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WISE WRITERS AND ADVISERS
view of the history of Indian languages for they always took care that their writings were accessible even to the masses of the people. Hence the canonical writings and the earliest commentaries are written in Prakrit dialects. At a later period Sanskrit and various modern Indian languages were used by the Jains. That is why it is not an exaggeration when the famous Indologist, H.H. Wilson says that every province of Hindustan can provide Jain compositions, either in Sanskrit or in its vernacular idioms. It is an established fact that we have enriched various regional languages, especially Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.
Regarding our contribution to the Kannada literature, the eminent Kannada scholar R. Narasimhacharya has given his considered opinion: "The earliest cultivators of the Kannada language were Jains. The oldest works of any extent and value that have come down to us are all from the pens of the Jains. The period of their predominance in the literary field may justly be called the August Age of Kannada Literature'. Jain authors in Kannada are far more numerous than in Tamil. To name only a few, we have Pampa, Ponna, Ranna, Gunavarman, Nagachandra, Janna, Andayya, Bandhuvarma and Medhura, whose works are admired as excellent specimens of poetical composition. It is only in Kannada that we have a Ramayana and a Bharata based on the Jain tradition in addition to those based on Brahmanical tradition. Besides the kavyas written by Jain authors, we have numerous works by them dealing with subjects such as grammar, rhetoric, prosody, mathematics, astrology, medicine, veterinary science, cookery and many others. The number of distinguished Jain authors in Kannada is nearly two hundred."
As the Jains have produced their vast literature in these languages from very ancient times, they have certainly played a very important part in the development of the different languages of India. The medium of sacred writings and preachings of the Brahmins has all along been Sanskrit and that of the Buddha's Pali. The Jains alone utilised the prevailing languages of the different places - besides Sanskrit, Prakrit and Apabhramsha - for their religious propagation as well as for the preservation of knowledge. It is thus quite evident that the Jains occupy an important position in the history of Indian literature and civilisation.
In philosophy the Jains take a distinct position between the Brahmanic and Buddhist philosophical systems. This has been shown very clearly by Dr. Hermann Jacobi in his paper on The Metaphysics and Ethics of the Jainas. Regarding the problem of Being each of them hold different opinions. The Vedantins consider that underlying and upholding from within all things there is one absolute permanent "Being without change and with none other like it. On the contrary the Buddhists hold that all things are transitory. The Jains, however, contend that the 'Being' is joined to production, continuation and destruction, and that they call their theory of multiple view points (anekantvada) in contra-distinction to the theory of permanency (nityavada) of the Vedantins, and to the theory of transitoriness (ksanikvada) of the Buddhists. The Jains think
that the existing things are permanent only as regards their substance, but their accidents or qualities originate and perish.
As the Jains have evolved a philosophy of their own, they follow a distinct ethical code based on this. Jain ethics stand as a class by itself in the sense that it is the only system which is founded on the main principle of ahimsa. It has already been noted how the principle of ahimsa forms the basis of various rules of conduct prescribed for both the laymen and ascetics.
Thus one of the most significant contributions of the Jains is the ahimsa culture and it must be said to the credit of the Jains that they practised and propagated that culture from ancient times. In fact, the antiquity and continuity of ahimsa culture is mainly due to the incessant efforts of the Jain ascetics and householders. Naturally, wherever the Jains were in great numbers and wielded some influence they tried to spread ahimsa culture among the masses. That is why we find that the States of Gujarat and Karnataka, which are the strongholds of Jains from the beginning, are mainly vegetarian. In fact, it is admitted that as a result of the activities of the Jains for many centuries, ahimsa still forms the substratum of Indian character as a whole.
The Jains also distinguished themselves in giving their continuous support for the improvement of political and economic life in the country. Especially in southern and western India, the Jains produced a large number of eminent and efficient monarchs, ministers and generals and thereby contributed to maintaining and improving the political importance of their people. Not only the ordinary Jains but their saints also aided materially to create the proper political environment based on ahimsa culture necessary for the resuscitation of the life in the country.
It is considered that due to the keen interest taken by the saints (Acharyas) in political affairs of the country, Jainism occupies an important place in the history of India. The ascetics were never indifferent towards the secular affairs of the government and the state. We know from the account of Megasthenes that in the 4th century BC the Jain ascetics, who lived in the woods, were frequently consulted by the kings through their messengers. So far as Karnataka is concerned Jainism throughout its course of more than one thousand years was an example of a religion which accepted the importance of worldly concerns and public affairs. That is why in Karnataka we find that the Jain Acharyas ceased to be merely exponents of dogmas, and turned themselves into creators of kingdoms. Jain saints were primarily responsible for the founding of the Ganga kingdom in the 2nd century AD and the Hoyasala kingdom in the 11th century AD.
Extracted from the book Aspects of Jaina Religion' by Dr. Vilas A Sangave, published by Bharatiya Jnanpith, New Delhi 1999. Dr: Sangave lives in India and is an eminent professor of Jainism.
December 2002 - February 2003. Jain Spirit
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Jain Education Interational 2010_03
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