Jain Journal 1997 10

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

Page 22

MUKHERJI : CULTURAL HERITAGE OF BENGAL IN RELATION TO JAINISM 53
Mahāvīra, who was born at Kundagrāma in the vicinity of Vaisālīnagara, spent earlier part of his life in the towns and villages as well as in monastic recluses in hilly regions. We have it from some Jaina cononical texts, corroborated by Buddhist texts as well, that Mahāvīra personally visited the Radha desa and possibly also Suhmadesa to its south in connection with his religious preachings. According to some sceptic scholars, the great Jaina preacher did not actually travel in Bengal. Now, let us examine the correctness of the latter view in the following paragraph.
According to the Jaina traditions, recorded in their canonical texts like the Ayāramga Sutta, Kappa Sutta and Bhagavai Sutla, Mahāvira came to Angadesa, Radha-desa and Suhmādesa and spent as many as 18 years in preaching his religious ideas. In Lesson 3, Lecture 8 of Book I of the Ayāramga Sutta (ed. Jacobi, Trans), it is said that while travelling in the pathless country of the Ladhas (Radhas) in Vajjabhūmi* and Subbhabhūmi, Mahāvīra was encountered with various difficultics and oppressions, for the people of the said tracts attacked him with sticks, made the dogs bite him and used abusive languages against him. Sometimes it was difficult for him in reaching a village. In the long run, however, Mahāvīra became victorious and brought many people of the Lādha country to his fold. It has surther been recorded in the aforesaid text that the mendicants (Nirgranthas or Jainas) used to take rough food in Vajjabhūmi and used to move about with long and strong poles in order to drive away the dogs so attacking. As to the presence of the Jaina medicants in that part of country in circa 3rd century B.C. (the date of the Sutra) we may construe that either Jainism existed there before the arrival of Mahāvīra and he only increased the number of his followers, or the description had nothing to do with Mahāvira's travel in that land and probably related to the treatment meted only to some Jaina monks at a subsequent period. While the former conclusion cannot be well-substantiated at the present stage of our knowledge, the latter view is unwarranted : To my mind it appears that the Jaina monks came to the Rādha country even before the travel of Mahāvīra in Bengal, and he went there in order to strengthen the number of his adherents. Were the Jaina mendicants, mentioned above, the followers of 'Cāturyāma' observance as preached and practised by Pārsvanātha ? For some Jaina followers of parts of the districts of Hāzāribāgh, Ranchi and Manbhūm were said to have practised the same even at the end of the 19th century A.D. The Bhagavati-sūtra mentions that Mahāvīra once spent a rainy season at Paniyabhūmi. The Jaina Kalpasūtra, too records that the rainny season was spent by the great Jaina leader at Paniyabhūmi (va of Paniyabhūmi – ‘anārya-desa-visesā'). This place was possibly inha.ed