Mahavira and his Teaching

Author(s): C C Shah, Rishabhdas Ranka, Dalsukh Malvania
Publisher: Bhagwan Mahavir 2500th Nirvan Mahotsava Samiti

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V. G. NAIR
co-existed but Jainism was the dominating religious way of peaceful life followed by a large majority of people. Muni Tolkapyar has classified sentient life under six categories. They are from one to six sensed life. These classifications could be found in some of the ancient Jaina scriptures like the Pannavana Sutra and the fiva Vicāra Prakaranam. Ilampuranar, an ancient Jaina commentator of Tolkapyam has explained these six divisions of life in an elaborate way. I compared the Sūtras of the Jaina scriptures with those of Tolkapyam and found them parallel and equal in their doctrines. All these facts go to prove that Tolkapyam was a Jaina by faith, and he was well versed in the doctrines of Jainism.
Jaina and Hindu writers have identified Rsabha as Siva. Bull is the symbol of both Rşabha and Siva. Rsabha attained Nirvāṇa on Kailāsa and Siva's perpetual abode is also kailāsa. The Šiva-Purāņam has stated that Rşabha is an incarnation of Siva while Bhāgavatam has declared that he was the incarnation of Mahā Vişņu. Rşabha and Siva are Jatādhāris or bore matted hair. Some Rsabha images discovered in India resembled the images of Siva. Many illustrations could be cited from the Jaina and the Hindu sacred scriptures to prove that Rsabha and Siva are one and the same personage. There are Jaina and Saivite hymns or devotional kírtans in which Rşabha is extolled as Siva and also Siva as Rsabha.
According to Tolkapyam, the Tamil Jainas worshipped Kandazhi. It is explained by commentators of Tolkapyam as the one who has reached the highest spiritual stage after destroying all entanglements of Kaimas. The Lord is one who liberates the soul of the aspirant from Karmas and the liberated soul becomes the omniscient self is the dictum of Tolkapyar. Kandazhi is no other than Rsabha, the Omniscient Tīrthankara. Kandan, or Murugan the Purānic deity of Saivaite Hindus, the son of Siva and Pārvati, Kārtikeya, the war God might have derived his name from the word Kandazhi the destroyer of Karmas and was elevated by Saivaites as an all powerful deity. Murugan