atrocities on Jaina society, temples, sculptures and vasadis.The massacres went on and Jaina centres were converted into Saiva or Vaisanava temples. Jaina images and stupas have been found from many excavations in that region and these are preserved in museums at
dialogue and understanding which can be easily perceived through the extensive and perennial literature.
Jun 5, 2010
Decline of Jainism
-Helmuth Von Glasenapp
Jainas had to fight their battle on two fronts since the days of Mahaveera: against the followers of the Vedic Brahmanic religion and against Buddhists. They fought on the first front for their faith against the Vedic manifestation, its bloody sacrifices and its social order which assured precedence to Brahamanas over all other sections of the society; and on the second, against the Buddhist denial of the self and its doctrine of salvation which acknowledged asceticism only in a negligible measure and considered the other saints than the Tirthankaras as those who could guide one's path to salvation. Buddhism had opposed Jainism for some time quite strongly to such an extent that it had to beat the retreat before Buddhism in many areas: why its home in Magadha had become an exclusive domain of Buddhism, and this region got the name Bihar after its many monasteries (Viharas). But the might of Buddhism declined completely as the time progressed; it could not resist Jaina-faith in the west and in the south, and the restoration of the orthodox Brahamanism begun by Kumarila (around 700 A.D.) and Sankara (788-820 A.D.) put an end to it in the whole Ganga-peninsula so that it became extinct in the land of its origin.Kumarila, the restorer of the Vedic sacrificial service, and Sankara, the pioneer of the illusionistic doctrine of non-duality, also proceeded, with all the weapons of their spirit, against the Jaina-doctrine as a heterodoxy which was inimical to the Vedas. The constant progress of the movement coming from the orthodoxy against all heterodox trends increased the pressure, gradually but surely, and it weighed heavily upon the Jaina-church, and although this knew to war-off the attacks, its position had become much weaker and it was shaken.
The consequence of the awakening of the Brahmanic religiosity was the revival of the Vaisnavite and Saivite sects. Saivism and Vaisnavism proved to be particularly dangerous opponents, and they did a severe damage to Jainism, particularly in the
The great Tamilian Saivite singers, Nanasambandhar and Appar (7th century) as also Sundaramurti(8th or 9th century), Manikka- vacakar (around 900) alienated many from Jainism and introduced them to the Siva-cult. Appar is said to have converted the Pallava-king Mahendravarman to Saivism in this way; he destroyed Jaina-buildings in Kuddalor and built Siva-temples. Saivites were particularly supported by the rulers of the Cola-dynasty in their endeavours. Their influence supposed to be the reason, why the Pandya-kings of
The Saivite sect of the Lingayats was another mighty enemy of Jainas. This was founded or reorganized by Brahaman Basava, who was a minister of the Kaslacuri-king Bijjala. Bijjala was a ruler in Kaslyan in the period 1156-1167, and it is said that he was a follower of Jainism, Basava succeeded with great vigour and, as Jainas maintain, with great unscrupulousness, in attracting numerous followers to his monotheistic doctrine and in propagating his strongly anti-clerical system which was directed against the Brahmanic caste-order. Lingayats proceeded against Jainas extremely fanatically, damaged their properties and life, destroyed their temples or appropriated them for their purpose. It is said that Saint Ekantada-Ramayya had particularly excelled in the propagation of the new doctrine. It is narrated about him that he had taken a bet with Jainas. According to this, they were obliged to pull down a Jaina-statue and erect Siva's image, if he cut his own head and become alive again by Siva's mercy. When Ekantada-Ramayya succeeded in carrying out the miracle, and Jainas did not want to keep the word, he is said to have cut the head of a statue of their Tirthankara and placed it before the idol of his god as an oblation. When Jainas complained to the king against this act, the saint offered to repeat the miracle and even burn his head to ashes, if Jainas were willing to wage their 700 temples against it. But Jainas did not agree for which Bijjala scolded them and granted a piece of land near Ablur (in present Dharwad district) to the
Lingayatas or the "Vira-Saivas", as they call themselves, got, as the time passed, more and more grouped in the Kannada and Telgu language-regions. Their faith was the state's religion of the Wodeyars of Mysore and Ummatur from 1399-1610 and of the Nayaks of Keladi (Ikkeri or Bednur) from 1550-1763; even now, a very considerable part of the population of the states of the southern west-coast belongs to them. Their attitude with respect to Jainas is characterized by their great hostility. An inscription reports that a fanatic Lingayathad stamped a Linga-symbol on the pillars of the main Basti of the Jainas in Halebid in the year 1638. Jainas protested against this, and an agreement had arrived at. But Jainas, however, promised in this that they would always offer first ashes and betel to their temple according to a Saivite rite and then take up their own ceremonies.
There was also a far-reaching reformation in Visunism approximately around the same time in which Saivism got a new significance in
It is seen from the inscription from the year 1368 that Jainas were oppressed later by the Srivaisnavas. Jainas then complained to king Bukkarya-I of Vijayanagar against the persecutions to which they were subjected on the side of the Vaisnavites. The king then ordered that the members of both the religions should enjoy the same cultural freedom in his land. Further he ordered that 20 guards be appointed near the Gommata-statue in Sravana Belgola to protect the shrine from denigration and saw to it that the destroyed temples were repaired.
Another founder of Vaisnative sect, Madhva or Anandatirtha (1119-1278) was showing his influence in the Kannada region 100 years after Ramanuja. His doctrine of dualism preached by him got many converts on the west coast and brought a great damage to Jainism. But on the other hand, Brahmana Nimbarka (13th century?) of Nimba (in Bellary district), the originator of the Vaisnavite Bhedabheda-vada ("Doctrine of dualism and non-dualism"), who taught mainly in the north, in the region surrounding Mathura, does not appear to have been able to take up the gauntlet against the Jainas; at least, according to a report, his sect is said to have been rooted out by Jainas which was revived by Srinivasa only later. But then Brahmana Vallabha (1479-1531), the originator of the Krsnaite Suddhadvaita-mata, who was born in the Telugu-region, proved to be a significant opponent. This system taught by him in
The growing might of Hinduism was not revealed to Jainism only in its losing the followers. It was also expressed in the increasing inclination of its followers towards Hinduistic views and customs. Thus more and more Hindu-deities were mentioned in the Jaina-literature from now on, although they have no place in the Jaina-system. They also used terms which reveal a strong influence of the Vedanta; and in the following period, there was greater reconciliation even in the religious belief and social life.
Jainas Under Islamic Rule
The conquest of India by Mohammedan which began in the year 712 with the foundation of an Islamic State in Sindh and which continued ever since the invasions of Mahmud Gazni(1001) and Mohammad Ghori (1175) subjected Jainas, as also Hindus, to the same persecutions and oppressions at the hands of the new rulers. Thus the armies of Ala-ud-din Muhammad Shah Khilji, while marching through
The fact that Muslim kings proceeded against Jainas with fire and sword and tried to convert them forcefully to their religion should not mean that the relationship between Muslims and Jainas was always inimical. It appears much more that influential preachers like the Arabian missionary Pir Mahabir Khamdayat, who came to
Jainas in Hindu-Kingdoms
As it is seen, Jainas could follow their religious practices undisturbed even under many Mohammedan rulers. This was naturally to a greater degree in the case in the independent or almost independent Hindu-states which were little effected by Islam, albeit the fact that the number and significance of the Tirthankaras had diminished considerably on account of their fights with the rivalling Saivite and Visnavite sects. Inscriptions and buildings reveal that the royal patronage of the Jaina faith had not year become extinct in South-West
Jainas got a great significance in that period above all, in Central India and Rajaputana besides in their old home-state
Testimony of the glory and riches of Jaina-community are the works of art of this period, above all, the great figures of the Tirthanakras hewed out from the rock near Gwalior in the Tonvar-dynasty (1440-1473), the temples of Rakhabdev and Ranapur (both from the 15th century), the marvellous victory-towers in Rajaputana, etc. Favours shown by the princess of the Sisodiya-dynasty are characteristic for the attitude shown by the Rajputa Hindu-rulers towards them. Since years, Ranas of Mevar gave them their patronage and granted them many privileges. Jainas on their part showed that they were always the true servants of their masters. When Pratap Singh_I (1572-1597) was defeated by emperor Akabar's army and dissolved his fleeing army, a Jaina offered his riches to him to enable him to form a new army, he thus enabled the Rana to continue his march and get final victory. The princes expressed their gratitude by giving Jainas all sorts of freedom. Thus Maharana Raj Singh issued an edict in 1963 by which he forbade killing of animals on the pieces of land belonging to Jainas and ordered that every living being entering the district of their holy places be protected, and besides, not only the animals which were taken to slaughter-house, but also the criminals who had escaped from the arms of the law. Maharana Jay Singh gave orders in an inscription engraved on one of the pillars in Bakrole that no one should dry out the sea-water in the four months of the rainy season, i.e., from the 11th of the month of Asadha (June) to the full moon of Asvina (September), run an oil mill, produce pots that no one should harm a living being during this season in which life sprouts everywhere.
It is worth noting that Jainism got a foothold even in
Movements for Reform
A number of reformers appeared among the Hindus influence by Islamic tendencies which were inimical to idol-worship. They fought very strongly against the use of cult-idols and the worship dedicated to them. The efforts of these men-and we can mention here only the most prominent like Kabir (around 1470), Nanak (around 1500) and Dadu (around 1575) - found an inspiring response and they prompted the establishment of a number of sects which fought against the superficial rituals.
Even amongst Jainas, there was a movement in the same period which rejected idol-worship. The founder of this movement was an influential businessman in Ahmedabad. His name was Lonka Sa and he was a Svetamabara. He visited in the year 1451/52 a temple in which Monks Jnanaji was busy arranging the manuscripts. He offered to contribute to the preservation of these manuscripts which were getting ruined under the influence of time, by taking up the pious work of rewriting them. Jnanaji, gave, therefore, some books, and Lonka started to copy them. While reading holy books he discovered that there was no mention in them about the idol-worship done in the temples and he also found that many things taught by the qualified representatives during his period did not agree with Jainism. He, therefore, studied further and wrote the Sutras he got for copying also for his own purpose. Impressed by his discoveries he decide to reform the Jaina-faith, which was according to him corrupted and re-established it in its original purity. Of course he could not convert Jnanaji, and many others with whom he exchanged his views, but did not also agree with him. But finally, succeeded in winning over a group of pilgrims who were coming from Satrunjaya and marching through Ahmedabad. But the establishment of the sect was not possible till there was a monk who could be its master (Acarya). A layman by name Bhana became ascetic to get over this shortcoming and ordained himself (in 1467). He was the first spiritual head of the community of the Lonkas (Lunkas) or Lumpakas, and his position was inherited by his pupils.
Later there were splits and divisions in the Lonka-sect. The reforms of Lavaji, Vira's son, a layman from
Reforms introduced by Lonka and his successors were not directed against the iconolatry and the form of worship, but they were meant for a general improvement of the discipline and customs. Even though Lonka's opponents fought against his reform in the cult and the ritual, they had to concede that Jainism needed a thorough reformation, because the discipline in monk-orders had become partially slack in the course of time. Lax interpretation of the strict rules of Mahaveera was made so that they were even partially reversed. The ban (except during the rainy season) from staying for long at one place was disregarded, as also the rule of "Aparigraha", i.e. of not possessing any property. The monks all too often gratified their desires, appropriated the property of the church and neglected their spiritual duties. Heads of many monasteries acted like Sankaracaryas and other heads of Hindu-mathas and appeared on elephants and in palanquins followed by their satellites and servants and they utilized the richly flowing charities of their lay-followers in leading a comfortable life. Discerning leaders had again and again tried to fight against these abuses, but without getting a lasting success. It appears that materialism among Svetam-baras had particularly strongly spread in the 17th century. This can be partially explained by the general feeling of insecurity and the degeneration caused by it. But a number of highly talented men filled with genuine piousness succeeded in forming a very powerful tribe of followers who one more brought respect to the old ascetic ideal. Anandaghana, Satyavijaya, Vinayavijaya and Yasovijaya (1624-1688) were the leaders of the movement which was aimed at realizing the old, strict rules meant for monks. The two last named were also fruitful and active writers; we owe to Vinayavijaya the great compendium Lokaprakasa (Torch of the world), an overall depiction of the Jaina-doctrine in its different ramifications, while Yasovijaya has made a name as a writer of nearly a hundred works in Sanskrit an Gujrati. The ascetics who are the followers of these masters wear saffron-yellow clothes to distinguish themselves from the others who wear white clothes. Even now, the community of the "Samavegis" exists and it is respected everywhere for its exemplary conduct of life.
There were also significant radical changes among Digambaras. The ancient, strict discipline of nude asceticism had already become slack in the last centuries of the 1st millennium A.D. This can be seen from the moving complaints of the writers of the that period. The Muslim rulers made it impossible for the monks to move around in nude for Muslims persecuted the naked Yatis. It became thus customary that Munis clothed themselves in the public. This practice is said to have found it s mouthpiece in Vasantakirti (around 1200); his Digamabara followers were later called Visva (Visa- or Bisa-) Panthis, the followers of a "universal" path, i.e., an easy path, accessible to all. Friends of older, stricter views opposed this practice. They later found their main representative in Pandita Banarsidas, who founded in
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