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Lord Mahavira
established in the Nirgrantha cult when he analyses its conduct and thought. During the course of this attack, he describes in fairly good details, the Nirgrantha cult in its own terminology. The time of preaching of Buddha and Mahâvîra was the same for some years. It seems further that they toured the same regions without ever meeting each other. That is the reason why the Pitakas refer to Lord Mahâvîra as “Nataputta Niggantha" Four Yamas and Buddhist Cult
The great vows-Mahavratas of the Nirgranthas are discussed in the Dighanikaya and Samyuttanikaya of the Bauddha Pitakas. In the Samanna sutta of Dighanikaya of the Bauddha Pitakas, Ajatasatru-Kunika, the son of Srenika-Bimbisara gives a narration of his meeting with Jnataputra Mahâvîra in this Jnata putra Mahâvîra tells that the Nirgrantha is controlled by the Chaturyama Samvara; only such a Nirgrantha is of controlled self-yatatma—and steady self sthitatma. In the same way, a person Ninka by name, tells Buddha that Jnataputra Mahâvîra is compassionate, clever and endowed with Caturyama, the reference is in the Devadattasamyutta of Samyuttanikaya. These Buddhist references inform us that in the times of Buddha, and even later till the Pitakas, assumed their final shape, the Buddhist tradition looked upon Mahâvîra and his other Nirgranthas as endowed with Caturyama. 'Yama' means a great vow-Mahavrata, which is also known as 'Yama' in 'Yogasastra' (2.30). Till this time, the Nirgrantha tradition of Mahâvîra was endowed with five great Vows and it is known by the same designation in the scriptures and the worldly ways. Under this state of affairs what are we to understand when the Buddhist works know Mahâvîra and other Nirgranthas as holding four great vows ? This is a very natural question.
The reply to this question can be had from the Jaina Agamas available then. Fortunate we are that we have, in the then available Agamas, so many levels of ancient thought of the Nirgrantha tradition that enlighten us regarding the tradition itself as also the condition of the Nirgrantha tradition of the earlier Parsvapatyika. Agamas like the Bhagavati and Uttaradhyayana tells us that many Parsvapatyika Nigranthas, who were upholders
