Comprehensive History Of Jainism

Author(s): Aseem Kumar Chatterjee
Publisher: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd

Page 95

CHAPTER VI
Jainism in Orissa
Mahāvīra, originally a native of northern Bihar visited, as we have noticed in a previous chapter, a few areas of western Bengal during his missionary career. According to the Kalpasūtra,' the Master had spent a year of his missionary career in Paniyabhumi, which was actually included in Ladha or West Bengal. The Acārānga,” which is certainly a very ancient text, informs us that Mahāvīra had visited areas of both western and southern Bengal. It is, therefore, likely that Mahāvīra visited places which were not far from the borders of Orissa. A somewhat late text, the Avašyakaniryukti, records that Mahāvīra more than once visited Tosali, a well-known city of Orissa The same text informs us the king of that area bound Mahāvīra with rope seven times. This particular text was however probably composed after AD 300, and its evidence is thus of little value. It is however likely that within a few years of Mahāvīra's demise some of his followers, probably from southern Bengal, carried the message of the Nirgrantha religion to Orissa and succeeded in converting some people there. In both the canonical texts of the Jainas' and Buddhists we come across a certain king Karandu (also called Karakanda, Karakandaka) of Dantapura (which was situated in the Kalinga country) who was a very pious man. According to both the Buddhists and Jainas this king later became a Pacceka Buddha. The Jainas too have nothing but deference for this ancient royal sage of Orissa. Since he is mentioned in both the Buddhist and Jaina texts he was probably a historical figure. According to the Jaina commentaries, Karakaņdu was a son of king Dadhivāhana of Campā. This Dadhivāhana, according to the same commentaries," was a contemporary of Satānīka, the father of the celebrated Udayana. It, therefore, follows that king Karandu-Karakandu was contemporaneous to the Buddha and Mahāvīra, and was universally admired for his pious nature. It is very significant that this particular king of Orissa, who lived in the sixth century BC, is called a Pacceka Buddha (ArdhaMāgadhi: Patteyabuddha) in the texts of both Buddhists and Jainas.