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Jaina Path of Education
ture in different languages and of different periods. Thus religious or ethical instruction in an entertaining manner is the secret of successful social education or mass-education achieved by the Jaina Acaryas. During the reigns of some of the Kadamba, Ganga, Calukya and Rāṣṭrakūta rulers, the Jaina teachers have successfully carried out such masseducation in Karnatak. This is also true of Rajastan and Gujarat under their favourable rulers. The cumulative effect of such education in these provinces could be seen in the fact that the virtues of regard for Ahimsa etc. in general and vegetarianism in particular were nurtured by most of the people of those and later days-including the present days to some extent-in these regions. Moreover some scholars think that the percolation of the principle of Ahimsa to the very root of Gandhiji's mind is the later fruit of such age-long education by Jainism.
Another interesting factor in the educational values of Jainism is that in the day-to-day practice itself of the Srävaka-dharma by the members of the lay community is found the carrying out of some important educational principles. Dana (gift), Sila (protection of minor vows), U pavasa (observance of fast) and Pūjā (worship) are the four constituents of the layman's way of pious life; and they play a very important role in his total life. The gift of sastra (books) of jñāna (knowledge) is one of the four facets of Dana (gift), the first constituent of the Sravakadharma. Sastradana means to provide the right person with the right book (or books, the vehicles of knowledge) at the right time. The educational importance of this aspect of gift can be illustrated from a gesture of an eminent historical personage of medieval Karnatak; when printing was unknown with a beneficial motive of augmenting interest in (religious) literature, in 973 A. D. The great pious lady Attimabbe wife of general Nägadeva (under the Western Calukyas) got prepared 1000 copies of Ponna's Santi purana and distributed them to the deserving ones. The worth and strength of this Sastradāna is seen even today among nume rous well-to-do members of the Jaina community extending a helping hand towards publication of worthy books, encouragement to scholars in their pursuits, liberal donations to educational institutions etc. number of educational trusts have come up out of this motive in different parts of the country.
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Moreover of the six duties to be carried out daily by the Śravaka, viz., Pūjā (worship, prayer etc.) Vārtā (the exercise of honest lively
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