Shraman Bhagvana Mahavira Part 1

Author(s): Ratnaprabhvijay, D P Thaker
Publisher: Parimal Publication

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sprang up between the Hindu Revivalist and the older representatives of South Indian Culture-the Sramaņay. Any impartial reading of the Thevara hymns will bring out the fact that the Hindu opposition was mainly due to the condenination by Jainas of the Vedic sacrifice involving slaughter of animals.
The above account of prevalence of Jainism in the whole of India, would naturally imply the rejection of the theory that Jainism was introduced in the South, about the time of Chandragupta Maurya who with his Guru, Bhadra-bāhu-Swami the head of the Jaina Sangha-migrated to the South, to escape from horrors of a terrible famine in Northern India about 3 centuries prior to the Christian era. This short account will give an idea of the antiquity of the Jaina Faith in India
We may also mention another fact which is borne out by Vedic literature. The people who were dwelling in the countries of the Ganges-valley such as Kāsi, Kosala, Viddha, and Magar dha, though of Aryan origin, had fundamental differences in their Faith and social values, from the Kuru -pāncāla Aryans. They were condemned by the more orthodox western Aryans, because they were deadly opposed to animal sacrifice and were preaching the philosophy of the Atwan as more important aspect of Dharma, than the Dharma Associated with the Yajña. The group of philosophical literature under the name " Upanisads" has spring from the Ksatriya heroes of the Gangetid Valley to whom also belong the founder of Buddhisnı --Gautama Buddha-and also the last of Tirthankaras - Mahăvira Vardhamana.
Oriental scholars are generally of opinion that the Aryans who settled down in Indus Valley, came later into India and pushed earlier Aryans who were living there, towards the East. The theory of two different waves of invasions of Aryans not only implies two political groups but also two different cultural groups. The former group of Aryans according to our theory, were the followers of A-himsā doctrines associated with Jainism, which probably was responsible for the springing up of Upani