Jain Journal 1976 04

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

Page 15

APRIL, 1976
147
the Jainas, i.e., they became nearer to the Sudras and farther away from the Brahmanas. Yet in the Indian past birth (jāti) alone was never the sole criterion of social status. Wealth, education, life-style, humility and social concern also contributed to social status apart from the criterion of birth. The Jainas, the second most educated people in India after the Parsis, were good and loyal subjects to all governments, largely urban in character and given to many social concerns and philanthropic works. They were proverbially famous for their honesty, humility, wealth and piety. An historical analysis of the ideal qualities and characteristics of each of the four social classes (varņas) would indicate a close relationship of the Jaina Vaisyas with the Brahmanas.10
When scholars assign a lower status to the Jainas than the Ksatriyas they seem to be repeating what traditional writers had written milleniums ago. They have neglected to consider the changing reality of Indian society and have ignored the multiplicity of factors that contributed towards social mobility. If interpreted in this light, Indian records furnish sufficient evidence to show that the Vaisva Jainas have achieved an upward social mobility by most closely paralleling the culture and personality of the Brahmanas. Thus, it can be argued that the Jainas, despite the change in their ascended class (from Ksatriya to Vaisya) have by adopting the dominant culture traits of the Brahmanas, raised their social status during the course of Indian history.
Bibliography Bhargava, D., Jaina Ethics, Delhi, 1968. Census of India 1961 : Vol, XV, Uttar Pradesh, Pt. I-A (ii). Census of India 1961 : Vol. XIX, Pt. I, Delhi. Charpentier, Jarl, “The History of the Jains”, in Cambridge History of
India, Vol. I, ed. by E. J. Rapson, Cambridge, 1935, pp. 150-70. Das Gupta, S.N., A History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. I, Cambridge, 1957. Deo, S. B., History of Jaina Monaochism, Bombay, 1952. Desai, P. B. Jainism in South India and Some Jaina Epigraphs, Sholapur,
1957.
10
I am not thinking here of M. N. Srinivas' concept of "Sanskritization” but stating an observation gathered in the study of Indian history during the past fifteen years and following the social movements of classes, especially the Vaisyas, in historical perspective.