Jainism in North India

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

Page 26

JAINISM BEFORE MAHAVIRA as old as the human race, or whether it is a growth of a láter stage' in human life. Here we are confronted with a more or less universal claim, which is put forth by every religion, and which, to put it fi ankly, shortly comes to this : ours is the eternal and universal | religion and others are heretics. To strengthen and justify this claim of eternity tre find almost everywhere a lot of legendary literature which indulges in religious parables and canonical myths. Whether this is human weakness, or whether there is one religion Wluich can justify its claim to eternity and universality, is no business of ours to say. That is beyond the lines that we have marked out for our purpose liere. We shall limit ourselves to what Jainism has to say on this crucial question.
To the Jainas, Jainism has been revealed again and again in every one of these endless succeeding periods of the world by in-, numerable Tirthankaras. Of the present age the first Tīrtharkara was Rslabha and the last two yere Pārsva and Mahāvīra. The lives of these Tirthankaras are found fully worked out both in the Jaipa canonical literature and in individual Caritras (Life sketches) written by various Jaina Gurus. Of these Rshabha is said to be 500 poles in stature, and he is believed to have lived for 8,400,000 Pūrva years, while both Pārsva and Mahāvira lived for 100 and 172 years respectively.3 If we just compare the lives of these Tirthankaras Fre find that there is a distinct decrement from Rshabha. The one before Pārsva-namely, Nemi-attained the age of 1000 years. This return to reason in the stature and years of the last two Tirtharkaras induced some scholars to draw a probable ; inference that the last two alone are to be considered as historical personages.5
Talking of Pārsva, Lassen says: “The opinion that this Jina was a real person is specially supported by the circumstance that
1 Hemacandra has enumerated in his Abhidhănacintaman the 24 Junas who have appeared in the past Utsarpini period and 24 others of the future age rfÜY, etc, and feat , etc —-17.50-56 He concludes. Para fingrarquity FGFT: , -- .58
Among the Sūtras see Bhadrabahu s Kalpa-Sutra, or Sudharma's Atasyaha, etc, to mention a few indivdual Caritras te have Taraft H by Hemavijayaganı ; शान्तिनाथमहाकाव्यम् by Sri Mmmbhadrasiri, मल्लिनाथचरित्रम् by Tmayacandrasiri and also by Harbhadra, FETELE by Nemicandra, and so on
Kalpa-Sutra, sūt 227, 163, 147. According to the Jainas one Pūrpa is equal to 70,560,000,000,000 years Cf Samgrahani-Sutra, x 262
.Kalpa-Satra, sūt 182 • Stevenson (Rer), Kalpa-Sutra, Int, u