Jain Journal 1976 01

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 45

JANUARY, 19 76
131
as of Mahayana teaching. In the land of its origin the course of renaissance is indicated already by Sanskrit speech which of course, did in no way simply develop parallel to the renaissance of Brahmanahood. In reality, Brahmanahood never disappeared in India.
The Brahmanas were only rarely displaced by the heterodox salvation confessions. This had purely external bases. The Jaina Tirthankara and the Buddhisti Arhat performed no sort of rites. The laity, however, demanded a cult as well as definite representatives of such. In general that could be accomplished, where the need was present, only by monks, who gave up their meditation and teaching or by trained Brahmanas who submitted to the heterodox soteriology, and who, however, supervised the rites for the laity and appropriated the temple pretends for themselves. The Brahmanas, therefore, usually served as temple priests for the Jainas. The caste further more had indeed loosened its hold and large sections of the present Jaina mission territory were only won by Hinduism since the restoration.