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PREFACE
I WOULD not like to tell beforehand about the contents of my work. It will be clear to the reader from the book itself. I wish only to explain in brief what prompted me to choose the theme of this modest research viz. "Jainism".
I think that ancient religions, as also the ancient social institutions of India-customs, caste order, family-marriage relations ctc. serve as a sort of a storeroom, in which what has been lost by people's memory and what has not been pre served even in literary works is conserved for many centuries.
The modern life (of the country) is changing so swiftly that probably it will soon be impossible to find many footprints of history. These footprints are still borne by the land of India in our times, despite changes.
The social-philosophical and religious views of people, normal law, ethical norms and traditions are changing in India, adjusting themselves to the demands and turns of the new life, new social structure.
In our times, India is experiencing an intensive break-up of all that did not change in the course of many centuries. This being so, the researcher intending to see the footprints of history must hurry. I think the researcher in these conditions must not only fix these footprints as an observer-although this is a perfectly necessary part of his work—but he must attempt to connect the past with our times. He must endeavour to trace those new paths, on which these steps are marked. Without this, it is impossible to understand why, India did not break up in the course of such a long time and also to explain to oneself its modern direction.
The life of Indian society as a whole, the life of every town and village, and also of every caste and family individually, is such an inexhaustible treasure-house of knowledge for those
