Jainism in Rajasthan

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vin CONTRIBUTIONS OF JAINISM TO RAJASTHAN
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in these religions and philosophical outlook has been generally ignored and hardly ever over emphasized. But one point on which there has been complete unanimity both in theory and practice is the principle of ahimsa Even those, who cannot practise it, do not dispute its fundamentals. It is universally admitted that all killing is bad This is, therefore, the triumph of Jainism and its most ennobling and uplifting contribution.
The idea of Public Library is also a Jaina one. We cannot trace any Granthabhandara of an earlier date than the Jaina Sastrabhaṇdāra of Rajasthan. The learned Brahmanas had their own small collections of manuscripts but the Jaina manuscript libraries are traceable as early as the tenth century AD and some of them contain works not only on Jainism but on non-Jaina and secular subjects also. These manuscript libraries were sources of knowledge to the Jaina community in particular and to all others in general. Jainism, therefore, made an important contribution to the mass and higher education in Rajasthan during the centuries preceding the British era. The same thing can be said about Jaina Pathaśālās Before the introduction of the present system of education and regimentation by Government, there used to be periodical village schools and some permanent town classes arranged by the leading residents of the villages and towns. But regular Pathaśālās for teaching Sanskrit and Prakrit were generally conducted by Jaina communities in villages and cities. These Pathaśālās were utilised mostly by the Jainas but a small percentage of non-Jainas benefitted by them. It would also be interesting to note that almost in every Jaina Pathaśālā, there was co-education. This custom was responsible for high literacy among Jaina ladies Of course, the coeducation was permitted till about the age of ten or eleven. But this was sufficient to give the knowledge of 3 R's to the girls. The most notable feature of the Jaina Pathaśālās was the simplicity of their teaching method especially the teaching of Sanskrit and Prakrit languages. The Jaina Panditas did not care much for the classical grammars such Ashtādhyāyāmahābhūshya or even Siddhantakaumudi. They generally followed the Katantaravyākai ana or even the simpler method of Dhātuūpāvalī or Śabdarūpāvalī and this gave the student the working knowledge of Sanskrit which enabled him to read and understand the books of daily use. This was a great service to the cause of Sanskrit which was at least kept alive during the periods of political tumult and turmoils.