Aspects of Brahmanical Influence On Jaina Mythology

Author(s): Shaktidhar Jha
Publisher: Bharat Bharti Bhandar

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Aspects of Brahmanical Influence on the Jana Mythology
Among the second class of sources, mention may be made of the Jaina canonical works by the Jaina authors These works serve both as positive and negative evidences for testing the validity of the deduction made from the comparative study of the relevant texts
Although the Vedic texts present the earliest period of Indian literary documents, yet they have been placed in the third class of sources in accordance with their importance fo the present study In the same group have also been included the early Buddhist texts We have extensively drawn upon both these sources to find out the relationship, if any, of some of the divergent Puranic statements to the ancient tradition, embodied in these early texts Wherever possible, we have judiciously utilised these early records to ascertain the relative historical and genealogical value of the conflicting statements found in the Puranic texts under review
The fourth class of sources consists of the monographs, research findings and some ingenious articles of the historians and Indologists All these sources have been duly referred to in their proper contexts
Now, before closing this preliminary discussion, we must admit that we have proceeded with our investigation without dwelling upon the question of the respective chronology of the works belonging to the two faiths The reasons are obvious Whatever be the upper limits, the lower limits of the RamaJana and the Mahabharata13 in their extant forms cannot be extended beyond the second and fourth century AD respectively Similarly, the major parts of the Purānas dealing with
42 The Age of the Imperial Unity, p 253, For different theories advanced for and against an earlier date for the extant epics, see E W. Hopkins Epic Mythology, pp 1-2 For a thorough discussion see Winternitz, HIL, pp 500-517.
43 After discussing the process of augmentation of the extant work, Winternitz concludes that "the Mahabharata cannot have received its present form earlier than the 4th century BC and not later than the 4th century AD"-HIL, Vol I, p 465, Epic Mythology, pp 1-2, AIU, 251-252,