Jain Dharma ka Maulik Itihas Part 4

SR No.: 002074
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Hastimal Maharaj
Publisher: Jain Itihas Samiti Jaipur
Publication Year: 1995
Total Pages: 880
Language: Hindi
Classification: Book_Devnagari & History
File Size: 16 MB

Page 227

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[ जैन धर्म का मौलिक इतिहास-भाग ४
literature of the period was utilised for this purpose and the . masses were asked to follow it blindly in the name of the Holy Writ, to question whose authority was an unpardonable sin. It became thus a part of the Hindu Dharma not to cross the seas or even the territorial limits of certain hallowed areas. This insularity contributed largely to the supineness of the Indian Chiefs, and their utter lack of appreciation of the higher values of patriotism and national freedom in the context of India as a whole, apart from the narrow geographical regions in which they lived. Consequently they were unable to comprehend the far-reaching importance of, and the proper measures for, frontier defence, in view of the great political changes and evolution in military tactics which were taking place in the world outside.
The degraded level to which the majority of people was pushed down made them indifferent to country-wide dangers and kindred problems. This alone made possible the woeful situation that while the invaders swept across the country, the masses mostly remained inert. The people of the land, with a few exceptions, were indifferent to what was happening around them. Their voice had been hushed in silence by a religio-social tyranny. No public upheaval greets the foreigners, nor are any organised efforts made to stop their progress. Like a paralysed body, the Indian people helplessly look on, while the conqueror marches on their corpse. They look staggered, for a moment, only to sink back into a pitiable acquiescence to the inevitable to which they have been taught to submit.
Then again the false ideals of Kshatriya chivalry, taught them by their mentors, made the Rajput princes paralyse one another by perpetual internecine conflicts, and what was more fatal, made them oblivious of a broad national vision and patriotic sentiment.
This alone can explain why, or how, at a time when the country was threatened with a grave peril, the rulers of