Early Jainism

Author(s): K K Dixit
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 6

PREFACE
In the following pages an attempt has been made to present a picture of what might be called 'Early Jainism'. Certainly, in the case of each and every religion that made its appearance in ancient or medieval times it should be possible and necessary to distinguish between its early phase and its later phase. This, for example, is true of Brahmanism, Buddhism, Zoroastberianism, Jewism, Christianity and Islam. Thus to begin with each of these religions was a relatively simple affair as regards its ideology as also as regards its observances but with the passage of time it became a relatively complicated affair as regards its ideology as also as regards its observances. And the explanation of all this lies in the circumstance that each of these religions took its rise under conditions that were relatively simple while its subsequent development took place under conditions that were relatively complicated. Moreover, within the fold of some of those religions such a reform movement was launched in later times as would condemo the complicated ideology and obseryances of later times and would seek to revert back to those of early times. Such, for example, was the case with Arya Samaja within the fold of Brahmanism, Protestantism within the fold of Christianity, Wahabism within the fold of Islam, Sthāna. kavāsism within the fold of Jainism.
Confining our attention to Jainism we note that certain texts belonging to this religion are considerably old while they also describe conditions that are relatively very simple. In view of what was said just above this is as tbe things should be. But for this very reason the texts in question need to be studied more carefully-attention being particularly paid to their language, their metre (in case of verse-texts) as well as their content. And to put it in a nutshell, something of the sort has been attempted in the following pages where claim is made that this way we are enabled to form a tolerably clear picture of what might be called "Early Jainism'. Certainly, the language, the metre as well as the content of our texts can be accounted for only on the ground that they were composed by the early Jainas and that they represent an early phase of Jainism. In this background of understanding it should also be possible to undertake a critical apprecia. tion of the phenomenon called 'Sthānakavāsism'. Thus the Stbanaka väsins are correct when they emphasise that a practice like idol-worship was unknown to the early Jajnas. They are also correct when they point out that the latter-day commentators read their own views into the early texts and that they thus only too often misinterpret them. But their understanding as to