Religion and Culture of the Jains

Author(s): D C Sirkar
Publisher: University of Calcutta

Page 11

Morning Session The seminar started at 10-30 A.M. when Dr. A. N. Labiri was invited by the Chairman to read his paper on 'The Conception of Tirthańkaras in Jain Literature', in which he endeavoured to show the outward similarity and the fundamental difference between the Tīrthańkara tradition of the Jains and the Avatāravāda of the Hindus. He said that Jainism developed in North-Eastern India out of a strong reaction against the caste-oriented and ritualistic Brāhmaṇism. This heterodox religion owed its origin to non-Brāhmaṇa religious thinkers. The most important aspect of the Tirthankara legends is the attribution of a long life-span and supernatural powers to them and this differentiates them from the gods of the Hindu pantheon.
Prof. D.C.Sircar referred to the part played by imagination in Jain mythology and pointed out how the Jain writers excelled even the Purāņic authors in introducing imaginary elements in their cosmographical speculations. He doubted the historicity of the tradition that Pārsvanātha flourished exactly 250 years before Mahāvīra and thought that the former flourished shortly before the lattcr. Dr. Lahiri wanted to know why the Tirthařkaras were regarded as 24 in number. Prof. Sircar considered it difficult to determine though it reminds one of caturvimśa-stoma, caturvimśati-smrti, etc., the conception of the 24 forms of the god Vişņu being apparently associated with the Jain tradition regarding 24 Tirthankaras. Dr. A. M. Shastri wanted to know as to which of these two concepts is earlier. Prof. Sircar pointed out the difficulty in determining the antiquity of the Jain tradition and was inclined to assign the Vaişnava tradition to a date not earlier than the Gupta age. Dr. Sm. R. Champakalakshmi observed that the Periya Purānam, written in the 12th or 13th century A. D.. mentions 63 Nāyanmārs in imitation of the 63 Salākāpuruṣas of the Jains.
Dr. Sm. R. Champakalakshmi next read her note on 'An Unnoticed Jain Cavern and Some Pallava Antiquities near