________________
History of Jainism with Special Reference to Mathurā Vardhamāna Mahāvīra's two immediate predecessors were historical persons. 453
According to the Jaina tradition, Neminātha was a cousin of Krsna. The tradition associating Neminātha with Krşņa appears to be very old. Several images of the Kuşāņa and the post-Kuşāņa period represent Neminātha in the company of Krsna and Balarama.454 Jinaprabha Sūri's Vividhatīrthakalpa, a Jaina text of the fourteenth century, also tells that Neminātha had a specially honoured place in Mathurā.455 Hira Lal Jain opined that during the Mahābhārata period Neminātha was the head of the order that ranged itself against Vedic sacrifices. 456 He probably drew this conclusion from the fact that Neminātha is said to have emphasised the principle of ahimsā' 457 Krsna's historicity is universally accepted.458 Therefore, some scholars opine that the historicity of Neminātha, 'who according to the Jaina tradition was Krsna's cousin',459 should also be accepted.460 In short, the tradition regarding the historicity of Neminātha is fairly strong.
Some scholars hold that the Rgveda contains a clear reference to Rsabha, 461 and that Keśī of the Rgveda and Rşabha of the Bhāgavata Purāņa is the same person.162 It may, therefore, be reasonable to assume that probably Rsabha lived in the Rgvedic Age and that “Jainism is as old as Vedic religion? 463 In other words, like Hinduism, Jainism originated in the Rgvedic Age. The dating of the
453. P. Banerjee, op. cit., p. 147. 454. JAA, I, p. 50; MM no. 34. 2488. 455. Vividha-Tirtha-Kalpa, p. 86; MS, p. 2; JAA, I, p. 50. 456. CUHI, I, p. 220. 457. HP, pp. 616-34; JAA, I, p. 17. 458. CMHI, II, p. 380; Krishna The Divine Lover, ed. David, R. Godine, 1982, p. 104; A.D.
Pusalker, Studies in the Epics and Puranas, 1955, pp. 49ff. 459. HP, Editorial; SIJA, p. 4; JAA, I, Preface, vii. 460. HJM, p. 59 fn 6; JOLR, p. 20 fn 3. 461. JAA, I, Preface, vii; JOLR, pp. 29, 41, 42; CUHI, I, p. 185. 462. Hira Lal Jain, Bharatiya Samskrti Mein Jain Dharma Ka Yogadāna, 1962, pp. 13-16. 463. Ibid., p. 17; CUHI, I, p. 185.
