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"Jainism in Bengal”
Dr. Lata Bothra Editor: Tittihayar Kolkatta
Our history is ancient as well as glorious. Our past is also exuberant and vast. It is said that past never dies but merges with present and present is the product of the past. Evaluation of the present inspires us to know more about our own strong culture and it leads to the new dimension of the perception of life. At the present age, the glimpse of the values of history is the first and foremost feature of Indian culture. I am presenting some portion of my research work with special reference to the impact of Jainism in the ancient history of Bengal.
In the Ancient time, Bengal was the castle of Jain religion. According to the historians, a race named Bong from the Indus valley settled here around 4000 years ago. Engraved rocks, seals and statues collected from Harappa and Mohanjodaro, prominently indicate the existence of Shramana culture. According to Eminent scholars like Rai Bahadur Rama Prasad Chanda, Dr. Radha Kumud Mukherjee, Prof. Prannath Vidyalankar and others, the dominance of Jain religion was evident in the Indus valley civilization. The famous historian Dr. M.L. Sharma categorically described that the "symbol engraved on the seals- invented during Mohanjodaro excavation, is of Bhagwan Rishabdev. This symbol signifies that even five thousand years ago the practice of Yoga was in vogue in India and its founder was the Adi Tirthankar, Rishabdev. The natives of Indus Valley used to worship Rishabdev along with other Tirthankaras."
Sri Hari Prasad Tiwari and Sri Narshingi Prasad Tiwari mentioned in their research work that, "the head of the statue of a mother Goddess discovered in a village named Paharpur situated at the northern bank of the Ajay river, near today's Jamgram, specifically establishes the existence and arrival of the inhabitants of Indus Valley in the region." The head of the motherstatue is still preserved by the writers. No arms, armament or weapons came in possession from the remainings of Indus valley. It clearly indicates that the inhabitants were the lover of peace and non-violence. With the passing of time, they moved forward and settled in the eastern part of the bank of the river. Evidence has also been gathered regarding their settlement in Orissa region. They in different groups visited Orissa from Burdwan. The then ruler of Orissa met them and also urged them to settle at Udayagiri. He properly arranged shelter to them. It is assumed that the caves and statues of Khandgiri and Udaigiri were built by the artists from within these groups of inhabitants.
According to many scholars, the word 'Bang' was originated from the Austric word 'Banga', which means the SUN GOD. In each and every Ancient culture, Rishabdev was treated as Sun God and worshipped. Nilkantha Sahoo specially mentioned on this subject in the introduction during the formal presentation of the book "Orissa Mein Jain Dharma." He propagated Rishab Culture from Orissa to Babylon, expressing the meaning of Rishab as Sun. Most of the linguistic
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