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XI JAINISM AND JAIN RELICS IN BIHAR* Sarjug Prasad Singh, Centre of Advanced
Study in AIHC, Calcutta University
Bihar's contribution to Indian history and culture is remarkable. Of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or Great States that flourished in the different parts of India during the 6th century B.C., at least three were situated in modern Bihar. These were the kingdoms of Magadha (Patna-Gaya region) and Anga (Monghyr-Bhagalpur region) and the Vțiji-Licchavi republic in North-Bihar having its capital at Vaiśāli (modern Basādh in the Muzaffarpur District). During this period, Bihar was passing through an era of great religious enthusiasm. The Upanişadic Brāhmaṇas were laying down rules of life in the Dharmasūtras ; Gautama the Buddha was preaching his doctrine of Nirvāna in Buddhism ; and Mahāvira Vardhamāna and Mankhaliputta Gosāla founded their respective sects of the Jains and Ājivikas. Of these, Jainism is deeply rooted in Indian culture and is still a living religion of India, while Buddhism, though it has disappeared from the Indian sub-continent, ** is even now a dominant force in the religious life of a large number of people of many of the countries of Asia, and the sect of the Ajivikas has practically disappeared from history. To-day the followers of Jainism in Bihar are insignificant looking to their rich cultural heritage in this part the country.
Bihar was not only the centre of religious activities, but was also the birth place of Mahāvira, the 24th and last Tirthankra who was the founder of the Jain Church. Mahāvīra was a scion of the Nāya or Nāta or Jõāts clan of Vaiśāli.
*[The article was received about the close of 1972. - Ed]
**[There are some Buddhists in the eastern fringe of the Indian subcontinent.--Ed.]
1 Hoernle, Uvāsagadasão (Bib. Ind.), pp. 3-6. For details see
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