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102
LIFE EX
VOIAVI INDI
3 The ci onomic condition of the people will not bad The country was rich and prosperous, flourished in trade and commerce. Yet the condition of the general masses cannot be said to have been ideal. There was sufficient to cat and sufficient to fulfil then simple needs People were luxury-loving and were fond of ornaments, clothes weaths, flowers, perfumes, music, dancing diamas and singing The rich people possessed palatial buildings, manicd sevcial women, paid large lecs to courtesans, went out surrounded by scilants and attendants in a goigcous procession accompanied by damscls The middle class people 100 lived a life of luxury and made magnificent donations to the order The condition of poor people was deplorable They had to earn their livelihood with gicat difficulty The suficica nost at the hands of money-lenders and from luminis (lung fiom (aught and pestilence
4 There was a sustem and society vided into Katriyas Biāhmanas, Taistas and Sidias 1 Sūdia had the most degraded position in the society The family was the primarnell of social organism There was the joint family stem, and the head of the family was respected most l'hc position of nomen cannot be desobed as Satisfactor, although the fan prophets allowed them equality with incn and pcimitted them to attain Vinerina Aits and sciences were manifold and people acquicd efficient in func allts such as music painting and sculpture the secular sciences such diathematics astronomy and astrology and the science of all and architectue flourished. There were religious mendicants belonging to various ouders who played an important part in moulding the materjal as well as the spiritual life o the people People believed in magk ind c variety of superstitions. There were sports and anuscinents and Vanous eremonies held by the common-folk, funcial rates were observed with pomp
5 During the life time of Mahavira, the spread of Jawm Was limited, and Jain monks did not seem yoncalli 10 have ossed the broundaries towards cast of Sahota beyond Ing. Magacha, towards soutlı beyond Kosambi, towards was briand Thund and towards the north beyond Kuņālā, which corresponds to the tract of a portion of modern Bihar eastern United Provinces, and a part of westeru U.P But later on, at the time of Sampiali, who was e de out Jain this geograplucal limit was changed and the Jain monks could have se as far as Sudhu Sovira eind Suristra in west, Kalinga in the cast, Dravida, India and Coorg "Kudukkal in the south and some part of the castern Punjah It seems that Jam monks because of yestrictions of food at neier left the shores of India and went abroad like the Buddhist monks and even Mahavira did not go beyond Bihar, north-western Bengal and a part of the eastern United Provinces, his visit to Sindhu Sovira and other parts of India scems to be doubtful