Jainism

Causes for the Rise of Jainism and Buddhism-

• The complex rituals and sacrifices advocated in the Later Vedic period were not acceptable to the common people
• The sacrificial ceremonies were also found to be too expensive.
• The superstitious beliefs and mantras confused the people.
• The teachings of Upanishads, an alternative to the system of sacrifices, were highly philosophical in nature
• The rigid caste system prevalent in India generated tensions in the society. Higher classes enjoyed certain privileges which were denied to the lower classes

Jainism-

1.Introduction-

• Jainism is one of the religions whose origin can be traced back to the twenty four teachers
• Jainism is a sramanic religion. The word ‘Sramana’ means an ascetic or a monk.
• Jaina- The term ‘jaina’ is derived from the term ‘jina’,and the term ‘jina’ is the common name for the supreme souls who are totally free from all feelings of attachment, aversion, etc.

Tirthankaras- a saviour who has succeeded in crossing over life’s stream of rebirths and has made a path for others to follow .It is believed that all the Tirthankaras reached moksa at the time of their death, as a result of their personal effort; they are regarded as ‘Gods’ and are worshipped by the Jains.

• There is no detailed information available about the first 22 Tirthankaras
• The Jainas hold that their religion is as old as the Rig Veda and their first Tirthankara Rishabha was the father of Bharata, the first Vedic Chakravartin king of India
• The 23rd Tirthankara was a historical figure known as Parsavanath. Parsavanath probably lived in eight century BC, and probably died 250 years before the death of Mahavira

life of Mahavira-

• The twenty-fourth Tirthankara was Vardhamana Mahavira
• He was born in Kundagrama (Basukunda), a suburb of Vaisali (Muzzaffarpur district, Bihar) in 540 BCE
• His father, Siddhartha was the head of Jnatrikas, a kshatriya clan. His mother was Trishala, a Lichchavi princess. Vardhamana was given a good education and was married to Yashoda and gave birth to a girl
• At the age of thirty, Vardhamana left his home and became an ascetic
• He left worldly life with the permission of his elder brother Nandivardhana
• At first he wore a single garment which he abandoned after l3 months and began to wander as a ‘naked monk’
• For twelve years he lived the life of an ascetic following severe austerities. In the 13th year of his asceticism, at the age of 42, he attained the ‘Supreme Knowledge’.
• He was later known as ‘Mahavira’ (the supreme hero), or ‘Jina’ (the conqueror). He was also hailed as ‘Nirgrantha’ (free from fetters).
• Initially he roamed around alone, but after some time he found a follower named Ghoshal. Mahaveer and Ghoshal(Founder of Ajivika sect) first met at Nalanda.They stayed together at a place called kollag. But after that there developed a difference of opinion concerning their preachings and they separated
• He preached his doctrines for 30 years and died at the age of 72 at Pava near Rajagriha.
• Parshwarath’s follower were known as Nirgranth, but they were started being referred to as Jain after Mahaveer became Jina

2.Jain Philosophy-

There exist six fundamental bodies in the universe, which are eternal but constantly undergo innumerable changes. But nothing is lost or destroyed while changes take place. Everything is recycled into another form

The Six Universal Substances/Dravya or bodies are as follows:

Common Attributes of all Dravyas:

Jainism concept of God -

• Jainism does not believe in a personal God or a creator God. According to the Jaina philosophical works, the God is that soul who has completely removed all the Karmas
• To attain liberation is to attain Godhood. The term ‘Isvara’ can very well apply to the soul that has become powerful by attaining its perfectly pure nature constituted of four characteristics, which are , infinite knowledge, infinite vision, infinite power, and infinite bliss.
• Though the Jains reject God as the creator of the world, they think it is necessary to meditate on and worship the liberated, perfect souls. Prayers are offered to them for guidance and inspiration

Jainism concept of Soul-

• The Jaina holds that every living and non-living being is gifted with souls. All souls are not equally conscious, but every soul has the potential to attain infinite consciousness, power, and happiness
• Each Jiva (soul) is eternally associated with Ajiva (non-sentient or non-conscious being) because of Karman. They are obstructed by karma, just as the natural light of the sun is hindered by clouds. By removing the karmas, a soul can remove bondage and regain its natural perfections
• The Karma or the sum of the past life of a soul - its past thought, speech, and activity – generates in it certain blind cravings and passions that seek satisfaction. Those cravings in a soul attract to it particular sorts of matter-particles and organize them into the body unconsciously desired

Supremacy of Deeds (Karma)-

• Jains accept supremeness of karma. They believe that our last life’s karma only determines where will we take birth and how will be our physique/body

Penance-

• Mahaveer emphasized on rigorous penance/meditation. He himself got enlightenment after rigorous penance and meditation

Sallekhana: (The Holy Death)-

•  Jainism is unique in allowing the very spiritually advanced personto gradually terminate his life by certain practices (principally fasting)under specified circumstances and under the supervision of Acharya.

Triratna-

For getting soul free from bondage of karma, Jainism considers its Tri-ratna as sufficient tools and these are-

Right Faith - Samyakdarshana

Right Knowledge - Samyakjnana

Right Action - Samyakcharita

The Five Maha-vratas (Great Vows)

In order to achieve Triratna one must observe the five great vows:

Non-violence - Ahimsa

Truth - Satya

Non-stealing - Achaurya or Asteya

Celibacy/Chastity - Brahmacharya

Non-attachment/Non-posession - Aparigraha

Five type of Knowledge-

According to the Jain texts like Tattvārthsūtra and Sarvārthasiddhi, knowledge is of five kinds :

Mati Jñāna - Sensory Knowledge

Śruta Jñāna - Scriptural Knowledge

Avadhi Jñāna - Clairvoyance

Manah prayāya Jñāna - Telepathy

Kevala Jnana - Omniscience

3.Jain Sects-

• Jain order has been divided into two major sects:
• Digambara and Svetambara.
• The division occurred mainly due to famine in Magadha which compelled a group led by Bhadrabahu to move South India.
• During the 12 years famine, the group in South India stick to the strict practices while the group in Magadha adopted a more lax attitude and started wearing white clothes.
• Shortly after the death of Mahavira, during Maurya period,the community split into several sects.

There are two important Jain sects-

The Svetambaras -wearers of white clothes

The Digambaras - the naked

The Digambaras-

• The Digambara’s contend that perfection cannot be reached by anyone who wears clothing. The Digambara thinks that a man should abstain from food and possessions, including clothing, to become a saint. They also denied the eligibility of women for salvation

Bhadrabahu was an exponent of this sect.

Major Sub-Sects

• Mula Sangh
• Bisapantha
• Terapantha
• Taranpantha / Samaiyapantha

Svetambara-

• Svetambara means "white-clad", and refers to its ascetics' practice of wearing white clothes
• Majority of the Svetambaras are murtipujakas, that is they actively offer devotional puja in temples, worship before the images or idols of Tirthankaras and important Jain goddesses.
• Others are split into various subtraditions where either Jain temples and halls are built but puja is minor
• Believe women can achieve liberation. Sthulabhadra was an exponent of this sect.

Major Sub-Sects 

• Murtipujaka
• Sthanakvasi
• Terapanthi

Difference

• Śvētāmbaras trace their practices and dress code to the teachings of Parshvanatha, the 23rd tirthankara, which they believe taught only Four restraints and did not agree with 5^th restriction I.e. Bhramacharya but digambar do believe in 5^th one
• Digambaras believe that both Parshvanāth and Mahāvīra remained unmarried, whereas Śvētāmbara believe the 23rd and 24th tirthankar did indeed marry
• Digambara monasticism rules are more rigid than swetambars

4.Scriptures of Jainism-

• Most of the ancient Jain texts are written in Prakrta/Prakrit which is an early form of Sanskrit and also Ardha-magadhi, a form of Prakrit language.
• Original texts of Jains were called Purvas and were 14 in number.
• In the third century BC, a Jain council was held at Pataliputra and arranged these Purvas in 12 parts, and named them Angas.
• The last Anga was lost and a Jain council held at Balabhi in the fifth century AD rearranged the remaining 11 Angas
• The Digambara sect of Jainism did not recognize the Angas and constituted its own sacred texts

But if we go in further detail than their literature is divided as follows-

Basics-

Srut-kevlis

• Monks who had knowledge of a minimum of ten Purvas were known as Srut-kevlis.

Gandharas

• Immediate desciples of Mahavira

A.Agam Literature

• This consists of original scriptures complied by Gandharas(Immediate desciples of Mahavira) and Srut-kevalis.
• They are written in the Prakrit language.

It is further divided into 2 parts

1. Ang-agams or Ang-pravista-agams: These texts contain the direct preaching of Lord Mahavir.
2. Ang-bahya-agams (outside of Ang-agams): 

These texts are expansions of Ang-agams. They were compiled by Srut-kevalis

B.Non-agam Literature

• This consists of commentary and explanation of Agam literature and independent works, complied by elder monks, nuns, and scholars.
• They are written in many languages such as Prakrit, Sanskrit, Old Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannad, Tamil, German, and English.

4.1 To simplify we can discuss them as follows

I.The twelve Angas or limbs(Dwadashangi)

• The Angas treat the life of the monks; are mostly made up of sermons on various themes of importance to the Jains.The term Anga means - what comes out from the mouth of the Lord
• The foremost of these Angas is the Aacharang Sutra

II. The twelve Upangas, or secondary limbs -

• There is an Upanga (sub-section) for each of the Angas. They are of varied content, mainly dogmatic and mythological

III. The ten Painnas, or ‘Scattered pieces’

• The Painnas, or Scattered Pieces, deal with almost every topic of interest to the Jains, in both prose and verse.

IV. The six Cheya-Suttas  -

• All the texts deal with the rules mendicants should follow in monastic life and with their technicalities.
• The most representative of this section is the Kalpa-Sutra which is supposed to have been written by the great Jain Bhadrabahu

V. Individual texts (two) Cūlikasūtras

• Nandī-sūtra - discusses the five types of knowledge
• Anuyogadvāra-sūtra - a technical treatise on analytical methods, discusses Anekantavada

VI. The four Mula-Suttas

• Fundamental texts’ which are foundational works studied by new monastic

4.2 Jain Authors-

Bhadrabahu

• Bhadrabahu (3rd century BC) was Chandragupta Maurya's instructor and one of the greatest Jain monks.
• He wrote Kalpasutra and the revered Uvasaggaharam Stotra (Biographies of Jain Tirthankars)

Samanta Bhadra 

• He wrote Ratna Karanda Sravakachara -Life of a Jaina Householder

Tirutakkatevar

• Jivaka Cintamani by Tirutakkatevar is Tamil work on Jainism

Jinasena-

• Maha Purana and Harivamsa Purana

Hemachandra wrote his monumental work Trishashtisalaka – Purusha Charita (lives of 63 men)

Others -

Haribhadra Suri and Hemachandra Suri

Promotion and spread of Jainism-

• During the life time of Mahavira, it spread in Magadha, Vaisali and its nearby areas
• The Mauryas, the Satavahanas, the Shakas, the Chalukyas, the Kadambas, the Gujars, were some of the important dynasties thatextended their generous patronage to Jainism
• According to KalpaSutra, when Mahavira died there were 14000 monks and 36000 nuns. Nuns must have played an important role in spreading Jainism among women
• According to Jaina tradition, the spread of Jainism in Karnataka is attributed to Chandragupt Maurya ( 322-298 B.C.)
• Chandragupta Maurya abdicated the throne and became a Jaina ascetic. After that he proceeded to far South and lived at a place named Sravana Belgola in Karnataka.
• Also after death of Mahavira there was famine in North I.e in Magadha.
• The famine lasted for 12 years and so in order to protect themselves many a Jaina migrated to the south under the leadership of Bhadrabahu. The immigrant Jains spread Jainism in South India
• In the 4 th Century B.C. Jainism spread to Kalinga (Orissa) and in the first century B.C. it enjoyed patronage of the king Kharavela
• In later centuries Jainism penetrated Malwa, Gujrat and Rajasthan etc.

Some Philosophical concepts of Jains-

Syadvada

• The term “syat” is derived from the Sanskrit root “as” which means “to be”
• Syadvada in Jaina metaphysics, the doctrine that all judgments are conditional, holding good only in certain conditions, circumstances, or senses, expressed by the word syāt-may be
• The ways of looking at a thing (called naya) are infinite in number.

Anekantavada,-

• Its Sanskrit meaning is “non-one-sidedness” or “many-sidedness”
• in Jainism, the ontological assumption that any entity is at once enduring but also undergoing change that is both constant and inevitable.
• The doctrine of anekantavada states that all entities have three aspects: substance (dravya), quality (guna), and mode (paryaya).

Difference between Anekantavada and Syadvada

• The basic difference between them is that Anekantavada is the knowledge of all differing but opposite attributes whereas Syadvada is a process of the relative description of a particular attribute of an object or an event.

Jain Council

First Jain Council

• This council Held at Patliputra in 3rd Century B.C. 
• It was presided by Sthulbhadra
• In this council the sacred teachings of Mahavira were divided into twelve angas.

Second Jain Council

• It Held at Vallabhi in 512 A.D.
• It was presided by Devardhi Kshmasramana.
• It led to  Final Compilations of 12 Angas and 12 Upangas.
• This time the 12th Anga drawn at the first Council was lost. All the remaining Angas were written in Ardhamagadhi

Art and architecture of Jainism-

 The Jains erected stupas, stone railings, decorated gateways and carved pillars.

Their famous centre of art and architecture are located at

• The caves of Khandagiri and Udayagiri in Orissa, Mathura, Udayagiri Caves at Bhilsa, and Jaina Caves at Ellora.
• One of the best cave temples was built by them in the second century B.C in Orissa is known as Hatigumpha cave temple.
• The other notable architectural and sculptural feats of the Jainas include the temples of Gwalior, 57 feet high statue of Gometeswar in Sarban Belgola, temples at Khujaraho and Mount Abu.
• The Jain tower at Chittore in Rajasthan is one of the best specimens of Jaina architecture

Decline of Jainism-

There were many reasons for decline of jainism-

1. Internal Differences between Shwetambar and Digambar
2. Lacks of Public Interface
3. Competition with other Religions like Budhism and Hinduism
4. Less number of popular religious preachers after the demise of Mahavira
5. Severity of Jainism rather than middle path

Contribution of Jainism-

1. Vernacular Language- Jainism made valuable contribution to the enrichment of vernacular literature. Mahavira preached in the Ardhamagadhi language, which could be easily followed by the people of the region. The adoption of Parakrit by the Jainas helped the growth of this language and its literature.
2. Development of Art and Architecture like-caves of Khandagiri and Udayagiri in Orissa, Mathura, Udayagiri Caves at Bhilsa etc.
3. Popularized the principles of Ahimsa
4. Fought against social evils-Jainism made the first serious attempt to mitigate the evils of caste system, and the situalistic Vedic religion