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TRANSLATORS PREFACE.
XV
have virtually confessed the superior wisdom of Buddha, by taking a lesson from his Institute, and wearing plain white garments, (on which account they are called Svetámbaras), clothing themselves without servilely copying the yellow robes of the Buddhist priesthood. leaving such mimicry to Hindu Bairagis and Gosains, sectaries who endeavour to combine the Buddhistical monkery with the Brahmanical theology. The revival of the Digambara practice is said by the other party to have taken place through the efforts of Sahasra Mallika, about a century before the commencement of our era, since which time the sects have kept entirely separate from one another. It is much more likely however, from what is said above, that the Svetámbara party originated about that time, and not the Digambara.
The second point in the Jain traditions which I imagine has a historical basis, is the account they give of the religious practice of Rishabha, the first of their Tirthankars. He, too, like Mahávíra, is said to have been a Digumbar. In the Bralımanical Puranie records, he is placed second on the list of kings, in one of the regal families, and said
