Book Title: Indian Antiquary Vol 02
Author(s): Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications

View full book text
Previous | Next

Page 218
________________ 198 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. [JULY, 1873. lest they should kill an insect,* In Surat of cosmography, with which their system of a richly endowed hospital exists in which sick gods is most closely connected. But before and disabled animals are nursed with the same considering these differences between the Jainas care as if they were men. and the Bauddhas, I consider it proper to insert Fourthly, the Jainas, following the example a brief report on the literature of the former, of the Bauddhas, have invented monstrous pe- because from this it will appear that in this riods, and have in this respect even excelled respect the Jainas have attached themselves to their predecessors. Their larger periods are the Brahmans. called Avasarpini and Utsarpini; each contains The Jainas possess a number of Puranas, 2,000,000,000,000 years. I Another period which chiefly contain legends of the Tirthan. has obtained the name sugara or sea, and karas, and present only exceptionally such as consists of 1,000,000,000,000,000 years. Each ooour in Brahmanic writings of the same name, of the two periods is divided into six small- The most important work is attributed to the er periods ; in the first the happiness, dura- Jina Sûri Acharya, whose age cannot tion of life, stature, &c. of men continually be determined quite accurately; the statement decreases until they descend to the lowest de- that he was a contemporary of King Vikramagree of misery, and during the period called ditya is worthless, because the origin of the autsarpini gradually again reach the highest de- Jaina doctrine cannot be pushed so far back, gree of perfection. These periods the Jainas The tradition said to be current in Southern have partly filled out with the stories of the India makes the author with greater propriuty to ancient epio dynasties of the Pandavas, of have been the spiritual preoeptor of Prince Krishņa, and of Prasenajit, a king of Sravasti | Amoghavarsha, who resided at Kanchi famed in the oldest Baddhist history, where in during the sixth century. As this kind of works they have sometimes indulged in unimportant does not exist among Buddhista, the Jainas alterations of the usual accounts, $ have borrowed the title and one of the subjeots In a similar manner the Buddhists have re- of these writings from the Brahmans. * modelled the history of the ancient Surya. The books called Siddhdnta and Agama vam sa or solar race; they place King Maha - partly take the place of the Vedas of the Brahsam mata at the head of the first large period mans, which the Jainas as well as the Baud, of the world, and allow after him 28 dynasties dhas despise. The first title, as is well known, to reign in various parts of Upper India designates a book of instruction, wherein a down to Iksh våku; these periods are called scientific system, especially an astronomical one, Asankyeya, i. e. numberless, and from those is demonstrated by arguinents. The 'title dynasties the later ones are deriyed; from Ma- Agama means also, among Brahmans, doctrines h â sammata to Iksh va ku 252,539 or or instructions which have come down by tradi. perhaps 140,300 successors are counted.l. tion; among Buddhists four collections of writ. These agreements between the Jainas and ings, which, according to the correct conception, the Bauddhas will suffice to establish the point relate to the Satras, and treat of discipline and that the former have branched off from the lat- cognate subjects, are also called by this name, ter. Their deviations from their predecessors The three significations attributed to this title are chiefly in the domains of philosophy and coincide in the general traditional doctrine or • Accordingly an English physician did a very unwel. seqq. From the mention by Hemachandra, III. v. 625 come service to a rati by convincing him by means of mi- segg. p. 127 seqq., of Dasarath, of his son R&ma and croscope that he was, in spite of this precaution, killing his foe, of the giant-king Ravana, of the other enemies invisible animalcule. of Vishnu, as well as of several kings of the old Burys+ There are similar institutions in Bombay, Bharoch, and varnia or solar race, the conclusion may be drawn that elsewhere.BD. in other writings also of the Jainas, the history of this dynasty is narrated. 1 Colebrooke, Misc. Essays, II. p. 276 seqq. These data are taken from the Abhidhdnachintamani of Hemachan. See the references to this, Ind. Alt. I. p. 478, note 1. dra, and occur in the edition of O. Boehtlingk and Rieu, Of the literature of the Jainas, Wilson has treated II. v. 162 seqq. p. 15. Avasarpint," down-stepping," and most in detail, As. Res. XVII. p. 240 seqq. Utsarpint, up-stepping;" these expressions refer pro • A similar kind of writings are the Charitaras, in bably to the decrease and increase of inappiness during these which legends and miraculous histories of the Wrthan. periods. [See also above, p. 135.) karas are narrated. $ This appends from extracts of the satrufijayama- 1 See on this, Ind. Alt. II. p. 1180 segg. hatmya by A. Weber, passim, p. 26, p. 81 seqq. and p. 851 I See Ind. Alt. IV. p. 643 and note 1.

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428