Book Title: Jinamanjari 2002 04 No 25
Author(s): Jinamanjari
Publisher: Canada Bramhi Jain Society Publication
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/524025/1

JAIN EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL FOR PRIVATE AND PERSONAL USE ONLY
Page #1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ JINAMANJARI International Journal of Contemporary Jaina Reflections Volume 25 Number 1 April 2002 ISSN 1188-0287 EXPLORING ELEMENTS OF JAINA ICONOGRAPHY, ARCHITECTURE AND PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT Main Education International A bi-annual publication of BRÁMHI JAIN SOCIETY, Est. 1989 United States of America and Canada Private & Personal Use Only Page #2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ JAINISM TODAY International Quarterly News Magazine in English A Publication of Jain Friends Editor Mahavir Sanglikar * Write to Jain Friends 201 Bombay-Pune Road Chinchwad East Pune - 410019, INDIA 榮 Tel: (20) 7488916 Fax: (20) 7474373 E-mail:jainfriends@123india.com Page #3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ JINAMAÑJARI IN THIS ISSUE For the expansion and diffusion of Jaina knowledge and reflection A bi-annual journal published every April and October 1 Jaina Iconography: Toward a Comparative Approach -- Dr. Thomas McEvilley Editor-in-Chief Dr. S.A. Bhuvanendra Kumar Associate Editor Dr. Sushil Jain Production Mikal Austin Radford Ambika Jain 14 Jaina Architecture in Eastern India -- Dr. B. K. Tiwary 18 General Characteristics of Jaina Art and Architecture -- Dr. Usha Rani 38 The Concept of Pajjāya in Jaina Metaphilosophy -- Dr. Jagdish P. Jain "Sadhak" 46 Jaina Philosopher Kundakunda and Vedāntin Sankarācārya -- Dr. Jagdish P. Jain "Sadhak” Publication Council President Dr. Dilip K Bobra Tempe, AZ Members Dr. Pradip Morbia Port Neches, TX Dr. Susbil Jain Windsor, ON Mr. Sachindra K. Jain Brampton, ON Mr. Jitendra A. Shah Edmonton, AB Prof. S.A.S. Kumar Bangalore, India Dr. C.K. Khasgiwala Andover, MA Dr. Mahendra R. Varia Martin, KY Dr. Pushpa R. Jain Bluefield, VA 55 What Jainism Stands For (?) -- Dr. Hiralal Jain 60 Jaina Doctrine of Ahimsa: A Science of Harmony and Peace -- Dr. Kusum Patoria 64 Book Review -- Siri P. Kumar 67 News Digest Papers must be accompanied with notes and references separate from the main text. Send to Editor 4665 Moccasin Trail, Mississauga Canada LAZ 2W5 ©©©© Copyright of Articles is Reserved Page #4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Applied "Jainism" Two papers, ‘Jainism: An Ethical Structure for Non-Violent Action' (Enhanced M.A. Thesis), and ‘An Ethic of Unconditional Love for All Living Beings As a Basis for Human Development (Enhanced Ph.D. Thesis), outlining how the Jaina view of reality helps people to make those decisions that will result in increased peacefulness, happiness and love for themselves, as well as for other living beings. by Dr. Balabhadra Bruce Costain 2nd Edition, 2001 819 BRADFORD AVE. NASHVILLE, TN 37204 TEL: (615) 386-9106 Page #5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ JAINA ICONOGRAPHY: TOWARD A COMPARATIVE APPROACH Jinamanjari, Volume 25, No.1, April 2002 Dr. Thomas McEvilley, New York City It is remarkable how little attention western scholars pay to Jainism. In art history and iconography--the central focus of this essay-the situation is extreme. In books like Benjamin Rowland's classic of 1953, The Art and Architecture of India: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, and Susan Huntington's 1985 book of almost identical title, 7he Art of Ancient India: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, a reader might assume that Jainism was prominent. In fact neither book has more than a handful of pages-say, five or ten--on Jainism--out of 500 in the one case and 750 in the other. The dates of the two books suggest that the increased interest in eastern religions among Westerners in the last couple of generations has not significantly changed this imbalance. One might expect that the Jain doctrine of anekantavada, the multi-facetedness of reality, would become somewhat popular in a period when, as now, Western culture has been in the process of becoming more pluralistic and relativistic but not so. While Hinduism and Buddhism in the last half century, have become worldwide religions with converts of all ethnicities and nationalities, Jainism remains a religion more or less exclusively for Jains. The result is that texts on Jainism deal with Jain tradition from inside, from an emic, as anthropologists say, rather than an etic point of view. The emic assumption always is that the topic is sufficient unto itself, that it needs no larger context. While that is perfectly understandable in discourse among members of a religious community, it means that Westerners in general do not see Jainism contextualized in a way that they can use in a general study of the history of religion, or of art, or of iconography. 1 Page #6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ In an earlier issue of this journal, for example, (vol. 22, no. 2, October 2000) several essays on iconography appear. They do not, however, show much interest in comparisons with other religious traditions or in seeing how Jainism would fit in a broader context. In an article, for example, by Dr. T.V.G. Sastri, "Jina Sculpture and Iconographic Norms," facts about the Jain system are regarded in isolation, as if they needed no larger context. Dr. Sastri notes that the symbols or lanchanas that distinguish a representation of one tirthankara from a representation of another are: "bull, elephant, horse, kraucka, lotus, swastika, crescent moon, alligator, srivatsa, rhinoceros, buffalo, yaraha, sneya (hawk), vajra (diamond), deer, goat, nadyavarta (a kind of fish), kalsa, kumbha (pot), blue lotus, conch, hooded snake, and lion." While the information is useful, and is not casily found elsewhere, still there is no special attention to the reasons for these choices, which would involve comparing the sense of such symbols with other occurrences. The, information is simply stated and left alone. To a believer in the religion this might be enough, but it does nothing to place Jainism in context of the history of religious meanings in general. In this essay I will sketch in some of the threads that might be woven into a general comparative approach to the subject. The sketch will by no means be complete, but will' indicate some areas that a comparative analysis should deal with -- though no doubt there are others that are neglected here. Jainism, the Indus Valley Civilization and the Ancient Near East Despite its relative obscurity in comparison with Hinduism and Buddhism, Jainism may be a more ancient religion than either, and thus especially worthy of the antiquarian's interest. While it is widely accepted that Jainism is older than Buddhism it is less known that it may also be older than the Vedas. It may in fact contain elements that are at least as ancient as the oldest elements of Hinduism, the preVedic, supposedly Dravidian elements, which are regarded as revived, at a much later date, in the Saivagamas and tantras. There is a common view that Parsva, the tirthankara before Mahavira, may have been the true "founder" of the religion, and the preceding twenty-two tirthankaras are fictional, but this seems overstated. Parsva seems to have been an important innovator who may have been adapting elements of the Ajivika tradition, but in any case he was adapting a tradition that had long existed. There are suggestions that elements Page #7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ of this tradition may go back to the Indus Valley culture? -- and in fact, some may be even older. Jainism (or Jainism/Ajivikism) shares with Hinduism, in other words, a possible claim to be the oldest continuously practiced religion in the world today. There has long been a suspicion, primarily among western scholars but not excluding Indian scholars also, that the Indus Valley culture was to some extent formed by influences from the ancient Near East, with which trade is known to have existed since the early third millennium BCE. In the works of Heinrich Zimmer, one of the few western scholars to have paid much attention to Jainism, some of the aspects of Jainism which have been traced back to the Indus Valley period have been traced back beyond it into Bronze Age Mesopotamia." This hypothesis is not uncontroversial however. In recent years especially, many scholars, mostly, but not entirely, Indian nationals or scholars of Indian descent, have wished to deny the possibility of Mesopotamian influences on the Indus Valley and to posit the Indus Valley civilization as truly primordial and indigenous, a civilization that arose autonomously out of its own soil by its own inner dynamics with no formative influences from outside. This scholarly attitude is fueled by the passion left over by the end of colonialism and the more recent upsurge in Hindu nationalism. Many Indian scholars -- and some western -- have seen the attributions of outside influence on the Indus culture as attempts to diminish the antiquity and originality of that culture, so the British conquest of India might fit the traditional colonialist situation of a more advanced culture conducting a so-called "civilizing mission” on a more backward culture. If civilization arose spontaneously in India as early as it did in Egypt and Mesopotamia -- or possibly even earlier -- then Indian tradition is raised to a very high level of world-historical prestige where there would seem less justification for a civilizing mission; such a mission in fact could be construed as presumptuous and impudent. Numerous Indian scholars (and a few western) have inverted the structure of the relationship in what I have elsewhere called a post-colonal reversal, arguing that Sumerian civilization was actually planted in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates by colonists from Northwest India at about the beginning of the Unuk period (perhaps around 3500 BC). There are different opinions about whether the evidence points primarily in that direction, still it must be said that in light of the present state of the evidence such a reversal is possible. So similarities which may be observed between Indus Valley and Mesopotamian iconographies may point to Mesopotamian influence on Northwest Page #8 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ India or the reverse. What would seem unjustified would be to simply dismiss or deny such similarities without following out their implications, whatever direction they might lcad. A point against the indigenous or autonomous view is that no highly developed culture seems to arise from one source alone. Though there may be some trace of Mesopotamian influence on the Indus Valley, this is not in the least to deny that other forces were at work, and that the main developments may in fact have been indigenous. According to the "borrowing theory," as developed by various historian and anthropologists from Leo Frobenius to the present, the borrowing of an element of one culture by another does not in itself imply a general cultural dependence or assimilation. For example, Japan borrowed from China for millennia without ceasing to be distinctively Japanese. Many other cases could be mentioned. The concern on the part of some that the Indus Valley culture would be rendered secondary and derivative if it were acknowledged to have borrowed from another culture is not necessary. Cultures are known to borrow what they can use and let the rest go, without altering their inner orientations. A thousand years ago Islamic culture borrowed elements from ancient Greek culture without assimilating to it and becoming other-thanIslamic. Similarly, even if Mesopotamian, iconographic motifs may have migrated over the trade routes to the Indus Valley, there is no necessity of assuming that they brought with them myths, rites, or dogmas. Motifs of possible Mesopotamian origin may have participated in the visual tradition of Indian religions without deeply affecting their substance. This is a question that cannot be answered at present, with the earliest available Indian texts being centuries later than the period of Mesopotamian trade. Even if the Indus Valley script were convincingly deciphered it might not offer insight on the matter, since the brevity of the texts on the seals suggests they did not contain anything as extensive as myths or doctrines. With these limits to the inquiry firmly in mind, I will reopen the question of similarities between Mesopotamian and Jain iconographies. I will summarize Zimmer's view of the situation, recapitulate some additional points I have made in other writings, then inspect a selection of Jain iconographs and point out some features that may show Mesopotamian influence and others that almost certainly do not. In these latter cases I may have no suggestions to make about the nature and venue of the influences involved, as they often seem to have no visible earlier occurrences. For Private Personal Use Only Page #9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Zimmer's Contribution The most striking of Zimmer's observations was his claim that the icon on the Bronze Age "Gudea vase" of serpents entwined around a central pole, their bodies crossing or contacting at seven points, was the prototype of the tantric physiological diagram of Sushumna, Ida, and Pingala nadis and perhaps of the idea of the serpent power (kundalini). Though this is an extremely important issue for Indian religion, it applies more directly to Hinduism than to Jainism. One author, A.E. S. Butterworth, argued from this and other (lesser) iconographic parallels, that kundalini yoga, or perhaps a discipline that was antecedent to it and formative on it, was known and practised in ancient Mesopotamian temples. This seems to be an unjustified conclusion, as "borrowing theory" would suggest. The icon can travel without its content. One would need confirmation from the Mesopotamian Bronze Age texts to argue the hypothesis convincingly, and at present there is only a vague fringe of such confirmatory evidence in those texts. 5 -- 6 Zimmer also focused on "Gods Standing on Animals," the animals being their "vehicles or mounts" (in Sanskrit vahana). This was a common feature of Mesopotamian iconography. Zimmer compares the Hindu Durga standing on a lion with Babylonian Ishtar standing on a lion. There are many other examples of "the vahana, this ultimately Mesopotamian device, placing an animal under a human form to indicate the nature of the divine being or force represented."7 A Jain example of the type is found in the iconography of the tirthankara Rsabhanatha, Lord of the Bull, who is represented with "a little zebubull beneath the savior's feet.' "8 Zimmer mentions a further Jain comparison in connection with another Mesopotamian way of showing the nature of a divinity, by having the attribute protrude upward from the shoulders. The Mesopotamian figures with either serpents or rivers flowing from their shoulders are compared with a sculpture of Parsvanatha with serpents coming out of his shoulders. Parsvanatha is also shown with a "snake shield crowning the head," which, though Zimmer does not mention it, is characteristic of Bronze Age Egyptian deities with the usual numbers of snake heads in the crown-five or seven-being the same. "9 This iconograph appears in Buddhism also, in the case of the Mucalinda Buddha, and seems to represent the acceptance by both religions of the pre-Vedic nagas, or serpent deities. Zimmer points out that in Jain legend the tirthankara is said to be wrapped round by the Page #10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ serpent while its multiple hoods rise behind his head like a halo. He points out that several Mesopotamian seals show this exact motif-the body enwrapped by Serpents whose heads rise from behind the shoulders. Other Instances In an earlier article in this journal I enumerated a few other instances of Jain imagery that seem to go back to the Indus Valley and perhaps beyond it to ancient Mesopotamia. It is important to note that the mulabandhasana position in which the figures on the so-called (probably mistakenly) "Siva seals" are portrayed to be the position in which the Kalpa Sutra describes the enlightenment of Mahavira. "During the thirteenth year," the text says, “in the second month of summer, in the fourth fortnight ... not far from an old temple, in the field of the householder Samaga, under a sal tree, ... the Venerable One in a squatting position with joined heels, ... being engaged in deep meditation, reached the highest knowledge and intuition, which is called kevala."" In a squatting position with joined heels" can only indicate mulabandhsana or a closely related asam such at utkatasana. This is the posture in which the figures on the Indus Valley "Siva seals" are seen." (Probably they should be seen as proto-Jain rather than protoSaiva, as Siva is never portrayed in this asam.) There is a possible Mesopotamian linkage also in the various animal figures on the tirthankara's palanquin, the animals surrounding the figures on the Indus seals, and the Mesopotamian practice of surrounding deities with animals in symmetrical arrangements." A related parallel lies in the composition in one of the Indus Valley "Siva seals" in which a seated figure is surrounded symmetrically by upright serpents. This is said to be how Parsva was situated when he attained enlightenment; it is also common in the Mesopotamian imagery of Ningizzida. The Symmetrical Flanking Device The most basic iconographic structure in Indian religions in general and Jainism in particular is the symmetrical flanking arrangement -- an object on the central axis is heraldically flanked by identical objects on both sides. This icon of centrality is characteristically Sumerian and had not appeared in any of the world's iconographies prior to the Sumerians. From Sumer it seems to have diffused widely, both East and West, becoming basic to Greek as well Page #11 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ 14 as Indian ways of representing world order. An Indus seal, for example, shows an eagle heraldically flanked by serpents; 4 both the eagle-andserpent motif and the heraldic flanking device are central to the Sumero-Akkadian iconography. 15 16 Another Indus seal, of the ritual of a tree goddess, shows clearly in the lower left hand corner the motif, so well known in Mesopotamia, of a mountain or hillock flanked by two goats with their front feet on it and a tree or pole of some kind rising from the top." One face of another Indus seal, from Mohenjo Daro, shows the central tree flanked by goats, identical in form to many Mesopotamian icons. These icons emphasizing centrality as the ordering principle of the universe seem characteristic of societies which have just evolved through the village-settlement hierarchy into the previously unexplored adventure of urbanism. This is especially clear in the dompteur type of icon, found many times in both Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley, in which a male hero stands between two lions who symmetrically flank him and whom he is holding in a gesture of mastery.1 A variant of the heraldic flanking structure, the dompteur, or "master", underlines the sense of dominance that urbanization seems to have carried in a villagebased world. The Redfinition of Fertility Images The religious iconographies of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages seem to have been oriented in various ways toward different configurations of power as political situations changed, toward amalgamations of tribal cultures into unified proto-states, and so on. Certainly one of the outstanding, perhaps the most outstanding, such orientation was toward fertility understood in the direct sense of the abundance of crops and herds. Throughout the Neolithic, especially in the area that Maria Gimbutas called "Old Europe" (a swathe from the Carpathians to the Aegean) goddesses of what Jungian authors have called the "elementary" type were featured: naked, with exaggerated or emphasized breasts and hips, with the pubic triangle outlined, with little emphasis on the face. In addition to the anthropomorphic female figure these goddesses were associated with a variety of animal and plant symbols. This culture seems to have survived into the Bronze Age, where goddesses are associated with trees (in Mesopotamia, Egypt and elsewhere), with flowers (the Ishtar rosette in Mesopotamia), with serpents (in countless cases from Old Europe, Mesopotamia and Egypt, Minoan Crete, and elsewhere), and with mastery of the wild beasts (the Potnia Theron archetype). Flowers, trees, serpents, and other related -- Page #12 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ imagery, with or without the figure of the goddess present, represented her milieu of fertility and abundance. This culture seems to have extended from the Mediterranean to India, where goddesses with similar associations are found from the beginning to the present. Indus Valley seals, for example, indicate a goddess in a tree (like the Egyptian sycamore goddess), a goddess associated with young sprouting crops (as in Mesopotamia), with Eons (as in Mesopotamia, with predecessors in the leopard goddess of Catal Huyuk and perhaps in Magdalenian cave paintings), and so on. The pre-Vedic Dravidian culture of India seems to have been part of a vast agricultural domain extending from the Carpathians to Egypt and from the Mediterranean to India in which such symbolism was common. But in India, in the late Vedic period, several Indian religions seem to have undergone a mentalizing tendency in which fertility icons were redefined under the influence of the theory of meditation. At that time fertility symbolism was transposed into an allegorical representation of the process of enlightenment. In effect, in terms of the implied agricultural allegory, the unenlightened mind is the earth and the new crop is the enlightened mind, which supposedly will grow from the old mind through the transformation effected by meditation. So it is a mental process of rebirth, rather than a physical one, that the fertility iconography celebrates. Something similar happened in Greek culture at about the same time, when a poet like Pindar refers to the Garden of the Graces. The Graces, like the Muses goddesses of music and poetry, are presented in a setting of fruit trees, rushing brooks and flowery fields that, back through the Bronze and Neolithic Ages, was the proper setting for a fertility goddess, The redefinition of ancient goddesses in Greek poetry suggests an allegory not unlike the Indian one; the fertility of the creative spirit of poetry or music is presented as if it were an agricultural fertility, or with the trappings of the same. Heraldic Flanking and Transposed Fertility Imagery An iconograph that illustrates both the omnipresence of the heraldic flanking composition and the recontextualization of fertility imagery is the Buddhist image called the “Bath of Lakshmi,” in which the goddess stands on a lotus, heraldically flanked by elephants with their trunks raised, which appears on a railing medallion at Bharut. The icon may have passed from Jainism into Buddhism, as it is found in the Kalpa Sutra's description of the dream of the (second) mother of the tirthankara Mahavira on the night when the embryo was placed in her Page #13 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ womb. At that moment “she sat on the top of Mt. Himavat, reposing on a lotus in the lotus take, anointed with water from the strong and large trunks of the guardian elephants” (KS 36). The description is loaded with ancient fertility symbolism. The lotus, in Indian depictions, usually have cight petals (or a multiple of cight), a conformation that is found in the Indus Valley and goes back to the Ishtar rosette of Bronze Age Mesopotamia. It is signified in Sanskrit by the word padma, which also means "vagina," and is at root a symbol of the fertility power of the Neolithic goddess, though that meaning has been obscured in Indian tradition by the overlay of mentalistic allegory. The goddess, or in this case the mother of the tirthankara, sits on the lotus as Durga is presented seated on the lion -- as a sign of the type of power she exerts. The lake or pond is similarly a symbol of female fertility, read by Jungian analysts as a reference to the amniotic sac. The elephants are symbols of power in general and animal fertility in particular. The fact that this is the symbolic location of the tirthankara's mother on the night when she conceived closes the loop. The common Indian understanding of this icon as "the Gajalaksmi type, the goddess of wealth,” 18 seems partly a censored or euphemistic reading of fertility as simply equal to prosperity, and somewhat repressing the ancient sexual connotations of the icon. As the tirthankara's mother is contextualized as a fertility or sexuality goddess, so the tirthankara himself presented with the trappings of an ancient fertility god. The tirthankara Mahavira, for example, is often presented seated in padmasana, hands in dhyani mudra (on top of one another, palm upward) on his lap, heraldically flanked by attendants with fly-whisks below and by hovering gandharvas, who fill something like the roles of putti, above. Like the nagas and y,akshas, the gandharvas seem to go back to an earlier age from which they have been revived with altered definition. The tirthankara Parsvanatha is usually represented standing upright in kayotsarga, or dismissing-the-body posture, while seven cobra hoods rise above his head (sometimes the mounds of the cobra bodies rise on both sides in heraldic flanking positions). The serpent, probably because of the annual sloughing of its skin, which parallels and invokes the agricultural cycle, seems to have been a fertility symbol at least as early as the Chalcolithic period. In the earliest Sumerian strata serpent deities are found in family groups, the mother holding the young. This has something to do with the fact that in ancient Egypt the goddess Isis, like Parsvanatha and, in other icons, the Buddha, wears a halo of cobra hoods, of which the usual number is Page #14 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ seven. Even though Mahavira and Parsvanatha are celibate and have withdrawn themselves as completely as possible from the linkage of sex, death, and regeneration, still the meditation hero is presented as a fertility god because he represents the birth of the higher self from the lower. The redefinition of fertility motifs as enlightenment motifs is characteristic of Hinduism and Buddhism as well as Jainism. Indeed, there is less of it in Jainism than in either Hinduism or Buddhism. The gateways at Buddhist Sanchi, for example, and the temple decorations of Hindu Badami are both saturated with fertility motifs. Jain sculpture, because of its emphasis on naked asceticism and withdrawal from the life-death cycle, is less marked by them. Dismissing-the-Body Kayotsarga, or dismissing-the-body posture, involves meditating in a more or less immobile upright posture. In the Medieval text called the Kayotsarga Sutra, the devotee declares: "I stand in the kayotsarga in order to make an end to sinful acts. With the exception of inhaling and exhaling, coughing and sneezing, yawning and hiccoughing, breaking wind, giddiness, and swooning, very slight movement of the limbs, the eyes, and the saliva, and such involuntary acts, may my kayotsarga be unbroken..." 9919 The kayotsarga posture seems unique to Jainism and has no exact precedents in Mesopotamia or anywhere else. The figure is presented standing upright in a frontal mode of presentation where the arms and legs do not contrive to lead the viewer around the body as in- to use an exaggerated example the Discobolos of Myron. His feet are planted next to one another, about four inches apart in terms of human scale, facing forward, to indicate that he is not to be understood as walking (like the Egyptian pharaoh, who stands with one foot advanced before the other), but as standing still in an irnmobility that removes him from the stream of life-and-death. -- The pure frontality of the kayotsarga posture suggests Bronze Age styles of heroic presentation (as Zimmer notes, “Jain art clings tenaciously to its own archaic tradition""), 20 but the figure is not armed or adorned as a monarch, and certain features of the posture are anomalous. Specifically, the tirthankara's arms are often presented as praeternaturally long, extending about to his knees, and have been compared with the elephant's trunk, again perhaps bringing associations of animal fertility. His hands are characteristically held slightly outward from his thighs so there is a gap on each side between the arm 10 ... Page #15 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ and the torso. The armi position has been described as emphasizing the absolute clarity and isolation of the jina, or enlightened hero; but in popular tradition the posture is interpreted in terms of thc Jairi ideology of ahimsa or non-violence, in which the posture is understood as involving an attempt to harm no microscopic beings accidentally, just by the gross movements of one's body. The tirthankara stands motionless so as to avoid stepping on anything, and holds his arms slightly out so nothing can be crushed as his arms press or brush or bump against his sides. The figure represents a celibate who by stationary standing hopes to remove himself from both ends of the process of birth-anddeath. He will neither beget new life nor contribute to the destruction of already existent lives. In pursuit of this ideal he withdraws himself completely from participation in the life-world of ordinary humans, their nccds and ambitions. Zimmer refcrs at one moment to "the characteristic Jaina rigidity and at another to "the crystalline stasis of absolute perfection." – "These absolutely perfected beings,” he goes on, "have purged themselves of all idiosyncrasies.” 22 Still, they do participate at times in the appropriation of fertility imagery into enlightenment doctrine. The gigantic tirthankara at Sravana Belagola, for example, is shown entwined by vines (in reference to the story of the tirthankara, Gommata). The motif points back to two Bronze Age Mesopotamian fertility icons: first, the god entwined by serpents, and second, the god who is the tree, or who belongs somehow to the tree. In Sumerian iconography both iconographs relate especially to the cult of Ningizzida. Conclusion This brief incursion into Jain iconography makes no claim to completeness, but attempts to indicate some paths of comparison that may seem to shed light on the inner meaning of the icons. In regarding the iconography only from outside I have had to neglect many details that might be more meaningful to a Jain devotee than the external comparisons mentioned here. This brief sketch of some of the possible approaches to a comparative study of Jain iconography is not meant in the least to diminish the reality that these icons have to one who regards them from inside the tradition rather than outside. Someday this brief sketch may be enlarged into a fuller exposition of the subject, which would attempt to present both the inside and the outside perspectives as complementary to one another. For Private I bersonal Use Only Page #16 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ END NOTES 1. Dr. T.V.G. Sastri, "Jina Sculpture and Iconographic Norms," Jinamanjari, Intemational Journal of Contemporary Jaina Reflections, vol. 22, no. 2 (October, 2000), p. 2. 2. See Thomas McEvilley, "Approaches to the Question of the Antiquity of Jainism" Jinamanjari, International Journal of Contemporary Jaina Reflections, vol. 13, no. I (April 1996), pp. 6-21. 3. See Heinrich Zimmer, The Art Indian Asia, 2 vols., Completed and Edited by Joseph Campbell, Bollingen Series XXXIX (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1955), especially vol. 1, chapter IV, "Mesopotamian Patterns in Indian Art." 4. See, for example, Leo Frobenius, Paideuma: Umrisse einer Kultur -- und Seelenlehre (Munich: C.H. Beck, 192 1), p.11 ff, Oswald Spengler, The Decline of the West (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2 vols., 1926, 1928), vol. II, pp. 57 ff.; Adda B. Bozeman, "Civilization under Stress," Virginia Quarterly Review 51 (Winter, 1975), pp. 5 ff. 5. This topic is treated at length in my book, The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies (New York: Allworth Press, 2002). 6. Zimmer, The Art of Indian Asia, vol. 1, pp. 43 -48. 7. Ibid., p. 47. 8. Heinrich Zimmer, Philosophies of India, Bollingen Series XXVI (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1969), p. 211. 9. Ibid., p. 56. 10. Ibid,, p. 66. 11. Translation Jyotindra Jain and Eberhard Fischer, Jaina Iconography, 2 vols. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1978), vol. 1, p. 11. 12. See Thomas McEvilley, "An Archeology of Yoga," Res: Anthropology and Aesthetics, I (Spring, 1981), pp. 44-77. 13. McEvilley, "Approaches to the Question of the Antiquity of Jainism" pp. 12-13. 14. K.N. Sastri, New Light on the Indus Civilization, 2 vols. (Delhi: Atma Ram and Sons, 1965), P. 122. 15. Ernest J. H. McKay, Further Excavations at Mohenjo Daro, 2 vols. (New Delhi: Indologia Book Corporation, 1938), pl. XC, 13. 16. Sastri, New Light on the Indus Civilization, p.118. 17. McKay, Further Excavations at Mohenjo Daro, pl. LXXXIV, 75, 86. 12 Page #17 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ 18. N.N. Bhattacarya, History of the Tantric Religion (New Delhi: Manohar, 1992), p. 205. 19. Translation R. Williams, Jaina Yoga, A Survey of the Medieval Sravakacara (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1963). 20. Ziminer, The Art of Indian Asia, vol. 1, n p. 134. 21. Ibid., p. 133. 22. Ibid. 23. Ibid., p. 15. ***************************************************** QUOTATIONS: That which produces love and hate is not true knowledge; Knowledge is that which destroys love hate, Just as the uprising sun makes darkness disappear. -- Yogindu's Paramppapāyasu, a sixth century Prākrit Text, v. 76. **************************************************** For Privatl3 Personal Use Only Page #18 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Jinamenjari, Volume 25, No.1, April 2002 JAINA ARCHITECTURE IN EASTERN INDIA Dr. B.K. Tiwary, Professor of History, U.R. College, Rosera, Bihar The ancient Eastern India which formed a contiguous landmass of the states – Bengal including Bangladesh, Bihar, part of Uttar Pradesh and Orissa, had experienced a great impact of Jain culture, dating back to the times of Lord Pārśva in the ancient kingdom of Kāśi with its capital Vāraṇāsi. Despite the fact that Jainism thus has made valuable contributions to history and way of life of Eastern India, it has not so far received due attention and investigative study it deserves. However, the study of the history of Jainism by prominent scholars' like C.J. Shah, G.C. Roychoudhary, A.K. Chatterjee, U. Thakur, K.C. Jain, and B.K.Tiwary in various parts of Eastern India has been made, a comprehensive and an authentic picture of the existence, development and spread of the religion is still not adequate and remains incomplete. In this situation, archaeological investigation and discoveries are warranted. Although the Archaeological Survey of India has launched exploration project of monuments all over the country in 1957, results of the project are not fully available. The works of scholars like Hiralal Jain,2 P.C. Nahar, Muni Jinavijayaji," B.C. Bhattacharya, A. Gosh, B. Jain, U.P. Shah and M.N.P. Tiwarrio on various aspects of Jain archaeology do not necessarily give a clear and detailed account of the whole archaeological findings and discoveries. The Jain epigraphs and the ayagapatas from different parts of India studied or deciphered in the last hundred years have shown the existence, development and migration of Jains and their idealism. They record the commissioning and construction of temple monuments, sacred religious shrines, and the names of the sages and the laity - the kings, the queens or the commoners. The inscription of Emperor Khāravela of ancient Kaļinga country in Eastern India records the earlier instance of the Jina image worshipped by the Nanda kings of Magadha,'' and Śravanabelagola For Private 14ersonal Use Only Page #19 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ inscription" and Maurya king Asoka's edicts"speak of the Jain sanctuaries and sages that refer to religious belief of the kings and people of Eastern India. A large number of dedicatory inscriptions have come to light which belong to the periods of first to twelfth C.E. They are on the pedestals of Jina images, often with their names and other Jaina iconographic features." The idol worship in Jainism based on archaeological evidence predates Lord Mahāvira period. And, thousands of Jain statues, of circa 300 B.C.E., discovered from various sites in Eastern India and the Jain iconography study provide dates and names of the sculptures. Kuśān period was a very important phase for the history of Jain iconography. During this period, images were made in three styles: Jain figures formed a part of sculptured panel, images for worship and figures in the middle of the ayagapatas. Idolatory became one of the chief institutions of Jainism, and by this time, the yakṣa images were also presented along with the Jina images.is During the period, the caturmukha shrine Jina image pedestal figured with worshippers flanking a dharmacakra, in profile. Also, lāncana for Rşabha and Pārsva Jinas and the triratna features were developed. In the following Gupta period, Jain iconographic characteristics became more profound with Jina images having a particular emblem, like Rşabha and Pārsva images of the Kuśāna period. Other characteristic features such as trilinear umbrella and dharmacakra attended by a pair of either bulls or deer formed parts of Jain sculptures." It was late in the Gupta period the navagraha feature appeared along the two sides of a Jina image, and the navagraha was confined to eight in number, Ketu being left out of the initial stage. After the eighth century, the practice of putting eight planets on two sides of Jina was developed in eastern school of medieval art, and in the western school, planets were generally carved on the pedestal of the Jina image. Later in the twelfth century, mother figures of the twenty-four Jinas with child in the lap were seen. And as casting of metal Jaina images became formal, Nalanda became the centre of such activities." During the Pala period in Eastern India, wood images were carved. Several Jain temples belonging to different periods are found in Eastern India, but not all the four Nagara, Vesara, Dravida and Kaļinga styles are found. Though the oldest and ancient remains of a temple is seen in Pataliputra, a very few are extant in Eastern India in the present despite the fact the literary evidences suggest the existence 15 Page #20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ of Jain temples in almost all important places of Eastern India. Thus, the best temple architecture in Eastern India can be found after the eleventh C.E. 21 The stupa structure in Jain architecture is a unique and distinct feature and were said to have been erected at the nirvana place or the funeral place of the Jinas. Ancient Jain texts speak of such constructions22 The construction of Jain stūpas mainly started from the tenth B.C.E., and remained as important till the early Gupta period. Apart from the archaeological find of these structures, it is said that a stupa was erected at Kailash (the Himalayas) for Rṣabha, the first Jina, by his son Bharata.23 The ancient text Jambudvipa Pannati24 also mentions erection of such a structure at the cremation ground of a Jina. The Aupapatikasutra25 describes the stupa Purnbhadra caitya outside Campanagari and the one at the nirvana place of Mahavira. The Avasyaka Niryukti speaks of the existence of a stupa at Vaisāli, dedicated to twelfth Jina, Munisuvrata.20 Rājamalla, a contemporary of the Mogul king, Akbar, and the author of the work Jambusvamicarite informs that during his times there existed more than five hundred stupa structures at Mathura. structures 26 11 REFERENCES 1. See their respective works Jainism in North India (1939), Jainism in Bihar (1956), A Comprehensive History of Jainism (1978), Studies in Jainism and Budhhism in Mithila (1964), Lord Mahāvira and His Times (1974) and History of Jainism in Bihar (1996). 2. Jaina Šilalekha Sangraha, Bombay 1928. 3. Jain Inscriptions, Pts I-III, Calcutta, 1918-1929. 4. Pracina Jain Lekha Sangraha, Bhavnagar, 1921. 5. The Jain Iconography, Delhi, 1974. 6. Jain Art and Architecture (ed.) pts.I-III, Delhi, 1974. 7. Bharat Ke Digambar Jain Tirtha, pts.I-III, Bombay, 1974. 8. Studies in Jain Art, Benaras, 1955. 9. Prācina Bhāratiya Murti Vigyan, Benaras. 10. Dr. Shasikant, The Hathigumphā Inscriptions of Khāravela, Prints India, Delhi, 1971. 11. D.C. Sircar, Select Inscriptions, p.217; JBORS, Vol. VII,1917; E.I., Vol. IV, pp.22ff; I.A., Vol.III,pp.153-58. 12. Pillar Edict, VI, Delhi version; I.A., Vol. XX, p.364. 16 Page #21 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ 13. R.K. Mookherjee, Gupta Samrājya, p.155, Bombay, 1948. 14. B.C. Bhattacharya, Jain Iconography,pp.33-34. 15. Uttarādhyāyana, 3.14. 16. "Jain Iconography” in Ācārya Bhikṣu Abhinandana Grantha, pp.193-194, Calcutta, 1961. 17. B.C. Bhattacharya, op.cit., p.30. 18. Ācārya Bhikṣu Abhinandana Grantha, p.114. 19. G.H. Ojha opines that the Jainas made metal statues between 76 - 91 C.E.. He himself claims to have seen so many as one thousand metal Jain images having some inscriptions on them. (Prācina Bhārtiya Lipimāla, p.154, Delhi, 1971). 20. G.S. Gogate, 'Uniqueness and Grandeur of Jain Art" in Organiser, p.17, November 11, 1974. 21. H.L. Jain, Bharatiya Samskriti Meih Jain Dharma Ka Yogādāna, p.261, Bhopal, 1962. 22. Avasyaka Niryukti, gāha 4351; Jambudvipa Prajypti, 2.33. 23. Abhinandhanacintāmaņi, IV, 94. 24. Jambudvipa Pannati, 2.23. 25. Aupapatikasutra, g. 2 & 434. 26. Avasyakacūrņi, pp.223-227,567. Page #22 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Jinamañjari, Volume 25, No.1, April 2002 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF JAINA ART AND ARCHITECTURE Dr. Usha Rani, Bangalore, India Jainism, which is said to have prevalent in the Indian subcontinent within the Dravidian culture as a organized religion before the coming of the Aryans, has its records dating as far back as 800 B.C.E., and its archeological evidence has been traced to Harappa-Mohenjadaro site. It has been noted that the Jain scriptural texts do speak of the importance of introducing art in early education.') The philosophy of Jainism being grounded in the nature of life-force and human spiritualism at its apex, the art and architecture do reveal a general tendency with the underlying characteristics of inclination, inspiration and inner beauty. Art in Jainism is thus more closely linked with the cardinal ideals attempting to shape its metaphysics and observance. The Jain art and architecture therefore allude in exculsivity toward more of the human spiritualism under the influence of nature and when it is expressed in images the full divinity comes to the fore. Through its art and architecture there emerges its religious objectivated expression - special features especially in anthropomorphic forms. Unlike other Indian faiths, the temple ritual requirements in Jainism are somewhat different. The word Jina or Tirthankara in Jain religion although can be alluded as non-mystified non-creator God, the inner attitude towards worship and rituals are emphasized on strict spiritual and moral ethos, and their observance. Therefore, ritualism in Jainism stands as a powerhouse as well as a pro-active force in the matters of ethics, morality and human behaviour. Accordingly, the Jinas are the real great personages who have tread the Path of Purification through a value system of reason and ethics. As the point of this "can be good philosophy," Mahavira -- the last Jina -- before the time of Lord Buddha, had reinvigorated the matters of ethics, morality and human behaviour over 2600 years ago in the East and 18 Page #23 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ later, Cicero and Socrates of ancient Greece explored them in the West. The literary evidence which relates to the theisistic concept in Jainism as seen in the Jivanta Mahdvira image dated circa sixth B.C.E., and by the fourth B.C.E., the development of wood caitya system shows archaeological evidence. The mulabandha and kayotsarga yoga postures which have been referred in the ancient Jain texts, the Acārāgasūtra and the Kalpasūtra, are found in the Indus Valley Civilization (c.2300-1750 B.C.E.), the earliest civilization of India. The figures on the seals from Mohanjadaro and also a male torso from Harappa remind of the Jina images on account of their nudity and posture, identical with the kāyotsarga-mudra, all this much comparable with the Lohanipur torso." The worship of the Jinas thus can be traced to an ancient times in Mohanjadaro, Harappa and Lohanipur period. The earliest known Jina image from Lohanipur (c. third B.C.E.), terracotta Jina figure of c. third B.C.E. from Ayodhya, the Hathigumpha inscriptions of Kalinga country emperor Khäravela, and two early bronze images of Lord Parsva of c. second-first B.C.E., ] and pre-Kuśāna Jaina ascetic figure in the Manchapuri cave of Orissa in eastern part of India show unique Jaina iconographic characteristics and the antiquity of art and architecture in Jainism. Thus, Jaina iconography can be classified into three periods: (1) stage of genesis assigned to the Indus Valley period. (2) stage of evolution with iconic growth, from sixth to second B.C.E., alluding to the Mauryan age on the basis of Lohanipur nude torso. (3) stage of development, early first B.C.E. when rock-cut friezes (Manchapuri cave) appeared. Jose Pereira noting the features of Jain images rightly has expressed that "there is perhaps no other tradition of image making, and certainly not in India, which draws so heavily on the idea of the sage in contemplation standing with arms hanging loose at sides or sitting cross-legged. Both these must not have the line of the robe (of the Buddhist) or of the sacred thread (of the brahmin). According to him, this specific Jain generic idea of a contemplating sage has four surrounding layers to the core - the first is symbols employed to indicate identity or personality; second is iconographic organism is the concept of sasanadevatas from a relatively early period; the third layer is a miscellaneous assortment of deities and the fourth layer is that of the samavasarana episode, the first sermon of the Jinas. The images are generally [often] decorated with eight inscribed pratihayyas simhasana, divyadhvani, cāmrendra, bhamandala, asokavrakša, catratraya, dundubhi and puspavrasti." ... #6 19 4 66 Page #24 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Iconographic Development and Characteristics of Jina Images In the course of Jain art, codification of the iconography and striking innovations in architectural and sculptural forms have been classified into four phases: (1) iconic growth (2) rock-cut friezes (3) monolithic ensembles, and (4) elaboration and innovation. In the Kuṣāņa and Gupta times the basic forms of the Jain icon were developed in loose reliefs and images as seen at Kankali Tila in Mathura and the Chausa bronzes (now in the Patna Museum), carvings on the Vaibhara hill, Raigir and some of the bronzes of Akota that represent the Gupta period, followed by the friezes of Dhank, Udayagiri in Orissa, and Kalugumalai and Vallirnalai in the south. The last phase is represented by Śravaṇabelagola, Kārkal-Mudbidri, Khajuraho, Abu and Ellora.' 6 Speaking of Jaina sculptures from Mathura, it has been observed that they exhibit certain formative stages in the development of Jaina iconography, and particularly, the ayagapaṭas of second-first B.C.E. represent the transitional phase in which the worship of auspicious symbols together with the Jinas in human form was in vogue. During this period, the śrivatsa mark for the first appears in the centre of the chest, and it is generally indicated by an equilateral triangle, with its apex at the top, engraved on the right side of the chest, just above the nipple." 8 According to Dr. M.N.P. Tiwari significant features in Jaina iconography were fully and completely developed with lañchanas, yakṣa-yakşi figures, tradition of twenty-four devakulikas, and the figures of navagrahas, Bāhubalin, Neminatha with his cousins KṛṣṇaBalarama and goddess Saraswati in the parikara. The earliest text which mentions the iconographic features of the Jina images is the Bṛhatsamhita of Varāhamira, Ch. Pratimalakṣaṇam, vv.44 & 45. The Manasara text which appears to be of South Indian origin gives a concise description of a Jina image, and the description given in this text is closely followed throughout India. "The image of Jina should have only two arms, two eyes and a cropped head, either standing with legs kept straight or in the abhanga manner; or it may be seated in the padmāsana posture, wherein also the body must be kept erect. The figure should be so sculptured as to indicate deep contemplation; the right palm should be kept facing upwards upon the left palm held in the same manner (and both of them resting upon the crossed legs). On the simhasana on which the image of Jina is seated (and round the prabhavali) should be shown the figures of hosts of yakṣas, vidyadhras, the dikpalakas seated upon the elephants, and 20 Page #25 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ others as either seated or standing in the air and offering worship to the Jina. Below the simhāsana must be the figures of (other) Jinas in a worshipping attitude; these are the Siddhas, the Sugandhas, Chiāhantu (Arhats), Jina and Pārsvakas; these five classes are known by the name of panca-paramēshtins. The complexion of these are respectively known by the sphatika (crystal), white, red, black and yellow. The central Jina figure should be shaped according to the uttama-daśa-tāla measure, whereas those of the dēvatas and the twenty-four Tirthankaras surrounding him in the other (madhyama and adhama) daśa-tāla measure. The body should be of the dvārapālakas named Canda and Mahācaņda respectively." The poet Dhanapala, in his work the Tilakamañjari, has given the iconographic aspect of sculpture as he has described the images of Rşabha and Mahāvira, the first on mount Ekaśnga and the latter at the sanctum of the temple at Ratnakūta respectively. Rşabha image was carved out of the philosopher's stone, set on a lion-throne bearing the frescoed motifs of a group of constellations, a deer and a lion. The posture was of padmāsana with the palms placed upright in the lap. The curls of hair reaching both the shoulders had foliage decorations. The ends of the eyes seemed to touch the root of the ears; the eye-brows slightly fallen suggestive of the state of perfect mental poise and total absence of perturbation. The face resembled the lunar disc; Indras on both sides carrying white cămara; a circular halo around the face, three white parasols, flying deities some playing divine trumpets, some showering flowers, some nymphs on aeroplanes. All these features which are known technically as parikara in Jaina iconography. The image of Mahāvira at Ratnakūta, according to Dhanapala, was carved in a diamond slab and was set on a huge golden throne. The noted art-historian Dr. U.P. Shah has done an extensive study of the Jaina icons and the relevant literature bearing on the architecture in his doctoral thesis submitted to the University of Bombay." According to Dr. Krishnadeva, the Jaina sculptures may be divided into five broad categories: - (1) Images which generally stand in sama-bhanga having a large prabhāvaļi carved in the round or in high-relief in strict conformity with the canonical formulae and prescriptions of proportions. (2) Laksaņa-s and lāñchana-s. (3) Yakşa-yaksis and ūvaraña-dēvată-s in standing tribhaña or seated in lalitāsana with crown or mukuța in Page #26 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ the niches or figured against the walls executed in the round or in high medium relief. (4) Apsara-s or surasundari-s executed on the jañghā, minor niches of the facades, pillar, ceiling-brackets or the recess between pilasters in the interior; secular sculptures like teacher and disciples, dancers and musicians. (5) Animal sculptures including vyāla which is a heraldic beast represented as a rampant homed lion with an armed human rider on the back." Texts on the Jaina Temples The science of architecture, Vāstuśāstra in Indian terminology, is all about the principle for architecture and construction, and the practice to strike a balance between the environment and living. It is said that it brings out the positive forces and wards off the negative. From the point of human life and karma, therefore, it may not play a part in the fortune, but it may be suggested that it may govern and make sweet things sweeter and bitter not so bitter. A short survey of available literature on the Jaina temples from western part of India has been given by Dr. M.A. Dhaky.The Vāstusāstra of Viivakarma (circa late 11th C.E.) was the earliest manual, which contains a special chapter called Jinēndra-mandiralakṣaṇa-āddhikāra dealing about the constructive aspect of Jina temple. The Vāstuvidya (circa early 12th C.E.) discusses the jagati for Jina and the plan of the temple. The Aparājitapicchă of Bhuvanadeva (circa third quarter of the 12th C.E.) describes eight varieties of jagatis for the Jina, and treats its premier variety, șrikarņi as well as the surface plan. The Sridēvyādhikāra (late 12th or early 13th C.E.) has a full chapter called Jinēndra-prāsāda-lakşaņa. Thakkaru Pheru in his Präkrit work, the Siri-Vatthusāra-Payārana (1326 C.E.) describes component parts of a Jain temple. In his work the Prāsādamandana, Sūtradhāra Mandana (mid 15th C.E.) based on earlier texts makes a brief note on the Jaina temple. The Sabhāśringāra (late 15th to early 16th C.E.) describes a Jain temple. And an old Gujarati work, the Saptakşetrirāsu gives a graphic description of a Jain temple. The Ceyiā, Caityā, Basadi: the place of Jaina worship The place of Jaina worship has its own technical word. It is called ceyiā in the ancient Jaina language of Prākrt, and it is called caityā in Sanskrit. In the present, the word caityā is in vogue as pan Page #27 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Indian among all Jaina, and the word basadi and its derivatives such as vasadi and basti are quite common in southern India. Historically speaking, records reveal that the institution of Jaina worship was quite prevalent during the time of Kalinga Emperor Khārvela, According to Dr. Shashikant, 94, we come across four types of structures for the purpose: kāya-nisidiyā or relic memorial in the honour of the arihantas (one was commissioned by the Emperor himself), nisiyā or caityā-type structure forming part of monastery (one dedicated by Sindulā), stūpa at Mathura (worshipped by Emperor Khāmvela by performing savagahanas ceremony) and samnivesa or temple with an image of Jina (where Khāravela while in Magadha in the 12th year.) The temple architecture is a direct result of icon or image worship which appears to have been prevalent among the Jainas from the beginning of historic times, The Buddhist texts speak of the existence of arhat caityas in the Vajji country and Vaiśāli, which had come down from pre-Buddha and so from pre-Mahavira times. From the evidence of the existence of Jina images in cave-temples and structural shrines from Fourth B.C.E. onwards, certain architectural characteristic features keeping with their own culture and ideology tended to make it almost a distinct Jaina art. They are distinct by their decorative sculpture, as distinct from individual statuary, and attain a considerable degree of excellence in the perfection of pillared chambers, one of their favourite forms of architecture. Some art-critics have declared these wrought-chambers to be the finest specimens of the ancient and early medieval Indian architecture. Free-standing pillar in front of basadi, especially in the South is the prototype to have stood within the entrances to the samosarana of the Tirthankara. The stupa as evinced at Mathura was extant till probably the beginning of the medieval times, and lost flavour by the time of the Guptas. "S The Jain Architectural Phases Dr. Klaus Fischer has identified four phases in the Jain temple architecture: Early Rock-cut. Barabar hill rock-cut sanctuaries of Lomas Rishi and the Sudāma caves (dated mid-third B.C.E.) and Sonbhandār caves in Rājgir valley in Bihar. Khandagiri and Udayagiri caves (second B.C.E.) of Orissa, and rocky hills with caverns around Keedāvalūr, Madura in the South. 23 Page #28 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Early Structures. Heliodorous pillar at Besanagar, and the caves and structural temples of the Udayagiri hills (382426 C.E.); and Aihole and Pattadakal (sixth C.E.). Final Phase of Rock-cut. Sittanavasal and Bādāmi (seventh C.E.) in the South; Ellora's Indrasabha in the Deccan (eighth C.E.) and at Udayagiri. Osia, Abu, Medieval Phase. Spread through out India Ranakpur, Vaibhara hills in Bihar, etc. Art and Architectural Characteristies The art and architectural features of the religion seem to answer to and express all that was consistent with the fundamentals of Jaina belief, and include without discomfort what Jainism was impelled to creatively develop in response to the changing times. The Jina icons are thus spiritual in nature depicting the passion and pain of life on Earth. They often grace the caves or cave walls, boulders or brick wall of a shrine, and devote entirely to their contemporary times. From a very ancient period, the Jain sages in India had sought a place of solitude to perform their meditation and spiritual activities in natural caves as their habitat in the isolated hills. This gave rise fast to Jaina natural caverns and the dedicatory inscriptions in Brahmi script, and eventually sculptural representation or architectural relics came into prominence as sites assuming spiritual and religious significance. The spiritual element in the image is not just a religious symbol but one that represents positive change - from sufferance to spirituality trying to figure out who I am? The sculptures therefore are the tangible records of the spiritual stories of the Jaina people, - the story of the Jinas and the Ending of the cycle of rebirth. The history and the legend of the Jina is His coming to Earth in the form of human, who brings the spirit of aspiration, hope to thaw the frozen heart into enlightening of the fact what lies and what and how the path of purification must be followed. The dhyina postures of the images and the culture system of worship of the revered Jinas thus formed material source for Jaina sculptural art and architecture. The early medieval Jaina sculptures and architectural remains have been found at several places in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal and Southern India. However, the post-Gupta period in the North did not have much patronage from the ruling class, Jainism in the early medieval period was patronized by several dynasties and rulers of the west, of the Deccan, and of the south. In the words of Jain saint-scholar Jinasena (783 C.E.), the Jainas had - 24 Page #29 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ “Right perception as their root and stood upon the plinth of knowledge. 18 Jaina Temple Architectural Development in Medieval India It could easily be noted that the impact of Jainism and the influence of its faithful had begun to be felt more decidedly from the seventh century, coinciding as it did with the period of commentaries on the Jaināgamas, the sacred literature of the faith. But it is in the medieval time, particularly between the eleventh and thirteenth century, Jainism reached zenith of its power and importance: It is in those very favorable and fruitful times that the largest ever number of Jain temples were commissioned, and as late as the fifteenth century with certain decorative changes. The medieval Jaina temples in various kingdoms and princedoms) of western, central, eastern and southern parts of India were built in each regional style, but tended to differ from the contemporary non-Jaina temple buildings. From Northwest India G. Buhler has reported (Epigraphia Indica) that there existed Jain temples in Kangra area Punjab. The temple dedicated to Lord Pārsva at Kangra Bazar was commissioned in 854 C.E. by two sons - Kundalaka and Kumara - of Chashtaka and Ralha, who were wholly devoted to the law taught by the Jinas. The temple dedicated to Mahavira at Kiragrāma was commissioned by two brothers - Dolhana and Alhaņa, whose father was a rich merchant Mānū of the Brahmaksatriya race; and the temple was consecrated by Devabhadrasūri of the Kharatara gachchha, on a Sunday January 15, 1240 C.E. The base of temple after its destruction has been transferred to the temple of Siva, known as Baijnath temple. Eastern India The Jaina temples in the districts of Bankura and Purulia in Bengal were numerous, and some of the images in Purulia may be 2000 years old," and Bankura temples belong to three different types: Bengal Mandir, Pancaratna and chala Mandir, all indigenous to the region. Rekha type temple of Siddheahwara at Bahulara village on the bank of Dwarakesha river in Bankura district contains the Jina image of Lord Pārsva. 21 The indigenous “Safa” people of Purulia district became the followers of Lord Mahāvira during his sojourn in the region. The stone and brick temple at Pakbira, single cell pattern For Privateersonal Use Only Page #30 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ with no doorway cut into two portions, and subsequent period of mandapas added have been found. The image of Bāhubali at Pakbira, cubits high, a rare occurrence in Northern India,“ is suggestive of the cult of his fame as the son of the first Jina Rşabha and the reigning King of the South with his capital at Bodhan (ancient Poudhanapura). The image is now worshipped by the Hindus as Bhaironath. The nearby village of Pankha has a rare specimen of architecture: "a stone slab (showing) a tree of the height of about 2 cubits carved out with a child sitting at the top of the tree. Under the three there are figures indicating the father and mother and the mother is with a baby. This figure depicting a father has got sacred thread and near him stand seven persons. It is difficult to come to a correct appraisal of this specimen but probably it indicates the birth of some Tirthankara.” In the village of Deoli, the Aranatha in situ image, 3 ft. high on a pedestal with the antelope, has sanctum, antrāla and a mahamandapa, and a number of smaller temples by the side of this main temple that suggest that it was a not only a great Jaina architectural conglomerate but also a great atisaya centre. Thus, the Jaina architectural treasure in Bengal was well developed and survived up to ninth and tenth centuries, and later eclecticism in Hindu religion claimed the Jaina figures as of the Hindu pantheon and worshipped by the Hindus. The Jaina images of Padmăvati and Dharanendra are now worshipped by the Hindus as that of Hara-Parvati. This is further attested by the fact that "a class of Brahamanas in Purulia district now known as Pachhima Brahamans are traditionally taken to belong to the clan of Vardhamana Mahavira. The tribal population of the distriuct of Purulia and the Bhumij community became first imbibed with the ideas of Jainism and then with the Jain creed of ahimsa much affected by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had become Vaishnavas.” 23 Western India The Jaina temple attained to its most perfect form, a form that also was complete in details and evolved to its farthest limits, their layout and elevation being distinctively and peculiarly Jaina. Dhaky has described an ideal Jain temple of western India, thus: "The jagati (platform), the vast oblong platform with a stairway centrally in front leads to its floor, where lies the sanctum. is attached to the gūdhamantapa with walls. It axially opens into a mukhamantapa. This in turn is articulated to a rañgamaņlapa. This together with For Private Personal Use Only Page #31 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ mukhamantapa in the rear is surrounded and thus enclosed by a paṭṭaśālikā.2 24 Central India The Jain cave temples of Gwalior Nemigiri cave commissioned by the Bhoj Pratihāra kings (ninth century C.E.) and Gopacal caves commissioned by the Tomar kings importantly show gigantic sculptures, lotus and purnaghata auspicious pot and full foliage art motifs. The gajalaksa motif is also seen introduced during the period of Tomars.25 Southern Indian States Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Kerala all have ancient Jaina temples, either in ruins or still extant. A brief summary about the temples from each state may appropriately be made here. Andhra Prakesh Jain temples are found to be of two main types - natural caves and structural shrines. The early Jaina natural in Andhra, unlike the ones found in Tamilnadu, are not associated with bas-reliefs depicting Jinas and their yaksas.. Striking examples are the caves at Munulagutta, Penchikalapadu, Chiipagiri and Rayadurg. Later date caves at Ramatirtam (Vijayanagaram district) and Kurkyala (Karimnagar district)." The cave, situated near Kapparaopet in the district of Karim Nagar has low pillow-loft structures, has been confirmed now as the abode of the Jaina monks and of the period of Śātavāhana King Śimukha. The date is based on the recent discovery of an inscription from the cave) by Dr. P.V. R. Sastri. The record speaks of Mahāmēghavahana chief at Guntupalli, which is located in West Godavari district. This confirms the Jaina affiliation of the cave, which was hitherto thought as of the Buddhists. The posterior Jaina cave is at Penchikalapadu in Cuddaph district, and it has four short lines record, in early characters, referring to it as "sanyasigundu, the term pointing to its Jaina origin and affiliation. 27 The oldest structural shrine from ancient times is located in the ancient town of Vardhamanapuram which has been identified with modern Vaddamānu in Mahaboob Nagar district. It reveals the popularization of the stepped pyramidal type of sikhara and the trikūta structure. Recent excavations at the site has brought out the fact that it was commissioned by Śri, the Sada king whose lineage has 26 27 Page #32 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ been traced to the ancient Kalinga kingdom in Orissa. This is also supported by a copperplate charter that refers to this king." 28 Various component parts of Jaina temples in Andhra are noted in some Jaina inscriptions. Generally, the outer walls of the temples were bare but sometimes found decorated, and great majority of them face north and very rarely face other directions. The stepped pyramidal super structure in Andhra owes its origin to Jainism. The only extrant Jain temple at Kambadur (Anantapur district) has the pyramidal structure consisting of six diminishing talas of plain horizontal slabs. The sanctum of this temple is narrow while the low square domical sikhara has four niches containing a seated Jina. Over the front door way is the carved lintel with a small seated Jina. The mukhamantapa is rectangular in plan; the narrow antarala leads to the garbagraha whose lintel also has a seated Jina. The ceiling of the sanctum has a lotus bud with ornate petals." Jain Architectural Forms in Karnataka 30 Architectural forms in Karnataka could be identified with the dynastic name of the rulers, from Kadambas to Santāras and so on. The first reported temple in the state belongs to Kadamba King Mrgeśvaravaraman (circa fifth C.E.), commissioned in memory of his father. The Jain Meguti temple at Aihole of the times of Calukya King Pulkesin-II (634-35 C.E.) is an example of an early Dravidian style temple. Rooted in Jaina faith, the Ganga rulers commissioned temples in granite, adopting a simple rectangular plan, crowned the structure with the Dravidian tower, decked walls with simple koṣṭas and panjaras, and generally ignored the circumambulatory passages and the Dravidian pillar complex. The Camundaraya Jain temple at Śravanabelagola is perhaps the finest representative work of the Ganga school of architecture. The Jain architecture under the patronage of the Hoysala rulers maintained the main schema of the later Calukya architectural style with a single cell having an adjoining sukanāsi and navaranga; and the trikuța class the centre sanctum having openings on all the four sides - a plan of the Jaina architectural feature, which in Karnataka, is seen at Geresoppa Jain temple.3 The Jina temples at Angadi and Kubatū represent the typical Jaina school of architecture." The yakṣa images, whose concept and composition are different from that of the non-Jaina faiths, have been found invariably enshrined either at the navaranga doorway or against the walls of the sukanāsi within the temples.33 32 28rs For Private &ersonal Use Only Page #33 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Jaina Temple Architecture in Kerala Jaina temple architecture in Kerala state, according to Gopinatha Rao, are found in extreme northern and southern parts. His study of the two ancient Jain temples, which were subsequently converted to Hindu temples, perhaps would suffice the summary of the Jaina temples in the state. The temple of Padmāvati, which became known as Bhagavati, on the Tiruchchānasttumalai near Chitarāl, has images of Jinas and Padmāvati on the overhanging rock of the temple. The cropped head, hanging ear-lobes, the contemplative mood, yogic padmāsana posture, the simhasana, figures of cauri bearing yakşas and vidyādharas and other devatas have striking adherence of the features of the Jaina images as given in the Mānasāra text.34 The Jaina iconographic features of a male and a female brass devata images at Nāgarcoil Jaina temple, which continued up to the period of King Bhūtalvira Udayamārttāņdavarman, have been given by Rao" The standing male image with a few gentle bends in its body has its right hand held in the abhaya pose and the left hand resting on the hip (katyavalambita hasta); on its head a krit makuta and over it is a fiveheaded cobra's head. The ears are ornamented with makarakundalas; and other ornaments - the hāras, the udarabandha, the katakas and karkaņas. The lower part of the body is draped in clothes which have the conventional parallel folds descending obliquely on the legs. The female tribhanga figure holding a utpala flower in right hand while the left arm hangs parallel to the body has the channavira ornament in addition to the ones found on the male image, and its head has a threeheaded cobra's hood." Accordingly, they have "nothing peculiarly Hindu in them; they are Jainas as Hindu deities." The temple sometime after the King Bhūtalvira Udayamārttāņdavarman has become Nāgarāja temple, What may be observed here from the description of the brass images is the characteristics of the Jaina images. The State of Tamilnadu In Tamilnadu the Jaina architecture is found in the natural caves and berths, "holy residences," of the Jaina ascetics known from over two thousand years have been locally termed as sramana pallis, which are natural caverns. The pallis subsequently occupied the position of cave temples, with bold relief sculptures of Jinas. ** Sittannavasal village near Pudukkottai is both an early Jain cave shelter and a medieval rock-cut temple. "A steep hill in 29 Page #34 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ the village has a cavern, locally known as Eladipattam, a name derived from the seven holes cut into the rock that serve as steps leading to the shelter. The cave has seventeen stone berths aligned into rows, and each has a raised portion that serves as a pillow-loft. The largest berth has a Brāmhi inscription dated to second B.C.E. In the nearby berths are found inscriptions belonging to eight C.E. The neighbouring hill has a rock-cut temple, rectangular in shape with a mandapa at the front. The weight of the roof is borne by two free-standing pillars in the middle, and two pilasters in antis. They are of a simple pattern with a square base and top, and an octagonal middle portion. The shrine has a row of three Tirthankaras - Rşabha, Nemi and Mahāvira carved on the rear wall. The lateral walls of the mandapa contain two niches accommodating bold relief of Pārsca and an unidentified image, possibly of a preceptor. Sometime in the mid-eighth C.E., the ceiling paintings were executed with the theme of samasarana. "7 The ancient Tondaimandalam country which roughly corresponds to the modern northern part of Tamilnadu and the southern part of Andhra was Pallava kingdom. The Pallava capital was Kanchi and the rule was begun in the early sixth century to the end of the ninth century. However, the antiquity of Jainism in Kanchi situated on the southern bank of the Vegavati river is traced to the time of great Jain sage and philosopher Samantabhadra (120-185 C.E.). The Vardhamāna temple is located here in Kanchi. A copper plate charter of the Pallava king, Simhavarman (556 C.E.), refers to this temple. The temple saw enlargement with the additions during the Cola period; the sangeeta mandapa in 1387-88 by the Jain General Irugappa of the Vijayanagara empire, temple prakāra by the Kadava chieftain and the execution of the paintings at the Nayaka period. 38 In the view of Dr. Krishnadeva, one of the "earliest temple to show a full-fledged complement of the developed Jaina architecture complete with caturvisșati-Jinālaya and prakāra is the Mahāvira temple (mid-tenth century) at Ghāṇerāv in Rajasthan." For Private Personal Use Only Page #35 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Some Important Architectural Constituent Parts of Jain Temple" eight auspicious symbols dedicated in Jain temples and worshipped along with Jaina metal images. Aṣṭāmangala Aṣṭāpada eight terraced mountain where the first Jina Rṣabha attained nirvāṇa. Āyāga-paţa slab carved with sacred Jina figures and symbols. Balanka generally speaking, it is the hall at the entrance; often it may figure in other locations. The oldest example of balanka is the hall above the jagati-stairway of Mahavira temple at Osia. Baldachin a corel-domed roof resting on the inner quadrangle of rangamandapa. This motif was invented in western India in the second half of the tenth century, and later was adopted by the builders of the mosque. -- Bāvanadhvaja Jinālaya -- a Jain temple surrounded by a row of 52 devakulikās adorned with 52 flag staves. Bhadraprasada this is a constituent part of the girdle of devakulikās in the Jain temple complex of 24 and 52. It is coaxial with the transepts of the rangamaṇḍapa and distinguished from its companions by its relative largess and protrusion. It has been mentioned in the Vastuvidya of Visvakarma in cconnection with the elevational scheme of a Jain temple. Bhadrasana - a rigid sitting posture. Bhamandala -- halo samavasarana. images. -- Bhamati -- colonnaded passage of a medieval Jain temple. Bhavatara the previous life scenes of a Jina. 24 devakulikās. Caitya-prasāda-bhūmi -- region enclosed by the dhuliśāla. Caitya-vrkṣa tree-shaped structures found in the - Caitya --window Caitya --dormer design; same as kūḍu Caturmuka -- shrine with openings on all four sides. Caturviṁśati Jinālaya Caturvimsatipaṭṭa 40 -- -- -- a Jain temple surrounded by a row of Devakulika it is a small shrine; on its own accord a subsidiary shrine facing bhamati, but generally in relation to a larger a stele, frieze or image with 24 Jina 31 Page #36 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ major shrine. In Jain architectural terminology, the term devakulika further assumes importance when the structure is repeatedly linked together organically to form a quadrangular or oblong chain along the jagati. In conjunction with the pattaśālika, it becomes distinctively a Jain architectural characteristic. Thus, the interdependence of pattaśālika and devakulikā structures becomes a "vital point in the architectonics and aesthetic effects of functional properties of the Jaina temple." Dhūliśāla -- a compound wall with four gates - vijaya, vaijanta, jayanta and aparājita , one each in the four directions. These gates have makaratoraņa at the exterior and ratnatoraņa at the interior Dikpālaka -- guardians of the quarters. Dvitirthika -- a unit of two Tirthankaras. Gajalakṣa -- a motif of two elephants with raised trunks holding the pots of auspicious water. Gandharva -- flying celestial. Ghatapallava -- the motif of a pot with foliage. Garbhagraha - in a Jain temple, it is associated with imageries in pitha (base), the mandovara (wall) and the sikhara (spite). The rathikās (framed panels) at the bhadra (cardinal) offsets are yakşa figures at the lower end of the sikhara. The garbhagraha is square and the principal image is found installed over a moulded pedestal. Gūdhamandapa -- it is the closed hall, which normally has the same kind of elevation as the temple proper up to the wall cornice, and in most cases by a sarvarana (bell roof). It sometimes possesses side-doors with pillared porticos. The width of the gūdhamandapa in relation to the garbhagraha follows the rule of proportion. Ghanță -- in architecture, the bell is used in the decoration of the samavasarana roof, often consisting of an inverted bowl. Grāsa-patti - a frieze of kirtimukhas. Indra and Upendra -- these are the Jain sculptural art tradition and the human representations with their crown faceted heads, paying homage. Jagati -- basement platform over which the temple stands.. In Jain structure the edge of jagati supports the rows of devakuli shrines and thus it works as an ornamental mould. Unlike the non-Jaina buildings, its elevation is rather simple. Thus the exterior of the Jain Page #37 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ temple is relatively unimportant as compared to its interior. Jagati at Ossian Mahavira temple, supports a long pillared hall -- balānaka and two layer entrance-porches.. The jagati is therefore is a primary and an indispensable feature of a Jain temple. Jangha -- the side of the temple. Jivantasvāmin -- standing image of Mahāvira wearing crown and ornaments. Kalpavskṣa -- wishing trees, which are of ten kinds are found in the samavasarana. Kapota -- a pigeon rest of the parapet. Kāyotsarga -- standing posture of the Tirthankara. Kinnara/Kinnari -- a semi-divine being, half human and half bird. Kirtimūkhuta -- lion mask; arched scroll band with a lion face in the centre of an image. Kostas -- they are niches on either side of the entrance. Kūdu (Tamil) -- an arched opening projecting from the flexed cornice (kapota). Kukkūța -- cock. Lalāța-bimba -- figure carved on the middle of the lintel or architrave. Lalitāsana -- a seated posture in which one leg is tucked on the seat, the other with knee bent rests on the ground. Mahādhvara -- it is a two-doored shrine placed at an angle on the diagonal of a caturmukha Jain temple. It is thus a bi-facial with two doorway-openings. The Ranakpur Jain temple has the mahdhvara at the comer of a caturmukha structure provided with its own mandapas. Mānastambha --free standing pillar-standard crowned by Jina images. Mandovara -- it is the pillared wall that displays sides of the temple. Meghanada-mandapa -- it is a storied hall in all four directions of the caturmukha temple as seen in the interior of Dharnavihara temple at Ranakpur, and it has not been equaled any where in India. Meru - a mountain shown one above the other, each having a four-faced Jina image. Mūlaghanțā -- the main bell atop the samavasarana roof. 33 Page #38 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Mukhacatuski -- it is the pillared porch attached to the entrance of a Jain temple complex. It has been well illustrated in the Šāntinātha temple at Kumbharia, Mt. Abu, etc. Nali -- it is a jagati stairway which gets converted into a stairway channel or underground stairway when balanka-hall is superimposed over it. Its function is both psychological and physical in the sense that it does not, in the first instance, permit any glimpse of the interior of the temple, but it leads to a dramatic usher into the interior splendor. Nandisvaradvipa -- the last island-continent of the Jaina cosmography. Nandyāvarta -- a variant of swastiksa. Navaranga -- a pillared temple hall covered with a ceiling divided into nine sections; central hall adjoining the sukanāsi parikara The unit which is at the back of Jina or a large prabhāvali, (halo) Trivaļi Circular lines on the neck of the Jina Nisayā, Nişdi -- Jain memorial pillar or slab. Padmaprabhāvali -- it is a divine symbol ‘halo' carved with lotus petals and stalk behind the head of the image. Pañcāyatana -- a temple surrounded by four minor shrines. Pañcameru -- representation of five Merus of the Jain tradition. Pañca-tirthika -- image with five Jina figures. Parikara -- subsidiary figure of an image. Patralatā -- a frieze depicting creeper with foliage. Prabhāvali - nimbus round an image. Pattaśālika -- it is a cloistered corridor erected in between the devakulikā and the main shrine complex. By virtue of the attachment to the devakulins it becomes a part of it and provides a circumambulatory path around the main complex. The pillars of the pattasõlika are shorter and are generally bereft of or have little decoration, Phāṁsanā -- the stepped pyramidal roof. Pratoli -- it is a gate like aperture spot at the main entrance of the Jain temple. It is seen in the caturmukha temple of Sava-Soma at Mt. Satrunjaya in Gujrat. When a balanaka or mukhamandapsa is provided, pratoli structure will be absent. Pratihāryas -- associated symbols of Tirthankara images. 34 Page #39 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Rañgamandapa -- it is one of the greatest Jain contribution to Indian architecture. It is also the most impressive part of a Jain temple. In form it is an open structure standing directly over the jagati's floor, or a lowly raised single course of plinth. On plan it usually is square but sometimes a little stretched along one or the other axis, to a rectangular form. Its columns generally are profusely carved. The lintels supported by the columns are in most cases richly carved, and between the columns are the toranas. Sabhamandapa -- this is the place of the pavilion which is axially aligned towards the east of the sanctum. Sahasrakūța -- pyramidal shrine-model with a thousand figures of Jinas. Samavasarana Sarvatobhadra, Sarvatobhadrika -- a four sided squarish structure, sometimes with conical superstructure on the top. Siddhāsana -- posture adopted by seated Tirthankara. Toranas -- they are the additional grace-ornaments, arches, like inverted festoons thrown between the columns of the hall. Of the three types of torana-arches, the double twisted madalo-tilaka variety is the innovation of the architects as seen in the Jaina Liūņa-Vasahi temple in Western India. It is also noted that the toraņas are more frequently employed in Jain temple than the non-Jaina ones. Trikamandpa -- maņdapa with three catuṣkis or bays of a medieval Jain temple. Trikūta -- three vimāna erected on a common basement or placed round a common mandapa, in the Cālukya style. Tritirthika -- an image with three Jina figures. A panel which represents three cauvimsis, three times representation of the twentyfour Tirthankaras Tunk -- a fortified enclosing wall containing Jaina shrine. Udgama -- pediment of caitya-arches, usually employed as a crowning decoration of a niche. Urņā -- a small circular protuberance seen on the forehead of the Jina. Uttarānga -- lintel of a doorway. Vajradvāra -- the basal segment of the mānastambha. Vaidūrya -- the top of the mānastambha. For Privateersonal Use Only Page #40 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Varada boon-conferring hand-pose; a four hand yakşini holding a rosary, a book, a lotus and the fourth in varada position. This is identified with the affiliation of Padmaprabha Tirthankara. Vimāna the sanctum in the Cālukyan Jaina architecture. REFERENCES 1. Dr. Hiraial Jain, Jain Contributiond to Indian Culture [Kan.tr. Mirigi Annaraya], p.349, Jain Cultural Heritage, Solapur, 198 1. 2 Dr. M.A. Dhaky, Ed. Aspects of Jain Art and Architecture, p.319. 3. Cited by Dr. M.N.P. Tiwary, Ambika in Jaina Art and Literature, p.2, Bharatiya Jnanpith, Delhi, India1989. 4. Ibid., p.3.. 5. Dr. Jose Perira, Monolithic Jinas, p.12, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi. 6. Dr. John Cort in Jinamañjari, Canada-USA, April 1993. 7. Dr. Perira. 8. Dr. Tiwari, p. 4; also see T.A. Gopinatha.Rao, Jaina and Bauddha Vestiges in Travancore. p.15, Indological Book House, Delhi, 1986. 9. Dr. Tiwari, pp.4-5. 10. Gopinatha.Rao, p.4-61. 11. Dr. N.M. Kansara, Art Notes on Sculpture in Dhanapala's Tilakamañjari, in Sambodhi, Ahmedabad. 12. Aspects of Jain Art and Architecture, pp. 266-67. 13. Ibid., pp.328-333. 14. Dr. Shasikant, The Hathigumpha Inscriptions of Khāravela, pp. 64-6, Prints India, Delhi, 1971. 15, Ibid., P. 39. 16. Dr. Klaus Fischer, Caves and Temples of the Jains, pp.1-20, The World Jain Mission, Aliganj, 1956. 17. Dr. A. Ekambaranathan, Jainism in Tamilnadu, Jain Humanities Press, Canada USA 18. Cited by R.S. Shukla, India As Known to Haribhadrasuri, p.137 from Jaina Harvamṣapūrāṇa of Jinasena, III,175.) 19. P.C. Roy Choudhary, Temples and Legends of Bengal, p.135, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 20. Ibid., p.129. 21. Ibid., p.131. 22. Ibid., p.135. 23. Ibid., p.141. 24. Aspects of Jain Art and Architecture, pp.323. 36 Page #41 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ 25. TVG Sastri, The Jain Sanctuaries of Gwalior Fort, p.89, Kundakunda Jnanpitha, Indore 1997. 26. Dr. G. Jawaharlal. Jainism in Andhra, p. 149, Prakrit Bharati, Jaipur 1994. 27. Ibid.,.p. 148. 28. Ibid., p. 98. 29. Ibid., pp.151-158. 30. Dr. Hampana, History of the Rashtrakutas, p.213, Ankita Publications, Bangalore, 2000. 31. Dr. S.Settar, The Hoysala Temples, p. 152-159. Karnataka University, 1992. 32. Ibid., p.292. 33 Ibid., p.298. 34. Gopinatha Rao, P.12. 35. Ibid., pp15-16. 36. Ekambaranathan, pp.1-2. 37. Ibid.,.49-51 38 Ibid., 65, 96-97] 39. Aspects of Jain Art and Architecture , p.251. 40. These have gathered from various works, and for details, also see: The Hoysala Temples, The Jain Sanctuaries of Gwalior Fort, Aspects of Jain Art and Architecture, Jainism in Tamilnadu, Dhanapala's Tilakamañjari, in Sambodhi, Jaina Art and Architecture, Jaina Temples of Western India by Hari Singh, P.V. Institute Publication, Varanasi, and Monolithic Jinas. For Privat37 Personal Use Only Page #42 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Jinamasjari, Volume 25, No.1, April 2002 THE CONCEPT OF PAJJĀYA IN JAINA METAPHILOSOPHY Dr. Jagdish P. Jain “Sadhak”, Professor Emeritus, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India The understanding of the Jaina school of philosophy in ancient India in general and of the concept of pajjāya (Sk. paryaya) in particular shows a significant indicative consequence in relationship. The Prākrit words pajjāya and dawa (Sk. dravya) have been introduced by sage-philosopher Kundakunda, who according to popular a pontifical list, had lived between 41 B.C. E. to 44 C.E., in the Prākrit work, Pavayanasāra (Pravacanasāra in Sanskrit). Dr. A.N. Upadhye has noted the words in Pavayaņasāra, which provides their definition The English translation of the word pajjāya is modification, and it has been defined in gäha (Sk. gātha). 1-38: “Modifications are absent in those which have never originated, in those which have originated, and in those that have been already destroyed.? According to the Jaina School of Philosophy, process of pajjāya (modification) functionally brings about origination, destruction and permanence in the davva (substance), a natural existent of the universe. The English translation of davva is 'substance.' Substance is suggestive of something unchanging behind the changes, and however, it is constituted of both permanent and ever changing elements. It is defined in Pavayaņasāra, gāha 1-49: “A single substance has infinite modes and infinite are the classes of substances." "The object of knowledge) indeed consists of substance, and the substances are said to have their essence in qualities; through these are the modifications."4 The very term davva signifies davvatva, i.e. "that which by nature, flows towards its modes. The existent or substance is said to possess or endowed with qualities or attributes (guna) and For Private Personal Use Only Page #43 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ accompanied by modifications (paryaya) (gunaprayayavad drvyam) and which is coupled with origination, destruction and permanence (utpad, vyaya, dhrauvya, yuktam sat). The three are inextricably linked so much so that there can be no creation without destruction, no destruction without creation, no creation and destruction without persistence, and no persistence without creation and destruction. The inseparability of these three terms is explicitly stated in these words: "There is without substance no quality whatsoever, no modification."' Though inseparable, they are nonetheless distinct; this is clearly asserted in these words: "The substance is not the quality, and the quality is not the substance, indeed for ... this a-tad-bhava (notion-of- otherness) is not non-existence as such.” 8 Although paijāya is not mentioned here specifically, it may be assumed that it is also a distinct aspect. The distinctness of these terms does not imply that they are exclusive of each other. Substance or reality is a multifaceted complexity. It is endowed with many qualities or attributes, which in turn undergoes modifications, i.e. origination and destruction, with the sub-stratum remaining intact. Such a complex reality, viewed in itself and with reference to time and place, can be understood properly and thoroughly from different standpoints (nayas). That everything that exists is permanent is true from the standpoint of substance, that it is ever changing is true from the standpoint of modification. In fact, it is the substance that undergoes modifications. Here we have the genesis of the doctrine of many-sidedness or the manifoldness of reality, i.e. anekantvada. According to this doctrine, the same object can have a plurality of attributes, viz. noneternal and eternal, etc. (i.e. apparently contradictory properties predicated of it, depending upon the perspective from which it is viewed). This is because reality is thought to be manifold, "and each entity has a manifold nature", consisting of "diverse forms and modes, of innumerable aspects." As B.K. Matilal remarks, there are two compatible notions of substance here: (1) substance as the core of change or flux, and (2) substance as the substratum of attributes. Acārya Kundakunda combines these two notions in these words: That which whilst it does not forsake its innate nature, is connected with origination, annihilation, and stability and which possesses qualities and modifications they call a substance.... For Private Personal Use Only Page #44 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Existence is the innate nature of a substance, (connected as this is) with qualities and various modifications of its own, with origination, annihilation and stability at all times. II According to Jainism, the nature of reality is dynamic and therefore the substance must evolve into qualities and modifications and must constantly undergo the triplicate stage of origination, annihilation, and permanence or stability. And the entire dynamic process of development is due to the mutual action and reaction between the four active principles, viz. the soul, the non-soul, motion and rest which are all parinami or evolutionary, and having the characteristics of both bhava parinama and parispanda or kriya parinama, i.e. evolutions into being and evolutions into action while the principles of space and time are endowed only with bhava parinamas. 12 It follows then that full completeness of existence is not realized either in a substance or a quality or a modification taken singly or separately but only in these taken together. Such separateness would suggest cleavage between the evolutes and the evolving reality reducing each of them in their separation to non-existence. Jainism makes its position clear by the common illustration of gold. Just as gold realizes its own nature as an existence through its qualities like yellowness, malleability, etc. and through its modifications or changes of form like an earring, bangle, etc., which all proceed from gold as a substance. Even so, any substance realizes its complete existence only in and through its qualities and modifications varying under variable circumstances. Existence is, thus, in the complete sense of the term, to be equated with a substance with all its qualities and changes of form, which are themselves real. And this holds good of the conscious substance as well as of the unconscious. With a view to obviate the difficulties inherent in the Nyaya Vaisheshika doctrine of arambhavada or the theory of emergence (arambha) or something new, so that the quality or modification which is arabhyate, or emerges, must be something new and different from the consequent causes. Jainism postulates the principle of parinama according to which the qualities and modifications are the selfevolutions of the substance having an identity of essence with it. On the other hand, however, Jainism points out that in spite of this metaphysical or real identity between the davva and gunas and pajjāyas, there is a logical and conceptual distinction between them. "The qualities and modifications," Kalipada Mitra states, "are both 40 Page #45 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ bhinna or distinct as well as abhinng or not distinct from the dravya. Metaphysically, they are non-distinct from or identical with the dravya but logically they are distinct from it for without this logical distinction there is no other way of apprehending the dravya as dravya, guna as such and paryaya, per se.'' Jainism conceives of substance as not only existent but also as evolutionary. Its very existence consists in a dynamic process resulting in the evolution of qualities and modifications coupled with the threefold stage of origination, annihilation and stability. The whole world with its principal contents of the soul and the non-soul has to obey this law of change, process and movement. The important point to note here, observes Kalipada Mitra, "is that the stages of origination and annihilation are like the thesis and anti-thesis of Hegel having a tendency towards stability which means nothing other than synthesis at a particular stage of the continuous developmental process ready to make room for a fresh origination or a new stage.' But this again has to pass over into the stage of annihilation which along with the previous stage jointly acquires a momentum urging the reality to attain to a fresh synthesis and so on. The qualities which originate at a certain stage, Mitra adds, "carry with them their death signal and the influx of fresh qualities ensures synthesis and stability" of the substance. This Jaina hypothesis of evolution, like other hypotheses, is an attempt to conceive of substance as it presents itself to common observation. It seems at once emergent and creative. "It is emergent," Kalipada Mitra explains, "in so far as it supplies us with the detailed links of connection between one stage and another which is the main character of the hypothesis of Emergence as pointed out by Lloyd Morgan. It is creative in so far as we do not miss in it the creation of a new feature as indicated by the new synthesis, which is attained at every third stage." The soul as a conscious substance evolves itself into its qualities and modifications into its thinking, feelings and conations and into the various forms of conscious beings and realizes its complete existence through them. This account of reality and existence, Kalipada Mitra points out, "at once marks the Jaina position out from that of the Buddhist who disintegrates reality into shreds of qualities and modifications and from that of the Advaitist whose reality swallows up all qualities and modifications. 16 The significance of Jaina view of reality will be quite obvious when we take the extreme views of Advaitins and the Buddhists. At the one extreme, there is the Vedanta school, especially the Advaitins, who 41 Page #46 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ as Mati Lal observes, hold that "if something exists, it should exist always. And since only Brahman is the existent, it is eternal, everlasting and unchanging. Hence, change has to be ruled out as only appearance." At the other extreme, are the Buddhists (especially perhaps the Sautrantikas) who deny completely that there is a substantial (i.e. permanent) aspect of reality -- existence is a pure process or becoming. The Jaina doctrine of anekanta synthesizes in its unique way the seeming differences between the standpoints of being (substantial) and becoming (modification). According to the dravyarthika standpoint, the "substance exists" standpoint, (naya), the soul (jiva) is substantially, that is to say in terms of being or continuity or permanence, eternal (unchanging). But according to the paryayarthika naya, the "modification exists" standpoint, i.e. in terms of its modifications or modes, that is to say in terms of becoming and change, it (jiva) is non-eternal (ever-changing). "The permanence of the jiva makes liberation and omniscience possible, its mutability or capacity for modification accounts for the reality of Karmic bondage."18 If as is claimed by the Vedantin, reality is an unchanging permanency there is no scope for life, no scope for samsara, no necessity for moksha, or moksha-marga either. The whole religious framework will thus appear to be superfluous and useless, as it is based upon unreality. Change must be accepted as real, if life is to be real and if samsara is accepted to be as real. It is only then that we can appreciate the utility of piety or dharma, and religious doctrines contributing to the salvation of the soul. Similarly one-sided is the Buddhist emphasis of change alone as real. The Buddhist doctrines of kshanik-vada (momentariness of reality, which denies the permanent underlying reality of self or nonself) and anatmavada (denial of the existence of a permanent self or atman) are also lacking in a complete comprehension of reality. Since there is no permanent self, there is no responsible person who can be taken to be author of his conduct. "Moral conduct and its evolution would become meaningless. The person who did the act passes away and a different person comes to enjoy the fruits thereof. There is no justification why a different personality should enjoy the fruits of the karma by another distinct personality. Ethical responsibility loses its meaning and value in this, anatmavada." The Jaina philosophy combines in its system both aspects of permanence and change when it describes reality as ever changing 42 Page #47 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ while retaining its sub-stratum or permanence which forms the foundation, the basis or the core of change or flux. The Self, according to Jainism, is thus a reality that maintains its permanency through a continuous process of change. The Jaina view of reality is intimately connected to the Jaina way of life. A substance does develop derivative characters (vibhavas), but amidst derivative characters of a substance we do not miss its innate character of its existence - its svabhava or swaroop. Tadbhavavyayam nitya, . i.e. a davva, never leaves or gives up its svabhava (nature) and get changed into something else, that intrinsic nature (svabhava or jati) is permanently fixed and is an inalienable part of davva. That intrinsic nature of substance or jiva is its dharma (dhammo vatthu sahavo-svabhava). Any vibhava pajjāya is a deviation, distortion or modification of its svabhava, and as such it is transitory or impermanent. Such deviation can be understood as jiva not being established in its nature and signifies distortion of its gunas (qualities), viz. darshan (indeterminate intuition or nirakara upayoga) and jnana (determinate knowledge or sakara upayoga). Upayoga may be said to be attentiveness, manifestation, function or operation of consciousness or consciousness in action. The passions, attachments and aversions, etc. are modifications, distortions, or impurities of svabhava. It means that the innate characteristics and qualities of the conscious self, or the spiritual magnificence and glory of the essentially self-luminous reality, i.e. the soul, is not actualized or present in the person having impure dispositions. In other words, the self is not established in one's own svabhava. A person who is ignorant of the true nature of self, i.e. svabhava, because of his erroneous identification with the alien nature, develops impure dispositions. He is always prone to mental tensions, which are the result of his passions, desires, likes and dislikes, attachments and aversion. Such a person lacks discriminative insight or an enlightened view (samyak darshan) and, as Acārya Samantabhadra states, is never at peace and always miserable due to "bhaya-karnavashyo." 22 In other words, he is enmeshed in two contradictory thought processes, fear and desire or lust -- fear of death and the desire of seeking his welfare by sense gratification. He is unnecessarily afraid of death, when there is no escaping from it, while he endlessly and mistakenly strives to seek his welfare in enslaving desires, sensual pleasures and passions, etc.” Awareness of the transitory character of the passions and attachments, etc. leads to non-clinging to the objects 43 Page #48 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ of transitory character and impels us to practice equanimity, selfcontrol, etc., to realize the goal of peace, happiness, freedom and selfrealization. How the pajjāya in the material objects affects the bhava or the attitudes of persons because of their intense attachment to them is aptly described by Samantabhadra in these words: "Persons desirous of a pot, a crown and gold become sad, happy and indifferent at the destruction (of the pot) origination (of the crown) and persistence (of gold) on account of their causes. "24 The psychological states of sadness and happiness and indifference though generated in the Self have their causes in the external world. The self-same process of origination, destruction and permanence causes these states. Reflection on the concept of pajjāya or anitya (transitoriness) of things is an important factor in Jaina philosophy. Accordingly, anitya is considered to be the foremost of the twelve contemplations, which are prescribed for Jains as a desirable religious practice. Anitya means transient, ever changing, transitory, and impermanent. Change is one of the few constants in life; or rather the only constant is change. Everything is in the process of change and growing. To stop change is to cease living. Without change there is no growth. Change adds to newness and freshness in life, without change life will be dull and monotonous. In fact, one does not know or realize the value of health unless one falls sick and one does not really experience happiness unless he has been through hardships and misery. Contemplation on anitya bhavana instills a sense of detachment, equanimity, self-reliance (purusharth), self-restraint (samyam), and control of kasāya and emotions. Contemplation on the impermanence of things makes to reflect on inner self, to search for the changeless reality behind the ever-changing, the quest for seeing and experiencing the real "I", other than the "I" of body and senses. The concept of pajjāya is thus quite significant from several points such as -- [i] understanding full completeness of existence, [ii] forms basis of dynamic process of development and evolution, (ii] makes possible growth and adds newness to life, [iv] forms the genesis of anekanta doctrine since permanence and change or impermanence; one and many, unity and diversity, etc. in the same substance, and [vi] jiva may, and does, develop vibhava pajjāyas while retaining its innate character or intrinsic purity. O 44 Page #49 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ 1. Dr. A.N. Upadhye, Ed. Pravacanasara, P. 10 Agas, 1984. 2. Ibid., p.387. 3. Ibid., p.388. 4. Kundakunda, The Essence of Scriptures: Pravachansara, 93 (Book II, 1). 5. Tattvartha Sutra, n. 2, 3.3 8. 6. Ibid., 5.30. 7. Pravachansara, n. 1, II 0 (Book II.18). 8. Ibid., 108 (Book 11. 16). 9. B.K. Matilal, The Central Philosophy of Jainism (Anekanta Vada) (Ahmedabad, L.D. Series 79, 1981), p. 25. 10. Ibid., p. 36. 11. Pravachansara, n. 1, 95-96 (Book 11.3-4). 12. Ibid., 128-129 and 133-135 (Book 11.36-37 and 41-43). 13. Kalipada Mitra, "The Jaina Theory of Existence and Reality," Indian Culture (Calcutta), January 1939, pp. 322-323. 14. Ibid., p. 323. 15. Ibid. NOTES 16. Ibid., pp. 321-322. 17. Mati Lai, n. 7, p. 28. 18. W.J. Johnson, "The Religious Function of Jaina Philosophy: Anekantvad Reconsidered," Religion (London), vol. 25, no. 1, January 1995, p. 44. 19. Jagdish Prasad Jain "Sadhak", "Jainism in the 21st Century," Jain Mission News, April-June 1999. 20. Tattvartha Sutra, n. 2, 5.3 1. 21. Samantabhadra, The Path to Enlightenment: Svayambhu Stora, tr. by D.K. Goyal (New Delhi: Radiant Publishers, 2000), verse 34. 22. Foreword by Jagdish Prasad Jain "Sadhak" in ibid., p. xvi. The Foreword also contains detailed consideration of Svayambhu, Upanishadic Brahman and Jaina Paramatman. 23. Samantabhadra, Aptarnimansa, Verse 59. 45 Page #50 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Jinamañjari, Volume 25, No.1, April 2002 JAIN PHILOSPHER KUNDAKUNDA AND VEDĀNTIN ŚANKARĀCĀRYA Jagdish Prasad Jain "Sadhak, Professor Emeritus, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India The eminent Professor and Jainologist Dr. T.G. Kalghatgi noted that the word ātman is little used in the Vedas, where, it primarily meant breath; the Upanişads use another word prāņa for breath, and ātman stands for the innermost part of man. In introduction to his work Bhashya, Sankarācārya (circa. Eighth C.E.) who hailed from southern part of India, has interjected opinionated subjective views freely on the nature, life and the things with no constrains whatsoever to follow the textual sutra forms. What is more interesting is that this introduction contains several ideas that correspond closely to those of Jain philosopher Kundakunda, the earliest recorded philosopher to hail from South Indian region during the beginning of the Common Era (8 B.C.E to C.E. 48). The Jaina notion of the Self and the non-Self as two entirely distinct entities have been philosophized by Kundakunda in his exhaustive critical works. Since Jainism considers the soul from two points of view, Kundakunda also has explained the distinction between niscaya (noumenal) and vyvahāra (phenomenal) views. Correspondingly, Sankarācārya maintains that the Self and the non-Self as two entirely distinct entities, and also makes distinction between vyavahara and niscaya, which he calls it as paramarthic. The two entities, Self and non-Self, have no common nature and no common attributes. One is chetan (subject or vishayin) and the other achetan (object or vishaya) or jada. In other words, the two are as much opposed to each other as light and darkness." According to Sankarācārya the attributes of the one cannot be transferred or superimposed upon the other. But our practical life 46 Page #51 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ depends on the mutual adhyasa (transference or the imposition) of external attributes upon the atman (Self). According to him, the super imposition of the extra personal attributes on the Self can be of the body (e.g. when one says "I am fat or thin;" of the senses as in "I am dumb or one-eyed;" or of the mind such as desire, intention, doubt, determination and the like. This beginningless adhyasa (superimposition or confusion) of mithyapratyayarupah (wrong cognition) is naisargika (natural).* It rests on mithyajnana-nimittia (false knowledge) and is brought about by avidya (nescience). As a result the individual Self in samsara (the empirical world) is influenced by mithyajnana-nimittia (wrong knowledge), adhyasa (confusion, or philosophical/transcendental) avidya and identifies himself with external objects or various psychic states. "This mutual superimposition of the Self and the non-Self, which is termed nescience, is the presupposition on which there base all practical distinction those made in ordinary life as well as those laid down by the Vedas between means of knowledge, objects of knowledge and all scriptural texts, whether they are concerned with injunctions and prohibition (of meritorious and non-meritorious actions) or with final release."S Thus, Sankarācārya points out that in ordinary life, every individual has to operate only through his body and sense without which life itself would be impossible in the concrete world. Even the cognitive process of knowledge depends upon sense perceptions and intellectual activity that naturally presupposes the organic body. Even when the individual is looked upon as an agent carrying out the injunctions, religious and ethical, an organic body must be presupposed. Conduct as a social being in the world is therefore inextricably mixed up with bodily behaviour, without which he can neither discharges his duties either as a social being or a religious devotee. -- -- In this respect he is of common nature with other animals, which also behave in an identical manner in reacting to the environment. In the presence of an enemy, the animal tries to run away and escape and in the presence of friendly environment it feels happy. Thus this concrete world of natural experience, which is common to both men and animals, though philosophically supposed to be the result of nescience, is to be considered real and important from the practical point of view. In this concrete world which is real in its own way, the social distinctions based upon rank and birth hold good. That one is a Brahmin and another is a kṣatriya, one is a master and another is a 47 Page #52 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ servant, is all distinctions based upon the body and hold good only in the empirical world." In this way the Self appropriates the attributes and limitations of the not-Self (as is evident in the assessment " I am Brahmin" "I am fat" and the like). But the identification of the Self does not mean the total identification of being, because the Self is intrinsically real, and its identification with the not-Self only means that the Self owns up the not-Self and vests it with its own existence. Thus in all cases of error the substratum is real and the predicate is falsely superimposed upon it. "Correct knowledge necessarily demands complete escape from such an error. Otherwise it is not possible to realize the true nature of the Self, which is the ultimate object of all philosophical and religious discipline.' 78 Therefore, Śankarācārya indicates the true nature of the Self which should be discriminated from the non-chetana bodily attributes as free from all wants and raised above all social distinction as Brahmin and kshatriya and so on. This entirely transcended the empirical samsarika existence "to whom even Vedic injunctions will cease to be operative, because he is placed in a region from where he does not want to achieve anything more, because he is completely self-sufficient." The Samayasara of Kundakunda is the most sublime spiritual work ever composed, and deals with all these points. The work begins with the distinction between the two points of view vyavaharika and niśchaya, the practical and real. Kundakunda describes the empirical world where the individual identifies himself with the characteristics of the external objects as a result of the absence of true knowledge. The course of conduct prescribed by practical ethics is said to have only a secondary value as probation for the higher class. Bodily characteristics, instincts, and emotions and the various psychic states of the individual Self are all dismissed to be the result of the operation of the erroneous identification of the Self or paramatma.' The self is established in his own pure svabhava (nature) i.e. become svayambhu. The empirical self, who is contaminated by the impure psychic dispositions of attachment, aversion, passions etc. due to erroneous identification with the body senses and the mind, is transcended. In this transcendence one perceives only one, so much so that Amritchandra, the Sanskrit commentator of the Samayasara, in declaring that in such transcendental state all dualities disappear (bhati na dvaitameva),' sounds like a monist Vedantin. 10 Professor A. Chakravarti observes: "Thus without changing the words, Sankara's introduction [Bhasya] may be considered to be a 48 Page #53 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ fitting introduction to Samayasara of Kundakunda." However, it may be stated that while both Sankara and Kundakunda make use of the parmarthika and vyanaharika viewpoints as the cornerstones of this philosophy, there is difference between the two. The paramarthika view as advocated by Sankara does not stand good with that of the Jaina view that the vyavaharika existence of the other material and non-material objects of the world have their own independent existence. Again, according to Jainism, the reality is dualistic (the Universe consisting or jiva and ajiva) and pluralistic (the ajiva being further classified into pudgala (matter), dharma (principle of motion), adharma (principle of rest), ākāşa (space) and kāla (time); yet considered from the point of view of one existence, it entails unity also. According to Kundakunda, despite different substances possess unique characteristics, existence is regarded as an all-comprising characteristic of reality that ends all distinctions. Sankarācārya identically adopt the same attitude of Kundakunda as to the nature of the individual Self: individual soul is identical with the ultimate reality, the Supreme Self, whom, Sankara in following the traditional language of Jaina metaphysics, calls this ultimate reality paramatman.. To Šankarācārya brahma and paramatma are synonymous and interchangeable. These thoughts and explanations of Sankarācārya correspondingly bear similarity to the Jaina notion of soul and its philosophizing by Kundakunda indicate Sankarācārya was well acquainted with the works of Kundakunda, or of their Sanskrit commentary by Amritacandra. However, there are also marked differences between the two: the Jain Philosopher Kundakunda and the Advaithist Sankarācārya. Jainism recognizes multiple realities while Advaita proceeds from the premise that there is that single reality. Many attributes are common between the Upanishadic Brahman and the Jaina paratnatman, but they are used as synonymous in representing the concept of an ultimate reality, though their implications often differ. Although the words "Brahman" and "svayambhu" are mentioned and the concept of transcendence discussed in Jain texts, they completely differ from Advaita system in important aspects.2 Kundakunda philosophizing the doctrine of jivatma and paramatma maintains that the individual Self, which is merely paramatma is limited by upadhic conditions subjected to its transmigration. This is the peculiar property of the individual Self, and 49 Page #54 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ is a result of the ultimate Self forgetting its own nature and identity in itself with the external objects of the non-Self. In this respect, the Advaita system has close resemblance with that of the Jaina system of transmigratory existence. Kundakunda has philosophized that the samsaric existence is without beginning and liberation is possible by getting rid of the transmigratory existence, which is determined by its own karmic activity at every stage, through the discriminating knowledge of the Self as distinct from external objects. If conduct is good, it is destined to have happiness as the fruit of karma, if otherwise, then misery is the result. The variation in the individual hedonic experience is thus attributed to the individual's own action. The monist Sankarācārya has taken note of the transmigratory existence tied with karmic actions and has conceded that the individual souls are determined by their respective karmas, good or bad, and that the ultimate Brahman is not responsible for such individual conduct.13 Kundakunda has called to be aware of the Self and not be equated with the non-Self, as it constitutes the initial mithya or the error. It is certainly an error to identify the Self with the sensecharacteristics that are peculiar to the physical body because the sense qualities of colour, taste and smell have nothing to do with the nature of the Self. Birth, old age, decay and death are all characteristics alien to the conscious Self. Social and economic distinction in the individual also pertains to the body and cannot be transferred to the Self. In short, the Self is a cetana entity and the non-Self is an acetana entity, which is the object of sense perception. Similarly, the Advaita sage Śankarācārya has argued that it is mithya to speak of the body as Self. While Kundakunda stops at the stage of mithya (error) as the symptom of false identification, Sankarācārya has argued that it is an error to confuse Self with the body, since the body itself becomes mithya or illusion. Therefore, Śankarācārya's pronouncement of the body becoming illusion is an extenuated view expressed following his Vedantic tradition. To th philosopher Kundakunda, the non-Self is not mithya or illusion; it is only the symptom of false identification. Sankarācārya here seems to forget his own statement in the introduction [to the Bhasya] of the fundamental distinction between the Self and the non-Self when he comes to propound his theory of unqualified monism, by denying the reality of external world itself." " 14 While refuting the Buddhist school of Vijnanavada, Sankarācārya accepts the doctrine of the reality of the external world. 50 Page #55 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ However, when "tries to propound his own theory of maya according to which the whole of external, reality is converted into a dream world of unreality, he drops out the reality of the external world." 15 Kundakunda has regarded both chetana and achetana entities as not only distinct and independent of each other, but also as uncreated and indestructible ultimate realities that exist permanently. However, Sankarācārya following the Vedantic pantheism has attempted to source achetana entity also to Brahman despite the fact he has, under the adhyasa, conceded to the fundamental difference between the two. On the contrary, Kundakunda has a philosophized dictum, according to which, the achetana non-Self and the chetana Self cannot be produced by the same cause. Therefore, Sankarācārya's argument that the Brahman to be taken as both chetana and actetana entities completely deviates from his assertion in his Bhāsya that there exists a fundamental difference between the two -- the chetana and the achetana.'' According to Kundakunda, there two different causes, upādana kārana (material cause) and nimitta kärana (instrumental cause). Upādana karana must be identical with its effect, as there can be no difference in nature and attributes. In order to strengthen the thesis, he has used analogies: from clay only a mud pot can be produced; out of gold only a golden ornament is possible, and out of gold a mud pot nor out of clay a golden ornament be obtained. Following this doctrine of upādana and nimitta käraņa, Kundakunda has put forth the view that the chetana cause can only produce chetana effects, and that non-chetana cause can only produce non-chetana effects. Strangely the Vedantic doctrine that maintains the Brahman to be the ultimate cause of all reality also admits the non-difference in cause and effect. Even Sankarācārya has admitted that "the effect is non-different from the cause," when he has said: "Those who wish to produce sour milk do not employ clay, nor do those who intend to make jars employ milk and so on." "As the ideas of cause and effect on the one hand and of the qualities on the other are not separate ones, as for instance the ideas of a horse and a buffalo, it follows that the identity of the cause and the effect as well as of substance and its qualities has to be admitted."" This suggests that Sankarācārya comes around the this doctrine of upādana and nimitta kārana of Kundakunda, and thus has maintained that the effect is present in the cause though only in the latent form. Clay is shaped into a jar and gold is transformed into an ornament. The jar as such is not present in clay already, nor is the 51 Page #56 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ ornament as such present in gold. Therefore the effect is the result of causal manifestation. Jaina metaphysics thus points out that effect is identical with the cause and yet it is slightly different from the cause. Hence, from the point of view of the underlying substance the effect and cause are identical, and from the point of view of manifested form and change, the effect is different from the cause. Thus cause and effect may be said to be identical in one sense and different from another point of view. Following Jain metaphysics, Kundakunda has postulated that dravya (substance) and guna (attributes) are identical in nature, though they are different in another respect. Sankarācārya equally has applied the doctrine of identity and difference to the relation between substance and its qualities. The substance and its qualities are inherently identical though they are different in another aspect. Thus, the attitude of Sankarācārya is identical with the Jaina attitude as to the relation between dravya and guņa. Henceforth, the Vaisheshika doctrine of substance and qualities which defines them as two different distinct categories brought together by a third category, samavaya is forthrightly rejected by Kundakunda, and Sankarācārya following Kundakunda has equally opposed this Vaisheshika view on the relation between substance and qualities. The doctrine of astināstivāda (predication) of the Jainas states that two assertions can be made about a thing positive and negative in relation to the thing to other things. Accordingly, an individual person or a thing is said to take different forms in a given relation. A person becomes father when he is taken in relation to his son, as the son when he is taken in relation to his father. Similar assertion can be identified in statement of Sankarācārya: that devadatta "is thought and spoken of as man, Brahmin, learned in the Vedas, generous, boy, young man, old man, father, son, grandson, brother, son-in-law, etc. etc." Therefore the question how can the same man be father and son would be entirely meaningless and it will only exhibit the ignorance of the logical theory of predication. The same principle is extended by the Jaina metaphysics to other relations, such as space, time, substance and modes. Given these similarities on a number of points, especially on the nature of Brahman or the Self (athato Brahma-Jijnasa), it is no wonder Sankarācārya does not mention Jainism as having erroneous views. The use of Jain terminological words of jivatma and paramatma by Sankarācārya forms the foundation of Advaita, and the central doctrine of his commentary. It could also be noted that his application of the concept of adhyasa, the technical term Sankarācārya 32 Page #57 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ has used to denote the confusion between Self and non-Self due to avidya or ajnana is peculiar to Sankarācārya, and not found in any of the philosophical writings prior to him. This term has been freely used by Amritchandra in his commentary, Atmakhyati on Samayasara of Kundakunda. Probably Amritchandra and Sankarācārya must have lived in the same century, the former being slightly older. The language of Atmakhyati is very similar to Sankarācārya's Shariraka Bhasya. This suggestion is made because Sankarācārya himself speaks on one occasion that he is influenced by one Dravida acharya. Probably this refers to Amritchandra. The following quotations from the Atmakhyati will clearly bear out that Sankarācārya and Amritchandra were of the same age and that the former was acquainted with the writings of Amritchandra especially in his commentary, the Atmakhyati. Ajnana or ignorance causes adhyasa or confusion of the intellect. On account of this, thirsty animals run towards mirage to quench their thirst thinking it is a lake full of water.... 19 Again the same adhyasa or confusion caused by ignorance frighten men is dusk at the site of a rope and make them run away from it thinking it is a snake." Similarly on account of this confusion caused by ignorance men falsely identify their pure and unruffled nature of the Soul with the body and imagine that they are the author of the various psycho-physical activities caused by impure karmas, just as the numerous waves in the ocean are caused by atmospheric pressure while the ocean itself remains calm and unruffled. But jnana or knowledge produces discrimination between the Self and the non-Self just like the hamsa bird is able to separate water from milk. Unruffled self, firm in its pure nature is able to understand that it is not the author of the various impure psychophysical changes caused by an alien agency. 20 53 Page #58 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ 1. Dr. T.G. Kalghatgi, Jaina View of Life, p.45, JSSS Publication, Solapur, 1969. 2. Dr. Jyoti Prasad Jain, The Jaina Sources of the History of Ancient India, pp.120-125; 267, Munshiram Manoharlal Publication, Delhi, 1964. 3. Shankar-Bhashya, Introduction to Brahmasutra, as translated in S. Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, Vol. If (I 93 1), p. 5 06. NOTES 4. Ibid. 5. Quoted by A. Chakravarti in Samaysara of Kundakunda (Varanasi: Bhartiya Jnanapitha, 1971), p. 104. 6. Chakravarti, ibid. 7. Ibid., p. 103. 8. Ibid., p. 105. 9. Ibid. 10. Kundakundacharya, Samayasara, edited by Pannalal Saintyacharya (Varanasi: Graneshprasad Varni Granthmala), Amritchandra's Kalash 9, p. 27. 11. Chakravarti, n. 3, p. 105. 12. For a detailed discussion on the Upanishadic Brahman and Jaina Paramatnan, see Foreword by Jagdish Prasad Jain in Devendra K. Goyal, ed., 7he Path to Enlightenment: Svayambhu Stotra (New Delhi, 2000). 13. Chakravarti, n. 3, p. 107. 14. Ibid. 15. Ibid., p. 109. 16. Ibid. 17. Quoted in ibid., pp. 110-111. 18. Chakravarti, n. 3, p.111. 19. Ibid., pp. 112-113. 20. Ibid., p. 113. 54 Page #59 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Jinamasjari, Volume 25, No.1, April 2002 WHAT JAINISM STANDS FOR (?) Late Dr. Hiralal Jain, Nagpur, India According to the Jain Puranas there was a time when the whole society of men lived in peace and harmony, without any trouble and without any struggle - a time when every one got what they wanted and satisfied with what they got. There was then no distinction of the ruler and the ruled, the master and the servant, and no idea of thine and mine. As understood in the modern context, there was no religion like we have today. However, the happy state of things was disturbed when the idea of private property and ownership caught the fancy of man. The harmony of society was then broken and an era of struggle for life and existence, with its consequent warfare and trouble, commenced. It was at this stage that the great teachers of the age preached religion in order to avoid, or at any rate, to control as far as possible the clashes of worldly interests by placing before men certain higher ideals. Thus, according to Jainism, religion originally came into being. Not for safeguarding the future life of men in heaven, but as a measure to keep peace on earth, promote goodwill amongst mankind and inspire hope of a higher life in the individual. Various systems of religion have grown in the world at different times in different lands. If analyzed closely and intelligently, they will all be found to contain the same truths and the same morals. Differences will be found to exist in some of the details, and it is for this reason that particular aspects of truth are emphasized in one particular manner and not emphasized as such in another. Jainism has attempted a "rapprochement” between these seemingly 'warring systems' by incorporating a vision of understanding that goes under the name of syadvada or anekanta. The doctrine of anekanta draws attention to the fact that there are innumerable qualities in all things and beings, and therefore, there are many sides to every question that may arise. 55 Page #60 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ We can talk about or discuss only one of them at a time. The seeming differences in statements vanish when we understand the particular point of view. I say, "I am mortal." Another man says, "I am immortal." These are diametrically opposite statements between which there seems to be very little common ground. Can we accommodate both in one system? Jainism says, 'Yes! Please try to understand the viewpoint of each statement before declaring them to be irreconcilable.' Is it not that the one who says he is mortal is emphasizing the phenomena of birth and death of this body, about which there can be no dispute; while the other who says he is immortal is thinking of the imperishable nature of things in their essence. The form of things may change, but their substance, call it the soul or primal matter, continues to subsist. Nothing that is, can be annihilated. In Jain terminology, the one who refers to himself as mortal is true from the point of view of 'form' or acquired qualities; while the other who calls himself immortal is true from the point of view of 'substance' or inherent and essential qualities. Thus, what is irreconcilable opposition in the eyes of others is, to a Jaina, not only a mere difference of point of view but the necessary stage in understanding a thing in all its aspects. The two statements are supplementary of each other and go together to convey the truth. It is because a part is mistaken for the whole that the difference arises. Jainas illustrate this by a significant story of seven blind men who went to get an idea of the elephant. One of them grabbed the tail and described an elephant as being like a rope. Another grabbed a leg and described and elephant as being like a tree. Another grabbed the side of the elephant and described it as being like a wall, and so on. They were all right and all wrong. They were right because each of them had stated a part of the truth; and they were wrong because they wanted to pass a partial truth for the whole truth. Put all the partial truths together and you get the whole elephant. Every difference in religious and philosophical ideas, all opinions and beliefs may, in this light, be understood to furnish not a cause for quarrel, but a welcome step towards the knowledge of the real truth. It is from this many-sided point of view that its own logicians have claimed the Jaina system as a synthesis of the so-called false beliefs. There can hardly be anything of practical value in a life which will hold good for all times and all places in exactly the same way, Yet, these important factors of time and place are frequently neglected or forgotten in estimating the truth of different statements, And this furnishes yet another fertile source of misunderstanding. 56 Page #61 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ The doctrine of syadvada or anekanta (multi viewpoint) form the basis and the sinc qua non of the Jain system of thought. It requires that all facts and assertions should be studied in relation to the particular point of view involved and with reference to the particular time and place. If these differences are clearly understood, the differences in principles will vanish and with them the social bitterness. Obviously, this is the best means of promoting common understanding and goodwill amongst the followers of different faiths - religious toleration, fellowship and coexistence are the essence of Jaina philosophy. I shall now deal with another principle of Jainism which is also of great importance and universal application, but which has frequently been misunderstood and misrepresented. This is the principle of ahimsa or non-injury to living beings. Briefly stated, it comes to mean this: life is sacred in whatsoever form it may exist. Therefore, do not injure any living thing -- let this be the highest ethical principle. Be a gentleperson! A gentleperson is one who has no tendency to do violence. Every religion worth counting recognizes the sanctity of human life. Jainism wants the same feeling to be extended to the other forms of life as well, namely the beasts, birds, and smaller creatures. But one might say that living in the world it is nearly impossible to practice absolute abstention from injury to all forms of life. To some extent this is true; so Jainism distinguishes various kinds of injury according to the mental attitude of the person committing the act -- for it is the intention behind the act that causes sin. It is conceded that a good deal of injury to life is involved even in the daily duties of an ordinary man (e.g., in walking, cooking, washing, and the like). The various operations of agriculture and industry also cause destruction of life. Life again may have to be injured and even destroyed in the act of defending one's own life and property. With the catholicity that characterizes all its rules, however, Jainism does not prohibit a householder from committing these three kinds of himsa which may be called accidental, occupational, and protective; rather, shirking from them would be considered a dereliction of duty. It is only the intentional and deliberate injury to life that is prohibited. It is only the injury for injury's sake, the injury caused for pleasure or the fun of, that a householder is recommended to guard himself against. Whenever the occasion arises, let the individual ask themselves the question, "is it necessary for me to injure this being, and if so, what Page #62 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ is the minimum amount of injury that will serve the need?" This much care and caution would save them from a lot of wanton destruction. It is not the infliction of physical injury alone that constitutes himsa, but violence in words and violence in thought are also himsa. Would these be called by any reasonable men principles calculated to weaken communities and nations? In this age of armament and bitter struggle, one feels inclined to answer in the affirmative to this question, but if religion has to fulfill its mission of bringing peace on earth and goodwill amongst humankind, it must always emphasize the ultimate good, and declare evil as evil howsoever unavoidable it may appear at any particular time. Consistent with this view, Jainism wants abstention from injury to life to be established as a rule of good conduct; it wants to make people gentlepeople that does not have a tendency to do violence to anybody. With its outlook of anekanta, Jainism recognizes that it is not always easy or good to abstain from inflicting injury; in such cases it recommends to rule of minimum of injury. This practice of ahimsa is not possible without the cultivation of certain other allied virtues calculated to remove, or at least reduce, the cause of strife and consequent destruction. Malevolent speech, greed for property and undesirable sex relations are the most outstanding and patent causes of enmity amongst men. Hence the spirit of ahimsa has to be reinforced by sincerity, clarity and truthfulness in speech (satya), non-stealing (achaurya), chastity (brahmacharya) and limitation of one's worldly belongings strictly in accordance with one's own essential requirements (aparigraha). These four along with ahimsa constitute the five vows of a Jaina layman as well as the Jaina monk - for the monk in their strictest form, and for the layman in their relaxed or modified form so as to make them consistent with his other duties. Cultivation of these virtues, I am sure, will safeguard a man against the application of the penal code of any civilized country. The last of these five vows, namely, aparigraha or limitation of worldly belongings deserves a little more consideration here. In other words, it appears that most ailments of the world today belong to the sphere of property. In the moral scheme of life propounded in the five virtues it is not only enough that one should abjure theft of another's belongings, but he should also set a limit upon what he would possess and hold as his own. The ethical consideration behind this is that every man's desire or greed is limitless, while the world and its physical 38 Page #63 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ contents are limited. Therefore, it is impossible to satisfy everyone's desire. In the interest of the individual and the society it is, therefore, necessary to prescribe limits to the possessions of an individual. But when this is forced from above by the state, without the moral and active support of the people or a large class of them, it leads to the adoption of unscrupulous business methods and even the demoralization of the administrative machinery itself. Therefore, the policing must be done by inward reflection into one's own conscience; to induce him not to hold for himself what he really does not need. And if he happens to get more in his ordinary honest way of life, he should devote the surplus to charitable purposes like medical relief, spread of education, measures against loss of life and feeding the hungry. Limited as the material resources of the earth are, they are sufficient for the needs and reasonable comforts of all, provided they are property distributed and utilized. One cannot fail to recognize in this vow (aparigraka) a very quiet and peaceful attempt at economic equalization by discouraging undue accumulation of capital in individual hands. It is, however, no fault of the religion itself if such noble principles have frequently been recognized in their violation rather than in their observance. At the same time, it cannot be denied that the vow has created in the Jaina community a very charitable disposition as a result of which large amounts of money are devoted every year to deeds of philanthropy and so many charitable institutions are being permanently financed by the community. Yet another principle of Jainism might be mentioned here. Jainism does not preach that there is any special power ruling over the destinies of men from behind or above. On the contrary, it teaches that every individual works out his own destiny by his own mental and physical exertions, which generate energies that bring to him an agreeable or disagreeable experience. This is the theory underlying the principle of karma in Jainism, which has been worked out in great detail. According to this principle, nothing will come without effort; no action will go without its appropriate result. It makes each individual fully responsible for his progress or decay -- a sort of complete individual autonomy. The Jainas do not worship a creator God or destroyer God of the universe, but those great saints whom they believe have come to know the ultimate truth and to have preached it to humanity. These saints they call the Tirthankaras, that is, those who made it easy for others to cross over the ocean of life. 59 Page #64 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ It will be seen that in a religious system like Jainism there is no place for a distinction of caste and creed, or for struggle over ritual and ceremony. But if within the Jaina community these weaknesses exist, they are in spite of specific religious injunctions against them (these differences are usually the result of the close association of the Jainas with communities where these differences play an important part). It stands to the credit of Jainism that it actively seeks a synthesis with all other systems through its outlook of anekanta, and logically proves that it is one truth that is revealed to us through its many aspects and practices. It also wants non-violence in thought, word and deed to be established as a rule of good conduct. Thus, it makes a definite move towards a common understanding among all faiths, and a feeling of brotherhood among all humankind and living beings. The Jaina literary traditions claim a great antiquity for the religion that had been promulgated and revitalized from time to time by no less than twenty-four Tirthankaras. The last of these was Lord Mahavira. Great was Mahavira's birth. Greater still was the life that he led, and the greatest was the truth that he revealed to mankind in the form of the Jaina creed. May the memory of his holy preaching inspire in us that breadth of vision, that spirit of toleration and that feeling of humanity which is the highest and most urgent need of the world today. ******************************** Quotation: Those who speak ill of me, I become the cause of their happiness. Neither I should be angst of their utterance Nor reproach of their pretence. --Yogindu's Paramppapāyasu, a sixth century Prakrit Text, v. 186. *****: 60 ***** Page #65 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Jinamanjari, Volume 25, No.1, April 2002 JAINA DOCTRINE OF AHIMSA: A SCIENCE OF HARMONY AND PEACE Dr. Kusum Patoria, Nagpur University, India Deep inside the abomination of racialism, communalism, religious fanaticism lies the cause -- ego and the craving for power that gets more and more distorted with satiation. It is this self-feeding multifaceted phenomenon that gathers its impulse from individual, social, religious, racial, national or other prejudices. The object or aspect of this multifaceted prejudice becomes known through senses rather than by thought and blurs the boundaries between reality and reasoning. Misguided reactionary fanaticism sets out circumstances favorable to the growth and development of fanatics out of innocents, and it will increase many fold by unchecked propensity and readily available sophisticated weapons. It starts as a minor problem of dissatisfaction with the establishment or established norms, and when left unsolved, it becomes violent, and gives rise to terrorism. The choice then is no longer between violence and non-violence; it is either non-violence or nonexistence. Terrorism is becoming common, because self-centered and power-hungry individuals, groups as well as nations disturb the balances between bad and good social elements leading to a consequent distortion of moral and social values. The bad elements are encouraged and protected by selfish leaders. A strong and cohesive social structure, built on the moral values of mutual co-existence and universal welfare keeps in limits bad social elements. Terrorism cannot be overcome by suppression because, it gives an added justification and impetus. Violence breeds 61 Page #66 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ violence. This is a natural phenomenon, a pure biological reaction, which further complicates matters. The instinctive feeling of a natural and need-based aggression is thoughtfully converted into glorified, legalized murder in name of religion, communalism, racialism etc. The manipulators of human mind, through propaganda, propagate that violence and brute strength are the best means of settling disputes. That is why the followers of a religion which preaches peace and love, become so cruel, violent and terrorists in the name of their religion and god. It can never be jihad, crusade or dharmayuddha -- it is only adharmayuddha. More and more people all over the world are realizing that the answer to present problem of violence is to be found in a morality, which replaces ravenous greed with contentment, hate with tolerance and killing with reverence for life. There are many eminent scientists, intellectuals and religious leaders, who are talking in this positive language. Awareness of these dangers of violence is growing in the laymen also. Ahimsa conduct, if made a part of the educational process, can be the most effective step towards this goal. Ahimsa should not be considered just a part of Jainism. Although it appears to be an original concept of the Jains, it is also a message for the world. The nation of India and the followers of the Jaina creed everywhere are observing epical 2600" Birth Day Celebration of Lord Mahavira as the "year of non-violence.” His contribution to the original concepts of nonviolence of his predecessors may be seen in his doctrines of relativity of the truth, and the metaphysics of ahimsa, which over centuries after centuries, have been dealt and developed by the later Jaina philosophers, into an all-comprehending universal applicability.. According to Jaina ahimsa doctrine, violence is described as the presence of evil thoughts, feelings or attitude. It does not necessarily depend solely on the act of killing. Within the framework of violence, it can be explained that violent thoughts are created by kasāya (the terminology in Prākrit language standing for passions) which are of four types – anger, conceit, illusion and greed. The attitude of diverting thoughts from impure to pure is the most important and central factor of ahimsa. It covers every facet of the activity of Page #67 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ human mind. To be brief, the thought should be non-destructive and non-obstructive. The positive and universal reality is that every being has an inherent and natural desire to continue life. Negation of harming life obviously means reverence for life and that is the foundation upon which the Jaina doctrine of ahimsa has been constructed. The scope of ahimsa doctrine does not end at condemning the physical act of killing -- it goes into deeper and deeper meaning to the point, where even feelings should be left unhurt. The avoidance of violence is the means of a cleansing process of the soul. The Jaina ahimsa doctrine incorporates within itself the natural balance and harmony of co-existence. The consideration that no harm should be caused in any way to others as well as the self while exploring, acquiring and using a thing, creates a natural balance. For a peaceful and healthy life at individual, social, national and global levels, it is important that evil thoughts violent activities should be discouraged and held in check with the application of ahimsa doctrine and its core essence - universal fraternity, feeling of inherent happiness, compassion and equanimity, each in their functional appropriateness. Ahimsa conduct imparts a much broader outlook and tolerance. It is almost the opposite of fanaticism and as such, if properly applied, it would act as the best deterrent to bloodshed in the name of religion, racism, communalism etc., and overcomes biases and prejudices, The education and application of ahimsa doctrine breathes in a much larger life to the living when rooted deeply down into the mind and sentiments. It is neither a rule nor a ritual; it is a doctrinal discipline for all peoples at all times. O For Private63ersonal Use Only For Pri Page #68 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Jinamastjari, Volume 25, No.1, April 2002 BOOK REVIEWS Reviewed by Siri P. Kumar SVAYAMBHU STOTRA: THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT. By Ācārya Samantabhadra. English Translation by Devendra K Goyal.Radiant Publishers, E-155 Kalkaji, New Delhi 110019. PP. Foreword Ix-xl, Introd.1-26, text 27-210. ISBN 81-7027-229-7. Price Rs.400.00 or $30.00. Acārya Samantabhadra, who has been considered as the first Jain Sanskritist and logician, was a great Jain saint belonging to Tamilnadu in the South. The Svayambhu Stotra is one of his great works, which eulogizes the twenty-four Jinas In fact the word svayambhu in the Jaina technical terminology stands for 'selfbecome' which means that the individual self has become paramātaman, the Universal One. He is the Jina or Tirthankara. The work in conformity with the Jaināgama deals with three aspects, devotion, knowledge and karma (p.3). But interestingly, on close examination, the eulogy to the individual Jina brings out socio-anthropological, embryonic stages of Jaina philosophical doctrines and politico-social aspects of the respective periods. Accordingly, Rşabha (verse.2) Jina was responsible for the initiation of people into learning six vocations and thereby set the rule of law, and after his enlightenment, he was said to have enunciated the theory of life-force - living that which could possibly attain mokṣa and nonliving beings, and the embryonic concept of partial or one sided views (verses.5-6). During the time of Ajita Jina, the concept of plurality (anekānta) appears to have come into use (v.7) Sumati Jina was said to have established the method of analyzing the true nature of a substance (v.25). Supārsva Jina had postulated that "the body though [is] made of tangible materials, by itself [it] is inert and lifeless (v.32). The concept of nayas has been found attributed to Vimala Jina (v.61) An historical point as regards to Mt. Girnar in Gujarat and the visit to this place by Arishtanemi Jina is accounted (v.129) 64 Page #69 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ The book is quite interesting for the student who wants to investigate into the realm of socio-anthropology and history in ancient India. PARAMATMA PRAKASH: SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT. By Yogindu Deva. English Translation by R.D. Jain. Radiant Publishers, E-155 Kalkaji, New Delhi - 110019. PP. Pref.ix-xi, Introd. 1-72, text in English 73-114, in Prākrit 117-148.ISBN #81-7027-241-6. Price. Rs.300.00 or $ 25.00. The author Yogindu Deva (sixth century) influenced by the works of Kundakunda and Pujyapāda (p.26), and having full conformity with the Jain metaphysics, he has dealt with the subject of soul and liberation, in sections. In the first section, Yogindu has classified the soul into three types - outer, inner and perfect souls, and their definitions along with attributes (pp. 74-79). As to the origin of soul, he flatly rejects Its creation by anybody, and either the soul could create anything; and soul and karma are eternal; neither creates the other. The soul by itself goes nowhere, but by the force of karmas; neither it can become the non-soul nor the non-soul can become the soul. (pp.80-81) In section two, the author speaks of six dravyas (substances) with their attributes, and each one performs its function according to its nature, and the soul being affected by them, it wanders with sufferings and pleasures in four classes of life (pp.90-91). The book would be much appreciated by those readers who have interest to pursue the study of Jaina mysticism, or who would like to quench their thirst of spiritual need and solace. IŞTOPADESA AND SAMADHI SATAKHA: SPIRITUAL INSIGHTS. By Acārya Pujapāda. Radiant Publishers, , E-155 Kalkaji, New Delhi – 110019. PP Introd. 1-17, text 21-138. ISBN #81-7027-240-8. Price. Rs.300.00 or $ 25.00. Two works by Ācārya Pujyapāda (fifth century) - Istopadesa and Samādhi Satakha have been clubbed into one book, with two titles. The first has been translated into English by the late Barrister, Champat Rai Jain, and the other by the late Raoji N. Shah. Istopadesa was translated into English under the title "The Discourse Divine.” The work is a short one with 51 verses, all speaking metaphorically and allegorically about life-force in its various conditions of transmigration; and at last the possibility of freeing “from the attachment to the non-self, obtains the matchless treasure of moksa.” For Private 65ersonal Use Only Page #70 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Some of the verses - 8, 9, 12, 13, 16 and 31 speak metaphorically in terms of spiritualism that even at the present, their essence will bring home the real life experiences. Samadhi Satakha with 105 verses deals about the selfabsorption in the path of purification. The author categorically puts forth the Jaina view that the status of the soul in all bodies are of threefold - the objective (bahirātmaan), the subjective (antarātman) and the supreme (parmatman). Their definitions, attributes and limitations are very well explained. In verse 33, he declares that "he who does not know his eternal self as quite distinct from the body, cannot attain emancipation, liberation, even after performing the severest austerities.” He further affirms that the “soul divinity and its essence comes through the undisturbed mind.” In the final analysis, the author Pujyapāda contends that to reach the summit of human life and thus to attain the highest perfection is to follow the practice of Samadhi Śatakha. This title is very much a valuable addition to the collection for the reader who is interested in the realm of spiritual thought and practice. 66 Page #71 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ Jinamañjari, Volume 25, No.1, April 2002 THE PADMABHUSHANA NATIONAL AWARD GIVEN TO A PROMINENT JAIN COMMUNITY LEADER, MR. GYAN CHAND JAIN by the President of India on the eve of Republic Day Celebrations 2002, New Delhi. Mr. Jain is the Chairman of Chintamani Parsvanatha temple at Haridwar. He is also the co-founder of this renowned temple complex along with Late Padmashri Shantilal Jain of Motilal Banarsidass, the famous Indological and Jainological publishing House. Although Mr. Gyan Chand Jain is a trained electronic engineer and the pillar of a mega electronics and computer books BPB Publishing House in Asia, his love for writing short stories still thrives in him. Equally, his contribution to the societal needs in the country heralds him as a social conscious since he has successfully founded schools and hospital in Delhi area. -N.P Jain, New Delhi. NEWS DIGEST DEEPAK CHOUGULE REPRESENTS INDIA AT THE WORLD JUNIOR CRIKET TOURNAMENT IN NEW ZEALAND. The young and upcoming Jain athelete, Deepak Chougule, who is just thirteen years old, from the city of Belguam in Karnataka state, participated in the World Junior Criket Tournament held in New Zealand in the month of January 2002. In preparation for this tournament, the National Criket Academy of India had sent Deeak to Australia for a three month criket training camp. Previously, Deepak also had represented India at the tournaments held in Srilanka, Singapur and Bangladesh. This young Jain athelete is the son of Asoka Chougule, a teacher at the Jain Bharatsha High school, Belguam. JAIN CULTURE AND LITERATURE by Dr. H.S. Madanakesari was released by Dr. Vajranabh, Professor Emeritus, Plant Genetics at the Agriculture University in Bangalore, India. Dr. Kesari is a well known Jain scholar from Bangalore, and his earlier works dealing on many themes historical, literature and rituals have been well received. — 67ers Page #72 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ INDRA IN JAIN ARCHITECTURE was the theme of the lecture delivered by Dr. Hampana, Professor Emeritus, Bangalore University, at the L.D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad, January 2002. Hampana has authored many authoritative works on the Jaina rulers succh as Rashtrakutas, Sāntaras as well as Jain architectural studies. Dr. Jitendra Shah, the Director of the Institute, presided over this special lecture. - Jinendravani, A Kanada Montly Newspaper. ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION TO THE ANCIENT JAIN SITE AT MULAGUNDHA BY DR. HAMPANA. Recent expedition to the site, which is situated in northern part of Karnataka, has revealed that the southern hillock was once a great Jain centre beginning from 850 C.E., the year when a Jain businessman named Pārsva and Candraprabha, and in the year 902 C.E., his son, Arasārya made land endowments to these temples. The special celebration event of the time was attended by Dharmasena, the Vāțagana ascetic who came from the town of Candrika in the district of Bijapur. This line of Vāțagana prospered here at Mulagunda for about 500 years. Mulagundaa was the regional centre of the Cālukya and Rashtrakuta rulers. Nayasena, the author of the work, the Dhramāmruta was from Mulagunda. Recent expedition has brought to light some Jain inscriptions, and a Pārsva image belonging to 850 C.E., PROFESSOR B.K. KADABADI, a reputed scholar of Jain studies and author of many works, has been given the Sri Siddhāntakirti Award of the Humcha Jain Matha, for the year 2001-2002. The Award Ceremony was held on 29 November 2001. Dr. Kadabadi, Professor Emeritus of the Karnataka University, has been a notable fixture of Jain studies at the university for quite a long time. -- Gurudeva, A Kanada Fortnightly Newspaper. ĀCĀRYA VIDYANANDJI ACCREDITED UPADHYĀ TITLE TO MONK NIRŅAYA SĀGAR The venue was Delhi, which had been described in the ancient grammar work, Katantra Vyākaran of the celebrated Jain grammarian Sharvaverma of the pre-Paniņi times. The celebration was held on 17 February 2002. The monk whose birth name is Dinesh was born on 3 October 1967 in Rajasthan, After graduating from the university and excelling in the study of Prākrit and Sanskrit languages, he went through 68 Page #73 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ different stages of monkhood, and was initiated to the ascetic order in the year 1989 by Virasāgar, his preceptor. SAMANA SUTTAM, THE MODERN AGAMIC COLLATION PUBLISHED IN MID SEVENTY UNDER THE INSPIRATION OF ĀCĀRYA BHAVE has now been translated into Italian and published by Collection Uomini e Religioni - Edition Amoldo, May 2001. The translator is the versatile Claudia Pastorino from Genoa, Italy. She is a gifted singer and composer with three records to her credit. She is also a poetess and a writer. A poetry sylloge "Interludio” and “La Centratura del Tao” have been published in Italy. Claudi has dearly espoused the cause of Animal Rights and Vegetarianism in Italy. -- Naresh Shah, Nirtro, WV. SOCIAL AND SOCIETAL CHANGES IN THE MATTER OF MARRIAGE AMONG THE JAINS IN INDIA are becoming too common led by urbanization and upward social and economic mobility. Not-for-profit Jain organizations have come forward, and often established to tackle the matters of marriage between the Jains. One such organization, Jain Vadhu Var Suchak Samiti, Mangalwar Peth West, Solapur, Maharashtra has been heralded as a pioneer in this direction. It had recently organized its 14th successive year Conference of Brides and Grooms of the Jain Community, on 27 January 2002. A large attendance was reported and it was quite successful in achieving its target. - A.S. Kataka, Solapur, India PAPERS HAVE BEEN CALLED FOR THE Sth INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SCIENCE IN JAINA SCRIPTURES, planned for November-December 2002 in India. Papers may be on the following subjects – mathematics, biology, medicine, architecture, environment, educational psychology, etc, The conference has been inspired by Saint Kanakanandi Gurudev. Contact Dr. N.L. Kachhara, 55 Ravindra Nagar, Udaipur 313003, India. E-mail: info @kainkanaknandi.org -- P. Zaveri, Plano, Texas. For Privat69 ersonal Use Only Page #74 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ YOU MAY SUBSCRIBE NOW IN INDIA JINAMAÑJARI International Journal of Contenporary Jaina Reilection a biannual publication of Brumhi Jain Socier Est. 1988 a non-profil tax-exempted organizalion in the United States of America and Canada Special Indian Subscription, annual: Rs.100.00 on YOU MAY ALSO ORDER NOW JAIN HUMANITIES PRESS Organization for the Promotion of faina Religi-1 (istoric and Secial Studies Following Book Titles Jainism in Tamilnadu:Art and Archaeology Dr. A. Ekambaranathan, ISBN-09699978-1-7 Jainism in America Dr. Bhavanenndra Kumar. 221 pages. Hardhound. ISBN-19699978-} } Canadian Studies in Jainism Dr. Bhuvanendra Kumar. 127 pages. ISBN-09699978-2.5 Contact Indian Distributor RATHNATRAYA PRAKASHANA 713 E & } Black, Chitrahtanu Road Kuvempu Nagara, Mysore - 570X123 Tel: 0821) 541-1022 Attn: Mr. A. N. Chandrakirti Page #75 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ JAIN JOURNAL International Quarterly Research Publication on Jainalogy A Publication of Jain Bhavan Editor Dr. S.R. Benerjee 榮 Write to Jain Bhavan P-25, Kalakar Street Calcutta - 700007, INDIA K Annual Subscription US $ 10.00 Page #76 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________ ARHAT VACAN International Quarterly Journal of Jainalogy in Hindi and English A Publication of Kundakunda Jnanpith Editor Dr. Anupam Jain Write to Kundakunda Jnanpith 584, M.G. Road, Tukoganj Indore - 452001, INDIA TEN Annual Subsription US $ 15 500 HA INDA SARDANALLABHAI PATEL Non-Profit Org. US Postage Paid Buffalo, NY Permit No. 2699 सरदार वल्लभभाई पटेल चीता बिल्ली LEOPARD CAT DR. LALIT SHAH 21 SAUMYA APTS AHMEDABAD-380014, INDIA 2 Education International