Jainism in North India

Author(s): Chimanlal J Shah
Publisher: Longmans Green and Compny London

Page 17

INTRODUCTION and morals, arts and sciences, literatures and languages "1 Neither is there any particular enthusiasm forthcoming in this direction from Indian scholars except for a few eminent men like Jaini, Jayaswal, Ghosal and others of their ilk. But the partiality of scholars towards Buddhism is not without sound reasons, for there is no denying that Buddhism had at one time been so extensive that it was not at all exaggerating to call it the religion of the Asiatic continent. But while it is true that Jainism was certainly restricted to a smaller area, there is evidence enough, as brought out by Mr N. C. Mehta, that Jaina paintings found a place even on the walls of the cavetemples of Chinese Turkestan.
But this partiality towards Buddhism has unfortunately given rise to some fantastic and even untoward conclusions by, notably, some European scholars, who it must be conceded were at the time of their research virtually deprived of all benefit from any authentic comparative study of Jainism which is so imperative in view of the fact that the past history of these two sister-faiths runs well-nigh parallel. Fortunately for us many such fanciful conclusions have of recent years been corrected by scholars both in the East and the West. We shall notice below only a few of these fads "Buddhism in proper," says W. S. Lilly, “survives in the land of its birth in the form of Jainism. What is certain is that Jainism came into notice when Buddhism had disappeared from India." 3 Says Mr Wilson: “From all credible testimony, therefore, it is impossible to avoid the inference that the Jainas are a sect of comparatively recent institution, who first came into power and patronage about the eighth and ninth century, they probably existed before that date as a division of the Bauddhas, and owed therr elevation to the suppression of that form of faith to which they contributed." 4
Writers like Colebrooke have erred on the other extreme in believing Gautama Buddha to have been the pupil of Mahăvira, on the ground that one of the latter's pupils (Indrabhūti) bears the name of Gotamasvāmi or Gotama 5 Echoes Edward Thomas. "A schism took place after Mahāvīra. Indrabhūti was raised to the rank of a deified saint, under the synonymous designation of Buddha
1 Hertel, on the Interaturc of the Svetāmbaras of Gujarat, p 1.
Mehta, Studies in Indian Painting, p 2 According to Hemacandra, and other Jaina traditions albo, Jainism was not limited to India of to-day-Hemacandra, Parsishtapatuan (ed Jacobi), pp 69,282 Cf ME, XV., p 819
· Lilly, India and its Problems, P 144
Wilson, op cit, p 384
5 Jacobi, Kalpa-Sutra, P 1 Xviu