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Jaina Community-A Social Survey
Pindadāna, i. e. the custom of offering rice balls to the dead, is not prescribed by Jaina religion. However, it is reported by one Jaina person from Tanjore in South India that like Hindus Jainas from that place offer Pindas or rice balls to the dead on the cremation ground on the 16th day after the death. As this custom of Pindadāna is not reported at all from any other place, it can safely be said that the custom is found in one locality and in any case it is not wide-spread as the custom of Maraṇabhoja. As regards the custom of observing monthly or yearly day in memory of the dead it can be stated that even though the custom is against the tenets of Jainism, it is practised by Jainas all over India. But it must be remembered that the proportion of persons observing the custom is less than those who do not observe it. Thus out of 154 persons who have sent their replies, 93 persons do not observe the custom while 56 are found observing it. Among the 56 persons, 26 are Digambaras and 30 are Svetāmbaras and hence the practice of custom is not confined to one sect only. Generally the annual day is observed by doing some religious act like Pūiā or worship in the temples and Dāna or donations to religious and social insti. tutions. Only one person from Udaipur in Rajputana reports that on the annual day the Santi of the deceased is performed by offering food to children, to five Brahmins and to caste-fellows. It is also reported from Borsad in Gujarātha that on the annual day bread is given to the dogs. These two instances seem to reveal local practices only. It is mentioned that in the Bundelakhanda the day in memory of the dead is observed in the Pitrpaksha, that is, in the second fort-ntght of the month of Bhādrapada.
41. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Jainism is a distinct religion having its own philosophy and the elaborate rules of conduct both for the laity and the ascetics. For putting the ethical code prescribed by Jainism into actual practice a firm faith in the teachings of Jainism is essential and easy method of clearly grasping the fundamental principles of Jainism and its various implications lies in taking regular religious education. The Jainas possess a vast amount of religious literature of their own in Sanskrit, Prakrit and various regional languages. With a view to know whether the study of Jaina literature is done or not and to consider what should be done in the matter in future, the question number 44 was asked. From the replies it will be
