Book Title: Mahavira and his Teaching
Author(s): C C Shah, Rishabhdas Ranka, Dalsukh Malvania
Publisher: Bhagwan Mahavir 2500th Nirvan Mahotsava Samiti

Previous | Next

Page 380
________________ ANTIQUITY OF JAINISM IN TAMILNĀD 369 another. But the Aryan Vedic Seers divided society into four classes based on birth and not on the basis of profession. Sri Krsna who was opposed to caste and class divisions has declared in the Gītā that Varna is based on “Varņa Karma Swabhāvaja”, on profession character and actions. The declartion of Krsna agrees with the dictim of Rsabha and Jaina interpertation of Arya and Anārya found in the scriptures. The Dravidian and Aryan conflict on the battlefield is completely absent in the history of Tamilnād. The word Arya denoted a saintly person, an ideal man or an Uttama Purusa who led the virtuous way of life. Mahāvīra and the Buddha were called Aryans, the embodiments of unimpeachable and highest virtues. They were called Mahā Brāhmaņas of the 6th century B.C. Jaina nuns are described in the holy scriptures as Arya Anganās. Sri Pujya Pāda, in his Sarvārtha Siddhi, the oldest extant commentary on the Tattvārtha Sutra has classified mankind into two divisions: Aryans and Anāryans. The civilized and the cultured, were Aryanas and Anāryans were barbarians. The Buddha has named his four noble truths as the four Āryan truths. Ādi Bhagavān Rsabha was a son of the soil and not a foreigner. He was the son of King Nābhi, the 14th law-maker of India. The celebrated kings of ancient India Ikşvakus, Raghus and Yadus were descendants of Rsabha. They were not foreigners but sons of the soil. The words Ārya, Dāsa or Dasyu found in the Rig Veda do not mean two separate tribes or races. There is no such classification of Aryans as a distinctive community of invaders or foreign aggressors and Dasyus, the conquered aboriginals, the slaves of the conqueror. The classification is based on profession, learning and character of the person. The Gītā has explained Varņa in the right way. Śri Arabindo has declared that the Aryan invasion of India is a myth and has no foundation whatsoever in the Sanskrit classical literature, A comparative study of Jaina, Vedic, Vaişņavaite and Saivaite scriptures in Sanskrit and Tamil will prove that many ethical M.M.-47 Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509