Samayasara

Author(s): Kundkundacharya, Hiralal Jain, A N Upadhye
Publisher: Bharatiya Gyanpith

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SAMAYASARA
the origin of Vaisnavism and the other Jainism. Vaisnavism to be accurate is a mixture of several currents of thought and culture with a vedic nucleous is well brought out by Dr, Bhandarkar in his monograph on the 'History of Vaisnavism'. The vedic nucleus is associated with Narada a disciple of Sanatkumāra. Narada must have been one of the great opponents of the sacrificial cult involving Himsã as was Viswamitra of the Rg vedic period. This Narada school of the Upanisadic period constitutes the Vedic nucleus for later Vaisnavism characterised by the full recognition of the doctrine of Ahimsa except in the Chandogya where the qualifications of a person who reaches the Brahma world are given. After mentioning the condition of Vedic study the following is added, "He who has concentrated all his senses upon the atman. He who practises Ahimsa all elsewhere than at Tirtha who indeed who lives thus throughout the length of life reaches the Brahma world and does not return again." This verse indicates a spirit of compromise. We see a split in the very body of the antiritualistic school the right one representing the Upanisadic thought. This thing must have gone on for some centuries when there was the necessity and the occasion of a more radical school-Buddhism which threw open the gates of Dharma to all irrespective of the distinction between the Aryan and the non-Aryan Many of the schools or darśanas must have been codified just after the time of Buddha.
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Samkhya Philosophy: Kapila-The Samkhya system propounded by Kapila is perhaps the oldest of the traditional systems of philosophy. It is referred to both in the Jaina and Buddhistic sacred literature. Jaina work describing the origin of Jaina Dharma associates the origin of Samkhya school with one Mārīci who was a grandson of Vṛṣabha the founder of Jainism according to Jaina tradition. This grandson of Vṛṣabha even during his grandfather's life-time is said to have started a rival school though based upon the fundamental doctrine of Ahimsa. The difference between Mārīci and Vrsabha's school is in the philosophical background of each and Kapila is referred to as one of the disciples of Marïci. This suggestion is borne out both from internal and other references. From internal evidence Samkhya school clearly appears to be a revolt against the Vedic sacrificial ritualism in unmistakable terms. Further Gunaratna in his Commentary on Haribhadra's Sad-darśana Samuccaya refers to the Samkhya school thus. Samkhya were opposed to the Vedic doctrines of Himsa and were interested in Adhyatmavāda. Again this Kapila, the reputed author of Samkhya is referred to in the Buddhistic account as to the origin of the Sakya "clan of Kṣatriyas to which Gautama Buddha himself belonged. We referred to the fact that the Sakyas cliamed to be descendants of the Iksavāku family.