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Jainism Upto the Last Victor
177 84,000 sramanas, 3,00,000 nuns and other lay devotees. He renounced his kingdom in favour of his sons and embraced the life of an ascetic.
According to the Jaina tradition, at the time of the Mahâbhârata war, the Order was led by Neminâtha, the twentysecond Tîrthankara who is said to have belonged to the same Yâdava family as Kishpa. If the Mahabharata war was fought in the 9th century B.C., a theory to which we are inclined to subscribe4 Neminatha may also be assigned to that period. It imparts some strength to his historicity because Pârsvanâtha, the 23rd Tîrthankara is usually placed in the eighth century B.C. The historicity of other Tirthankaras who preceded Neminâtha is as yet a matter entirely of the Jaina faith. Pârsvanatha
Jainism gathered particular strength during the eighth century B.C. under Pârsvanatha6. He is said to have been the son of Vamâ, wife of Asvasena, king of Banaras. He was the people's favourite or beloved of men' (Purisâdâniya). He lived for 30 years as a householder. Then “after fasting 31/2 days without drinking water, he put on a divine robe and together with 300 men... entered the state of huselessness.” On the 84th day of his deep meditation he obtained Kevala jñâna. Subsequently, he had "an excellent community of 16,000 sramanas with Aryadatta at their head”, numerous others with separate heads and 2,000 female disciples. Pârsva died at the age of 100 ‘on the summit of Mount Sammeta' (Parasnath or Paresanātha here, near Gomoh railway station) about 250 years before Mahâvîra's death. This gap between him and Mahâvîra, usually regarded as true, places him in the 8th century B.C.
The religion of Pârsva was called 'chaujjama dhamma' (châturyâma dharma) enjoining four vows of abstinence from violence (panaivâya or himsa), untruth (mushavâya or asatya), stealing (adinnâdana or steya) and possession (bahiddhâdâna or parigraha). According to Jaina scholars though the vow of chastity (maithunavirainana or brahrhacharya) is not explicitly stated, yet it is implied in the 4th vow of aparigraha. These four vows show that Pârsva based his order of monks on moral principles and his first vow of non-violence suggests that he raised his voice of protest
