Jaina System of Education

Author(s): Debendra Chandra Das Gupta
Publisher: Bharti Mahavidyalaya

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Jayamangala Jayasena Silaguna "Vijayasena " and others were recepients of this great mark of honour A typical Jaina Doctor such as Hemacandra was characterised by thirty six marks We read In as much as his mind was grounded in all the received religious treatises and Upanisads and his body was adorned with the thirty six good points of a Jaina doctor his religious teacher formally conferred on him that dignity an It is clear from the text that the requirements for the Doctor s degree in the Juna monastery were of a comprehensive nature including a thorough knowledge of Jaina as well as Vedic litera tures and Arts By the by it is also evident that the candidates for Doctorate in the Juna University were acquainted with the technique of research like their modern counterparts like them they too freely consulted the State records in order to prepare their theses In support of our contention the following lines may be quoted "Then Kumudcandra seated in a litter and the Pandit Ratnaprabha on foot came into the Record office to write down thesis and the counterstate ment. Kumudcandra had his thesis taken down by the officials of the Record office 51 That this high degree of scholarship required in the recepient of a Doctor s degree was almost universal is evident from the works of I Tsing who gives us an idea of the standard that prevailed in the University of Nalanda The priests learn besides all the Vinaya works and investigate Sutras and Sastras as well They oppose the heretics as they would drive beasts (deer) in middle of a plain and explain away disputations as boiling water melts frost. In this manner they became famous throughout Jambudvipa (India) received respect above gods and men and serving under the Buddha and promoting His doctrines of such persons in every generation only one or two appear These men could compose a work on the spot, whatever subject was required-such men could commit to memory the contents of two volumes having heard them only once
Fromu
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46 Ibid p 98
Ibid p 167
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Prabandhacintamani p 196
4T
Ibid p 19.
Ibid P 157
Ibid p 119
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Ibid p 100 5 ITsing, A Record of Buddhist Practices, tr by T Takakuru pp 181-81,
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