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Society in Jaina Philosophy and Literature
17
“Jaina tradition can accept all those Vedic social norms which are not inconsistent with right view (samyaktva or samyagdarśana) and do not corrupt the vows of a male laity (śrāvaka) or female laity (śrāvikā)." 36
This is a clear path for Jaina societies to follow the customs of prevalent Hindu tradition. It was a reason that Vardhamānasūri mentioned 16 sacraments with mild difference in Hindu sacraments or rites (saņskāra). Some of the Jaina families have formulated new Jaina system for marriage ceremonies, but it is not being followed by a majority of Jainas. Thus Jaina tradition is not totally different from Hindu tradition regarding the social customs. This tendency of assimilation of Hindu customs by Jaina societies was one main reason of their stability in India. Still in modern India some judges of High Court and Supreme Court do not provide Jainas a cadre of minority. Here we can say that Jaina societies are different from Hindu societies from the religious point of view, but they are not so much different from the social point of view.
At present, several social customs of Jaina society such as marriage ceremony, birth ceremony and other rites are often performed in Hindu manner, but many festivals like mahāvīra jayantī, paryușaņa, samvatsarī, daśalakşaņa parva, jñānapañcamī etc. are celebrated by Jaina norms. Although Jaina paņditas have evolved separate book for performing marriage sacrament, there is a paucity of Jaina panditas to perform the marriage ceremony, so the brāhmaņa paņạitas are called at the marriage occasions of Jaina families also.
* Yaśastilakacampu 8.34, quoted in ....:
sarva eva hi Jainānām, pramānam laukiko vidhih; yatra samyaktva hānirna, yatra na vratadūşaņam.
