Jaina Concept of Omniscience

Author(s): Ramjee Singh
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 81

68 THE JAINA THEORY OF OMNISCIENCE : CHRONOLOGY
school rarely quoting those of the other. Thirdly, a vast majority of works have not yet been made available to the public. They are still lying in manuscript form in some old libraries or Jaina temples. Fourthly, the extant Sūtras need not be the first of this kind but may be the last which have supplemented their predecessors as a result of survival of the fittest. Fifthly, great historical researches are yet in progress to fix up correctly the dates of these works and at present there is considerable controversy regarding these dates. Sixthly, Jainism has been relatively a more neglected branch of Indological research than others. There are less authortative and independent works on the history of Jaina philosophy.78 Seventhly, Jainism because of being regarded as heterodox and being associated with certain religious traditions of nudity, it has not been treated favourably by non-Jaina writers of ancient and medieval period. Lastly, unlike Buddhism, Jainism received very little royal patronage and hence its chronological or historical records were not preserved to the extent they deserved. There were only a few Jaina kings like Kumārapāla, who encouraged literary and philosophical activities.
Under these circumstances, it is not possible to trace satisfactorily the chronological development of the Jaina theory
78 Except for a few. brochures published by Jaina Cultural Research
Society, Varanasi and sketchy History of Jaina Literature written by late Sri Nāthu Rām Premi and other by Pt. Kailasa Candra Sastri. I do not find any other material of use. Of course, M. Winternitz's magnum opus A History of Indian literature", Vol. II, Calcutta, 1933 devotes 170 pages to Jainism (pp. 424-595) and describes materials relating to omniscience on pages 575-595. In German Helmuth Von Glasenapp's Der Jainismus (Berlin 1925); W. Schubring's Die Lehre der Jainas (Berlin 1935); in French A Guerinot's La Religion Jaina (Paris 1926) and Y. J. Padmarajiah's A Comparative Study of the Jaina Theories of Reality and Knowledge (J. S. Y. M. Bəbiy 1933) and K. N. Jayatilleke's Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge (Landon George Allen & Unwin, 1963) are no doubt very useful.