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Jinamanjari, Volume 24, No.2, October 2001
JAIN ARCHAEOLOGY IN
EASTERN INDIA
Professor B.K. Tiwawry, Patna, India
Introduction
Jainism is not an offshoot of either Buddhism or Brahmanism as presumed by many scholars, but rather, a religious tradition that has ancient roots preceding both. The Jainas themselves believe that their religion had been revealed over endless cycles of time by great souls called Tirthankaras. In the current cycle, Rsabha was the first and Mahavira, who existed during the sixth century B.C.E, was the last in a cycle of twenty-four Tirthankaras. In this context, it would not be an exaggeration to say that any study of the ancient religious history of Northern Indian should be written with Jainism as a core contributor to that history.
According to tradition the twenty-four Tirthankaras resided in what we call today, eastern India, and maintained a strong cultural influence until the series of foreign invasion in the twelfth century C.E. It is this region that has served as a firm cradle of Jainism were many of the Jain teachers took their birth, propagated their religious faith and in which most attained nirvana. For example, six of the Tirthankaras were bom in this region, while twenty-two attained nirvana (according to tradition only the first Tirthankara, Rsabha, and the twenty-second, Neminath, achieved nirvana at Kailash and Girnar Mountains respectively). It is said that Mahavira liked this area of eastern India so much that he declared it as the most safe and sacred area for the propagation of his faith, and that followers should never leave the area.
Today the Jaina community constitutes a numerically small group in eastern India, but the impact of the Jaina culture in this region is quite marked. The main concentration of Jainas in this area is in the urban centers where most are engaged in the trade and business professions. The following article will
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