Jainism in North India

SR No.: 011067
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Chimanlal J Shah
Publisher: Longmans Green and Compny London
Publication Year: 1932
Total Pages: 66
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 3 MB

Page 124

JAINISM IN ROYAL FAMILIES fallacy be identified with Prasenajit, with whom we are here concerned.1 The most important and the only inference that we may draw from this is that Jainism in the days of Parsva enjoyed no less royal patronage than in the days of Mahavira. The extent of his influence was in no way less extensive than during the career of his successor. He was a member of the royal family of Kasi, son-in-law to that of Pancala, and he died on the top of Mount Parsvanatha in Bengal.3 With this royal backing behind him it is natural that he must have had great mfluence on contemporary royalties and on his own subjects also. From Sutrakrtanga and other Jaina canonical books we know that even in the days of Mahavira there were followers of Parsva round about Magadha. As seen before, the very family of Mahavira was attached to the religion of Parsva. In addition to this the reference made in the Jaina canonical books to the actual following of Parsva in his own days confirms the fact that the Jaina community had spread well even in those early days throughout a great portion of North India, though it is not possible to put down any geographical limits. As already mentioned, there were 16,000 monks, 38,000 nuns, 164,000 1 In other cases the first component is omitted ... Bhagavata calls Prasenajit of Ayodhya Senajit"-Pargiter, op cit, P 127. * Mazumdar seems to be labouring under some confusion here According to him Parsva WAS a son-in-law of King Prasenant of Oudh, and thus he connects the two dynasties of Kosala and Kisi; but we think he has wrongly identified him with the Prasengjit of the days of Mabuvira, who was the father-in-law of King Bimbisara, the great Saisuniga, and one of the greatest royal supporters of Jainism Furthermore he commits the same blunder when he says that Parsva died at the age of seventy-two We have already scen it was Mahavira who lived for set enty-two years, while Parsva lived for one hundred C. Mazumdar, op cit, PP 405, 551, 552, Ars Stevenson also seems to be under the same misconception when she says, "Parsvanatha married Prabhiveti, daughter of Prasannajita, king of Ayodhya Stevenson (Mrs), op cup 48 1".. he reached deliverance at last on Mount Sameta Szkhara in Bengal, which was thenceforth known as the Mount Parsvanatha " Ibrd, 49 1 "Outside of Rajagrhe, in a north-eastern direction, there was the suburb Nalanda, ... and there in some house the venerable Gautama was staying. The venerable (man) was in the garden, and so was Udaka, the son of Pedhala, a Norgrantha and follower of Parsva ..."-Jacobi, op cit, PP 419-420, FEC 9 , lg HRHAU . rafini yurt .. -Uttaradhyayana-Sutra, Lecture XXIII, vv 1-8 Cf. Jacobi, op at, pp 110-120 One does not knorr on what grounds Mazumdar tries to define geographically the limits of Jainism in the days of Parsva "His Jainism," observes the learned scholar, prevailed from Bengal to Gujarat The districts of Maldah and Bogra were great centres of his faith His converts were mostly from the depressed classes of the Hmdus and Non-Aryans In Rajputana his adherents grete Tery powerful . "--Mazumdar, op and loc ci 88