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श्रीमद् विजयराजेन्द्रसूरि-स्मारक-ग्रंथ lived in the company of the saints who practised austerities and were possibly Jains.
In the Sámannaphala Sutta of the Dighanikaya, there is a reference to the four vows (Cbáturyāma Dharma in contradiction to the five vows of Mahavira. The four vows of Paráva were :- not to take life, not to tell a lie, not to steal and not to own property. To these Mahavira was forced to add the vow of chastity when the abuses had crept into the Jain church. The Buddhists could not have used the term Chatury&ma Dharma for the Nigranthas unless they had heard it from the followers of Parsva. This is the proof for the correctness of the Jain tradition that the followers of Párýva actually existed at the time of Mahávira.
This sect of the Nigranthas was an important sect at the rise of Buddhism. This may be inferred from the fact that they are frequently mentioned in the pitakas as opponents of Buddha and his disciples. This conolusion is further supported by another fact. Mankkhali Gośāla, a contemporary of Buddha and Mahavīra divided mankind into six classes, of these the third class contained the Nigranthas. Gošala probably would not have ranked them as a separate class of mankind if they had recently come into existence. He must have regarded them as a very important and at the same time an old sect,
The Majjhima Nikaya 35th records a dispute between Buddha and Sakdal, the son of a Nigrantha. Sakdál is not himself a Nigrantha Now, when a famous controversialist whose father was a Nigrantha, was a contemporary of the Buddha, the Nigranthas can so have been a sect founded during Buddha's life.
The Uttaradhyayana Sūtra 23rd relates a meeting between Gautama Indrabhūti, the disciple of Mahavira and Kēģī Kumāra, the disciple of Parsva at Srāvasti which brought about the union of the old branch of the Jain church and the new one. This again points out to the existence of the older Jain faith than that of Mahavira, Historicity Of Pārsvanātha
These discussions clearly show that Parsvanatha is a real historical figure. He must bave been of a genial nature as he is always given
1. Bhagwāna Mah&vira, P. 166.
