________________
Semioar on fainita
19
may throw new light on the highly interesting problem of immortality. If the theory of person and personal identity is construcd in a fashion in which bodily criterian 0.179 he dispensed with, some form of insluit./ eri well appear plausible in Jainism. Jain criticis? Of New concept of moksa on this particular point is illuminating Jainism tries to avoid the paradox of multiplicity without distinction on the one hand and to non-dualism which is the logical completion of the other Prof. Banerjee dealt at loisih on his subject aud made a remarkable sur cy of the concept of Moksa in Jainism.
Dr. Adhir Chakravorty, Professor and Head of the Department of History, Jhargram College, red his per • SOME ASPECTS OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC LIFE FROM THE JAIN CANONICAL LITERATURE'. He made a comprehensive and thorough analysis of the socio-economic life as available in the Jain canonical literature In his opinion, both 'Jainisin and Buddhism were successful protests against the formalistic and lifeless theology and rituals of Brahmanism which involved wanton violence in the form of bloody sacrifices. Further the Lord Mahāyira and Buddha hailed from more or less the same region of the country viz. North Eastern India and were close contemporaries. Hence the socio-economic background of early Jainism and early Buddhism was the same. This fact has given rise to a tendency amongst scholars to gloss over facts gleaned from the early Jain texts Instead after stating the Buddhist point on any aspect of society and economy, one says that the same may be said from the Jain texts as well. It is however, conveniently forgotton that the geographical horizon of early Jainism was much wider. It comprised the Lādha country with its sub divisions, Subma. bhūmi (Burdwan and Birbhum districts), Vrajabhumi (possibly Midnapore dist. ), Tānalitti (Tāmralipti, modern Tamluk) and Vāngi and Sauvīradesa (Sovira of the Buddhist texts. Lower Indus Valley ) and Sauripura, the birth-place of Aristanemi in Gujarat in the west. According to tradition,