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Introduction.
Antiquity of Jainism.
A fow years ago, erroneous notions were held about the origin and history of the Jain Religion. Some said that Jainism was an offshoot of Buddhism or of Brahmanism. Lord Mahāvira was looked upon as the first founder of this religion and his doctrines were held to propagate atheism. Recent studies and discoveries however have clearly proved that all these were wrong conclusions based upon an imperfect acquaintance with Jain literature and philosophy. Brahmanism and Buddhism first attracted the notice of European scholars who, engrossed in studying these religious, utterly lost sight of Jainism, and therefore confounded it with Buddhism. Colour was lent to this wrong view by the accidental similarity between some of the incidents in the lives of Buddha and Lord Mahāvira and between a few points of their teachings and confusion was worse confounded.. Fortunately however these misconceptions are now being gradually removed and Jainism is being acknowledged as a religion that can very well stand comparison with Buddhism and Brahmanism. Jainism has its message to teach the world-a mission which has been steadily kept in view by the Jain saints and propagated by an almost uninterrupted suc
