Book Title: Jainism And Its History
Author(s): Sagarmal Jain
Publisher: Research Foundation for Jainology

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Page 105
________________ points in the form of Apavāda Marga based on new situations of change in time and place etc. while accepting Mahāvīra's path of spiritual endeavor and code of conduct is Utsarga Marga. With the creation of Apavāda-marga, attraction for comforts made. Its entry in the Jaina Sangha and later, with the passage of time, it became a symbol of laxity of conduct. In view of this laxity many Ācāryas who supported Suvihita Marga spearheaded revolutions for the improvements in their code of conduct and practices. Jaina religion is a dynamic one. It has accepted changes in its system of rules and regulations in accordance to changes in time, place and circumstances while retaining and protecting its basic tenets. Thus, it was nothing new for Jaina-dharma to have various significant changes by different Ācāryas of various Jaina sects; it was rather an outcome of its basic revolutionary vision of thought. Even before Lokashah many events of such revolutions in conduct-related practices took place. Here, we are presenting a brief account of that. As has been indicated earlier Lord Mahāvīra did not accept the code of conduct of Pārsvanātha in its entirety. It is true, that there is no such difference in the basic principles of Pārsvanātha and Mahāvīra but their conduct-related rules and their systems have been different, which have been indicated at a number of places in the Jaina canons. In Mahāvīra's tradition the synthesis of code of conduct of both of these extraordinary men is first of all found in the form of Sāmāyika Caritra and Chedopasthāpaniya Caritra. Thus, as a consequence a two level regulatory system was created in the code of conduct of monks. This system established by Lord Mahāvīra continued without any major changes till the time of Bhadrabāhu; but even in that 103 Jainism and its History

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