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13
THE PRACTICE OF THE EARLIER
TIRTHANKARAS*
-H.L. Jain
It was now established beyond doubt and dispute that Lord Mahâvîra adopted an earlier system of religion which was prevalent in his time and which he renovated and preached to his followers. To mention a few outstanding researches in this direction, it was Dr. Herman Jacobi who in his Introduction to Vol. XXII & XIV of the Sacred Books of the East presented evidence both from the Ardhamâgadhî and Pali texts to prove "that Pârsva was a historical person". Shri Dhammânand Kosambi took up the threat and he in his book 'Pârsvanatha's Câturyâma Dharma brought together a mass of material, particularly from the Pali books, to show how Buddha himself came into contact with the followers of Pârsvanath even before as well as after his enlightenment and how the tenets of that earlier system influenced him in the formulation of his own teachings. Pt. Sukhlalji in his article 'Bhagwan Pârsvanatha Ki Virâsat (Darshana aur cintana Part II) has further supported the thesis and has also tried to show what exactly the practice of the followers of Pârsvanatha was. In this task he has focussed attention upon a number of references in the Ardha-Magadhi Canon. Pandit Dalsukh Malvaniya has in one of his articles collected all the references to the followers of Pârsvanath occuring in the canonical works.
The asceticism of Pârsvanatha has been called 'Caujjama (Sk. Câturyâma) and this name has been given even to the system of Mahâvîra in the Pali books. The crux of the problem is what exactly was the meaning and significance of 'Caujjama'. The Pali interpretation of the word is entirely different from that found in * Journal of Karhataka History, Review Vo.8, 1981.
