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________________ Jaina Phraseology In The Bhagavadgita K. H. KAMDAR I HAVE observed the use of so much Jaina terminology in the course of my repeated perusal of the Bhagavadgita. An attempt is made in this contribution to bring out the salient parallelisms. I have avoided full recital of the verses of the Gita in the interest of economy of paper. Jainism has ordered the laity and the monks to observe five Aas (vows) which are classified as 3ta (minor) and Fy (major) according to the status of the observer. The first and the basic vow is that of abstaining from injury to a sentient being and is named prANAtipAtaviramaNam. Art or life is discussed in great details by Jaina writers. In verses 46, 47 and 48 of the first Discourse (2721) of the Gita we come across a conscious, though temporary, resort to this aquac by Arjuna, when he says to Sri Krsna that the Pandavas were being involved in the act of committing a great sin by preparing to kill their kith and kin in order that they might get royal pleasures. The grief is so overpowering that Arjuna would prefer being killed by the Kauravas in battle; he would prefer to die at their hands, without arms, without resistance, and in the act of dying he would feel happy. (3781aa etc., verse 45; y qAAF17 etc., verse 46; and 79T etc., verse 47). I have found the great ideal contained in the famous verse 69 of the second Discourse (AT PARTI HETTAT, etc.) literally described more than
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________________ JAINA PHRASEOLOGY IN THE BHAGAVADGITA : 119 once in the Acaranga-Sutra, as shown by me in the magazine Jaina of Bhavnagar. The explanation for the parallelism is obvious. The consolidation of the Acaranga and other Sutras was done by learned Jaina monks who were originally Brahmins, well-versed in the Upanisads and the Brahma-Sutras. The date for the Acaranga-Sutra is 2nd or 3rd century before Christ, although it was collated in its present form in the 5th century A.D. The Gita uses the phrase TS in verse eleven of the second Discourse. This very phrase with a parallel meaning is read in the Acaranga-Sutra as pointed out by me in the Jaina magazine of Bhavnagar some time back. The use occurs in the Gita in verse eleven of the second Discourse where Sri Krsna rebukes Arjuna for giving expression to thoughts which were apparently prudent but which missed the deeper sense of wisdom. FETETT HIT etc. The reader should note the use of the plural in prajJAvAda.) The concept of 7 (Wheel) is very common to Jainism and Buddhism, the Asoka Cakra having been adopted by us as our national emblem. I read a reference to the same idea, although, I am afraid, its great significance has not been adequately brought out by critics The word . (Wheel) occurs in verse 16 of the third Discourse. The verse reads as evaM pravartitaM cakram etc. I may add that the word pravartita is eminently Jaina and Buddhistic. Jaina thinkers refer to eight kinds of Karma: jJAnAvaraNIya, darzanAvaraNIya, Ateith, TTTET, FIH, Tycy, etc. which cloud or obscure the soul's access to right knowledge (samyak jJAna), right faith (samyak darzana), right conduct (samyaka cAritra). The terms AvaraNa and mohana occur more than once in the Gita as applied to knowledge and conduct. I have not come across the use of the word ta meaning faith or &T, though there are several references to 961 (Faith) in the text of the Gita. The relevant verses are 38, 39, 40 of the third Discourse. Even the illustrations are the same as in Jaina philosophical literature. Sri Krsna says that true knowledge is wrapped up by Ignorance just as fiame is enveloped by smoke, as mirror is wrapped up by dirt, as embryo is wrapped up in aninion. The verses start as dhUmenAviyate etc., AvRtaM jJAnametena etc., etairvimohayatyeSa jJAnamAvRtya etc. The word mohana, which is the same as the Jaina use of mohanIya, is found in verse 8 of the fourteenth Discourse, and verse 39 of the eighteenth Discourse, wherein Sri Krsna observes that at deludes (HER) all beings (XIV, 8) and that happiness deludes the self in the begin
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________________ 120 SHRI MAHAVIRA JAINA VIDYALAYA GOLDEN JUBILEE VOLUME ning and by succession (4) on account of Sleep, Indolence and Indifference (H). The word age in the verse is essentially Jaina. The concept of Bhavana is basic to Jainism and Buddhism. Haribhadra Suri has given an elaborate dissertation of the idea in his g The Gita refers to the concept several times as if it were expounding the Jaina creed! The homelessness of the Yati is referred to as also the art in verse 16 of the twelfth Discourse, as for instance, a person who is anapekSa, udAsIna, sarvArambhaparityAgI is dear to Sri Krsna. A terse dissertation is found of this kind of Bhavana in verse 20 of the fifth Discourse, where Sri Krsna observes etc. Srimad Rajacandra gives expression to the idea several times in his mokSamAlA. The other Bhavanas are (Sympathy) and (Brotherhood). The two are conjointly mentioned in verse 13 of the twelth Discourse, which may be quoted full, as it strikes as eminently Jaina. er darat maitraH karuNa eva ca / nirmamo nirahaMkAraH samaduHkhasukhaH kSamI // The emphasis is mine. The concepts of and T (Brotherhood and Forgiveness) are repeated by Jainas on the last day of the Pajusana week. Vinoba Bhave persistently appeals to his readers to cultivate the same Bhavanas - maitrI and kAruNya. The fourth Bhavana is that of feeling happy over the good fortune of others. I have not found mention of in the Gita. The word is peculiar to Jainism. So are (Attachment), dveSa (Spite), etc. which are Kasayas. The phrase it is read in verse 25 of the fourteenth Discourse of the Gita. The words mAna (Honour) apamAna ( Insult ), bhaya (Fear) krodha (Anger), ete. occur times out of number in the Gitd. The opposite of mis a. Sri Krsna says in verse 12 of the fourteenth Discourse that or Undertaking of Ia (Action), as also Greed, Desire, Non-tranquillity (1) etc. generate from rajas. zama is jointly used by the Jainas with upazama (Tranquillity) and is contrasted with Destruction (). In verse 12 of the fourteenth Discourse the Gita describes the after person as one who has discarded all undertakings, who is self-composed in the midst of honour and insult, who is equanimous to friend and foe, as if he is beyond all Gunas. The description fits in with the condition of a Yati-selfcontrolled monk, who is defined as one who is devoid of H (Desire), of (Anger) and who has control of his (mind), in verse 26 of "
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________________ JAINA PHRASEOLOGY IN THE BHAGAVADGITA : 121 the fifth Discourse, and in verse 11 of the eighth Discourse. The Yati must be absorbed in qyty-9814 which is a peculiar Jaina term. He must practise continence (agat) according to verse 8 of the eleventh Discourse. He is pure on account of knowledge and penance (verse 62 of the tenth Discourse). The Yati is also called because his intellect is self-composed (Festaat), according to verse 56 of the second Discourse The same idea is repeated in verse 5 of the eighteenth Discourse where the a must discard speech etc. The Gita uses in this verse the word i which is identical with Hemacandra's usage in his Yoga-Sastra. Of equal importance is the frequent use of the word of which is a familiar word in Jainism and the absence of which constitutes the fifth Ad of the Jainas. It is termed 379fe. The concept has been made familiar to the present generation by Gandhiji and after him by Vinoba Bhave. According to verse 53 of the eighteenth Discourse, the person who wants to be qualified for Brahman must abandon True which is rendered into English as covetousness by Babu Bhagvandas and Mrs. A. Besant, but which really means Property, Possession. The twin concept of Art and leg (Bondage and Release) SO familiar to every Jaina is referred to in verse 18 of the eighteenth Discourse where the person of pure Sattvika Intellect is in the position to know the essence of Bondage and Release. In verse 5 of the sixteenth Discourse dret is spoken of as forefat. It is the fruit of EFT (demoniacal) possession. According to Jainism both goes and 419 (Merit and Sin) lead to Bondage; even you (Merit) leads to 787 (Bondage). for merit must yield its own result which is always good. In verse 60 of the eighteenth Discourse, a surprisingly Jaina view is presented of OH (Action) which attaches to the soul by Nature-Fara Fag: Fala For. The Gita speaks of JH and 37-44 (good actions and bad actions) more than once. The secret ( J A) of release from 31349 (evil deed) is given by the Gita in the first verse of the ninth Discourse and in the 28th verse of the same Discourse, as for instance J4[3JH43t H r aua: (You will be free from the bondage of good and bad actions, etc.). Here we find reference to the ata (essence) of ASTI (shedding of F, good and bad), a word which I have not been able to find in my reading of the Gita. Arjuna confesses to realization of the Truth by him at the end of the Dialogue in the famous verse 73 of the last Discourse, ET RIE: fast etc. The word of here is opposed to HE (Delusion, Infatuation) and
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________________ 122 : SHRI MAHAVIRA JAINA VIDYALAYA GOLDEN JUBILEE VOLUME is almost identical with #145 A (True knowledge) of the Jainas. Arjuna's HIE (Delusion) disappeared and Truth was realized by him (Efsaat). Jaina canonical literature is profuse with dialogues between Mahavira and learned Brahmins like Gautama, Sudharma, etc. who were his chief disciples and Skanda etc. in the Bhagavati and other Sutras where the opponents are convinced of their Delusion and become conscious of (faa new conviction of true knowledge (afeler 29). They accepted conversion from Mahavira who said : 79160 (as you please). The sutras describe them as 37 darat (those who lived nearest to Mahavira). The word is upanisadic. Many of them immolated themselves on the Nipula summit at Rajagrha. In verse 58 of the second Discourse, the Gita gives the famous instance of the tortoise contracting itself in water, just as the man of 951 (wisdom) withdraws his senses from all objects. The same illustration is found in the Uttaradhyayana Sutra. Merutungacarya has repeated several phrases of the Gita in his immortal Bhaktamara-Sutra, as for instance Straat in the 9th verse of the eighth Discourse, get fast qi 77 in the 18th verse of the eleventh Discourse, also 959: YTT: fasury 9 FH in verse 38 of the same Discourse. Such illustrations can be multiplied. I have tried to bring out in this contribution the salient parallelisms between the phraseology of the Gita and Jainism. The parallels are easily explained. There was, in the age when the two literatures appeared on the scene of Indian thought, a common background for Jaina, Buddhistic and Brahmanical philosophical beliefs. Brahmins were the great co-ordinators of the rich culture of the age. In this adventure they borrowed freely from their rivals, the Jainas and the Buddhists, whose thought influenced the moral and ethical, as also the philosophical systems of the age. The culture was pre-eminently synthetic and elastic. It was tolerant. It could absorb successfully the best that was contained in the various systems. I might be permitted to make one observation. Words like TH, 37TH etc. have been defined and explained in various commentaries by Jainas, Buddhists and Upanisadic scholars. It is suggested that we made a comparative study of the commentaries. I am informed that a comparative study of the commentaries on Kalidasa's Meghaduta has been made recently in some Indian Universities. It is high time that similar effort be made in the direction of the study of commentaries of Jaina, Buddhistic and Brahmanical terminologies.
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________________ JAINA PHRASEOLOGY IN THE BHAGAVADGITA : 123 Some time back the reformist Jaina monk, Muni Sri Santabala, wrote on Jaina thought in the Gita, My contribution strikes a different note. I have detected even semetism in the Gita as for instance, in verse 7 of the ninth Discourse : Hala e fa a HITRI oficeret punastAni kalpAdau visRjAmyaham // A little known fact may be mentioned here. Al Beruni, the Arab traveller who visited India in about 1031 A. D. and who was a good Sanskritist, mentions in his Account of India some verses of the Bhagavadgita which are not found in the text now extant. I have referred in this brief article to some common terms bearing almost identical meanings in the Gita and the Jaina Sutras. A close study of Buddhist texts reveals the same identity. The late Prof. H. Jacobi was the first to point out the identity by citing the use of the term raa by the two sects, Jainas and Buddhists. This was done more than a generation ago. I was able to notice a repetition of the same experience in the last of the three lectures which were delivered in the last week of January, 1967, under the auspices of the M. S. University of Baroda by Prof. Prahlad Pradhan of the Utkal university, Bhuvaneshwar. The subjects of the three addresses were : (1) asaMga and mahAyAnasUtrAlaMkAra, (2) 3711 4 and feutafa's commentary on it, and (3) 37 THTAT67. SKRANDORRA