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INTRODUCTION
25
meritorious form of behaviour for salvation or at least a better condition after death. Priests gave emphasis along with the sacrifices, on the observance of cast, the āśramas, and the eternity of Vedas. Priesthood became a profession and hereditary one. The priests who possessed the Vedic lore became accredited intermediaries between God and men and dispensers of divine grace. So the Vedas brought by Aryans was entrusted to priestly class of Brahmins.
Later on, as the time passed, the situation in society created struggle between Kșatriya (warrior class of society) and Brahmins and an anti-Brāhmanic ideology and anti-Brāhmanic faith grew up. A significant outcome of this struggle was the birth of Bhāgavatism in Kșatriya milieu. Polytheism of Vedic Aryans was set apart and Bhāgavata (the individual deity) as supreme God was developed. It was the Yoga, Vedānta and Nyāya-Vaiseșika system, which introduced the God in Hinduism, as a supreme and creator of the world.
Śramanic System: Sramanic and Vedic (Brahmanical) traditions are very ancient traditions of the Indian philosophy. Vedic tradition came to India with Aryans who pleased their gods with hymns and sacrifices, and pleaded for cattle, strong children, long life and prosperity in their life. They were happy with material pleasure. When they were advancing deeper in India, they fought with the primitive and native tribes whom they called Dravidians, Nāgās, Dasyus, Daityas, Dānavas, Piśāca, Rākṣasas etc.
Nāgās and other tribes were serpent worshipers. Jaina's 23rd Tīrthankara Pārsvanātha also has the serpent as his symbol. Thus it can be inferred that native Indian tribes were practicing Šramanic tradition of Jainism, long before Vedic Aryans came to India.
Antiquity of Jainism goes back to Lord Rşabhadeva, the first Tīrthankara of Jaina tradition, who is mentioned in Ķgveda," the
68 Rgveda, 6/26/4 & 10/102/6
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