Mahavira His Life and Teachings

Author(s): Bimla Charn Law
Publisher: Luzac and Co UK
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/011029/1

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RXXXX vora sevA mandira dillI krama saMkhyA kAla na0 XXXXX XXX khaNDa 3508 224.2 LAW *

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MAHAVIRA: His Life and Teachings By Bimala Churn Law Ph.D., M.A.,B.L. Honorary Correspondent, Archaeological Survey of India Joint Editor, Annual Bibliography of Indian Archaeology published by the Kern Institute, Holland: Indian Culture. Author, Some Ksatriya Tribes of Ancient India, Historical Gleanings, Life and Work of Buddhaghosa, A History of Pali Literature, Geography of Early Buddhism, etc., etc. LUZAC & CO, 46, GREAT RUSSELL STREET, LONDON, W.C. I 1937

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I RINTED BY I KNIGHT BAI gIST MISSION PRES 41A LOWER CIRCULAR ROAD CALCUTTA PUBL SHFD BY I ZA & C 46 GREAT R1 SSF I SIRFET LONDON WC 1

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To the sacred memory of my esteemed friend, Puran Chand Nabar, a life-long devotee and an exponent of Jainism

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PREFACE In this little treatise an attempt has been made to give an account of the life and teachings of Mahavira, the last Tirthankara of the Jains, from the original Buddhist and Jain texts. A comparative study of both the texts helps us greatly in elucidating some knotty points of his life and doctrine. We think that it will be found useful by all persons interested in the study of Jainism. BIMALA CHURN LAW. CALCUTTA, 43, Kailas Bose Street, The 16th November, 1936.

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CONTENTS Preface .. I. Life II. Teachings Index ..

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MAHAVIRA: HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS LIFE Modern historical research establishes beyond doubt that Mahavira, well known as the founder of Jainism, is not a mythical figure like so many of his predecessors in the tradition of the Tirthaikaras Parsva or Suparsva, who too has been proved to be a historical person, was the immediate predecessor of Mahavira. There is, of course, no other evidence than literary to prove the authenticity of the Jain traditions regarding Mahavira and his predecessor Parsva. The Jain inscriptional evidence is so far remote from the age in which they had flourished that nothing can be definitely built upon it But as early as the 3rd century B.C, we have mention of the Niganthas in the Seventh Pillar Edict of Asoka as a distinct class of Indian recluses. The Niganthas mentioned in this famous epigraph were no other than the followers of Mahavira. This very class of recluses has been honoured in the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela as the

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2 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS Arhata Sramanas In the inscription of Kharavela's chief queen, the same Order of recluses has been honoured as Sramanas who were believers in the faith of the Arhats (Arhamta-pasadanam samananam)! As a matter of fact, all the cavedwellings (lenas) on the Udayagiri and Khandagiri hills were made by Kharavela and others for the residence of the Jaina recluses The literary evidence on which this account of the Jaina Tirthankara is based, is twofold (1) direct, and (2) collateral The direct evidence is that which is furnished by the texts of the Jaina Canon, called Agama or Siddhanta And the collateral evidence is that which may be gathered from the texts of the Buddhist Canon Collating these two sources of information, we can not only prepare a sketch of the life of Mahavira but draw a fairly vivid picture of Northern India depicting the social, political, economic, religious, and other conditions of the time in which he lived, moved, and preached the same two sets of texts enable us also to have a clear vision of the geography of that portion of Northern India which became the scene of activities of the Jaina Tirthankara and his immediate followers. All these may be so realis 1 Epigraphia Indica, Vol XIII.

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LIFE tically painted before our eyes that nothing will appear to be either exaggerated or untrue. If one wants to know who the Nirgranthas (Unfettered Ones) were, the answer comes straight from the Buddhist texts that they were the followers of a Tirthankara, named Nigantha Nataputta. One Sutta faithfully presents the fundamental doctrine of the Nirgranthas with a criticism from the Buddhist point of view. One Sutta attributes to Nigantha Nataputta certain religious discipline which was in a way the cult of the earlier Nirgranthas, the followers of Parsva. One Sutta yields a faithful description of the uposatha as practised by the Nirgranthas. One Sutta correctly hints at the fact that the lay supporters of the Nirgranthas were called Savakas or Sravakas instead of Upasakas " One Sutta accurately names the place where the demise of Nigantha Nataputta took place, and how immediately after his demise, his followers, the Nirgranthas, became divided into two camps 6 There 1 Culadukkhakkhandha Sutta, MN, I, pp 91 foll 2 Samannaphala Sutta, Digha-N, I, PP 47 foll 3 Nigaathuposatho, Anguttara-N, I, pp 205 foll. 4 Upali Sutta, MN, I, pp 371 foll * Samagama Sutta, M.N., II, pp 243 foll.

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4 MAHAVIRA: HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS are several Suttas in which Nigantha Nataputta is associated with five other Tirthankaras who passed as notable personalities and leaders of thought * Some of the Suttas introduce to their reader some of the immediate disciples and contemporary lay followers of the Jaina Tirthankara 2 There is a Sutta which vividly paints the character of the Nirgranthas as strong advocates of vegetarian diet. There are Suttas that furnish a catalogue of the punctilious ways of certain naked ascetics of the time, the ways which might be shown to be precisely those observed by the Jinakalpikas among the Nirgranthas The same set of texts introduces to us the kings and clans and classes of people who directly or indirectly supported the Nirgrantha movement in Northern India in the Tirthankara's lifetime. These very texts precisely name the countries and places important in the early history of Jainism The same authorities help us to form a fairly accurate idea of the distances between those countries and places, and of the roads or routes by which they might be reached i Samannaphala Sutta, Digha, I, pp 47 foll 2 Vinaya Texts, S BE, Vol XVII, PP 108 foll. 8 Cf Siha's account, abrd , Vol XVII, pp 108 foll. 4 Kassapasihanada Sutta, Digha, I, pp. 161 foli. :

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LIFE by a person in course of his wanderings. Lastly, these texts of the Buddhists coupled with those of the Jains enable us to breathe very atmosphere of thought and of life in which Mahavira moved with his Nirgrantha followers. Nigantha Nataputta is the name by which Mahavira was and has been known to the Buddhists. It is undoubtedly the name by which he was known to his own followers as well as to his other contemporaries The name is composed of two separate epithets, Nigaotha and Nataputta, the first of which is religious and the second secular. He was nigantha (nirgrantha) in a literal as well as in a figurative sense outwardly unclothed and inwardly unfettered. His followers were accordingly known as Niganthaputta (Nurgranthaputras), or simply Niganthas (Nurgranthas) And his lay followers became known as Nigantha-savaka. The Buddhist texts and commentaries do not definitely explain why he was called Nataputta. With the aid of the Jain literature, however, we at once know that he was called Nataputta because he was a scion of the Naya, Nata or Jnatr clan of Ksatriyas. Just as the Buddha was called Sakyaputta because he was a scion of the Sakya i Culla-Niddesa, p 173

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6 MAHAVIRA. HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS clan, so was Mahavira called Nataputta because he was a scion of the Nata clan , 1 He is introduced in some of the Buddhist texts, along with five other contemporary teachers, as the head of an order, of a following, the teacher of a school, well-known and of repute as a sophist, revered by the people, a man of experience who has long been a recluse, old, and well-stricken in years The phrase 'old and well-stricken in years was not meant to be interpreted literally and too rigorously It was meant to be interpreted rather loosely as signifying that Mahavira was senior to the Buddha in age, 1 e an elder contemporary In point of fact, in some of the texts this phrase is omitted altogether " And all the six teachers, including Mahavira, predeceased the Buddha." 2 9 The early records of the Buddhists clearly attest that Mahavira died at Pava When the news that as soon as Mahavira died, his followers fell quarrelling among themselves, having been divided into two camps, was conveyed to the 1 Dialogues of the Buddha, S BB, II, p 66, Samannaphala Sutta, Digha, I, p 49 2 Cf Sabhiya Sutta, Sutta Nipata, pp. 92 foll 8 Majjhima-Nikaya, II, pp 2-3 Majjhima-Nikaya, II, 243, Patika Sutta, Digha, III.

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LIFE Buddha, it caused much alarm to him as to how his own followers would behave after his death." These very records also attest that Mahavira was alive even after Ajatasatru had usurped the throne of Magadha 2 and Devadatta had been declared by the Buddha to be a hopelessly wicked man and utterly incorrigible in his ways 8 Anga-Magadha,' the territories of the VrjiLicchavis, and Mallas, and the kingdom of KasiKosala are mentioned as the places which became the scene of wanderings of Mahavira and activities of his Nirgrantha followers in the Buddha's lifetime The Buddhist texts specifically mention Rajagaha (Rajagrha), Nalanda, Vesali (Vaisali), Pava, and Savatthi (Sravasti), as places where the activities of Mahavira and his immediate followers were concentrated. These texts clearly mention Vesali as the place where the religion of Mahavira found its staunch supporters among the Licchavis. The Nirgranthas claimed that their Master was all-knowing and all-seeing and endowed with unlimited knowledge and vision', who alone could declare that, whether he was walking or standing Samagama Sutta, Majjhima N, I - Samannaphala Sutta, Digha, I * Abhayarajakumara Sutta, M.N, I. * Majjhima-Nikaya, II, p 2.

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8 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS still, sleeping or awake, the unlimited knowledge and vision were constantly his continuous and unperturbed.' The Pali aparisesa, occurring as it does as a predicate of that knowledge and vision, is just a synonym of the Jaina term kevala. The teaching of Mahavira which commended itself to the Nirgranthas and satisfied them is characteristically represented thus 'Whatsoever a person experiences, whether it is pleasant or painful or neither pleasant nor painful, is due to his karma (totality of deeds) in the past Hence by extenuating through penance (tapasa) the effect of all past deeds and by not accumulating the effect of fresh deeds, the future gliding in rebirth is stopped , with the future gliding in rebirth stopped, the past is wiped out, with the past wiped out, ill is no more ; with ill no more, painful feelings are no more, with painful feelings no more, all ill is outworn (exhausted or negated)'2 Here penance (tapa) means the practice of austerities (dukkaracariya). Mahavira is correctly represented as an exponent of the doctrine of action (kiriyavado) $ This doc 1 Majjhima, I, pp 92-93 , abid , II, P 31, Anguttara, I, p 220 , abid , IV, p 428. 2 Anguttara, 1, pp 220-221, Majjhima, II, p 214. 3 Anguttara, IV, PP 180-181.

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LIFE trine invests man with moral responsibility for all his deeds. One of the texts refers to limited knowledge (antavanta jnana) as propounded by Mahavira 'The knowledge which comprehends the limited world is itself limited in its character'i The Pali antavanta jnana is evidently the same term as the Jaina avadhijnana. The Nirgrantha argument of the practice of penance or austerity is clearly set forth 'Beatitude cannot be reached through mundane happiness. It is attainable through the mortification of the flesh. Had it been possible to reach beatitude through mundane happiness, king Srenika Bimbisara of Magadha would certainly have attained it.'? We are told that according to Mahavira, the practice of penance involved three kinds of danda or self-inflicted punishment bodily, vocal, and mental, the first kind far outweighing the last two in gravity and importance 8 A concrete example of the penance practised by the Nirgran 1 Anguttara, IV', p 428 antavantena nanena antavantam lokam junam passam 2 Majjhima, I, P 93 Na sukhena sukham adhigantabbam dukkhena kho sukham adhigantabbam sukhena ca sukham adhigantabbam abhavissa, raja Magadho Seniyo Bimbisaro sukham adhigaccheyya. 8 Majjhima, I, p 372

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10 MAHAVIRA HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS thas is mentioned. The Nirgranthas were once seen engaged in remaining in an upright posture without sitting down (ubbhatthaka asanapatikkhitta) 1 The ancient Buddhist texts offer a typical description of the punctilious ways of all Indian ascetics of the time which, as convincingly shown by Mr Kamta Prasad Jain, were also the approved ways of the Jaina recluses who must have sought to imitate the life of the Master. The correspondence may be shown in a tabular form as follows Buddhist Description I He goes naked I 2 He is of loose habits 2 (performing his bodily functions and eating in a standing posture, not crouching down as well-bred people do) Jarna Description This is styled as the highest state' of a Jauna recluse (JainaSutras, I, P 56 ) The 24th (non-bathing), 26th (non-brushing), 27th (taking meal in a standing posture) mula-gunas of a Jaina muni (Mulacara, 31-33 ) 1 Majjhima, I, p 92 2 IHQ, Vol II, pp 698 foll the Buddhist Literature The Jaina references in

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Buddhist Description. 3. He licks his hands clean, etc (after eating, and not washing them as well-bred people do) LIFE 5. He refuses to accept food 5. brought (to him before he has started on his daily round of alms) 7 4 When on his rounds for 4. Described in full in the alms if politely requested to step aside, he passes stolidly on. 6. He refuses food (if told 6. it has been specially prepared for him). He refuses to accept any 7 invitation, etc 8 3. 9-10 II He will not accept (food 8 taken) from the mouth of the pot or pan, etc II Jaina Description. A Jaina muni takes food in the hollows of his hand, etc. (JainaSutras, I, p 57) He will not accept food II placed within the pestle, etc. commentary on esanasamiti in the Mulacara. The Jaina recluse is allowed to take only pure food void of 46 defilements. He will not accept food 9-10 within the threshold, etc He will not accept food placed within the sticks, etc This refers to the prohibited Auddesika food This is precisely the case with the Jaina recluses This refers to the sthapita or nyasta dosa These refer to the praduskara dosa. This refers to the unmisra-asana dosa

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12 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS Buddhist Description. Jaina Description When two persons are 12. This refers to the anic eating together he will vara-vyaktavyakta aninot accept food if sartha dosa offered to him by only one of the two 13-14. He will not accept 13-14 These refer to the food from a woman dayaka-asana dosas suckling baby, etc He will not accept food from a woman talking with, etc 15 He will not accept food 15 This refers to the abhi collected in draught ghata-udgania dosa 16 He will not accept food 16 This refers to the dasaka where a dog is stand dosa ing 17 He will not accept food 17. This refers to the pranz where flies are swarming jantu-vadha dosa by 18 He will not accept fish, 18 This needs no corroboranor meat, nor strong tion drink, nor intoxicants, etc 19 He is a one-houser', etc 19 This corresponds with the vratapratisan khyata practice. 20. He takes food only once 20 This corresponds with a day or once every two the sakanksanaksanadays, etc vrata

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LIFE 13 The Nirgranthas are represented as a class of recluses (samanajatika) who used to drink hot water, rejecting cold water. There is no sound reason to suggest with the author of the Milinda that they did not drink cold water because they believed there were souls' in it? They are credited with the scrupulous practice of a fourfold self-restraint' (catuyama-samvara), according to which they used to live 'restrained as regards all water', 'restrained as regards all evil', 'washing away all evil', and 'suffused with the sense of evil held at bay'. It is for this reason that they were called gatatta (whose heart has gone to the summit, to the attainment of their aim), and yatatta (whose heart is subdued). Catuyamasamvara was, no doubt, a phraseology of the religion of Parsva But, as presented in Buddhist literature, it acquired altogether a new connotation with the followers of Mahavira. Some are inclined to think that by the fourfold self-restraint' the Buddhist author has simply expressed the four characteristics of a Jaina recluse (1) that he should be free from passion 1 Majjhima, I, P 376 Nigantho s utodaka-patikkhetto unhodaka-patissevi 2 The Questions of King Milinda, SBE, XXXV, PP 85-91

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14 MAHAVIRA * HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS and desire ; (2) that he should keep himself aloof from all kinds of traffic, (3) that he should get rid of all parigrahas ideas of possession), and (4) that he should remain absorbed in knowledge and meditation of self 1 A correct representation of the 'fourfold selfrestraint, even in the sense in which the followers of Parsva understood it, is not wanting in Buddhist literature. Just a fifth point, chastity, has to be added to the 'fourfold self-restraint' to complete the list of five great vows (panca mahavratas) promulgated by Mahavira The definite path prescribed by Mahavira for the realization of the world of absolute happiness consisted in the abstinence from the idea of killing, the idea of theft, the idea of unchastity, the idea of lying, and some such tapoguna or virtue of an ascetic 2 It is very interesting indeed to note that even some of the Jaina phrases are reproduced in the Buddhist text 3 The Anguttara-Nikaya speaks of the Nigranthas as a distinct Order of recluses who on the sabbath exhorted their lay disciples thus 'Lay aside the TIHQ, Vol II, p 705 ? Majjhima, II, pp 35-36 3 Ibid, II, p. 36, sake acanyake samanuyunziyamana samanuggahiyamana samanubhasiyamana

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LIFE stick as regards all creatures that exist eastwards beyond a hundred yojanas; likewise westwards, northwards, and to the south', 'Off with all your clothes and say I have no part in anything anywhere, and herein for me there is no attachment to anything'i Thus they exhorted them to kindness, and the idea of apalibodha or aparigraha (non-handicap, no possession) was made clear to them. The same Nikaya records an instance where the Nirgranthas became deeply concerned and disconsolate to brook the idea that a recluse would eat meat knowing for certain that it was specially prepared for him by killing an animal (undissakatam mamsam) 2 The evidence of Buddhist literature is sufficient to establish the contemporaneity of Mahavira and the Buddha Although they had not personally met each other, there were occasions when they felt interested in knowing and discussing each other's views and position through some intermediaries. Dirghatapasvi and Satyaka (Pali Saccaka) among the Nirgrantha recluses, and Abhaya the Prince, Upali the Banker, and Simha 1 Gradual Sayings, I, P 186 2 Anguttara, IV, P 187

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16 MAHAVIRA. HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS the Licchavi General among the Jaina laity loom large among those intermediaries Both Mahavira and the Buddha claimed to be scions of two ruling clans of Northern India, and both of them declared themselves as kriyavadins or upholders of a doctrine of action Mahavira was senior in age to the Buddha; the former predeceased the latter by a few years. The synchronism between them is proved by the coincidence of certain historical facts When they had started their career as religious teachers and reformers, Srenika Bimbisara was the powerful king of Magadha, and Anga became annexed to the kingdom of Magadha , the Vrji-Licchavis of Vaisali and the Mallas of Kusinara and Pava formed two powerful confederacies ; Prasenajit was the monarch of Kosala and Kasi became annexed to the kingdom of Kosala. It is significant that the immediate Nirgrantha disciples of Mahavira argued a point of his doctrine thus 'Had it been possible to obtain bliss through worldly happiness, king Srenika Bimbisara of Magadha would certainly have obtained it' The Majjhima-Nikaya immortalizes the name of the Black Stone on a ridge of the Rsigiri, where the Nirgranthas practised a difficult penance, while a Jaina Image inscription records the name of Mount Vipula and king Srenika. The same

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LIFE 17 Nikaya refers to an occasion when Mahavira was staying at Nalanda with a large body of Nirgranthas. It also refers to an occasion when the Jaina Tirtharkara remained seated with a large train of lay worshippers headed by Upali the Banker, all hailing from a village called Balaka. The same authority attests that women found admittance into the Nirgrantha Order along with men. The Visakhavatthu in the DhammapadaCommentary distinctly represents Mrgara the Banker of Sravasti, father-in-law of the Buddhist lady Visakha, as a staunch lay supporter of Mahavira. It is not without reason that Mahavira has been represented in the Abhayarajakumara-Sutta as personally interested in the welfare of Devadatta who fomented a schism within the Buddhist Order of the time 1 As Dr. Barua suggests, Devadatta was a man with Jaina leaning. It is probably under the influence of Mahavira's teaching that Devadatta insisted on having the following five special rules introduced in the Buddhist Order and enforced 'I. That a bhikkhu shall live all his life in the forest. 1 Majjhima, I, pp. 392-393

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18 MAHAVIRA HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS That he shall depend for his subsistence solely on doles collected outdoors; 3. That he shall wear garments made by stitching together rags picked up from dust-heaps; 2. 4. That he shall always live under a tree and not under a roof; and 5 That he shall never eat fish or meat.' Such are the main outlines of the life and teachings of Mahavira and of the early activities of the Nirgranthas which may be drawn with the aid of Buddhist literature Now let us see how far the narrative may be developed with the facts supplied in the canonical literature of the Jains themselves '1 " In the Jaina literature Mahavira, the last Tirthankara of the Jains, is described as a supreme personality, who was acknowledged as great Brahmana', a great guardian', ' a great guide', a great preacher', 'a great pilot', and 'a great recluse. He figures as a supremely gifted ( 1 Barua, 'The Old Brahmi Inscription of Mahasthan', IHQ, Vol X, p 61, Vinaya Cullavagga, VIII, I; Oldenberg, Buddha, pp 160-161; N Dutt, Early History of the Spread of Buddhism, p. 222. 2 Uvasaga-dasao, Lec VII

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LIFE 19 Ksatriya teacher and leader of thought who gathered unto him many men and women, and was honoured and worshipped by many hundreds and thousands of sravakas or lay disciples. He belonged to the Kasyapa gotra and shone forth as the moon of the clan of the Nayas or Jnatss. He was the son of Ksatriya Siddhartha who is otherwise named Sreyarsa and Yasamsa and of Ksatriyani Trisala, also known as Videhadatta and Priyakarini of the Vasistha gotra. His mother was a sister to Cetaka of Videha, at whose call all the Licchavis and Mallas rallied together for the purpose of offence and defence. His parents who belonged to the Jnatr Ksatriyas were lay worshippers of Parsva. They were pious, chaste in life, and virtuous, and cherished a very tender regard for all the six classes of living beings (cha jiva-nikaya). Following the teaching of Parsva, they peacefully died by the practice of slow starvation of the senses. He was born in the town of Kundanagara, a suburb of Vaisali and an important seat of the Jnatrkas. He was therefore called Vesalie (Vaisalika), a citizen of Vaisali. On the day of his birth the prisoners in Kundanagara were released. 1 Satrakritanga, 1. 2. 3. 22.

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MAHAVIRA: HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS Festivals kept the whole town bound in mirth and joy for ten days after which many offerings were made to the gods. But he was also known as a Videha, the son of Videhadatta. His parents fixed his name as Varddhamana or 'Prosperous One', because with his birth the wealth, fame, and merit of the family increased His aversion to love and hatred earned for him the appellation of Sramana or Recluse. The gods gave him the name of Mahavira for his fortitude and hardihood in patiently bearing all sorts of privation and hardship, for his strictly adhering to the rules of penance, and no less for his indifference to pleasure and pain. He was equally known as Jnatrputra or Scion of the Jnatr clan', Sasananayaka or 'Head of the Order', and Buddha. The Jnatrkas are described as a people who were afraid of sin, who abstained from wicked deeds, did not cause harm to any living being, and did not partake of meat Mahavira was called Nirgrantha because he was outwardly unclothed and inwardly free from all worldly bonds and ties. And it is not surprising at all that he should be described in Buddhist literature as 'the head of an Order, of a following, the teacher of a school, well-known and of repute as a sophist, revered by the 20

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LIFE 21 people, a man of experience who has long been a recluse '.' In his thirteenth year, Mahavira married Vasoda, a Ksatriya lady who belonged to the Kaundinya gotra, and had by her a daughter, named Anojja (Anavadya) or Priyadarsana. Anojja was married to Yamali, a Ksatriya' who after becoming one of Mahavira's followers and fellow-workers ended by opposing him '. Thirtieth", In his thirteenth year, he lost his parents. Afterwards with the permission of his elder brother and the authorities of the kingdom, he fulfilled his promise of going out to establish a universal religion of love and amity. After twelve years of penance and meditation he attained omniscience at the age of forty-two, and lived thereafter for thirty years to preach his religion in Northern India. The famous Ohana-Sutta in the Ayaramga contains the following account of his soul-stirring sadhana For a year and a month since he renounced the world, Mahavira did not leave off his robe Thereafter he gave up his robe and became unclothed. Even while he used robe, he used it only in winter. 1 Samghi c'eva gani ca ganacarryo ca nato yasassi titthakaro sadhusammato bahujanassa rattanna cirarabbajito.

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22 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS More than four months many living beings gathered on his body, crawled about it, and caused pain. Then he meditated, walking with his eye fixed on a square space before him of the length of a man. Many people who were shocked at the sight struck him and cried. He shunned the company of the female sex and of all householders. Asked, he gave no reply He did not even answer those who saluted him He was beaten with sticks and struck by sinful people. He wandered about disregarding all slights, not being attracted by any worldly amusement. For more than a couple of years he went without using cold water. He realized singleness, guarded his body, obtained intuition and became calm. He carefully avoided doing injury to the meanest form of life. He did not use what was expressly prepared for him. He used to eat only clean food. He did not use another man's robe, nor did he eat out of another man's vessel. He observed moderation in eating and drinking. He neither rubbed his eyes nor scratched his body. He sometimes took shelter in workshops, sometimes in manufactories, sometimes in garden houses, sometimes in a cemetery, iti deserted houses, or at the foot of a tree. In such places he sought for shelter for thirteen years.

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LIFE He meditated day and night, undisturbed, unperturbed, exerting himself strenuously. He never cared for sleep for the sake of pleasure. He waked up himself and slept only a little, free from cares and desires. Waking up again, he lay down exerting himself, going outside for once in a night, he walked about for an hour. In his resting places, crawling or flying animals attacked him. Bad people, the guard of the village, or lance-bearers attacked him. Wellcontrolled, he bore all dreadful calamities and different kinds of feelings, and he wandered about, speaking but little. Ill treated, he engaged himself in his meditations, free from resentment. He endured all hardships in calmness. Wellguarded, he bore the pains caused by grass, cold, heat, flies and gnats. He travelled in the pathless country of Radha,in Vajrabhumi and Svabhrabhumi, where he used miserable beds and seats. The rude natives of the place attacked him and set dogs to bite him. But he never used the stick to keep off the dogs. He endured the abusive language of the rustics, being perfectly enlightened. The inhabitants of the place caused him all sorts of torture, and disturbed him in his religious postures. Abandoning the care of his body, he bore pain, free from desire.

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24 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS He abstained from indulgence of the flesh, though never attacked by diseases. Whether wounded or not, he did not desire medical treatment. In the cold season he meditated in the shade. In summer he exposed himself to the heat. He lived on rough food rice, pounded jujube, and jujube Using these three kinds of food, he sustained himself eight months. Sometimes he did not drink for half a month or even for a month. Sometimes he did not drink for more than two months, or even six months. Sometimes he ate only the sixth meal, or the eighth, the tenth, the twelfth Sometimes he ate stale food. He committed no sin himself, nor did he induce others to do so, nor did he consent to the sin of others He meditated persevering in some posture, without the smallest motion He meditated in mental concentration on the things above, below, beside. He meditated free from sin and desire, not attached to sounds and colours, and never acted carelessly. Thus, as hero at the head of a battle, he bore all hardships, and remaining undisturbed, proceeded on the road to deliverance Understanding the truth and restraining the impulses for the purification of the soul, he finally liberated' 1 Acaranga-Sutra, 1,8 9; Jaina-Sutras, Part I, pp 79-87

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LIFE Mahavira renounced the world at the age of thirty. It would seem that he joined the Order of Parsva of which his parents were lay supporters. In the Acaranga, the members of this Order are simply referred to as Sramanas or Recluses. It would further seem that the recluses of Parsva's * Order used to wear robes Mahavira remained with them for more than a year, after which he turned a naked ascetic The Bhagavati-Sutra says that when Mahavira was spending the second year of his ascetic life in a weaver's shed in Nalanda, a suburb of Rajagrha, Maskariputra Gosala who was then wandering about in the country showing pictures to the people at large happened to arrive and put up there. One day, observing the extraordinary respect shown to Mahavira by Vijaya, a rich householder of Rajagrha, Gosala approached the venerable ascetic and asked to be admitted as his disciple, but the latter declined his request. His prayer was not granted on two successive occasions, even though the Master was entreated by the rich householders Ananda and Sudarsana. In the meanwhile Mahavira went to the settlement of Kollaga, at some distance from Nalanda, where he was hospitably greeted by the Brahmin Bahula

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26 MARAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS Gosala sought him in vain in the city of Rajagrha and its suburbs. He returned to the weaver's shed where he gave away his clothes, vessels, shoes, and pictures to a Brahmin of the place, shaved off his hair and beard, and in despair departed in search of the Master. On his way he passed Kollaga, where he met a large crowd applauding Bahula's liberality towards Mabavira. He continued his search and met the Master at last in Paniyabhumi, where again he begged to be received as a disciple This time his prayer was granted, and both the Master and the disciple lived together for six years in Paniyabhumi, practising asceticism. Thereafter they travelled from Paniyabhumi to Kurmagrama, and from Kurmagrama to Siddharthagrama. While at Kurmagrama, they met ascetic Vesayana who remained seated with upraised arms and upturned face in the glare of the sun, while his body was swarming with lice. Gosala enquired whether he was a sage or a bed of lice Vesayana, being angry, attempted to strike Gosala with his supernormal powers. Mahavira explained to him the severe ascetic discipline by which such powers could be obtained While at Siddharthagrama, Gosala uprooted a sesamum shrub and threw it away. The shrub,

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27 LIFE owing to a lucky fall of rain, came to life again. From this he jumped to the conclusion that all plants were capable of reanimation, nay, he drew the further conclusion that not only plants, but in fact all living beings were capable of reanimation'. Such generalization of the theory of reanimation apparently not finding favour with Mahavira, Gosala thenceforward severed his connection with him and followed a course of asceticism for six months, which enabled him to acquire supernormal powers. He then proclaimed himself a Jina, and became the head of a sect, called the Ajivika.1 Gosala figures in the early tradition of Buddhism as an independent leader of thought, who too was highly revered by the people of Northern India as the head of an Order, of a following, the teacher of a school, well-known and of repute as a sophist a man of experience who has long been a recluse. There is no suggestion ever made as to his personal relation with Mahavira. But there is sufficient reason to believe that the Nirgranthas and the Ajivikas were two allied sects, having many points in common between them. In the immediate background of the religions of both 1 Uvasaga-dasao, Tr by Hoernle, App. I.

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28 MAHAVIRA: HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS the teachers, were the teachings of Parsva. The Eight Mahanimittas of the Ajivika Canon were extracts made from the Ten Purvas representing the literary authority of the sect of Parsva.' Parsva was honoured by both the sects as the last but one Tirthankara, while they were sharply divided in their claim for the position of the last Tirthankara. The Nirgranthas, of course, legitimately claimed that Mahavira was the rightful successor of Parsva in the tradition of the Tirthankaras. It is remarkable that the Acaranga account of Mahavira's sadhana does not bring in Gosala to form an episode in it The same holds true of the account in the Kalpa-Sutra which agrees substantially with that in the Acaranga Further, the names of the places where Mahavira is said to have spent the rainy seasons during the first twelve years of his asceticism differ from those mentioned in the Bhagavati-Sutra The KalpaSutra offers the following account of Mahavira's earnest efforts prior to his Kevaliship * When the moon was in conjunction with the asterism Uttaraphalguni, Mahavira, after fasting two days and a half without drinking water and 1 Barua, The Ajivikas, pp. 28, 41 foll.

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LIFE 29 putting on a divine robe, left the house and passed into the state of houselessness. For more than a year he wore clothes. Thereafter he walked about naked, and accepted alms. For more than twelve years he neglected his body and took no care of it. With equanimity he bore, underwent, and suffered all pleasant or unpleasant occurrences. He stayed the first rainy season in Asthigrama, three rainy seasons in Campa and Prsticampa, and eight in Vaisali and Vanijagrama He remained circumspect in his walking, speaking, begging, accepting anything, carrying his drinking vessel, and obeying the calls of nature. He remained circumspect in his thoughts, words, and acts. He guarded his thoughts, words, acts, senses, and chastity. He moved without wrath, pride, deceit, and greed. He remained calm, tranquil, composed, liberated, free from temptations, without egoism and without property. In short, he had cut off all earthly ties, and was not stained by any worldliness. Like water in a vessel, he was unattached in the midst of sins His course was unobstructed like that of life. Like the firmament he wanted no support. Like the wind he knew no obstacles. His heart was pure like the water in autumn. He remained unsoiled like a lotus-leaf. His senses were well

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MAHAVIRA: HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS protected like those of a tortoise. Like a rhinoceros he lived single and alone. He was free like a bird, always walking like the fabulous bird Bharunda, valorous like an elephant, strong like a bull, difficult to attack like a lion, steady and firm like Mt. Mandara, deep like the ocean, mild like the moon, effulgent like the sun, pure like gold, patient like the earth, and shining in splendour like a well-kindled fire 30 He lived, except in the rainy season, all the eight months of summer and winter, in villages only a single night and in towns only five nights He was indifferent alike to the smell of ordure and the sweet scent of sandal, to straw and jewel, dirt and gold, pleasure and pain, this world or the world beyond, to life and death. He exerted himself for the stoppage of the defilement of karma. With supreme knowledge and faith and conduct he meditated on himself for twelve years. During the thirteenth year, in the second month of summer, in the fourth fortnight, the light fortnight of the month of Vaisakha, on its tenth day, outside the town Jrmbhikagrama on the bank of the river Rjupali, not far from an old shrine, in the field of the householder Syamaka under a sal tree and the asterism Uttaraphalguni, he reached the

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LIFE 31 highest knowledge and intuition, called Kevala, which is infinite, supreme, unobstructed, unimpeded, complete, and full. He was then lost in deep meditation in a squatting position with joined heels, exposing himself to the heat of the sun, after fasting two days and a half even without drinking water. Thus at the age of forty-two he had become a Jina and Arhat,-a Kevalin, omniscient, all-seeing, and all-knowing. He knew and saw all conditions of the world of the gods, men, and demons * whence they come, whither they go, where they are born as men or animals, gods or infernal beings, according to their deeds? During the thirty years of his career as Teacher, he spent four rainy seasons in Vaisali and Vanijagrama, fourteen in Rajagrha and Nalanda, six in Mithila, two in Bhadrika, one in Alabhika, one in Pranitabhumi, one in Sravasti, and one in the town of Pava which was his last rainy season. In the fourth month of that rainy season, in the seventh fortnight, in the dark fortnight of Karttika, on its fifteenth day, in the last watch of the night in the town of Pava, in king Hastipala's office of the writers, the venerable Ascetic died, went off, Jaina-Sutras, Part I, pp. 260-264.

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32 MAHAVIRA. HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS quitted the world, cutting asunder the ties of birth, decay, and death." The Kalpa-Sutra list is so worded as to suggest an idea of succession as regards the places where Mahavira spent forty-two rainy seasons since he had renounced the life of a householder The idea of succession is suggested by the two expressions 'first rainy season in Asthigrama' and 'last rainy season in Papa or Pava! Taken in order, the places stand in the list as follows -- I Asthigrama-first rainy season 2 Campa and Ptsticampa-next three rainy seasons 3 Vaisali and Vanijagrama-next twelve rainy seasons 4 Rajagrha and Nalanda--next fourteen rainy seasons 5 Mithila---next six rainy seasons 6 Bhadrika--next two rainy seasons. 7 Alabhika--next one rainy season Panitabhumi-next one rainy season. 9 Sravasti-next one rainy season. 10 Papa--last rainy season. According to the commentary on the KalpaSutra, Asthigrana was formerly called Vardha 1 Jaina-Sutras, Part I, p 264

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LIFE 33 mana. It would perhaps be more correct to say that Asthigrama was the earlier name of Vardhamana (modern Burdwan). But none need be surprised if Asthigrama was the same place as Hatthigama (Hastigrama) which lay on the high road from Vaisali to Pava. Campa was the capital of Anga, which, after many vicissitudes of fortune in its war with Magadha, was conquered in Mahavira's time by Srenika Bimbisara and permanently annexed to Magadha. Anga of the Sanskrit Epics comprised modern district of Bhagalpur and Monghyr and extended northwards up to the river Kosi. Its capital Campa was situated on the river of the same name and the Ganges, at a distance of 60 yojanas. Its actual site is probably marked by two villages of Campanagara and Campapura near Bhagalpur. Prsticampa must have been a place not far from Campa One of the Pali Jatakas mentions a town, known by the name of Kala-Campa and situated in the kingdom of Anga. Vaisali (modern Besarh in the Muzaffarpur District of Bihar) was the chief seat of government ? Most probably Pava is the same as Kasia situated on the little Gandak river to the cast of the district of Gorakhpur It is considered as one of the sacred places of the Jains. Its ancient name was Papa or Appapuri,

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34 MAHAVIRA: HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS of the Vrji-Licchavis in Mahavira's time,' and Vanijagrama was a centre of trade in the suburb of Vaisali 2 Rajagrha (modern Rajgir) was the capital of Magadha in Mahavira's time It was guarded by five hills, called Isigili, Vebhara, Pandava, Vepulla, and Gijjhakuta The Mahabharata gives the names of the five hills as Vipula, Vaibhara. Varaha, Vrsabha, and Rsi3 Nalanda, which is described in the KalpaSutra as a suburb (bahirika) of Rajagrha, was situated on the high road from Rajagrha to Vaisali, at a distance of one yojana from Rajagrha It is identified with modern Bargaon, 7 miles to the north-west of Rajgir in the district of Patna * Mithila, which was the capital of once prosperous kingdom of Videha, stood as the chief seat of government of the Videhas It is identified by tradition with modern Janakapura, a small town within the Nepal border, north of which the Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga districts meet 1 Law, Geography of Early Buddhism, p 12 2 Law, Some Ksatriya Tribes of Ancient India, p 38. * Mahabharata, Sabhaparva, Chap 21, Slokas 1-3 Law, Geography of Early Buddhism, p 31. 5 CAGI, p 718, Law, Some Ksatrya Tnbes of Ancient India, p 134

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LIFE 35 Videha may be identified with Tirabhukti (modern Tirhut).' Bhadrika, which is the same name as the Pali Bhaddiya, was an important place in the kingdom of Anga 2 Alabhika, which is the same name as the Pali Alavi, is identified by Cunningham and Hoernle with Newal or Nawal in Unao District in U.P., and by Nandalal Dey with Aviwa, 27 miles northeast of Etwah. Panitabhumi, which is the same name as the Ardha-Magadhi Paniyabhumi, was a place in Vajrabhumi, a division of the pathless country of Radha 4 Sravasti, which is correctly identified with Saheth-Maheth on the south bank of the river Rapti, was the flourishing capital of the kingdom of Kosala in Mahavira's time. It was situated on the high road from Vaisali, Pava, and Kapilavastu to Kausambi, Ujjayini, and Pratisthana. Papa, which is the same name as the Pali Pava, was one of the chief seats of government of the 1 Law, Geography of Early Buddhism, p. 30. 2 Dhammapada Commentary, I, P 384. & Law, Geography, p. 24. * Jaina-Sutras, Part I, p. 264, f.n. 4, also p. 84. 6 Law, Geography, p. 5, f.n. 2

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36 MAHAVIRA' HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS Mallas. It was in Mahavira's time one of the halting stations on the high road from Vaisali to Kusinara and Kapilavastu? What Mahavira did after having attained the position of a Kevalin, where did he go, to whom did he proclaim his religious experience, and by whom was he first accepted as the Jina, are the interesting points that still remain unknown to us The Bhagavati-Sutra would have us believe that extraordinary respect was shown by certain rich householders even long prior to his Jinahood, while the Acaranga and the Kalpa-Sutra narrate the account of his sadhana in such a manner as to suggest that he had to make superhuman efforts before he could aspire to obtain the coveted position of a Kevalin According to the KalpaSutra account, after leaving his home and passing into the houseless state of a recluse, he stayed with the followers of Parsva for one year and a month at Asthigrama After that time, he went to Campa and Pssticampa, and thereafter he returned to Vaisali and Vanijagrama, near which he attained Jinahood in the thirteenth year of his career as an ascetic. The Acaranga says that, during this period, he travelled once in the country of Radha, * Law, Geography, p 15

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LIFE 37 where he was rudely treated by its inhabitants. The Bhagavati-Sutra associates Nalanda, Raja. grha, Paniyabhumi, Siddharthagrama, and Kurmagrama with his early wanderings There is reason to believe that these places were visited by him after his attainment of Jinahood boarding The Uvasaga-dasao mentions Vanijagrama, Campa, Baranasi, Alabhi (Pali Alavi), Kampilyapura, Polasapura, Rajagrha, and Sravasti as the places that were visited by the Venerable Ascetic Mahavira The town of Campa had near it the shrine of Purnabhadra ; Vanijagrama, the shrine called Dvipalasa , Baranasi, the Kosthaka shrine ; Alabhi, the garden called Sankhavana , Kampilyapura, the garden called Sahasramravana ; Polasapura, a garden known by the name of Sahasramravana , Rajagrha, the shrine called Gunasila ; and Sravasti, the Kosthaka shrine In Vanijagrama, the great lay disciples of Mahavira and lay supporters of his Order were 1 Ananda and his wife Sivananda , in Campa, Kamadeva and his wife Bhadra ; in Baranasi, Culanipriya and his wife Syama, Suradeva and his wife Dhanya ; in Alabhi, Cullasataka and his wife Bahula ; in Kampilyapura, Kundakolita and his wife Pusya ; in Polasapura, Sardalaputra and his wife Agnimitra; in Rajagsha, Mahasataka ;

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38 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS and in Sravasti, Nandinipriya and his wife Asvini, Salatipriya and his wife Phalguni. These lay disciples of the Venerable Ascetic and lay supporters of the recluses of his Order, both male and female, are all mentioned as persons of opulence and influence, and as those noted for their piety and devotion The typical description of each of them, as given in the Uvasaga-dasao, may enable the reader to form an idea of his worldly prosperity Ananda of Vanijagrama, for instance, is described as a householder who ' possessed a treasure of four kror measures of gold deposited in a safe place, a capital of four kror measures of gold put out on interest, a wellstocked estate of the value of four kror measures of gold, and four herds, each herd consisting of ten thousand heads of cattle' He was a person whom many kings and princes and merchants made it a point to refer to, and to consult, on many affairs and matters needing advice, . in short, on all sorts of business. He was also the main pillar, as it were, of his own family, their authority, support, mainstay, and guide. In short, he was a cause of prosperity to whatever business he was concerned with'. Each of them had a Posaha-house (hall for practice of upavasatha or religious observances). Ananda, for instance, had

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LIFE 39 his Posaha-house in the Kollaga suburb of Vanijagrama, in the midst of his people of the Nata or Joatp clan' This is no exaggeration. The Pali UpaliSutta? introduces to us the rich householder Upali of Balakagrama, near Nalanda, who was a lay disciple of Mahavira and a liberal supporter of the recluses of his Order, both male and female. We are indeed told that a very large number of inhabitants of Balakagrama, headed by Upali, became lay disciples of Mahavira. The Banker Msgara or Mrgadhara of Sravasti, father-in-law of the Buddhist lady Visakha, is mentioned as a lay disciple of Mahavira and a lay supporter of the Nirgrantha recluses. Besides Upali and Mrgara, the Buddhist texts mention, as we noted, Prince Abhaya, son of king Srenika Bimbisara of Magadha, and Simha, a Licchavi general, among the lay disciples of the Jaina Tirthankara. The Jaina Bhagavati-Sutra speaks of two other rich householders among the lay disciples of Mahavira, namely, Vijaya and Sudarsana, of whom the former was a citizen of Rajagrha 1 Uvasaga-dasao, Lec. I, Hoernle's Translation. | * Majjhima-Nikaya, I, 37I-387 , cf, Sutrakrtanga, JainaSutras, II, pp 414-417. 3 Uvasaga-dasao, Hoernle's Translation, App. pp. 1-2.

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40 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS The Ugras and Bhogas are repeatedly mentioned in several of the professedly oldest sacred books as being among the most prominent of the earliest converts '1 '. In so old a Buddhist text as the MajjhimaNikaya, we have mention of a great many (sambahula) Nirgrantha recluses who, following the instruction and example of the Tirthankara, practised a rigorous form of penance on a ridge of Mt Rsigin, near Rajagrha ? The same work introduces to us two Nirgrantha recluses, Darghatapasvi : and Satyaka of Agnivesyayana gotra, and to one Wanderer (parivrajaka) who was much influenced by the teaching and personality of Mahavira 5 The Buddha is said to have met Dirghatapasvi at Nalanda and Satyaka at Vaisali in the land of the Vrji-Licchavis. 1 According to the Kalpa-Sutra, Mahavira in his lifetime had an excellent community of fourteen thousand recluses with Indrabhuti at their head, thirty-six thousand female recluses with Candana at their head, one hundred and fifty 1 Uvasaga-clasao, Introduction, p XIV 2 Majjluma, I, P 94 3 Ibid , I, P 371 4 Ibid , 1, p 237 5 Ibid , II, PP 1, 29

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LIFE 41 nine thousand lay disciples with Sankhasataka at their head, and three hundred and eighteen thousand female lay disciples with Sulasa and Revati at their head. There were 'three hundred sages who knew the fourteen Purvas, who though no Jinas came very near them, .; thirteen hundred sages who were possessed of the Avadhiknowledge and superior qualities ; seven hundred Kevalins .. , seven hundred who could transform themselves. , five hundred sages of mighty intellect ; four hundred professors who were never vanquished in disputes : ; seven hundred male and fourteen hundred female disciples who reached perfection ...., and eight hundred sages in their last birth'i Among the immediate followers of Mahavira, EUR eleven became distinguished as ganadharas guiding and instructing nine separate groups of Nirgrantha recluses, placed under them. The eldest monk Indrabhuti, the middle-aged monk Agnibhuti, and the youngest monk Vayubhuti, all of the Gautama gotra, instructed 500 recluses each. The Venerable Arya Vyakta of the Bharadvaja gotra and the Venerable Arya Sudharman of the Agnivesyayana gotra instructed 500 recluses each. Kalpa-Sutra, 134, Jaina-Sutras, Part I, pp 265-266

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42 MAHAVIRA: HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS The Venerable Mandikaputra of the Vasistha gotra and the Venerable Mauryaputra of the Kasyapa gotra instructed 250 recluses each. The Venerable Akampita of the Gautama gotra and the Venerable Acalabhratr of the Haritayana gotra instructed together 300 recluses each. Similarly the Venerable Metarya and Prabhasa, both of the Kaundinya gotra, instructed together 300 recluses each. All the eleven ganadharas died at Rajagrha after fasting a month without even drinking water. Indrabhuti and Arya Sudharman died after the demise of Mahavira. The Nirgrantha recluses trace their spiritual descent from Arya Sudharman, because the remaining ganadharas left no descendants ? What was the form of his first declaration about himself which aroused confidence in so many hundreds and thousands of his followers who had gathered round his personality and impelled them to follow his example in their own life? And what was the special attraction of religious life which was held out to the householders, both men and women, who came to form a large body of lay disciples ? The answer to the first question comes from several Buddhist texts, and the answer to the 1 Jaina-Sutras, Part I, pp. 286-287.

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LIFE 43 second has been given in Lecture I of the Uvasagadasao. According to the Buddhist texts, the form of his first declaration or address was: 'I am all-knowing and all-seeing, and possessed of an infinite knowledge. Whether, I am walking or standing still, whether I sleep or remain awake, the supreme knowledge and intuition are present with me, constantly and continuously. There are, O Nirgranthas, some sinful acts you have done in the past, which you must now wear out by this acute form of austerity. Now that here you will be living restrained in regard to your acts, speech, and thought, it will work as the nondoing of karma for future. Thus by the exhaustion of the force of past deeds through penance and the non-accumulation of new acts, (you are assured) of the stoppage of the future course of rebirth, from such stoppage, of the destruction of the effect of karma, from that, of the destruction of pain, from that, of the destruction of mental feelings, and from that, of the complete wearing out of all kinds of pain 71 The gift of supernormal vision was vouchsafed even to a householder,-to one who resided within his own house but conformed himself to the rule * Majjhima, I, pp. 92-93. 1

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44 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS of religious life as laid down by the great teacher. Gautama Indrabhuti was taken to task by the Master when he sought to claim a difference in degree in this respect between a recluse and a lay disciple? The gift of supernormal vision was no monopoly of any Order or caste or sex. In this matter, Mahavira made no distinction between men and men, or between men and women. He had not enjoined one set of rules for male recluses and another for female, one set of rules for male lay disciples and another for female. When he wandered about in the country, he was accompanied by male as well as female recluses The Jain texts clearly give us to understand that the Master had not only instructed his followers to observe penances and live restrained in all ways but keenly watched how they had been progressing He also encouraged them in the study of the Purvas and in developing their power of reasoning and arguing The Buddhist records themselves attest that there were some able and powerful disputants among the Nirgrantha recluses ? and lay disciples : i trasaga-dasao, Lec I ? Majjhima-Nikaya, I, p 227 ? Ibu, I, PP 374-375

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Parsa wartoprechte nor of Maharria 45 The Jain tradition of Tirthankaras was built up by the noble career of certain Ksatriya teachers. In this tradition, the role played by Mabavira was that of the very last reformer. His immediate predecessor was Parsva or Parsvanatha who too has been proved to be an historical personage'. He 'lived a hundred years, and died 250 years before Mahavira '' According to the KalpaSutra, 'the Arhat Parsva, the people's favourite, lived thirty years as a householder, . . . full seventy years as a Sramana, and a hundred years on the whole'? And he died on the summit of Mt. Sammeta (modern Paresnath hill in the Hazaribagh District). As for his popularity and great influence, we are told that he' had an excellent community of sixteen thousand sramanas. . (and) thirty-eight thousand nuns': The religious Order founded by him continued to exist till the time when Mahavira saw the light of the day. The followers of Parsva, referred to as Sramanas in the Jain books, used to wear clothes. The Purvas were their sacred books. The catuyamasamvara or 'fourfold restraint' was regarded as a distinctive feature of 4 Chimanlal J. Shah, Jainism in Northern India, P. 12. 2 Kalpa-Sutra, 168 3 Ibid., 166.

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46 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS their discipline The parents of Mahavira were lay worshippers of Parsva The influence of his teachings on the life of Mahavira's parents is described in the Acaranga thus 'Mahavira's parents were worshippers of Parsva and followers of the Sramanas. During many years they were followers of the Sramanas and for the sake of protecting the six classes of lives they observed, blamed, repented, confessed, and did penance according to their sins On a bed of kusa grass they rejected all food, and their bodies dried up by the last mortification of the flesh, which is to end in death Thus they died and, leaving their bodies, were born as gods in Adbhuta Kalpa (better, Acyuta Kalpa) '1. The existence of Parsva's Order in Mahavira's time is further proved by the reported disputes between the followers of Paryva and those of Mahavira The Bhagavati-Sutra describes one of such disputes which arose between Kalavesiyaputta, a follower of Parsva, and a disciple of Mahavira. The dispute, of course, ended when the former changed the law of the four vows for the law of the five vows enjoining compulsory confession'? * Jaina-Sutras, I, p. 194 2 Chimanlal J Shah, Jainism in Northern India, p. 10.

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LIFE 47 The Uttaradhyayana-Sutra records the following conversation between Kesi, a follower of Parsva, and Gautama, a chief disciple of Mahavira: When the four precepts promulgated by the great sage Parsva are held equally binding upon our two Orders, what is the cause of difference between us ?' Gautama replies 'Wisdom recognizes the truth of the law and the ascertainment of true things. The first saints were simple but slow of understanding, the last saints prevaricating and slow of understanding, those between the two simple and wise ; hence there are two forms of the law. The first could but with difficulty understand the precepts of the law, and the last could only with difficulty observe them, but those between them easily understood and observed them'i The historical importance of the dialogue lies not only in the contrast sharply drawn between the two Orders but in the necessity felt for amalgamating them into one Order. In the Rayapaseni, Kesi figures as a disciple of Mahavira. It may be thought thus : The religious Order founded by Parsva enjoyed the reputation of a high and rigid standard of conduct, verging upon * Jaina-Sutras, II, pp. 122-123.

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48 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS the stoic or ascetic He made four moral precepts binding upon his followers, precepts which were later enforced by Mahavira and Buddha'i As a reformer of Parsva's religion, Mahavira added a fifth, namely, the vow of chastity to the list of four-vows enjoined by his predecessor Secondly, he restricted the practice of religious suicide by slow starvation only to those among his disciples who followed his personal example. And as a happy result of the amalgamation of the two Orders, the oldest known Jain literature came to consist of the fourteen Purvas and the twelve Angas The Purvas, as it appears, formed the scriptural basis of the Upangas and other books of the Jain Canon Similarly Parsva's doctrine of six classes of living beings served as the basis of Mahavira's doctrine of six lesyas HTTs When Parsva lived Kasi was probably the most powerful kingdom in Northern India The un Buddhist Jatakas relate stories of repeated wars C-between Kasi and Kosala, which ended ultimately in the establishment of the supremacy of the latter kingdom. Both the Jaina and Buddhist sacred books point to a time when there arose "A History of Pre-Buddhist Indian Philosophy, p 380, Das Gupta, History of Indian Philosophy, Vol I, p. 169.

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49 four powerful monarchies in Northern India, and the rest of the country was divided into the principalities of several oligarchical or republican clans Magadha, Kosala, Vatsa, and Avanti were the four powerful kingdoms, where reigned Srenika Bimbisara, Prasenajit, Udayana, and Candapradyot respectively. Among the republican clans of Ksatriyas, the two most powerful were the VrjiLicchavis and the Mallas, who formed two separate confederacies in Mahavira's time. The Jnatrikas of Kundagrama and the Videhans of Videha were included in the confederacy of the Vrji-Licchavis with Vaisali as their chief seat of government. It is among these confederate Ksatriyas that Mahavira was born and found strong supporters of his religion. LIFE The Uvasaga-dasao refers to that early period of Mahavira's career as a teacher when there seems to have been an alliance of Kasi-Kosala, Anga, Alavi, Videha, Vaisali, Pava, and Kusinara against the growing power of Magadha. But, in spite of such an alliance, Anga was conquered by Srenika Bimbisara and permanently annexed to Magadha. Kunika-Ajatasatru, son and successor of Srenika Bimbisara, is represented throughout the Jain literature as the king of Campa, that is, of Anga. The fact perhaps is that Kunika-Ajatasatru was 4

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50 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS appointed to govern Anga as a viceroy, and while he was the viceroy of Anga, he picked up a quarrel with the Licchavis of Vaisali. The Pali scholiast Buddhaghosa says that the first quarrel arose on account of the arbitrary action of the Licchavis in violation of the term of a treaty by which half the mineral products of a mine was to be received by them, and the other half by Ajatasatru.' The Bhagavati-Sutra, however, suggests that some sixteen years before Mahavira's demise, a quarrel arose between Kunika and his brother or half-brother Vaihalya over the succession to the throne of their father In this quarrel, the Licchavis lent their support to Vaihalya's claim. The result was that Kunika had to fight a battle with the Licchavis who allied themselves with the Mallas and others ? Kunika must have suffered a defeat, although he succeeded in usurping the throne of Magadha The alliance of the Licchavis and the Mallas existed till the demise of Mahavira The Licchavis and the Aallas were indeed the two peoples to whom the rise of Mahavira was an object of national pride Accordingly we read in the Kalpa-Sutra that when Mahavira died at Pava, 1 Law, Some Ksatriya Tribes of Ancient India, P 113. 2 Barua, The Ajivikas, p 28.

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LIFE 51 the eighteen confederate kings of Kasi and Kosala, the nine Mallakis and the nine Licchavis'instituted an illumination." , The people of Arga-Magadha were equally "proud to think that their country was hallowed by the presence of so great a teacher and guide as Mahavira. According to the UttaradhyayanaSutra, king Srenika Bimbisara of Magadha paid the following glowing tribute to Mahavira when he met him at Rajagrha : 'You have made the best use of human birth, you have made a true Jina, * you are a protector (of mankind at large) and of your relations, for you have entered the path of the best Jinas'. Even we are told that forthwith the king, 'together with his wives, servants, and relations, became a staunch believer in the law, with a pure mind'. The Jain works represent Cetaka, maternal; uncle of Mahavira, as the most powerful king of Videha at whose call all the allied powers of the time combined, either for the purpose of offence or of defence He had seven daughters, the eldest of whom was married to king Udayana of Vatsa, 1 Kalpa-Sutra, P 128. 2 Uttaradhyayana, XX, V. 58; Jainism, P 117. Chimanlal J. Shah,

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52 MAHAVIRA' HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS and the youngest to king Srenika Bimbisara of Magadha. One joined the religious Order of Mahavira and the other four 'were married in one or the other royal family of Eastern India'. There may be some truth in the suggestion made by Mr Chimanlal J Shah that these princesses were instrumental in the propagation of Jainism in Northern India? The Kalpa-Sutra definitely records that Mahavira 'lived thirty years as a householder, more than full twelve years in a state inferior to perfection, something less than thirty years as a Kevalin, forty-two years as a (recluse), and seventy-two years on the whole'. That at the age of seventy-two, in the town of Pava, and in king Hastipala's office of the writers, Mahavira died, freed from all pains Some nine centuries elapsed since his demise when the council of Valabhi under the presidency of Devarddhi inet to make a final redaction of the words of Mahavira as handed down by an oral tradition, and caused the same to be written in books These sacred books of the Jain Agama or Siddhanta, all worded in Ardha-Magadhi, represent the oldest known literary monument in ? Jainism in Northern India, pp. 88 foll.

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LIFE Praknt, other than Pali. The impetus given by the Master to the development of the current speech of the people at large continued to act, and his later followers greatly helped in the literary development of all the main Prakrit dialects of mediaeval India. The Jains place the event of Mabavira's Nirvanah (demise) in B C. 527, while the Buddhists of Ceylon fix B C 544 or 543 as the date of Buddha's Mahaparinirvana. These two dates, one proposed for the demise of Mahavira and the other for that of the Buddha, cannot be harmonized with the historical facts connected with the life of the two great teachers of India Two things may be taken as certain (1) that Mahavira predeceased the Buddha by 5 or 6, 7 or 8, or even 14 or 15 years ; and (2) that Mahavira passed as a Jina before the Buddha The authenticity of B.C. 544 or 543 as the date of Buddha's demise has been questioned by modern scholars who propose either 486 or 484 as the correct date The figure 544 or 543 is accounted for as the date of accession of Srenika Bimbisara Similarly the figure 527 is accounted for as the date of attainment of Jinahood by Mahavira Accepting this date for Mahavira's Kevaliship, one has to compute the date of his birth as B.C 570, and that of his demise as BC 498 (or 500 in round numbers).

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54 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS - Mahavira was one of the great teachers of mankind He was indeed one of those teachers through whom the problem of the perfection of man came to be recognized as the highest problem before progressive humanity All the rules of religious life which he had enjoined, were intended to be a practical aid to the attainment of perfection of the self He did not preach to others what he had not practised himself. The goal set before mankind was the blissfulness of the entire being which could not be bought by the wealth and pomp and power of the world. This happy state is to be attained through patience, forbearance, self-denial, forgiveness, humanity, compassion, and consideration, in short, sufferings and sacrifice, love and kindness If he died, he died to live as an eternal personality. Before we close this short account of his life, it may repay our labours to briefly recount the impress of his personality on the life and civilization of India of his time "Ahimsa or non-harming is the very first principle Zof higher life that he inculcated to his disciples and followers The visible effect of ahimsa was sought to be proved by a practical demonstration. It was sought to be shown how even such brute creation as the beasts and birds, reptiles and

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LIFE 55 fishes, happily responded to the non-harming and compassionate attitude or disposition of men. Already in Mahavira's time, the righteous king of India made it a point of duty to vouchsafe the lawful protection to all forms of life within the compound of a religious establishment (dhammikarakkhavarana-gutti). This very principle of nonharming had a salutary effect on man's habitual diet. Those who came under the influence of Mahavira's personality and teachings gave up the eating of meat and fishes for good, and adhered to vegetarian diet. This change in diet went to improve the art of preparation of vegetable dishes. The same principle served to mitigate the rigour and ruthlessness of the criminal justice of ancient India The ancient laws were considerably modified and humanized. Compassion for the suffering fellow-beings is just the other side of non-harming The principle of compassion was at the back of many philanthropic and humanitarian deeds and institutions which he encouraged. There must have been something very special and most forceful which appealed to the heart of the people of the trading community who realizing the utter worthlessness of earthly good came * Majjhima, II, P 101, etc.

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56 MAHAVIRA * HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS forward to forsake all things for the good and happiness of others. * Chastity, sexual and moral, is a virtue alike for individuals and nations to develop And this he taught alike to individuals and nations that came under his influence Salvation was preached as the birthright of men, and it was assured to all without distinction of caste or creed or sex The Kriyavada or doctrine of action which he taught went to make men conscious of their responsibility for all their acts, mental, vocal or bodily The same also awakened the consciousness that salvation was not a gift of favour but an attainment within human possibility Thus he dispensed with the idea of hereditary priesthood It is for all persons to decide for themselves whether they will live as householders or turn monks according to their choice and fitness The Syadvada forming the basis of Jain metaphysics and dialectics is still a doctrine, which is very imperfectly understood But certain it is that this doctrine was formulated as a scheme of thought in which there is room for consideration of all points of view, and of all ideals This was brought forward at a most critical period of Indian * 91. should be the

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LIFE 57 life when many conflicting dogmas were adumbrated without leading to certitude. The Syadvada stands out as an intellectual idea of that harmony among men which is based upon mutual understanding. In literature it has served as a basis of encyclopaedic knowledge in which many of his votaries have excelled. Jainism spread all over India since Mahavira's demise. The Chronicles of Ceylon attest that it spread also in Ceylon The places hallowed by the dust of his feet became sacred as places of pilgrimage to the millions of his votaries. Those very places became sites of the Jain shrines, the architecture, sculpture, and painting of which are still the most precious objects of admiration to all.

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II TEACHINGS 1 The teachings of Mahavira have come down to us as a living tradition which grew up and took a complete literary form through ten centuries from his demise This tradition was up to a certain date known as fourteen Purvas The fourteen Purvas themselves presuppose the existence of an earlier ten that had embodied the religious tradition of Parsva and formed, as we are led to think by a legend in the Bhagavati-Sutra, a common basis of the Jaina and Ajivika Canons The gradual loss of those Purvas may be accounted for by the rise of the sacred books of the Jaina Canon, -the Siddhanta or Agama by way of compilations from time to time The process of compilation passed through a few stages till it was stopped with the preparation of a final redaction of the Canon at the council of Valabhi, under the presidency of Arya Devarddhi, in 454 (or 467) A D.1 The casual references to the books representing various divisions of the said Canon seem suggest a stratification of the Angas, the Upangas, 1 Jaina-Sutras, Part I, Introd, p xxxvii. to

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TEACHINGS and the rest and a chronology of their gradual development. The process of growth is comparable to that of an embryo in the womb, the various parts and limbs manifesting themselves, one after the other, till the organism reaches its full-fledged form. There was obviously a stage when the twelve Angas were known and acknowledged as the only authoritative sacred books of Jainism. The twelfth Anga, called Drstivada, has been lost, as the tradition of the Jaina Church persistently informs us. But even the loss of this Anga may be accounted for by the rise of other books on its basis. So, looked at from this point of view, nothing has been lost. The Sutrakrtanga expressly refers only to the twelve Angas as 'the Canon of the Ganins, which has been taught, produced, and declared by the Sramanas, the Nirgranthas, viz. the Acaranga (all down to) the Drstivada '.1 These are indeed the sacred texts that were venerated as maitthana (matrsthana, Inatrices), precisely as the Buddhists viewed the five Nikayas as matuka or matrices of their Canon. Professor Jacobi misses the real 1 Sutrakrtanga, II, I 27. 2 Ibid., I, 9 24 3 For this meaning of matuka, see D L. Barua's note, I.C., Vol. I, pp. 107 foli

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60 MAHAVIRA . HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS import of the word nartthana when he inclines to equate it with mayasthana 1 The twelve Angas were the matrices or fundamental bases of the Jaina Siddhanta Even with regard to the Angas, it may be shown that Ardha-Magadhi, the literary idiom developed in them, is younger than Pali of the Buddhist Canon preserved in Ceylon In the same connection, one may think with Professor Jacobi that the first book of the Acaranga and that of the Sutrakrtanga-Sutra may be reckoned among the most ancient parts of the Siddhanta ', or that the Vaitaliya metre used in the Pali Dhammapada represents ' an older stage in the development of the Vaitaliya' than that in the Sutrakrtanga 8 Even one may cite instances of parallelism between Jainism and Buddhism, and of influence of the latter on the former When we see that Mahavira is honoured with such epithets as Buddha, Tathagata, Sugata, and Sambuddha, we cannot help feeling that these are borrowed Just take them away, and you see that Jina, Arhat, Tirthankara, Vira, Mahavira, Vaisalika, Nirgrantha, the 1 Jaina-Sutras, Pt II, p 304, f n 3 2 Ayaramga, edited by Jacobi, Introd 3 Jaina-Sutras, Pt I, Introd , p xli

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61 TEACHINGS great Brahmana, the great Sramana, and the rest of usual titles of Vardhamana come into prominence as Jaina specials 1 The text of the Angas and that of some of the Upangas do not fail, notwithstanding their later accretions, to suggest that very atmosphere of society, religion, and thought in which it was possible for Jainism and Buddhism to arise and make a wide appeal to the classes of people to whom they were addressed. Silanka and other Jaina commentators have assiduously tried, no doubt, to clear up allusions in these ancient Jaina texts to the views, beliefs, and practices by means of systems and doctrines of the Sankhya, the Vedanta or the Buddhist Sunyavada philosophy. But similar allusions to those very views, beliefs, and practices in the text of the Pali Canon suggest at once a much earlier stage of Indian religious thought, which was only imperfectly understood by the Jaina scholiasts Thus even in dealing with the teachings of Mahavira, the safer means of distinguishing between things earlier and later in the Jaina Angas consists in the side-lights that may be gathered from the Pali Nikayas, but not from the guesses of the Jaina scholiasts who flourished 1 Ibid, pp XIX-XX.

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62 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS long, long after the age in which Mahavira or his immediate disciples and followers had lived. Thus the Angas are the main set of texts upon which we should rely in giving an account and estimate of Mahavira's teachings, and the Pali Nikayas are of help to us only in so far as they corroborate the Jaina evidence We have seen that the Pali Nikayas bring before us a great personality, who was known to his contemporaries as Nirgrantha Jnatrputra Around this personality there gathered a large number of men and women, from all families or social grades His disciples and followers sincerely believed that their master was a great Sramana, a great Brahmana, a great Tirthankara, a great Guru, a great Master, who, whether walking or sitting still, was gifted with a supreme knowledge and vision of the summum bonum. It is this earnest belief or deep conviction about the greatness of the Teacher that had induced them to repose their trust in him and in his words. To them he stood as a living example of highest human virtue and perfection His life was to them a perennial source of light and inspiration His sufferings and forbearance kept them steady in all their trials and tribulations And his teachings or instructions were to them not ordinary words but

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TEACHINGS utterances of one who saw the light of truth and was able to lead others along the path to truth. In all earnestness they sought to obey those words, both in the letter and in the spirit. In other words, those teachings of his were readily accepted by them as a means of satisfying their supreme religious need. But The goal of their religious life, as we are informed in a Pali Sutta, was sukha or infinite bliss, which was not to be measured by the finite happiness of mortals. So the main formula or aphorism of Mahavira's teachings was : The infinite bliss is not reachable through the finite happiness of even so fortunate among men as the reigning monarchs, it is reachable only through dukkha or pain of foregoing and forsaking all finite happiness." The formula suggests a twofold inquiry : one regarding the nature of the goal, and the other regarding the nature of the path The nature of the goal suggested is sukha or infinite bliss, and the implication is that it is attainable by human efforts And the nature of the path suggested is dukkha or pain of foregoing and forsaking all finite happiness, and the implication is that the path that leads to worldly happiness is not the path that leads to infinite bliss., * Majjhima-Nikaya, I, pp. 93-94.

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.64 MAHAVIRA * HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS ription of Maharrar * Now let us see how the Tirthankara has been described in the Jaina Sutrakstanga, and in what light his personality and teachings were viewed by his immediate disciples. He is the glorious man who lived before their eyes He is the great sage who possessed infinite knowledge and infinite faith He is the highest and the wisest in the whole world He is the omniscient sage Kasyapa who proclaimed the highest law of the Jinas His knowledge is inexhaustible like the water of the sea He is limitless and pure like the great ocean. He is passionless, unfettered, and brilliant like Sakra, the king of the gods By his vigour he is the most vigorous He stands 111 the centre of the earth like Mt. Sudarsana, the best of all mountains He is seen in a pure light like that of the sun He is noble, glorious, full of faith, knowledge, and virtue After having taught the highest law he practised the highest contemplation which is the purest of pure, thoroughly white as it were like mother-of-pearl and moon. Having annihilated all his karman by his knowledge, virtue, and faith, he reached the unsurpassable, highest perfection, which is a state with a beginning but without an end He is the best of teachers who have taught Nirvana. He is the hero who grants protection to all, and whose perfection is infinite.

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TEACHINGS 65 He had mastered all philosophical systems, and practised control as long as he lived. All that is the best in nature and the highest in the world serves as a point of comparison, and yet he remains incomparable and unsurpassed." The 'distant end'? or ultimate object of Jainism, as taught by Mahavira, is Nirvana which 'consists in peace's Nirvana is just another name of moksa or liberation, mukti or deliverance. The liberation is not anything unreal, but the best thing' This is no false assertion to declare that there is such a thing as liberation, which can be realized by man in the highest condition of aloofness and transcendentality of himself As Gautama, a disciple of Mahavira, explained to Kesi, a disciple of Parsva, 'There is a safe place in view of all, but difficult of approach, where there is no old age, nor death, no pain nor disease'. It is what is called Nirvana, or freedom from pain, or perfection, which is in view of all; it is the safe, happy, and quiet place which the great sages reach. This is the eternal place, in view of all, but difficult of approach.'. If it is liberation, Sutrakrtanga, I, 6, Jaina-Sutras, Pt II, pp. 287-292. 2 Ibid , I, 8 18 , Jaina-Sutras, II, p 299. 3 Ibid , I, II. II. 4 Ibid , 1, 10. 12. 5 Uttaradhyayana, XXIII, 81-84, Jaina-Sutras, II, p. 128.

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66 MAHAVIRA' HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS liberation from what? The reply given is-from a state of bondage brought on by karman If it is deliverance, deliverance from what ? To this, the reply is--from old age, disease, death, in short, all that constitutes a painful existence for the self If Nirvana or Moksa is a real state of sukha or bliss, how can it be reached ? The opinion that . Pleasant things are produced from pleasant things', 'Moksa, a pleasant thing, is arrived at through a comfortable life, another pleasant thing' is opposed and proved to be futile The precedents cited from the tradition of such ancient and renowned Rsis as Asita, Devala, Dvaipayana, and Parasara, who were generally believed to have reached perfection, notwithstanding the fact that they had eaten seeds and drunk water are considered no valid proof in support of the above proposition ? Even the Buddhist mode of life appeared to be too comfortable to be compatible with the right path to salvation as promulgated by the great Teacher So the proposition had to be rather reversed in formulating the path set out for the Nirgranthas 1 Sutrakrtanga, I, 3 4, 4-6, Jaina-Sutras, II, p 269. 2 Jaina-Sutras, II, p. 269, f n 3

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TEACHINGS Na sukhena sukham adhigantabbam, dukkhena sukham adhigantabbam.? What is the dukkha or painful and difficult path whereby the disciples of the Jina were called to seek sukha or infinite bliss, ---the liberation, the deliverance, the beatitude, the salvation, the Niryana ? On this head we are informed in the Pali Sutta that by the dukkha or painful and difficult path was meant dukkarakarika or rigorous practice of penances Samvara 2 or practice of selfrestraint with regard to the body, speech, and mind was just the other aspect of dukkarakarika or tapas The practice of austerities or penances was to be resorted to as a means of wearing out and ultimately destroying the effects of sinful deeds (papakamma) committed in former existences (pubbe), and that of the threefold self-restraint, as a means of not giving effect to a new karman. Thus from the undoing of the effects of old karman by means of penances (purananam kammanam tapasa vyantibhava) and the non-doing of such acts as are likely to produce a new karman effect (navanam kammanam akarana) there follows, as 1 Majjhima-Nikaya, I, Culadukkhakkhandha-Sutta. 2 The term is supplied, as it does not actually occur in the text, but is clearly implied

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68 MAHAVIRA: HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS a result, the non-gliding of the self in the course of samsara in future (ayatim anavassavo). The sequel of this is the destruction of karman (kammakkhayo), the sequel of that is the destruction of the painful physical condition of the self (dukkhakkhayo), the sequel of that is the destruction of the painful mental condition of the self (vendanakkhayo), and from that ultimately results a complete wearing out of all pain, bodily or mental (sabbam dukkham nijjinnam bhavissati).1 Thus here we have a somewhat clumsy but, upon the whole, a correct and faithful reproduction of the words of Mahavira as represented by his disciples to those of the Buddha The historical importance of this Buddhist statement of Mahavira's teachings is that it points to a very early formulation of the main ideas of Jainism. Its importance lies also in the fact that it sets forth the whole chain of reasoning by which the terms of the Jaina thought were interlinked, the sequence ending in nurjara or moksa. It serves also to unveil the plan of thought in which the chain of reasoning was sought to be developed by arranging the terms broadly under two heads : positive and negative, or negative and positive. 1 Majjhima-Nikaya, I, 93

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TEACHINGS 69 The books of the Jaina Canon clearly show that the terminology and exposition of the Jaina thought had developed by stages. The system, when it had reached its final shape in the Canon itself, came to be represented by the following terms and groups of terms On its logical or dialectical side it came to be described as a doctrine of nayas, and on its pragmatic or practical side, as Kriyavada 2 The three spheres of the self to which it was required to administer came to be represented by these three terms jnana or sphere of knowledge and intuition, darsana or sphere of faith and devotion, and cartra or sphere of conduct and behaviour 3 The main system of Jainism came to be represented as navatattva or doctrine of nine terms. I jiva 6. asrava 2 ajiva 7 samvara 3 bandha 8 karmaksaya 4. punya 9. moksa. 5. papa 1 Uttaradhyayana-Sutra, XXVIII, 24 2 Sutrakrtanga, I, 12 21 3 Ibid., I, 6. 14 * Uttaradhyayana-Sutra, XXVIII, 14. Jaina-Sutras, Pt II, p. 154

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70 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS As corollaries to these terms, it came to include two other groups of terms 1 1. The sit astikayas or terms comprehending - and characterizing the world of existence (I) dharma, (2) adharma, (3) kala, (4) akasa, and (5) atma 2 The three terms of dravya, guna, and paryaya comprehending and characterizing the six astikayas. The doctrine of nayas is just what is termed syadvada in the post-canonical works, and the nayas are no other than the seven modes of syadvada (saptabhanginyaya) The canonical texts just mention the nayas without fixing up their number, four or seven The term kiriya or Kriyavada, and the three terms relating to the three aspects of the Jaina faith may be shown to have formed a part of the oldest known nomenclature of Jainism The terms representing the main system and the terms forming corollaries to them are indiscriminately set out together with other terms of a similar import in a passage in the Sutrakrtanga presenting certain important articles of faith 'Do not maintain that the world does not exist, maintain that it exists * Uttaradhyayana-Sutra, XXVIII, 5-7

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TEACHINGS 71 Do not maintain that jiva and ajiva do not exist, but that they exist. Do not maintain that dharma and adharma do not exist, but that they exist. Do not maintain that bondage and liberation do not exist, but that they exist Do not maintain that virtue (punya) and papa (vice) do not exist, but that they exist. Do not maintain that asrava and the stoppage of asrava (samvara) do not exist, but that they exist. Do not maintain that the experiencing of the effect, and the annihilation of karman do not exist, but that they exist Do not maintain that activity and non-activity do not exist, but that they exist Do not maintain that there is no such thing as perfection and non-perfection, but that there is such a thing. Do not maintain that there is no place exclusively reserved for those who attain to perfection, but that there is such'i The articles of faith formulated from an implied syadvada point of view read He (a Jaina monk) should not believe that (this world) is without beginning or without end, 1 Sutraketanga, II, 5, Jaina-Sutras, II, pp. 405-409.

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< 72 MAHAVIRA: HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS eternal or not eternal, according to the argumentation (of others) From these alternatives you cannot arrive at truth; from these alternatives you are certainly led to error.' Similarly, 'One should not say that there will be an end of beings who (know and) teach the truth, nor that all beings are not alike, nor that they shall be in (perpetual) bondage, or (that the prophets are eternal)' Thus the main points of Jainism as taught by its founder and interpreted by its later exponents may be envisaged. Here our immediate task is to see what light may be actually thrown on those points from the text of the Angas considered in the light of the evidence of the Pali Nikayas 1. Syadvada. This consists of certain nayas which, according to Sir R G. Bhandarkar, are points of view or principles with reference to which certain judgments are arrived at or arrangements made '2 The number of nayas came to be finally fixed as seven, while the canonical texts are reticent about their number. The term syadvada itself is met with in the Sutrakrtanga C 1 1 Sutrakrtanga, II, 5, Jaina-Sutras, II, pp. 405-409 2 Bhandarkar, Report, p 112

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TEACHINGS 73 One cannot fail to perceive the logical necessity of its formulation in the teachings of Mahavira. Both Mahavira and Buddha had to reckon with the sceptical position of Sanjaya suspending judgments where an assertion of truth appeared to be opposed by a counter-assertion, each, according to a verbal interpretation, excluding the other. If the question was mooted like this. Is the world eternal or not eternal ? The Master's advice to his disciples was neither to side with those who maintained that the world is eternal nor with those who maintained that it is not eternal The reason assigned for this was that from neither of these alternatives they could arrive at truth, or that proceeding (exclusively) from either they would only be led to error. To avoid exclusiveness in judgments about all matters of fact is the chief thing aimed at in the above advice. Thus in deciding all such questions, the admirable way was one of syadvada : The world is eternal as far as that part is concerned which is the substratum of the idea (samanya)" world"; it is not eternal as far as its ever-changing state . is meant . The syad mode was the real way of escape from the position of the dogmatist and Jaina-Sutras, II, p 405, f n. I.

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74 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS that of the sceptic, from both of which Mahavira recoiled. 2 Kriyavada.--Jainism was launched forth by its founder as a Krzyavada,' which, according to the Pali Nikaya usage, is the same term as Karmavada or doctrine of action The Pali Nikayas refer to an ancient householder teacher of India as the first expounder of the doctrine of action? The Jaina Sutrakrtanga, too, speaks of other types of Kryavada then current in India. Buddhism, too, was promulgated as a form of Kriyavada or Karmavada. Further in the teaching of Mahavira, Kriyavada of Jainism is sharply distinguished from akriyavada (doctrine of nonaction), ajnanavada (scepticism), and vinayavada (formalism), precisely as in the word of the Buddha, kriyavada of Buddhism is distinguished from satkayadrsti involving various types of akriya, vicikitsa (scepticism), and silarratu-paramarsa (formalism) * Thus to arrive at a correct understanding of the doctrinal significance of kriyavada of Jainism it is necessary not only to see how it has been distinguished from akriyavada, ajnana 1 Sutrakrtanga, I, 12 21 * Majjhima-N ,I, P 483 Sutrakrtanga, I, 6 27 ; I, 10 17 4 Khuddakapatha, P 5

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TEACHINGS 75 vada, and vinayavada, but also from other types of kriyavada. As typical instances of akriyavada, the Pali Nikayas mention the doctrines and views of four teachers, all of whom are associated with Mahavira as his notable contemporaries and as great leaders of Indian thought of that age. These are the very doctrines and views that find mention in the Jaina Sutrakrtanga as types of akriyavada. The four teachers, according to Buddhist tradition, are Purana Kasyapa, Maskari Gosala, Kakudha Katyayana, and Ajita Kesakambali. The first of them is represented as a teacher who advocated a theory of chance to account for all actions of beings, while in the Sutrakrtanga similar views are interpreted as a theory of the passivity of souls (niskriyayada) The second man is introduced as a dangerous fatalist both in the Pali Nikayas and in the Jaina Angas. The third man plays the role of an eternalist seeking to account for all phenomena, all happenings in the world by a mechanical combination and separation of seven factors in reality, the number being six as given in the Jaina Argas. The fourth man appears as a veritable atheist denying the possibility of Digha-N., I, pp. 47-48.

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76 MARAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS individual existence after death and the efficacy of all funeral rites performed for the benefit of the deceased person The types of akriyavada mentioned in the Sutrakrtanga are as follows (1) There are these five gross elements * earth, water, fire, wind, and air From them arises an intelligent principle called atman On the dissolution of the five elements living beings cease to exist Everybody, fool or sage, has an individual soul These souls exist as long as the body exists, but after death they are no more. There are no souls which are born again There is neither virtue nor vice, there is no world beyond On the dissolution of the body the individual ceases to be There are individual souls. They experience pleasure and pain, and at death they lose their state of life 2 (2) When a man acts or causes another to act, it is not his soul (atman) which acts or causes to act * Jacobi, Jaina-Sutras, II, pp 236-239 2 Sutrakrtanga, I, I I. 7, 8, 12, I, I 2 Jaina-Sutras, II, pp 236-239 3 Ibid , I, I I. 13 I, I, 1. 1. 18.

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77 (3) There are five elements and the soul is a sixth substance. These six substances are imperishable and eternal by their very nature.1 (4) Pleasure, pain, and final beatitude are not caused by the souls themselves, but the individual souls experience them. It is the lot assigned to them by destiny. Some beings have motion, others not. It depends on certain conditions whether they are in the one state or in the other 2 (5) The world has been created or is governed by the gods. TEACHINGS It has been created or is governed by Brahman. It has been created or is governed by Isvara. It has been created by Svayambhu. It is produced from the primeval egg, and Brahman created the things. It is produced from chaos." (6) The world is boundless and eternal, it exists from eternity and does not perish. It is limited, but eternal. The knowledge of the highest being is unlimited. It is limited in every way * 1 Sutrakrtanga, I, 1 1. 15-16 2 Ibid., I, 1. 2. 2, 3; I, I 4.8 3 Ibid., I, 1. 3. 5-8, Jaina-Sutras, Part II. * Ibid, I, I. I. 17.

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78 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS 6) Just as the earth, though it is but one pile, presents many forms, so atman, the self, appears under various forms as the universe ? All these views are again reduced to just four main types that correspond to those associated in the Pali Nikayas with four leading thinkers of the time, viz atheism, like that of Ajita; eternalism, like that of Katyayana ; absolutism, like that of Kasyapa ; and fatalism, like that of Gosala. The first type is represented thus The atman is a living individual, a biological entity The whole self lives and lasts as long as the body, it does not outlast the destruction of the body. With the body ends life When it has been consumed by fire, only dove-coloured bones remain, and the four bearers return with the hearse to their village Therefore, there is and exists no soul apart from the body, those who believe it speak the truth The second type stands as follows. The five substances with the soul as the sixth are not created, directly or indirectly. They are without beginning and end. They always produce effects through an intermixture, and are independent of a directing cause or everything else. They 1 Sutrakrtanga, I, 1 I 9

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TEACHINGS 79 are eternal. What is, does not perish. From nothing, nothing comes. The third type teaches : All things have the atman, self or ego for their cause and object, they are produced by the self, they are manifested by the self, they are intimately connected with the self, they are bound up in the self. As, for instance, a water bubble is produced in water, grows in water, is not separate from water, but is bound up in water, so as to all things and the self. The fourth type teaches . One man admits action, another man does not admit action. Both men are alike, their case is the same, because they are actuated by the same force, ie by fate. It is their destiny that all beings, movable or immovable, come to have a body, to undergo the vicissitudes of life, and to experience pleasure and pain Each of these four types stands as an example of akriyavada inasmuch as it fails to inspire moral and pious action, or to make an individual responsible for an action and its consequences. c The ajnanavada, vinayavada, and other types of kriyavada are nowhere clearly described. We are *Sutrakrtanga, II, I 15-34 , Jamna-Sutras, II, PP 339-347.

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80 MAHAVIRA. HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS simply told that the upholders of the first cannot lead to knowledge, that they cannot reach the truth by themselves, still less teach it to other men. In the Pali Nikayas, they are described as prevaricators in their judginents and statements. Whenever they are confronted with two alternatives in thought, appearing to be equally tenable and untenable, they refrain from giving their own judgments and begiu to point to the need of seeking peace by avoiding both the alternatives According to the Uttaradhyayana-Sutra, the inefficiency of knowledge ' is the real upshot of ajnanavada ? In the Sutrakrtanga, the upholders of ajnanavada are represented as those thinkers who pretending to be clever, reason incoherently, and do not get beyond the confusion of their ideas 3 The Vinayavada may be supposed to have been the same doctrine as what is called Silabbataparamasa in Pali The silabbata-paramasa is a view of those who maintain that the purity of oneself may be reached through the observance of certain moral precepts (silena) or by means Sutrakrtanga, I, I 2 17 2 Uttaradhyayana-Sutra, XVIII, 23. 3 Sutrakrtanga, I, 12 2

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TEACHINGS 81 of keeping certain vows (vatena) as prescribed. According to the Sutrakrtanga, the upholders of vinayavada are those who assert The goal of religious life is realized by confirmation to the rules of discipline'. 'Some say that perfection is reached by abstaining from the seasoner of food (salt), others by the use of cold water (by ablutions), others again by (tending) a fire.'2 The types of kriyavada that do not come up to the standard of Jainism are two in number (1) The soul of him who is pure will become free from bad karman on reaching beatitude, but in that state it will again become defiled through pleasant excitement or hatred. As clear water which is free from defilement becomes again defiled, so will be the soul (r) (2) If a man with the intention of killing a baby hurts a gourd, mistaking it for a baby, he will be guilty of murder If, on the other hand, a man with the intention of roasting a gourd roasts a baby, mistaking him for a gourd, he will not be guilty of murder This is the view of the Buddhist with whom intention is the criterion of the moral guilt or innocence in man's action 1 Sutrakrtanga, I, 12 4 8 Ibid , 1, 1. 3 II, 12. 2 Ibid., I, 7 12. * Ibid., II, 6 26, 27.

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82 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS The main formula of the kriyavada of Mahavira reads. Sayamkadan ca dukkham, nannakadam. * The painful condition of the self is brought about by one's own action, it is not brought about by any other cause (fate, creator, chance, or the like).'1 The same is stated thus in the Pali Nikayas Sukha-dukkham sayamkatam in contradistinction to Sukha-dukkham parainkatam Pleasure and pain are brought about by one's own action'] 'Individually a man is born, individually he dies, individually he falls (from this state of existence), individually he rises (to another). His passions, consciousness, intellect, perceptions, and impressions belong to the individual exclusively. Here, indeed, the bonds of relationship are not able to help nor save one's * All living beings owe their present form of existence to their own karman; timid, wicked, suffering latent misery, they err about in the 1 Sutrakstanga, I 12. II 2 Anguttara-Nikaya, III, p. 440 , Samyutta-Nikaya, II, p. 22 3 Sutrakstanga, II, 1 41; Jaina-Sutras, II, P 349.

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TEACHINGS 83 circle of births), subject to birth, old age, and death.'1 The sinners cannot annihilate works by new works; the pious annihilate their works by abstention from works.'' Pleasant things are not produced from pleasant things.'' He who intends (to kill) a living being but does not do it by his body, and he who unknowingly kills one, both are affected by that through a slight contact (with it) only, but the demerit (in their case) is not fully developed.'' He who knows himself and the world ; who knows where (the creatures) go, and whence they will not return; who knows what is eternal and what is transient ; birth and death, and the future existences of men.' "He who knows the tortures of beings below in hell) ; who knows the influx of sin and its stoppage , who knows misery and its annihilation, he is entitled to expound the kriyavada.' The texts cited above suffice to indicate that the Jaina doctrine of nine terms (navatattva) *Sutrakltanga, 1, 2. 3 18 , Jaina-Sutras, II, P 260 2 Ibid , I, 12. 15 8 Implied in ibid., I, 3. 4.6. - Ihd., I, I 2, 25. BIbid , I, 12, 20, 21.

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84 MAHAVIRA: HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS developed from the necessity for a systematic exposition of kriyavada, which is in its essential feature only a theory of soul and karma. According to this theory, there are as many souls as living individuals, and karma consists of acts, intentional and unintentional, that produce effects on the nature of soul Thus soul is not passive in the sense that it remains untouched or unaffected by what a person does for the sake of some interests but is susceptible to the influences of karma The effects or impressions of individual acts or efforts on soul are called lesa or lesyas. The lesa is, according to the Sutrakrtanga, a term signifying 'colour '1 The classification of living beings in terms of six colours may be traced in Parsva's doctrine of six jivanikayas 2 The Ajivika expression, chalabhijatiyo, as explained by Buddhaghosa, implies the same method of classification of men in terms of six as ) colours 8 The Mahabharata expression, jiva-satvarnah, hardly leaves room for doubt that the lesa is a term to denote colour. The Buddhist idea of contamination of mind by the influx of impuri 1 Sutrakrtanga, I, 6 13, Jaina-Sutras, II, p. 196 f.n 2 Acaranga, II, 15 16. 3 Barua, A History of Pre-Buddhistic Indian Philosophy, pp. 309 and 318

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85 TEACHINGS ties from outside, illustrated by the simile of a piece of cloth dyed blue, red, yellow, or the like1 would seem to have some bearing on the Jaina doctrine of six lesyas which is merely hinted at, here and there, in the Sutrakrtanga, and fully explained in the Uttaradhyayana. The Jaina religious efforts are directed towards the acquisition of pure lesya." 3. Jnana, Darsana, Charitra -Knowledge, Faith, and Virtue are the three terms that signify the comprehensiveness of Jainism as taught by Mahavira The Uttaradhyayana-Sutra adds Austerities as a fourth to the usual earlier list of three terms 5 Knowledge is characterized as right knowledge, Faith, as right faith, and Virtue, as right conduct. These three constitute the path to beatitude, to liberation, to Nirvana. The Uttaradhyayana-Sutra speaks of five kinds of knowledge (1) sruta, or that which is derived from the study of sacred books; (2) abhinibodhika, or that which is derived from one's experience, 1 Barua, Cittavisuddhiprakarana and its Pali Basis, in Indian Culture 2 Sutrakrtanga, I, 4. 21, where a Jaina saint is described as < a person whose soul is in a pure condition (lesya)' * Uttaradhyayana, XXXIV Jaina-Sutras, II, 152. Sutrakrtanga, I, 10. 15.

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86 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS thought or understanding ; (3) avadhi, or that which is co-extensive with the object ; (4) manahparyaya, or knowledge of the thoughts of other people ; and (5) kevala, or the highest, unlimited knowledge. The first kind of knowledge corresponds to what the Buddhists call sutamaya panna; the second kind, to what they call cintamaya panna , the third kind, to what they call vilokana ; the fourth kind, to what they call cetopariya-nana; and the fifth kind, to what they call sabbannuta or omniscience consisting in three faculties of reviewing and recalling to mind all past existences with details, of perceiving the destiny of other beings according to their deeds, and of being conscious of the final destruction of sins. The Avadhi-jnana is rather knowledge which is co-extensive with the object rather than knowledge which is supernatural. The Kalpa-Sutra, for instance, says he viewed the whole Jambudvipa with his knowledge called avadhi. Here aradhi means that which is limited by the object, that which is just sufficient to survey the field of observation. The manahparyaya-qnana is defined in the Acaraaga-Sutra as a knowledge of the thoughts of 1 Kalpa-Sutra, 15 , Jaina-Sutras, I, p. 223.

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TEACHINGS 87 all sentient beings. And the kevala-jnana is defined in the same text as omniscience enabling a person to comprehend all objects, to know all conditions of the world of gods, men, and demons: whence they come, where they go, where they are born, etc? Knowledge, as represented in the Angas and other texts of the Canon, is rather religious vision, intention or wisdom than knowledge in a metaphysical sense. The samyak darsana or right faith consists in an insight into the meaning of truths as proclaimed and taught, a mental perception of the excellence of the system as propounded, a personal conviction as to the greatness and goodness of the teacher, and a ready acceptance of certain articles of faith for one's guidance. Samyak darsana is intended to remove all doubt and scepticism from one's mind, and to establish or re-establish faith It is such a form of faith as is likely to inspire action by opening a new vista of life and its perfection. Right faith on the one hand, and inaction, vacillation, on the other, are mutually incompatible. 1 Acaranga, II, 15. 23 ? Ibid , II, 15. 25. Uttaradhyayana, XXXII, 2. * Ibid., XXVIII, 16-28. Note the nine kinds of obstruction to right faith in ibid., XXXIII, 5. 6.

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88 MAHAVIRA: HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS The articles of the Jaina faith are all formulated with a view to producing a mental disposition and outlook which is different from that which is likely to be produced by the various types of akriyavada, ajnanavada, and vinayavada.1 The excellence of faith depends on the following points that one has no doubts about the truth of the tenets, that one has no preference for the tenets of others, that one does not doubt the saving qualities of one's own faith, that one is not shaken in the right belief, that one praises the pious, that one encourages the weak fellows, that one supports and loves the confessors of the law, and that one endeavours to exalt one's own faith 2 A man of knowledge is a man of faith, and a man of faith is a man of action Virtue consists in right conduct But there is no right conduct without right belief, and no right belief without the right perception of truth The quintessence of right conduct is the purity of morals which is achieved by the threefold restraint, the restraint of the body, the restraint of speech, the restraint of mind. The first step to virtue lies in the avoid 8 4 1 Sutrakrtanga, II, 5 the Lecture called Freedom from Error. 2 Uttaradhyayana-Sutra, XXVIII. 3 Ibid, XXVIII, 28 29 * Sutrakrtanga, I, 1. 2 27.

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TEACHINGS 89 ance of sins. There are various ways of committing sins, directly and indirectly, by bodily acts, by the word of mouth and even by thoughts.? Thus to avoid sins one must guard oneself by the samitis and guptis. Not to kill anything, to live according to the rules of conduct and without greed, to take care of the highest good, to control oneself always in walking, in sitting and lying down, and in the matter of food and drink, to leave off pride, wrath, deceit, and greed, to possess the samitis, to be protected by the five samvaras, and to reach perfection by remaining unfettered among the fettered, these are, in short, the cardinal principles of chartra as taught by Mahayira. 4. Doctrine of nine terms --Right knowledge, faith, and conduct, the three essential points in Mahavira's teachings, constitute the path of Jainism which leads to the destruction of karma and to perfection. Destruction means, on the one hand, the exhaustion of accumulated effects of action in the past, and it means, on the other, the stoppage of the future rise of such effects. Perfection (siddhi) consists in the consciousness of one's 1 Sutrakitanga, I, 1 2. 26. Three ways of committing sins: by one's own activity, by commission; by approval of the deed. 2 Ibrd., I, 1 4. 10-13. Ibid., I, 2. I. 21, 22.

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MAHAVIRA: HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS liberation, and liberation means the freedom of soul from its bondage. The doctrine of nine terms is formulated with a view to explaining systematically these two points. Of the nine terms, some are to explain how the bondage of soul arises by way of effects of karma upon it, and some to explain how those effects are got rid of and the liberation of soul is obtained. 90 The first pair of terms consists of jiva and ajiva. These two terms comprehend the world of existence as known and experienced. The jiva signifies all that has life, and the ajiva signifies the things without life The world of life is represented by the six classes of living things and beings, the first three of which are immovable and the last three movable. The earth lives, water lives, and plants are immovable beings, while the movable beings are the fire lives, wind lives, and those with an organic body The living things are either subtile or gross, and the living beings are either those still belonging to samsara or those whose souls are perfected Through the gradation of living things and beings one can trace the evolution of the senses, the lowest form of beings being provided with only one sense, the sense of touch.1 1 Uttaradhyayana, XXXVI; Sutrakrtanga, I, 7. I.

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TEACHINGS The study of the category of jiva is important because it is in connection or inter-connection with the six classes of beings that the process of karma sets in and the nature of man's conduct is determined. The Jina taught Know and understand that they all desire happiness; by hurting these beings men do harm to their own souls, and will again and again be born as one of them. Every being born high or low in the scale of the living creation, among movable and immovable beings, will meet with its death. Whatever sins the evil doer commits in every birth, for them he must die.'1 * 91 The things without life are either formed or formless. The formed are compound things and atoms constituting the world of matter The world of the formless is represented by the first four of the astikayas, viz. dharma, adharma, space, and time. Dharma and adharma explain motion and absence of motion respectively. Space explains how things and beings appear mutually distinct, and time explains their duration of existence. Thus the category of ajiva helps us in completing our study of the world of life and of existence.2 1 Sutrakrtanga, I, 7 2, 3; Jaina-Sutras, II, p. 292. 2 Uttaradhyayana, XXXVI,

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92 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS The third term or category is bandha or bondage of soul. Bondage is the subjection of soul to the laws of birth and death, old age and decay, pleasure and pain, and other vicissitudes of life brought about by the effect of karma The soul which is the fifth of the five astikayas represents the principle of intelligence The characteristic of soul is knowledge, faith, conduct, austerities, energy, and realization of its developments.' 1 The categories of merit (punya) and demerit (papa) comprehend all acts or deeds, pious and sinful, which keep the soul bound to the circle of births and deaths 2 Asrava is that which causes the soul to be affected by sins, and samvara is the principle of self-control by which the influx of sins is checked or stopped The category of samvara comprehends the whole sphere of right conduct. Nirjara consists in the wearing out of accumulated effects of karina on the soul by the practice of austerities, and moksa which logically follows from nirgara signifies the final deliverance of the soul from the bondage of karma, the bondage of sin. Siddhi or perfection is just the other aspect of liberation 1 Uttaradhyayana, XXVIII, II ? Ibid , XXXI, 3

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TEACHINGS 93 5. A gloomy view of the world. The world as painted in the words of Mahavira presents a gloomy picture It represents that state of existence of the soul in which it has to undergo repeated births and deaths and all their concomitant experiences. It is samsara or course of life and death which appears like a boundless flood of water with its dangerous current. Earth, water, fire, and air, all contain lives. The senses and mental faculties become manifest in varying degrees in various forms of beings. Man finds himself in an awful situation where he has to work under the influence of affection, passion, and attachment. The world presents a constant scene of quarrel and strife, death and carnage, and of all mad pursuits of life, the ultimate end of which is utter disappointment. For the sake of food and drink, lodging and comfort, woman and wealth, a man is involved in various works that lead the soul from sin to sin. Attached to the agreeable sounds and colours, tastes and smells, touches and perceptions, in short, to all seductive pleasures of the senses, the living beings suffer and find no escape from pain. The path to these pleasures is the path to birth, disease, decay, and death. A reflection on these conditions of the world as one daily sees them all around leads a man away from

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94 MAHAVIRA: HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS them to seek a safe island, to seek peace, to seek liberation, deliverance, and perfection 6. Brightness of the prospect.-In contrast to the gloomy picture of the world as commonly known stands in bold relief the bright prospect of the religious life as lived and taught by Mahavira. The reassuring message which underlies all his teachings is that soul is the highest reality of life, and nirvana is not extinction but the eternal and blissful condition of the soul in its perfection. This condition of soul is realizable in this very existence and solely by human efforts, if they are well-directed. The development and manifestation of supreme personality is the visible fruition of religious efforts leading to liberation. The life of the Master offered for imitation by his earnest disciples stands as one of the highest examples of such a personality. The heart of Jainism is not empty as Mrs Stevenson thinks, it is only emptied of all that go to constitute selfishness, haughtiness, cruelty, wickedness, inconsideration, and such immoral propensities These are removed so as to find the human heart filled with love, kindness, meekness, sincerity, and such other best qualities of character. The best emblem of purity, nobility, beauty, and fullness of the Jaina life is the white lotus Thus one reads in the

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TEACHINGS 95 Sutrakstavga, II, 1. 2, 3, 4: There is a lotus-pool containing much water and mud, very full and complete, answering to the idea one has of a lotuspool, full of white lotuses, delightful, conspicuous, magnificent, and splendid. And everywhere all over the lotus-pool there grew many white lotuses, the best Nymphaeds,. . . in beautiful array, tall, brilliant, of fine colour, smell, taste, and touch. And in the very middle of this lotus-pool there grew one big white lotus, the best of Nymphaeds.' 7 General view.-According to Mahavira, the four precepts and self-privation are the recognized roads to the blissful state of the soul. The soulsubstance is not a single all-pervading reality without a second of its kind. The soul has no beginning or end. So long it has to go round and round through the cycle of births and deaths, it has a form. If the soul is to have a form by virtue of its own, then it cannot but be dull in sentient matter devoid of all consciousness and intelligence. If it be absolutely formless, then by the virtue of its being free from all activities, bondage, and freedom would become incompatible with its own nature, and samsara, too, would be impossible. Mahavira laid a great stress on the activity of souls. The individual soul has innumerable units of space. The soul is uncreated and possessed of

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96 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS the quality of existence. The soul knows and sees all, desires happiness, is afraid of pain, does friendly or unfriendly actions, and enjoys the fruits of them. That which has consciousness is soul. The soul in combination with the body is the doer of all actions. One should abstain from killing beings, theft, falsehood, sensual pleasure, and spirituous liquor. Those who do not renounce these, go to hell. A person will suffer the consequences of whatever may preponderate as between an act and forbearance from it A sage should wander about free from sins. Self should be subdued. A monk should avoid untruth, sinful speech and should not be deceitful. Nothing sinful, hurtful, and meaningless should be told by him. He should sally forth and return at the right time. He should collect alms freely given. He must conquer twenty-two troubles, eg hunger, thirst, cold, heat, nakedness, erratic life, women, dirt, ignorance, etc He should not walk beyond the prescribed time, remembering the teachings of Mahavira The pious obtains purity and the pure stands firmly in the law Delusion, pride, deceit, and greed should be avoided. Monks 1 Pancastikaya, P 122. 2 Dravyasamgraha, 2, 3

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TEACHINGS 97 or householders who are trained in self-control and penance and who have obtained liberations by the absence of passion, go to the highest region, Those who are ignorant of the truth are subject to pain. A person of pure faith always realizes the truth. Those who have attachments for this world suffer. An ignorant man kills, tells lies, steals foreign goods, and is desirous of women and pleasures. The sinners go to the world of Asuras and to the dark place. A monk should cast aside all fetters and all hatred Pious ascetics get over the impassable samsara Stupid sinners go to hell through their superstitious beliefs One should not permit the killing of living beings He should not commit sins in thoughts, words, and acts The pleasures are like a venomous snake The pleasures are the thorn that rankles and they should be given up like poison. A true monk is one who does not care for his life, who abandons every delusion, who always practises austerities and avoids contact with wicked men and women. A monk should not take from the householder, bed, lodging, food, drink, etc He who practises self-discipline, meditates on his soul, wise, hardy, calm, and does not hurt anybody is a true monk. He should not occupy places for sleep or rest frequented by

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98 MAHAVIRA HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS women He should take up a detached lodging not frequented by women to preserve his chastity. The pious monk should abstain from ornaments A monk should be steadfast, righteous, content, restrained, and attentive to his duties. Birth is misery Old age is misery and so are disease and death. Nothing but misery is the samsara, in which men suffer distress A monk should be impartial towards all beings in the world and should be careful to speak truth He should keep the severe vow of chastity Mental and bodily penances should be practised He who possesses virtuous conduct and life, who has practised the best self-control, who keeps from sinful influences, and who has destroyed karma, will obtain mukti An ascetic will by means of his simplicity enter the path of Nirvana Those who truly believe in the subject of exertion in righteousness taught by Mahavira, put faith in it, give credence to it, accept it, practise it, comply with it, study it, understand it, learn it, and act up to it, have obtained perfection, enlightenment, deliverance, final beatitude, and have put an end to all miseries Meditation means abstaining to meditate on painful and sinful things. One should with a collected mind engage in pure meditation on the law.

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TEACHINGS 99 There are three ways of committing sins: by one's own activity, by commission, and by approval of the dead. By purity of heart one reaches Nirvana. Misery arises from wicked deeds. A very learned or a virtuous man or a Brahman or an ascetic will be severely punished for his deed when he is given to actions of deceit. A sage should always vanquish his passions. He should expound the law correctly. He should not neglect even the smallest duty. A wise man should abandon worldliness. He who abstains from cold water, and who does not eat food out of the dish of a householder, possesses right conduct. Those who are not subdued by the wicked pleasures know meditation to be their duty. A monk should not tell stories. He should not indulge in deceit, greed, pride, and wrath. He should be free from attachment. The virtuous men regard pleasures as equal to diseases. One should not kill living beings in the threefold way, being intent on his spiritual welfare and his soul, putting aside all undertakings He should abstain from untrue speech and will not take that which is not freely given to him. Nirvana consists in peace. Cruel sinners commit bad deeds and will sink into the dreadful hell which is full of darkness and sufferings. Those who are wicked, kill beings for

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100 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS the sake of their own pleasures. Deceivers practise deceits in order to procure for themselves pleasures and amusement. Sinful undertakings will in the end bring miseries. Sinners acquire karma arising from passions and commit many sins The virtuous exert themselves for liberation. A pious man should eat little, drink little, and talk little. He should also exert himself being calm, indifferent, and free from greed A monk who vigorously practises austerities, avoids anger and pride A wise man should renounce his interest 11 everything A monk should be modest. He should know correctly the sacred texts. He should practise austerities and understand all details of the law Wise men teach the true law A monk should conform himself to the opinion expressed by the Jinas and wander about till he reaches final liberation According to the Acaranga-Sutra a wise man should not act sinfully towards the aggregate of six kinds of life nor allow others to do so He should neither himself commit violence by various acts, nor order others to commit violence by such acts, nor consent to the violence done by somebody else. He should adopt the true faith and stand in the right place. A hero does not tolerate discontent and lust He is not attached to the

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TEACHINGS 101 objects of the senses and not careless. A wise man who knows the world and has cast off the idea of the world should prudently do away with the destructions to righteousness. A liberated man conquers wrath, pride, deceit, greed, and passion. He should avoid wrath, pride, deceit, greed, love, hatred, delusion, conception, birth, death, hell, animal existence, and pain A wise man should not be inflamed by wrath. A man who exerts himself and is of a steady mind without attachment, unmoved by passion and having no worldly desires, should lead the life of an ascetic A monk or a nun on a begging tour should not accept alms which are impure and unacceptable. He or she should not attend any festive entertainment Food placed on a platform or any such elevated place should not be accepted. Food placed on vegetable or animal matter, unripe wild rice, sediments of liquor, raw plants, and raw substances should not be accepted. He or she should not accept clothes which are full of living beings, but should accept clothes that are fit, strong, and lasting. A monk or a nun should not accept a bowl which a layman has bought. He or she should not accept very expensive bowl, made of tin, silver, gold, brass, mother-of-pearl, etc.

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102 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS He or she must have to observe certain rules if they desire to go to a sugar-cane plantation or to a garlic field He or she should not go to any place where there are many temptations. A monk must know and avoid five typical offences against the law of right belief. abstention from gross 111-usage of living beings, abstention from grossly lying speech, abstention from gross taking of things not given, limiting one's own desires, keeping uposatha (sabbath), right distribution of alms, etc Karma accumulates energy and automatically works it off without any outside intervention Karma is latent in all actions When the soul by means of austerities and good actions has got rid of ignorance, it attains omniscience. Karma is intimately bound up with the soul Mahavira's great message to mankind is that birth is nothing, that caste is nothing, and that karma is everything and on the destruction of karma, the future happiness depends Concentration is indispensable for getting equanimity of mind and consequent spiritual illumination We have to contemplate on blissfulness, truthfulness, honesty, chastity, contentedness, purity of body, and purity of mind. There are four ways to meditate on purity of mind. (I) love, (2) love towards the suffering world, (3) love to

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103 wards the happy, and (4) love towards the criminal or cruel person. In this world of misery, disease, old age, and death, there is no other protection, refuge or help than the practice of the truth. The continual cycle of births and deaths is not ended and therefore we should make some efforts to free ourselves from it. Right knowledge, belief, and conduct, these three are the sources of happiness. There are twenty-one qualities, the majority of which must be possessed before a person is ready to undertake the higher religious life (1) he must be earnest, (2) he must be of sound mind, (3) he must be pleasing by nature, (4) he must be popular, charitable, well-behaved, and of good moral character, (5) he must not be cruel, (6) he must be cautious and honest, (7) he will live according to some principle, (8) he will be compassionate and sympathetic, (9) he must be just and impartial, (10) he must be grateful, polite, intelligent, and of quick understanding, and (11) he must be self-controlled TEACHINGS Knowledge is of five kinds (a) mati-jnana (knowledge acquired by sense-perceptions), (b) sruta-jnana (knowledge acquired by reading the scriptures); (c) avadhi-jnana (knowledge of the distant, non-sensible in time or space possessed

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104 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS by divine and internal souls), (d) manahparyayajnana (knowledge of thoughts and feelings of others); and (e) kevala-jnana (full or perfect knowledge) Lesya is said to be that by means of which the soul is tinted with merit and demerit The lesyas arise from yoga or kashaya, namely, the vibrations due to the activity of body, mind or speech or the passions Karma is the deed of the soul It is a material forming a subtle bond of extremely refined karinic matter which keeps the soul confined to its place of origiu or the natural abode of full knowledge and everlasting peace There are four ghatiya or obstructive karmas (1) knowledge-obscuring karma , (2) faith-obscuring or perception-obscur- 7 ing karma , (3) that which obstructs the progress or success of the soul, and (4) that which infatuates or deludes the soul All these destructive karmas retain the soul in mundane existence According to Mahavira, this universe is eternal and it is nothing but the sum total of substances which have been existing from eternity and shall remain so for ever In this universe nothing new is created nor is anything annihilated. The sub 1 Tatthyartha-Sutra, i. 9.

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TEACHINGS 105 stances of this eternal universe are described as java and ajiva, soul and no-soul. The characteristic of living substance is attention, consciousness, and attentiveness. Moksa is the essential point in the teaching of Mahavira which is generally understood as emancipation. It really means the attainment of the highest state of sanctification by the avoidance of pain and miseries of worldly life. Even at this stage the soul appears to be the same without the least change in its state. It is the suinmum bonum or the state of perfect beatitude as attained. It may also mean final deliverance or liberation from the fetters of worldly life and total annihilation or extinction of human passion Much importance has been given to soul (atta) and puggala or individuality and personality. Karma plays, no doubt, an important part in Jain metaphysics. The Jain ethics has for its end the liberation or moksa. The three jewels or three excellences are right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct. The vows must be strictly observed by the monks. Laymen must observe them so far as their conditions admit. Then comes the tapa which is one of the most important institutions of Jainism. It is divided into internal and external tapas. The former comprises the

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106 MAHAVIRA HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS austerities practised by the Jains and the latter, spiritual exercises. Fasting, as we know, is the most conspicuous austerity. Jains have developed it to a kind of art and have reached a high proficiency in it. The tenets of Jainism as a practical religion consist of the following points: longing for liberation, disregard of worldly objects, desire of the law, obedience to the co-religionists and to the Guru, confession of sins before the Guru, repenting of one's sins to oneself and also before the Guru, moral and intellectual purity of the soul, adoration of the 24 Jinas, paying reverence to the Guru, adoption of a particular posture of the body, self-denial, praises and hymns, punctuality, practice of penances, forgiveness, study and recital of sacred texts. concentration of thoughts, selfcontrol, practice of austerities, purging oneself of impurities arising from karma, mental independence, using unfrequented places, remaining away from the world, renouncing pleasure, food, passions, company, etc., conforming to the standard, doing service, fulfilling all virtues, freedom from passion, forbearance, freedom from greed, simplicity, modesty, sincerity of heart, watchfulness of the mind, speech, and body, discipline of the mind, speech, and body, possession of knowledge, faith,

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TEACHINGS 107 and virtue, subduing the organs of sense, conquering anger, pride, deceit, greed, love, hatred, and wrong belief, stability, and freedom from karma.'' i Uttaradhyayana, XXIX.

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Abhaya Acalabhratr Adharma Agnibhuti Ahimsa Ajatasatru Ajita Kesakambali Ajiva Asita Asoka Ajnanavada 42 Akampita Aknyavada 75, 76, 79, 88 Anga Anojja Antavanta jnana INDEX 54 7, 49, 50 75, 78 69, 90 74, 79, 80, 88 Asthigrama Astikayas Aviwa Avanti Ananda Ajivika Alabhika Page 15, 39 42 70, 71, 91 41 Alavi Asrava Atman I 32, 33, 36 70, 91, 92 Avadhi-jnana 9, 41, 86, 103 35 49 38 27, 28, 58, 84 31, 32, 35 35, 37, 49 69, 71, 92 70, 76, 78 Buddha 7, 16, 33, 35, 49, 50 | Buddhaghosa 21 9 66 Bahula Bandha Baranasi Bargaon Bhaddiya Bhadrika Bhagalpur Bhogas Bimbisara Catuyamasamvara Cetopariya-jnana Chalabhijati Cetaka Candapradyot 49 Campa 32, 33, 36, 37, 49 Caritra 69, 85, 89 13, 45 Darsana Devadatta Devala Devarddhi. * 35 31, 32 33 40 9, 16, 33, 39, 49, 51, 52 48, 53, 60, 68 50, 84 gutti Page 25 69 37 34 19, 51 86 84 Dhammikarakkhavarana 69, 85 7, 17 66 52, 58 55

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IIO MAHAVIRA * HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS 42 Page Page Dharma 70, 71, 91 Jiva-satvarnah ... 84 Dirghatapasvi 15, 40 Jnana Drstivada * 59 Jsmbhikagrama Dukkha Kakudha Katyayana 75, 78 Dvipalasa Kala-Campa Dvaipayana Kampilyapura Edict, Seventh Pillar Kapilavastu 35, 36 Karma 8, 43, 67, 68, 81, 84, Gautama 89, 90, 91, 92, 100, Gijjhakuta 34 102, 104, 106, Gosala, Maskariputra 25, 26, 107 27, Karmavada - 74 Gotra, Agnivesyayana * 40 Kasi 7, 16, 48, 51 Bharadvaja 41 Kasyapa 19, 64, 78 Gautama Kausambi 35 Hartayana 42 Kesi 47, 65 Kasyapa Kevala-jnana 8, 31, 86, 87, Kaundinya 104 Vasistha Khandagin 2 Gupti Kharavela I, 2 Knowledge, five kinds of 85 Hastigrama Kollaga 25, 26 Hastipala 31, 52 Kosala 7, 16, 35, 48, 49, 51 Indrabhuti Kriyavada 8, 56, 69, 74, 75, 40, 41, 44 Inscription, Hathigum. 79, 81, 84 Kundagrama pha .. Isigili Kundanagara Kunika, vide Ajatasatru Janakapura 34 Kurmagrama 26, 37 Jiva 69, 90 | Kusinara 16, 36, 49 19, 42 3 19

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Lesya Licchavis Mallas .. Magadha 7, 16, 33, 39, 49, 50, 52 7, 16, 36, 49, 50 Manahparyaya-jnana 86, 104 Mandara Mt 30 Mati-jnana 103 Metarya 42 Mayasthana 60 Mithila Moksa Monghyr Mrgara Muzaffarpur Page 48, 84, 85, 104 7, 16, 34, 39, 40, 49, 50, 51 Nawal Nayas Newal Nataputta.. Navatattva Nalanda 7, 17, 25, 31, 32, 34, 37, 39, 40 3, 4, 5, 6 69, 83 INDEX . 31, 32, 34 66, 68, 69, 92 33 17,39 33, 34 Niganthaputta Nigantha-savaka Niskriyavada 35 70, 72 35 5 5 Nirjara 92 Nirvana 53, 64, 65, 66, 94, 98,99 75 * Pandava Panitabhumi Paniyabhumi .. Polasapura Prabhasa Parasara Paresnath hill 45 Parsva 1, 3, 13, 14, 45, 46, 65 Patna Pranitabhumi Prasenajit. Pratisthana Priyadarsana Priyakarini Prsticampa . Papa Pava 6, 7, 31, 33, 35, 49, 50, 52 37 42 31 49 35 21 Punya Purana Kasyapa Purnabhadra Page 34 32, 35 26, 35, 37 66 Rajgir Ralha (Radha) Rapti Rsi Rsigiri Saheth-Mabeth . * III * * 19 29, 32, 36 69 34 69 Rajagrha 7, 25, 26, 31, 32, 34, 37, 39, 40, 42, 51 34 23,36 35 34 16, 40 35 * 75 37

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II2 MAHAVIRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS .. 89 34 Page 1 Page Sakyaputta Tirhut . * 35 Sambuddha 60 Trisala .. 19 Samiti Sammeta Mt. Udayagin Samsara . Udayana Samvara 67, 69, Ugras Sanjaya Ujjayini . 15,40 * Satyaka 35 Savatthi .. Upali 15, 17, 39 Siddhartha Siddharthagrama 26, 37 | Vaibhara Silanka .61 Vaihalya 50 Silavrata-paramarsa 74, 80 Vaisali 7, 16, 19, 29, 31, 32, Simba 15, 39 33, 35, 49, 50 Sravasti 7, 17, 31, 32, 35, 37, Vaisalika 38, 39 Vaitaliya Srenika, vide Bimbisara Vajrabhumi Sreyamsa .. Valabhi 52, 58 Sruta-jnana 85, 103 Vanijagrama 29, 31, 32, 34, Sudarsana, 25, 39, 64 36, 37, 38 Sudharman Varaha * 34 Sugata Varddhamana 20, 32, 33, Sukha 63, 66, Vatsa 49, 51 Sunyavada .. 61 Vayubhuti .. Suparsva . I Vebhara Svabhrabhumi * 23 Vepulla Syadvada 56, 57, 70, 71, 72 Vesayana Vesali Tapa Vesale Tirabhukti * 35 | Videha 19, 20, 34, 35, 49, 51 191 41, 42 bo 67, 82 34 19

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Videhadatta Vijaya Vinayavada Vipula Mt Visakha Vrji Page 19, 20 25, 39 88 16 75, 79, 81, INDEX .. 17,39 7, 16, 34, 40, 49 Vrsabha Vyakta Yamali Yasamsa Yasoda ERRATA :: ::: 113 Page 34 41 Page 70, lines 3 and 8-Read five in place of six. Page 87, line 9-Read intuition in place of intention. 202 21 19 21 Published by Luzac & Co, 40, Great Russell Street, London, W C.1, and Printed by P Knight, Baptist Mission Press, 41A, Lower Circular Road, Calcutta

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vIra sevA mandira 242 LAW La Bimola chon Mahoute: Mis kifered tin Teachings 3808