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Jaina Monuments of Orissa
In the recent years some people regarded the Sarākas settling in village Nuāpāțaņā as Buddhists and a new Buddhist shrine constructed for them with the plantation of a Bodhidruma. Surprisingly enough, the Sarākas of these villages do not pay any ceremonial visit to the Buddhist site of Bānesvaranāsi of Narasimhpur area nor they have any religious link with the famous Buddhist sites in other places of the district. Rather they come occasionally to Udayagiri and Khandagiri to pay obeisance to the Jaina Tirthankaras.
JAINA IMPACT ON SOCIETY AND LITERATURE
The creed has had its impact on the life style of Oriyas. Vegetarianism is deep seated in the rural areas especially among the Sarakas. Worship of the Vata tree (Ficus) Kalpavata social custom are drawn from Jainism. Parables and some of the folk tales of Orissa are apparently drawn from the Jaina parables which are of very early age. Medieval Oriya literature including the Mahābhārata of Sāralā Dāsa is definitely coloured by Jainism. The story of Jagannātha in the Oriya Mahabhārata of Sāraļā dāsa appears to be a Jaina parable in a different form. Works like the old Baula charita and Rāmagātha have a strong Jaina influence Bhāgavata of Jagannatha Dasa, Vişnugarbha purāna of Chaitanya Dasa, Rasakollala of Dina Krushna Dasa are replete with versions of Jaina philosophical discussions and practices. The section on Rsabha Charita in the 5th Adhyaya of 5th Khanda of Jagannātha Dasa's Oriya Bhāgavata we find references to the practice of Bramhahcharya, Ahinsa Srādha, Satkarma, etc. as parts of the instructions of Rşabha Deva to his one hundred sons. Which are nothing but based on Jaina ideology and code of domestic life. The observance of Astamangala after marriages scems to have been derived from the Jaina tradition.
In Kalinga a measuring rod was introduced by the Jaina priests and it is called Jinako!a.104 Many Jaina scholars were employed as astronomers and administrators of the Courts of various south Indian royal families as observed by D.C. Sircar.105 These Jaina astronomers seem to have introduced the Saka era in this country. The earliest known 'Sakāvda' is used by the Jaina author, Simhasuri in his Lokavibhāga which was written at Kanchi in Sakāvda 388 (A.D. 466). In Orissa several writers and engravers of copper plate inscriptions seem to have belonged to the Jaina sect which is evident from their names such as Sarvachandra, Khandichandra, Bhanuchandra, Vinaya Chandra, etc. The Goldsmiths of south Orissa are generally called Sarabha, a derivation of Srāvaka.106 A sect of people known as Kalinga kumuti are practising trade and commerce. They are said to have hailed from the south (Mysore) and after adopting Jainism maintained trade link between the two areas.107
104. S.N. Rajguru, Inscription of Orissa, Vol. III, Part-I Page. 51, foot note. 3, p. 71 and p. 135. 105. D.C. Sircar, Indian Epigraphy, p. 263 ff. 106. S.N. Rajguru, Inscriptions of Orissa, Vol. II, pp. 2, 11, 16, 21, 26, and 31 and surnames, Ibid.,
Page 362 107. S.N. Rajguru, Konarka (Oriya), March, 1959, p. 19.
