Lord Mahavira

Author(s): Boolchand
Publisher: Jain Cultural Research Society

Page 11

the husband ; (4) Flagh, the rite for the new-born child ; (5) 7147301, the ceremony of naming the child ; (6) 3799A, the first feeding of the child with solid food; (7) 7314#, the tonsure of the child's head ; (8) 39997, initiation ceremony ; (9) to (12) the four vows undertaken for studying the different Vedas ; (13) Arada, the completion of studentship;(14) Hatfigli, marriage; (15) to (19) five great daily sacrifices to the gods, manes, men, goblins and Brahman ;(20) to (26) the seven 1973small sacrifices—which had to be performed mostly by the householder himself, and fourteen major rituals, the seven kinds of हविर्यज्ञ and seven kinds of सोमयज्ञ in which three sacred fires were kindled, to which offerings of cake, grain, milk, honey, etc., were made. In the Somayajna's even animals were killed. To this list could be added numerous other sacrifices, like the Vrātya-stoma, the Rajsuya, the Ashwamedha, and the Purushamedha. Some of these sacrifices were informed by a new spirit of symbolism and spirituality, evident for instance in the building of the altar, and lasted from twelve days to a year or years.
The elaboration of these rituals led to the growth of Brahmanism, or the heirarchy of Brahmanas ; and with Brahmanism came the rigidity of the caste system. Under rigid caste system, in which a man's caste was determined by the fact of birth, the Brahmanas became parasites living on the resources of the industrial classes without doing anything worthwhile to compensate the other classes. The Kshattriya class, which had always been active evolving philosophical systems and which had stood for experience as against the Brahmanic emphasis on intellect, felt the iniquity and injustice of this position and revolted against it. Mahavira and the Buddha freely denounced the arbitrary distinctions of caste and proclaimed the equality of all human beings, and in doing so they were giving an effective expression to the innermost feeling of the masses.
With the growing rigidity of the caste system, the position of women also had deteriorated. During Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat