Jainism

Author(s): N R Guseva
Publisher: Sindu Publications P L

Page 86

72
JAINISM
between the members of visa castes of Digambaras and Shvetambaras and equally between those of the dasa castes of both the sects are not censured.
In several castes of Western India, in which a part of members profess Jainism and another part, Hinduism, Jains as a rule belong to the visa group and Vishnuites belong to the dasa group. It is obvious that here members of higher castes were converted into Jainism in those times, when the rulers patronised this religion (as it happened, for example, in Rajasthan and Gujarat).
Marriages between such Jains and Vishnuites are allowed.
Jain castes, like the Hindu castes, are divided in cxogamus groups-gotras. Gotras are traced to kin groups and exogamy is observed rigidly to the present day.
Osaval (or osvala), shrimali, poravada (partially Digambaras) of the Shvetambara castes and agarvala, khandelvala, paravara, Khumbada (partially Shvetambaras) of the Digambara cast are the most numerous ones in northern and western India. In south India, where practically all the local Jains belong to Digambara sect, such fractional division into castes does not exist amongst them. Here there are four big castes—saitavala (this caste is not in Mysore), chaturtha, panchama and bogara or kasara and three small castes-upadhyaya, kamboja and harada.
The Digambaras of the south do not marry and do not practically keep any connection with members of Jaina community living in all the other regions of India. Apparently ancient and deep differences divide this group from other Jains.
An interesting feature of the life of south Indian Jaina community is that here the priests are the high caste Hindus, tracing themselves to ancient Aryans, support patrilineal system of inheritance and while giving daughters in marriage give dowry, but the rest of the Jains have no such institutions. As distinct from priests, the rest of the Jains (so-called laymen) support most ancient customs, which are preserved even to this day by the Dravidian peoples (as by the hill and jungle tribes). Sister's son and not his own children inherit by right the property of the deceased.? 6. Ch. Krause, The Social Atmosphere at Present Jainism. 7. V. A. Sangave, op. cit., p. 110.