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APPENDIX - B Thinkers Outside India in Times of Mahavira'
Jaina ideas are confined, in modern times, to India. But that does not seem to be the position in the past. As we have already noted, 6th Ceutury B. C. was the period of great intellectual ferver in Greece and countries of Middle East, China and India. These countries did not remain entirely isolated. Even before the dawn of history the Indus valley culture of India was closely connected with the contemporary cultures in Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. The commercial links between the mouth of Indus and Persian Gulf was continuing even in times of Mahavira. As early as 975 B. C. Phoenicians provided link between Mediterranean and Indian cultures.
In about 510 B. C. Darius is said to have sent a Greek mercinary named Seylax to the mouth of Indus.
Herodutus ( 484 B. C.) who flourished round about the time of Mahavira gives some details about the two races of India -- one dark aboriginals and the other fair looking Aryans. He also makes a reference to a religious sect in India which ate nothing which had life and lived on grains. This is a likely reference to Jainas.
In 580 B, C. Pythagoras was born. He seems to have been deeply influenced by Jaina doctrines of Lord Parśva. H. G. Rawlinson notes in his Essay on Early contacts between India and Europe as under :
“The most startling of the theories of Pythagoras was that of the transmigration of the soul from body to body.... Almost all the theories religious, philosophical and mathe1. These facts are noted to show how in Mahāvīra times the
ideas of Jainism and Buddhism were shared by other world thinkers.
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