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CHAPTER X
Jainism and Other Religions
As Jainism, in all respects, is a religion of India, it has very close relations with other main religions of India like Hinduism and Buddhism. Formerly, it was thought that Jainism was a branch either of Buddhism or of Hinduism. But now it is an established fact that Jainism is a distinct religion of India and not a branch of any other religion. Similarly, it is also accepted that Jainism is an ancient religion of India and that it is older not only than Buddhism but also older than Vedic religion of the Hindus.
Since Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism, the three important ancient religions of India, have been living side by side for the last so many centuries, it is natural that they have influenced one another in many respects. It is also a fact that with the advent of Islam in India during the medieval period, Jainism and Islam came in contact and began to influence each other. In this way, intimate relations were established between Jainism and other major religions of India like Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. It is, therefore, worthwhile to see the nature of these relations so that our understanding of these religions will be more clear and our conception of Jaina religion will be more perfect.
1. Jainism and Hinduism
In matters like theories of rebirth and salvation, descriptions of heaven, earth and hell, and belief in the fact that the prophets of religion take birth according to prescribed rules, we find similarities between Jainism and Hinduism. Since the disappearance of Buddhism from India, the Jainas and
