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MAHĀVĪRA : HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS
Arhata Śramanas In the inscription of Khāravela's chief queen, the same Order of recluses has been honoured as Sramanas who were believers in the faith of the Arhats (Arhamta-pasādānam samanānam)! As a matter of fact, all the cavedwellings (lenas) on the Udayagiri and Khandagiri hills were made by Khāravela and others for the residence of the Jaina recluses
The literary evidence on which this account of the Jaina Tirthankara is based, is twofold (1) direct, and (2) collateral The direct evidence is that which is furnished by the texts of the Jaina Canon, called Agama or Siddhānta And the collateral evidence is that which may be gathered from the texts of the Buddhist Canon Collating these two sources of information, we can not only prepare a sketch of the life of Mahāvīra but draw a fairly vivid picture of Northern India depicting the social, political, economic, religious, and other conditions of the time in which he lived, moved, and preached the same two sets of texts enable us also to have a clear vision of the geography of that portion of Northern India which became the scene of activities of the Jaina Tīrthankara and his immediate followers. All these may be so realis
1 Epigraphia Indica, Vol XIII.
