Historical Facts About Jainism

Author(s): Lala Lajpatrai
Publisher: Jain Associations of India Mumbai

Page 29

by people ignorant of Jainism and having little or no acquaintance with Jains and their institutions. Jains consider education as the best charity and they have accordingly Pathashalas of their own in almost all the towns and villages where there are even a small number of Jains. They subscribe as liberally and unhesitatingly to nonJain educational and other institutions beneficial to mankind. As a matter of fact kindness and Jains go inseperably together. In this respect there is absolutely no scope for the allegation nacle by you. Any man who cares can, by even a casual reference to any list of subscriptions to charity, find out for hiniself the extent of Jain generosity. The Jains are the foremost in charity and in doing their bit for humanity.
HISTORIC INSTANCES.
We would but give a few historical instances Jagadusha, a prominent Jain flourishing in the thirteenth century, saved the whole of Kutch, Kathiawad, and Gujrat in the great famine of 1255 A. D. Shantidas of Ahmedabad, who flourished about three hundred years ago, saved thousands in the great fainine of 1631-32 A.D. froni starvation and untimely death. It is well known that fanines are unfortunately continually occurring in this land. There were only very recently the great famines of s.y. 1869 and s. y. 1956 in which also the Jains contributed very liberally and unsparingly to re