Ahimsa and Jainism

Author(s): Vijayvallabhsuri
Publisher: Vallabhsuri Smarak Nidhi

Page 70

[ 63 ] worship. The word · Pujana' indicates quite a different mode of worship, which was then prevalent among the people of non-Vedic civilisation. It must have involved some sort of image-worship. With the assimilation of this image-worship, the word · Pujana', also must have been assimilated in the language of the Aryans. In later times not only-did . Pujana' become popular and the prevalent sorni of worship anong all the classes of people but even in pure · Yajana' of sacrifices image-worship was brought in, in one form or another. For example, the 'Pujana' of Ganapati has got its priority in every type of Yajana'.
D. R. Bhandarkar deals with the problem of non-Vedic sects in some details in his "Some Aspects of Ancient Indian Culture". In this work. he draws upon archaeological researches as well as literary works like Vedas, Brahmanas, Sutras, Pitakas and Agamas. There he shows the origin of Saivism to lie in non-Vedic Vratya cult. Similarly according to him Jainism and Buddhism have their origin in a Vrsala tribe. This tribe had its own independent Civilization and gave Stubborn resistance to the imposition of Brah. manic culture by the Aryans. This tribe chiefly 1. "Some Aspects of Ancient Indian Culturo”,
pp. 40-52.