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A NOTE ON JAINA MYTHOLOGY
D. D. Malvania
In Acaränga l and Sūtrakrtanga I we do not find Jaina mythology as such but in later literature it was systematised and it is difficult to be precise about the time of such systematisation. Generally, it can be said that during the period of the composition of the Angabă hya texts the Jaina mythology is gradually developed and during the period of Niryukti and Chūrņi and Bhāşya it is seen as fully developed.
As the Jainas from the beginning believed in Karma and rebirth it was necessary for them to have the conception of the other world. And so they have accepted the hells and heavens from very early times. But it took several centuries to systematise their conception.
The theory of Karma and that of mythology, it seems, have simultaneous progress in development. Karmas were classified into two classes - ghāti i. e. destructive of the qualities of the soul and aghāti - not destructive but creating something which hide the real nature of the soul. When the ghāti Karmas are no more the soul becomes pure but it has the body which is the result of the aghāti Karmas. In such a case there are assumed
Presented in the Seminar on Jaina Logic and Philosophy" (Poona University 1975 )
