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HISTORY OF JAINA MONACHISM
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are referred to. For instance, 'uvasampaya' meant placing oneself under the control of a guru, the appointment to a particular post was called 'anuņņā”, (or better, the conferring of authority), 'vijahana' signified the leaving of the jurisdiction of a particular superior officer, and 'uvaṭṭhāvanā', denoted the final consecration of a novice under probation.
Comparison with other systems:
The ācārya and the upadhyaya are to be found in the Brahmanical ast well as the Buddhist church hierarchy. The 'samanera' and the 'thera' are to be met with in the Buddhist church as well. The 'ganadhara' is rare in Brahmanical church hierarchy, but the 'ganapati' is referred to frequently, if not always in the sense of a person holding office in the Church.
The process of 'pabbajjä' and 'uvasampaya' in the Buddhist Church had its counterpart in the 'dikkha' and 'uvaṭṭhāvana' of the Jaina Church.
42
Even though the Buddhist Chuch had an elaborate galaxy of many other officers like the samaṇerapesaka, sanghabhatta (ration-officer),43 civarabhājaka (cloth-distributor) 44 and others, the Jaina Church was content to have a hierarchy mainly looking to the moral aspect of the monks. It may be that the Jaina Church was not full of ideas of organising churchlife on a corporate basis.
The gaṇāvacchedaka, the pravartin, ganin and the ganadhara, therefore, seem to be designations peculiar to the Jaina Church hierarchy.
Church Units:
Under these officers the monks were grouped in various units. Although the various units referred to in the Angas are not explicitly explained so as to reveal their mutual relations, these units may be said to hint at administrative groups under various officers. It may, at the same time, be noted, that in explaining these units, we have to depend on the interpretation of commentators who are far removed in time taking into consideration the antiquity of the Añga texts themselves. It is possible, therefore, that they explain the units from contemporary conditions.
40. Than. p. 139a; comm. pp. 139b and 140b explains 'anunna' as 'adhikaradanam', 'upasampat' as 'jñānādyartham bhavadīyo ahamiti abhyupagamaḥ'; 'vijahana' as 'parityagaḥ'; Upasampada in Uttar. 26, 5-7.
41. Chedopasthapana was absent in the period between the 2nd and the 23rd Tirthankaras: Than. comm. pp. 167b.
42. Cullavagga, VI, 21. 43. Ibid. VI, 21, 1.
44. Ibid., VI, 21, 2.
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