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
stand for Siva and Devi, and the prototype of the former is found in seals unearthed at Harappa and Mohenjodaro. Provided with horns, on the head and in one instance surrounded by animals, the threefaced male god, who is seated in the posture of Yogin on several seals, may rightly be regarded as the prototype of the Indian god Siva, the consort of the Mother Goddess. In later Sāktism as well as in the Sāmkhya, this male principle is nothing but a passive spectator. Praksti or Śakti, the Female Principle, is all in all. Referring to the anomalous position of the male principle in the Sāmkhya, Sankara asked: Kathañcodāsīnah puruşarpradhānam pravartayet? If creation is made possible by the union of Puruşa and Prakrti, how is it that the role of puruşa is so insignificant? Or, if the purusa is so insignificant and indifferent, how is it that he takes so important a part in the affair of creation? This contradiction cannot be explai postulating a matriarchal i.e., very primitive origin of the Samkhya system. The dualistic Sāmkhya conception of Puruşa and Praksti, especially the conception of material Praksti as the cause of the universe has nothing to do with the Vedic conception of an immaterial Brahman which was developed in the Upanişads and further elaborated in the Vedāntic speculations.
The Vedic tribes that subsequently came into prominence were not basically agriculturists. They lived predominantly on pastoralism, reckoning wealth in cows and horses. In fact, out of 10,462 verses of the Rgveda, only 25 refer to agriculture, and significantly enough, 22 out of the said 25 verses belong to the later portion of the Rgveda.3 Side by side the importance attached to the possession of cattle is shown in numerous passages. The word go denoting the cow is used as one of the synonyms of Prthivi, the earth. According to the Nighaņțu4 nine other terms were also used to denote the cow. Even in the Rgveda, the gods are invoked as offsprings of the cows, 5 and the poets did not hesitate to compare their songs with the lowing
1 For details see my IMG, pp. 92ff.; HSR, pp. 16ff.
21. 23.15; 117.21; II. 14.11; IV. 57.1-8; V. 53.13; VI. 6.4; VII. 20.19; 22.6; 78.10; X. 34.13; 48.7; 83.37; 94.13; 101.3-4; 117.7; 146.6.
In the older portions of the RY, we have three words of agricultural significance: Ordara (II. 14.11), Dhänya (V. 53.13) and Vapanti (VI. 6.4). The verses of the fourth mandala (IV. 57. 1-8) are proved to be later interpolation. See Hopkins in JAOS, XVII, pp. 85n.
II. 11. SVI. 50.11.