Jaina Philosophy Historical Outline

Author(s): Narendra Nath Bhattacharya
Publisher: Munshiram Manoharlal Publisher's Pvt Ltd New Delhi

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Jain Philosophy in Historical Outline
his widow becomes absolute master of his property. Further, she takes the husband's share even if there be a son, which shows the basic difference between the Hindu law and the Jain law. Jain patriarchal system did not therefore prove so dangerous to women as did Hindu patriarchy. The Jain scriptures are in favour of female-education. A woman is expected to know 64 arts. To remain unmarried throughout her whole life is not a matter of disgrace to a Jain woman.1
Basically an atheistic religion which discards even the idea of a Supreme Being, Jainism, in the course of its long history, however, has developed a system of extensive worship. The beings who are supposed to have attained the ideal of Jina are styled Parmeșthins or 'the supreme ones.' There are five such beings-Siddha, Arhat (Tirthammkara), Ācārya, Upādhyāya and Sādhu-collectively called Pañca-Parameşthins who are objects of worship. The Yaksas and the Sāsanadevatās attending on the Tīrthamkaras are also worshipped. They are pre-Vedic deities whose cults were naturally revived in this anti-Vedic system. Besides, the Jains have a pantheon of their own, consisting of the Bhavanapati (residential), Vyantara (peripatetic), Jyotiska (stellar) and Vaimānika (heavenly) gods. They also worship some Hindu gods like Gaņeśa, Skanda, Bhairava, Hanumāna and others of non-Vedic origin. Various forms of Mother-goddesses and village deities, and also sacred animals, trees, places and the like, are worshipped. Every caste and family has its own caste and family deity. The purpose of worship among the Jains is very different from that among the others. Since the object of worship-a god, a divine being or a Tīrthamkara-is not endowed with the act of creation and regulation of the world, the question of asking favours does not arise. Hence the purpose of worship is to pay due homage to a being who is supposed to be the ideal."
types of worship are prevalent among the Jains-nāma, i.e. uttering or hearing the name of the object of worship, sthāpana i.e. worshipping the material representation like picture, image statue, etc. dravya i.e. worshipping the souls that are destined to be the Tirthamkaras in the future, and bhāva i.e. worshipping the person in his actual nature. The idol-worshippers are known as Mandiramärgi and the non-idol-worshippers are termed Sādumärgi. The places of worship
IKSB, VII; Barodia, HLJ, p. 40, Jain C.R., JL, pp. 47, 80-81, 89-91; Jaini, JL, pp. 35-37, 50-52, 116-117; Kapadia in JUB, VIII, pp. 201-02.
Bühler, ISJ, pp. 66-71; Jaini, BOJ, pp. 3-15; Stevenson, NMJ, pp. 93-95.