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THE PURE AND THE AUSPICIOUS IN THE JAINA TRADITION that in the secular world there are only three castes large, the Jaina community, as it is constituted now, and thus no place for Brāhmaṇa. Only a person who has no community of Brāhmaṇa. The Svetāmbaras, renounces the world sufficiently to be called a lay as well as the Digambaras of the North, do not have a disciple may be called a Brahman. This lay disciple class of priests who perform rituals in their temples, has no functions to perform for the material benefit nor do they employ any members of the Hindu of the society and does not fill any office either at Brāhmaṇa caste to carry out these functions. While court or the temple; his real associations are more they show the incumbent respect to Brāhmana, as with the ascetic who has totally renounced the world Hindus would, they do not consider Brāhmana and who comes to be known as the "true" Brāhmana. superior to themselves. The one exception to this rule The fact that Mahāvīra was not allowed to be born of is found among Digambaras of Karnataka, who do in Brāhmana parents and yet was given the title māhaņa fact have a group of priests known as Indra (or when he became a mendicant is sufficient to illustrate Upādhye), sometimes euphemistically known as the Jaina refusal to accommodate the Brāhmaṇa caste; "Jaina-Brahmans."" The Indras are probably Hindu the secular world consisted of only three castes and Brāhmaṇa converted to Jainism at some time during was not organized according to divine ordinance such the early medieval period, who were entrusted with as found in the Vedic Purusasūkta. While castes the task of attending to the temple rituals and catering eventually became hereditary and may indeed have a to the needs of the Jaina laity on the occasions of hierarchy of their own. this structure lacked any divine various samskāras, such as marriage, child-birth, and Sunction and consequently remained entirely secular. funerals. Their main source of income is the offerings
of food made regularly at the altar by households of a The legend of Mahāvīra's change of womb
given village and the produce of the land attached to leads one to question why the Jainas thought it was
the temples, the proceeds of which they enjoy unworthy of a Tirthankara to be born into a Brahmana
hereditarily. They are thus comparable to the family. The story of course presupposes that the
traditional Brāhmaṇa of the traditional Hindu society. Brahmana parents were not Jainas, whereas the new
There is no intermarriage between the Indras and parents were followers of Pārsva," the twenty-third
ordinary Jainas, nor, of course, with members of the Tirthankara and predecessor of Mahavira. But this
Hindu Brähmana community, who treat these alone is not sufficient to explain the rejection of
Brāhmana as non-Hindus. Brahman family. The word Bhikkhāya-kule (beggar " families), immediately preceding the word māhana, There is a subtle distinction apparent here in the quotation above is very significant: it seems to which is not without significance for our discussion allude disparagingly to the fact that the Brāhmaṇa on purity in Indian society. A Hindu Brāhmaṇa is subsisted on the favors bestowed by others, considered intrinsically pure and, for that reason, other technically making them beggars. The Jainas have castes do not hesitate to receive food from him. In traditionally believed that only a mendicant may beg the case of the "Jaina Brāhmaṇa," however, orthodox for his alms: a house holder's position is to give, not Jainas who have formally taken the lay vows will not receive, charity. The Brāhmaṇa, by remaining a accept food from him even though he may take food householder, violates the law when he accepts the gifts from them. The inferiority of the Jaina Brāhmaṇa given by others, and is thus looked down upon by the derives not only form the fact that he receives gifts Jainas in the same way as they might regard an (Daksiņā) from others for the ritual services apostate monk. It should be stated here that, by and performed, but also because he subsists upon the
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