Jainism in India

Author(s): Ganesh Lalwani
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 12

(xi) the folds of present day Jain society or at least to conduct an organized exploration of that area.
But all has not always and completely been so gloomy. In the darkness of ignorance and neglect there have been, and still are, comet like streaks of individual endeavour and excellence. Even the reconstruction of some patches of history by gathering these scattered evidences reveals with certainty the glimpses of the past glory of the Jain culture.
In spite of all neglect and destruction a lot more still remains of what the Jains had contributed to Indian culture during their haydays in ancient and medieval Indian politics. These ancient structures and artifects, some of them in ruinous condition, spread all over the country are like ambassadors from the by gone eras. They are telltale signs of the heights attained by Shraman Culture in various periods of history. Even now, if properly attended to and studied these ruins can provide important clues in tracing back the true and scientific history of Jains as well as the related region and the country.
But to find the missing clues of history one has to resort to the field of archaeology; and the study of Jain archaeology requires a lot of hard work. As an independent subject it has yet to be fully developed. The major work in this field has been done by non-Jain scholars and it is erroneous and misleading because of lack of intimate and deep knowledge of Jain philosophy and culture. Also, during the period when maximum work was done in this field many of the scholars involved could not clearly understand the differences between Jainism and Buddhism.
"Jainism in India" has been carefully concieved and meticulously prepaired for the purpose of evoking interest in the subject by giving a bird's eyeview of the great storehouse of Jain heritage. It takes the reader around on a tour of India from U.P. in the north to Tamilnadu in the south and Gujarat in the west to Bengal in the cast. It provides glimpses of the evolution and development of Jain culture, the rise and fall of its influence in different areas at different times
The editor has aptly said, "Doubtless, a complete account of Jain heritage would fill up several volumes running into thousands of pages rather then being exhausted in about a hundred as in the present case. In fact, for the entire period of prehistory and history of India upto the advent of the TurkoAfghans at least, if not also for the later period, to the existing Hindu view of the state of things, there may be an equally, if not more, effective, fascinating and instructive Jaina version. Some Jain scholars have attempted it piece-meal, but these enterprises though commendable as pioneering efforts, are more a product of sentiment than of scientific out-look."