Doctrine of Jainas

Author(s): Walther Shubring, Wolfgang Beurlen
Publisher: Motilal Banarasidas

Page 62

48
DOCTRINE OF THE JAINAS may add that Vikrama, the successor to Gardhablulla, is said to have been won for Jainism by Siddhascna Divākıral. Yet this report contains as littlc tangible data as do such statements of the same contents that were made with regard to other distinguished personalities and which in this conncxion may be omitted as negligible. There arc cvcn doubts as to the question whether Vikrama's political importance was as great as the Jains wish it to be
With Samprati wc find oursclvcs somewhcrc ncar the turn of the 3rd to the 2nd century BC., and somewhcrc ncar this time there lived the King Khāravcla of Kalinga (Orissa) provided that, on account of his grcat inscription at Khandagiri (Hāthīgumphā), the years between 182 and 180 B.C. allow of dating his accession to the throned. This much mutilated inscription", it is true, begins with a Jinist formula of vencration, but what tangible deeds in favour of the Jains scholars werc inclined to interpret from it have turned out to be untenablc or remained inexplicable. We may presuppose that Jain communities flourished within Kh.'s rcalm. They stand side by side with those that existed in Tamralıpti (Tamluk, Midnapur Distr, Bengal), Kotivarsa (Bāngarh, Dinajpur Distr., Bengal) and Pundravardhana (North Bengal), and whuch went back to a pupil of Bhadrabāhu's (Thcrav.5)5.
$25 In contrast to the unconfirmed report of Sampratı and Suhastin the spreading to the west becomes cvident foi thc 2nd century B C. and the following owing to the finds made at the ancient town of Mathurā, which are most revcaling also in
1 Vikramacarita, comp Vikrama's Adventures, ed and trans by EDGERTON Harvard Oriental Scr 26
2 Comp EDGERTON loc-cit O PI, LXII 3 Thus KONOW AO 1, 35
4. Last by JAYASWAL in JBORS 3 and 4, KONOTV AO I, 12-42 For earlier bibliography sec LUDERS, List under No 1345 Dctails by different authors in Anekānt i
5 agajina and satıhalariya coyathiaga
DR BHANDARKAR, ABORI 12, 104f 106 f is not very convincing in attributing their revival to Mahavira's wandering in Lādha fourth colony not yet indentified was (ibd ) Dāsikharbaţa
A 6 V A SMITH, The Jain Stupa and other Antiquities of (Archaeolog ) Survey of India New Imp Series Vol 20) Allahabad 1901