The Antiquity of Jaina Religion

The Antiquity of Jain Religion

I feel the antiquity of Jain religion is not discussed, though, it preceded Buddhist religion. Interestingly, its presence was felt in the ancient world at many places.

Jainism preceded Buddhism, however, again historians do not give any decided or conclusive dates for Vardhamana Mahavira[1]. The approximate and provisional date is 599-527 BCE (commonly accepted) / 549-477 BCE (Hermann Jacobi[2], ), though Buddha�s date is c.623-544 BCE (B. V. Bapat, 1977) / 567-487 BCE (Vincent Smith, 1923). The date of Pasvanatha, the 23^rd Tirthankara is given as c.872-772 BCE. The western scholars discuss Asokan inscriptions to fix date of Buddha, taking references from Buddhist texts, which give only years from one event to another. Thus, they arbitrarily have fixed the dates considering the facts which are favorable to their interpretation and ignoring or suppressing other facts. The hundreds of dates given by La De Poussin[3], A. B. Keith[4], H. Jacobi, J. F. Fleet[5], Vincent Smith[6], MaxMueller[7], Jas Burgess[8] etc., prove that they desperately wanted to nail these with that Chandragupta exploiting the divergent versions found in the Jain and Buddhist literatures about the Nirvana of Mahavira and hearing it by Buddha. In fact, there are scholars who could not find any difference between Jaina and Buddha faiths and so also in the Idols of their Masters[9]. Starting with 9^th-7^th centuries BCE, hardly anything is mentioned about Jaina art and Architecture.

Like others, the Jaina scholars interpret that their art and architecture could be traced back to IVC, as the �Pasupati� of IVC is nothing but the first tirthankara, Lord Rishaba based on Joseph Campbell[10], John Koller[11] and others.

As the Jaina literature has been profoundly influenced by Vedic, Itihasa and Puranic episodes, it is evident that again, there has been chronological problem in fixing the dates of the literatures in question. E. J. Thomas, Life of Buddha, 1927 J. G. R. Forlong, Science of Comparative Religions, 1877 have pointed out that before Buddha, there was no difference between Buddhism and Jainism perceived by the people outside Bharat.

E. J. Thomas in his book �The Life of the Buddha� (1927 edition) has given the following details:

�There were gymnophists or naked saints in India, but they were not Buddhists (Introduction, p.XIV).

�Philosophy, then with all its blessed advantages to man, flourished long ago among the Indians, the gymnophists (p.104).

�Sarmanes called Germanes by Strabo and Sumarians by Parphyrius, are the ascetics of a different religion, and may have belonged to the sect of Jains or to another (p.105).

�When Alexander arrived at Taxila, and saw the Indian gymnophists (Jain munis), a desire seized him to have one of these men brought into his presence. The oldest of these sophists with whom the others lived as disciples with a master Daulanus by name, not only refused to go himself, but prevented the others going. He said to have won over Kalanus one of the sophists of the place (p.115).

�Socrates speaks of the soul as at present confined in the body as in species of prison. This was the doctrine of Pythagorus, even in its most striking peculiarities, bears such a close resemblance to the Indians as greatly to favour the supposition that it was directly borrowed from it. There was even a tradition that Pythagorus had visited India� (p.122).

J. G. R. Forlong in his �Science of Comparative Religions� gives the following information:

�It is clear also that the Gotama of early Tibetans, Mongols and Chinese must have been a Jaina: for the latter say he lived in the 10^th and 11^th centuries BC. Tibetans say he was born in 916, became Buddha in 881, preached from 35^th year and died in 851 BC dates which closely correspond with those of the saintly Parsva (Introduction, p.XIX).

�Through what historical channels did Buddhism influenced Christianity? We must widen the inquiry by making it embrace Jainism � the undoubtedly prior faith of very many millions through untold millenniums � though one little known in Europe except to the few (p.2).

�So light seem to Asoka the difference between Jains and Buddhists that he did not think necessary to make a public profession of Buddhism till about his 12^th regnal year 247 BC; so that nearly if not all his Rock inscriptions are really those of a Jaina Sovereign (p.20).

�From Aini-Akbari of Anbdul Fazl it is clear that Asoka supported Jainism in Kashmir, when Viceroy of Ujjain about 260 BC., as had his father Bindusara and grand-father Chandragupta thrpughout the Magadha Empire. Buddhism was for about a century after Gautama�s death thought, by all who did not trouble themselves with details to be a mere form of Jainism. Among and beyond these millions, Asoka laboured assoidiously to propagate his mild and kindly Jainism, especially concerning the sacredness of all life, as well as peace, charity and universal brotherhood. In all his rock-inscriptions, he designates himself as the favourite Jaina title �Deva nam piya� the Beloved of God? (p.29).

�This then was the theory and practice of the great Jaino-Buddhist religion which flourished in Indian many centuries before and after the teaching of Gotama Sakya muni��It was certainly long before Parsva and Mahavira�����.whilst India was certainly the fruitful centre of religion from the 7^th century B.C., yet Trans-Himalaya, Oxiana, Baktria, and Kaspiana seem to have still earlier developed similar religious views and practices: Indian Jains and Buddhists claim and almost historically show, that their score of their saintly leaders perambulated the Eastern World long prior to the 7^th century B. C. We may reasonably believe that Jaino-Buddhism was very anciently preached by them from China to Kaspian����It existed in Oxiana and north of the Himalayas 2000 years before Mahavira.

�In these moves, we see how Baktrian faiths passed to West and how in the 7^th and 6^th centuries B.C or earlier, Xalmoxis and Pythagorus were preaching and teaching like the Butha gurus of Jains and Buddhists.

Strabo says, �There was a Thrakian sect who lived without wives. Their brethren the Masi religiously abstained from eating anything that had life�.

Homer, of 7^th century BC, or earlier, called them, �most just men���.livers on milk�.devoid of desire for riches. John the Baptist, Jesus and theirs disciples are common examples pf Essenik life in Asia.

Josephus says the Essenik brethren like the ancient Dacae neither married, drank wine, nor kept servants, living apart. They offer no sacrifices and teach the immortality of the soul as do Jains.

He (Zalmoxis) taught more than the Jaina doctrine of the immortality of the soul (p.35).

He taught the Indian doctrine of ���.transmigration etc., ����and considered no animal should be injured-all having souls like men (p.36).

The Savans of Alexander found Jaino-Buddhism strongly in the ascendant throughout Baktria, Oxiana and all the Passes to and from Afghanistan and India (p.40).

Aristotle saying (About 330 BCE) that �the Jews of Caele-Syria were Indian philosophers called in the East Calani and Ikshvaku or sugar-cane people and only Jews, because they lived in Judea. These Jews (evidently Essenes) derived from Indian philosophers wonderful fortitude in life, diet and conscience. They were, in fact, Jaina-Buddhists, whom the great Greek confounded with Syrians (p.46).

202-193 BCE. Rise of Chinese Han dynasty, before which say compilers of Sui dynasty of about 600 A. C. Buddhism was unknown in China, so that all prior to 200 B.C, was Jain-Buddhism (p.67).

Sravanabelagola: It literally means �white pond�. However, the interpretation that sravana+bel+kula = white+white+pond with Kannada appears to be intriguing, as two adjectives of the same meaning in Sanskrit and Kannada languages need not be used. The antiquity of this place goes before the Mauryan period, as Chandragupta Maurya, as a Jain came here to renounce life practicing the penance of dying �facing north�, which is characteristically noted in the Sangam literature as �Vadakkirunthu irattal� (= dying facing the north direction). The colossal monolith image of 58� is the highest statue in the world (higher that that of Rameses of Egypt). In fact, there are two more Gommata statues of height of 41� 5� at Karkala and 35� at Enur respectively.

According to tradition, Purudeva, the first Tirtankara had two sons Gommata and Bharata. He (Bharata) was also known as Bahubali or Bhujabali. There was a fight betweenb the brothers in royal succession and Bharata won, but he graciously handed over the kingdom to Gommata, renounced the material world and went to forests doing penance. To mark his victory on both accounts, Bharata erected a statue of his image at Paudanapura. During the course of time, Kukkta Sarpas or Cockatrices or Cock-snakes invaded and invested so that the image disappeared, but appeared only for the initiated.

Later, Chamundaraya (974-984 CE) set out an expedition to locate the image but failed. So he decided to erect a similar image at Sravanabelagola. When he shot an arrow on the hillock-Indiragiri, near by, it struck on a boulder and the boulder appeared as Gommata. However, he is credited with erecting the image around 983 CE.