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CHAPTER 2
RELIGIOUS DIVISIONS IN THE JAINA COMMUNITY
1. EARLY HISTORY OF JAINA RELIGION
'Jainism is a religion propounded by Jina, i..e., one who has conquered the worldly passions and Jainas are the followers of Jina. According to the Jaina tradition Lord Rshabhadeva was the first Jina of the present age who was born in very primitive times when people were illiterate and did not know any art. It is believed that Rshabhadeva was the first person to initiate the people into various arts and crafts like cooking, writing, making pottery, painting and sculpture and to establish the social institutions like marriage, family, Varna or class, education, etc. He taught the people how to behave in society, introduced social customs and manners and showed the way of performing religious practices. He was also known as the first Tirthankara, i. e., one who guides the people to attain liberation. Rshabhadeva was followed by 23 Tirthankaras and they tried to reform the society and preach the religion as handed over to them from the times of Rshabhadeva.
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Even though, according to the above tradition, the Jainas claim to have a hoary antiquity, it should be remembered that so far no historical evidence has been brought forward to establish beyond doubt the real existence of the first 22 Tirthankaras. The last two Tirthankaras, viz., Pārsvanatha, the 23rd, and Mahāvīra, the 24th, are proved as historical personages. There are various literary evidences in the Jaina and Buddhist texts which presuppose the existence of a Nirgrantha Order headed by Parsvanatha before the advent of Mahāvīra and, therefore, it can be said that there is much truth in the Jaina tradition that Mahāvīra was no more than promulgator of an older Nirgrantha Order.2
