Jaina Philosophy

Author(s): Mohanlal Mehta
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

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beginning of the Vikrama Era. The tradition of the Digambara Jainas maintains that Lord Mahāvīra attained liberation 605 years before the beginning of the Saka Era. By either mode of calculation the date comes to 527 B. C. Since the Lord attained emancipation at the age of 72, his birth must have been around 599 B. C. This makes Mahāvīra a slightly elder contemporary of Buddha who probably lived about 567-487
B.C.
JAINA PHILOSOPHY: AN INTRODUCTION
There are many references in the Buddhist canon to Naṭaputta and the Niganthas, meaning Mahāvīra and the Jainas. The Buddhist canon refers to the death of Naṭaputta at Pāvā at a time when Buddha was still engaged in preaching. According to Hemacandra, Mahāvīra attained liberation 155 year before Candragupta's accession to the throne. This leads to a date around 549-477 B.C. for Mahāvīra and places his death slightly later than that of Buddha. Some scholars support this view.
There is no doubt that Pārśva preceded Mahāvīra by 250 years. The Jaina canon clearly mentions that the parents of Mahāvīra were followers of Pārśva whose death took place 250 years before that of Mahāvīra. Since Pārśva lived for a hundred years, his date comes to 877-777 B.C.
Mahāvīra was not the inventor of a new doctrine but the reformer of a Law already long in existence. The Uttaradhyayana-sūtra gives a good account of this fact. The following is the essence of this account :
There was a famous preceptor in the tradition of Lord Pārsva. His name was Keśi. Surrounded by his disciples he arrived at the town of Śrāvasti. In the vicinity of that town there was a park called Tinduka. There he took up his abode in a pure place.
At that time there was a famous disciple of Lord Mahāvīra. His name was Gautama (Indrabhūti). Surrounded by his pupils he, too, arrived at Śrāvastī. In the vicinity of that