________________
108
Remains of Early Jaina Sanghas:
The earliest Jaina Sanghas are known from archaelogical records at Mathura73 and Rajasthan74. Those Sanghas are believed to have descended from the post-Mahaviran Jaina Sanghas as it is evidenced by the fact that some of these Sanghas recorded in the Kalpasūtra Sthaviravali and the Nandisutra Pattavali and in Mathura Inscriptions are identical, e.g. Kotigaccha or Kotikagana, etc.
JAIN JOURNAL
Since that time Jaina Sanghas have evolved separately and have not given rise to any other forms as no further records are found about them. But there emerged new Sanghas, ganas, gacchas, etc., each of which evolved separately from different parent-sanghas during the early mediaeval period or' Acarya period 75. New Jaina Sanghas or gacchas have had a separate evolutionary history since the early period and represented the side branches 76 rather than the segments of the main evolutionary trunk of Jaina Sanghas leading to modern Jaina Sanghas.
The oldest Jaina Sanghas or ganas or kulas or sakhas which have been found recorded in the earliest inscriptions at Mathura in Uttarapradesa were smaller in size than modern Jaina Sanghas or ganas or gacchas and were near the stem of earliest Jaina Sangha of the postMahaviran period, leading probably to modern Sanghas in some forms in course of time and they had the same monastic formula of rules". These Sanghas probably represented the common ancestor Sanghas, etc. From this point the evolution of modern Sanghas diverged from that of the higher primitive Sanghas. During the post-Mahaviran period Jaina monastic orders evolved from their primitive parent-Sanghas and by the middle of that epoch the evolutionary lines leading to the various types of modern Jaina Sanghas, ganas, gacchas, etc, in the Acarya period were distinct, e.g. Tapagaccha78 probably differentiated from the common
73. See Early Mathura Inscriptions.
74 See Tirthankar Mahavir, Vijayendra Suri, Part II, p. 318. 'viraya Bhagavata (ta). tha.. caturasi tiva (sa)...(ka) ye salimalini...ra ni vitha majhimi ke.' This inscription is dated in Vira samvat 84. It is now preserved in Ajmer Museum. It was found at Varli south-east of Ajmer at a distance of 26 miles. It refers to Madhyamika situated at a distance of 8 miles from Chittor in Rajasthan.
75
e.g. there evolved Kotikagaccha, Candragaccha, Vanavasigaccha, Vatagaccha and Tapagaccha from Nirgranthagaccha as a result of evolution of it.
76 e.g. Nirgranthagaccha, Kotikagaccha etc. leading up to Tapagaccha, Lonka upto Terapanthin evolved in a straight lines from the earliest period. 77 See Kalpasutra Sthaviravali; Nandisutra Pattavali; Early Mathura Inscriptions and Pattavali Samuccaya, Pt. I.
78 See Tapagaccha Pattavali
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
