Jainism in Rajasthan

Publisher: ZZZ Unknown

Page 52

vo. CONTRIBUTIONS OF JAINISM TO RAJASTHAN
233
Grihastha or a ruler etc. There are pictures of assemblies, religious discourses, processions etc. Then, we have pictures of animals and birds and various floral designs meant for decorative purposes. The most remarkable paintings are those contained in the invitations extended to Jaina Sādhus. They show the remarkable variety of details, remarkable not only for art of blending of colours but also for throwing great light on the contemporary social, religious and economic life of the times Taken altogether, the paintings indicate that the art has reached the high stage of progress.
The literacy among the Jainas has always been the highest. Being the business community, every one of them has to acquire at least the knowledge of 3 R's. Their ladies also are mostly literate. This is one of the many reasons why the largest number of ministers in Rajasthan have been Jainas. This has been their great contribution to the intellectual life of the state. The Jaina Sādhus are all of them more or less - quite educated and some of them have been even great scholars. Even the Sādhus possess knowledge far above that of an average man. It can be safely said that the contribution of the Jaina Sadhus to the various aspects and phases of literature both Sanskrit and Hindi is as important as that of the Brāhmanical scholars. A large number of books pot only on Jaina philosophy, logic, ethics, sociology and history but also on literature, poetry, dramaturgy, astronomy, mathematics etc. indicate the extent of their range of interest. Of the greatest importance is the contribution of Jaina writers to Hindi literature. The oldest books in Hindi Dingala and Brajabhāshā are by Jaina authors. They date as back as the fourteenth century and are preserved in the various Jaina Bhaņdāras of Rajasthan subject to study for the history of the growth of Hindi language.
The influence of Jainism on the general moral life of the masses has been considerable. Jainism lays the greatest emphasis on the cultivation of morality, life of abstinence, restraint and on progressing self-effacement. Hence we find that though they have been the richest community in Rajasthan, not more than a few of them married more than one wife. Even during the period when polygamy particularly among the wealthy was the order of the day, this had good effect upon those who came into contact with them and the Jainas being either businessmen or officers, their contacts were very wide. Among the Jainas, there were also great builders and philanthropists who supplied livelihood to thousands of people and gave immense charities for the
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