Jaina Community a Social Survey

SR No.: 007019
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Vilas Sangve
Publisher: Popular Book Depot Bombay
Publication Year: 1980
Total Pages: 484
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 12 MB

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Jaina Community-A Social Survey
to' utilise the spiritual doctrines of the Jainas for moral uplift of the masses.32
5. RISE OF SECTIONS AND SUB-SECTIONS Apart from the splitting of the Jaina Church into various sects and sub-sects, we find that every main sect was further divided into several sections and sub-sections like Samgha, Gana, Gachchha and Sakhā. In the Digambara sect, there arose al number of Samghas, viz., Müla (i, e., original ) Samgha, and others like Drāvida Samgha, Kāshthā Samgha, Māthura Samgha, etc. The Mūla Samgha was further split up into four small Samghas for very trivial reasons. On this subject the following stanzas occur in the “Nītisāra ', a work of Indranamdin :
अहंदली गुरुश्चक्रे संघसंघट्टनं परम् ॥ ६ ॥ सिंहसंघो नंदिसंघः सेनसंघो महाप्रभः ।
देवसंघ इति स्पष्टं स्थानस्थितिविशेषतः ॥७॥ The Guru Arhadbalin effected the excellent organisation of Samghas : the Simha Sam gha, the Nam di Sam gha, the famous Sena Samgha and the Deva Samgha were well-known as they were distinguished by the places of their establishment. Thus those who used to keep their rainy season's retreat in the den of a lion formed into a Simha Samgha, those in the lower part of a tree of the Namdi species, Namdi Samgha, those urider the bushes, Sena Samgha and those in the house of a courtesan named Devadattā, Deva Samgha. Further, in the Samghas there were small sections like Ganas and Gachchhas, e. g., the Namdi Samgha had Balātkāra Gana and Pārijāta Gachchha.
Even though there were sections and sub-sections among the Digambaras, really there was no difference in them regarding religious practices and beliefs and it should be remembered that this fact was impressed on lay disciples. In this connection 'Nitisāra' observes that :
गणगच्छादयस्तेभ्यो जातास्ते परसौख्यदाः । न तत्र भेदः कोऽप्यस्ति प्रव्रज्यादिषु कर्मसु ॥ ८ ॥ चतुःसंघे नरो यस्तु कुरुते भेदभावनाम् । स सम्यगदर्शनातीतः संसारे संचरत्यरम् ॥ १२॥ न तत्र प्रतिमाभेदो न प्रायश्चित्तकर्मणः । नाचारवाचनापद्यवाचनासु विशेषतः ॥ १३ ॥