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Jaina Community - A Social Survey
rites like birth, marriage and death and he was their physician, astrologer, adviser and father-confessor. He also officiated to all the religious ceremonies, consecration of temples and images, worships, and devotional meetings and delivered religious discourses to all.283 Thus, the Bhattaraka served a very useful purpose. Through his own learning and behaviour and with the help of his trained disciples, he not only spread the message of Jainism but also unified the disintegrated Jaina community.284 Without the introduction of the Bhattārakas the Digambara sect would have hardly survived. But later on the institution degenerated to such an extent that instead of serving as a force of integration it hastened the disintegration of its adherents. The Bhattāraka became worldly minded, tried to amass wealth and to raise his position by means both fair' or foul, and utterly neglected his religious and social duties. Instead of catering to the needs of Jainas in general, he restricted his field of activity to a particular caste of Jainas only. As a result we find that in the Deccan each principal Jaina caste came to have a separate Bhattāraka who controlled the social and religious life of that caste, 235 Naturally, this widened the gulf between various Jaina castes. Further, many Digambara Jainas, seeing the perverted behaviour of the Bhattārakas, revolted against the very institution and founded what is known as the Terapantha sub-sect of the Digam bara sect in the latter part of the 17th century of the Vikrama Era. Thus on the issue of Bhattāraka the Digambara sect has been split up into two equal sections, the Bīsapanthis, who are the followers of the Bhattārakas and the Terā panthis who do not believe in the Bhattarakas. In recent years the condition of Bhattarakas has not improved at all and hence at present there is a question before the Digambara Jainas whether to discard the institution altogether or to retain it by giving it a new shape to suit the changed circumstances. The general opinicn seems to be in favour of retaining the institution because a religious preceptor is considered necessary to look after the spiritual life of the people. It is suggested that if the Bhattārakas, who are well-educated, who wish to renounce life after fulfilling their worldly desires, are appointed and recognised not as the heads of particular castes but as organisers, propagators and preceptors of the Digambara Jaina sect, then not only the Digambaras would be united by closing their rift between the Bīsa.
