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

Page 95

Social Divisions in the Jaina Community
about castes in the Jaina community. In the first place, the cxact number of Jaina castes is not available. Proverbially it is said that there are eighty-four castes in the Jaina community. As regards the number 84 it is believed that once a rich Jaina of Padmavati town invited at his place members of the Jaina community from all places to consider the possibility of establishing one VaisyaMahasabhā (i. e., Central Association of Traders) and in response to this invitation Jaina representatives from 84 places participated in the function. From that time representatives of different places were considered as belonging to different castes and as the representatives came from 84 places there became 84 castes in the Jania com munity. The names of these castes and the places from which they originated are given in Appendix 1.16 There is another list of 84 original castes in the Jaina community and they are entered in Appendix II.17 If we compare the names of castes included in the two Appendices, it will be found that the first 26 caste names are common to both and the remaining names of castes in the one are not found in the other. This means that the number 84 cannot be relied upon. Moreover these two lists are not exhaustive. There is a prayer in the name of 84 castes known as 'Chavaryāmsi Jñati-Jayamala '18 and many of the caste names mentioned in this prayer are not found in the lists given either in Appendix I or Appendix II, for example, Kumbada, Rohinivāla, Vayadā, Bhatera, Ayavāla, Mahalavāla, Saharu, etc. Again a list of names of 84 Jaina castes is given by Prof. H. H. Wilson19 (Appendix III) and it will be noticed that many of the castes from this list are not · found in the lists mentioned above.20 Further, it is believed that
in the original 84 castes in the Jaina community as a whole, other groups of Jainas were admitted as 'separate castes according to circumstances in different provinces, and in this way some provinces came to have their own 84 Jaina Castes. The Appendix IV and Appendix V give the names21 of Jaina castes from Gujaratha and Deccan respectively. Similarly a long list of Jaina castes in Gujaratha and Marwar is given by Lt. Col. William Miles.22 All this shows that several castes arose in the Jaina community in various parts of the country.
Secondly, apart from exclusive Jaina castes (i. e. castes in which all members are Jainas ) we find that there are Jaina sections or divisions in several Hindu castes. These are mainly occupational