Book Title: Some Aspects of Indian Culture
Author(s): A S Gopani, Nagin J Shah, Dalsukh Malvania
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

View full book text
Previous | Next

Page 74
________________ Jinism in Gujarāta to the Jainas for its conception, execution, and perfection.68 Its exquisiteness becoming manifest through the Jaina temples at śatrunjaya, Girnāra, Tarangā, Ābu, Pāvāgadha, Zaghadia, Kāvi, Chhānī, Mātar, Bārejā, Petbāpur, Pānsar, Serisā, Sankbesvara, Bhoyani, Metrānā, and Bhiladia and various other cities and villages of Gujarāta, is Perennial.69 It is they that have kept alive the art and architecture of the Caalukya Gujarāta. And what about literature ? It also bears equally perceptible imprint of the Jaina genius The monks stayed in the Upāśrayas at Apahilapur, Broach, Cambay, Kapadavanja, Dholkā, Dhandhukā, Karnavati, Dabhoi, Baroda, Surat, Pālanpur, Candrāvati, Idar and Vadanagara and turned out a vast amount of literature on almost all the topics is evidenced through a bewildering lot of manuscripts which lie hidden in the Bhāņdārs of those places. 7° It is no less superior in quality and quantity to the Brāhmanical and the Buddhistic literatures in point of originality and imagination. The credit of establishing the Pānjarāpols for breeding the cattle and protecting the crippled animals etc. goes to the Jainas of Gujarāta.71 This was their special innovation. It was, no doubt, an outcome of the extension of the principle of Ahimsa which means non-injurty to man and animals alike. Though the Jainas are wedded to the principle of Ahimsā, they were not cowards necessarily. As I have said before72, this observation is borne out by gallant Jaina warriors such as Vimala, Ambada, Lahir, Udayana, Vastupāla and Sajjana. The equanimous attitude of the Jainas of Gujarāta to all the religions alike is amply testified by their erection of the temples of Siva along with those of the Jina.73 In short, in the Caulukya regime the life and literature, art and architecture, sculpture, politics and the public works, administration and education-everything of human interest and happiness was predominantly governed, conditioned and controlled by the Jaina vision, intellect and common sense. Notes 1 Hemacandra's Kivyānušāsana, Vol. II, E1. Rasiklal C. Parikh Pub. Mahavira Jaina Vidalaya, Bombay, 1938 (HK), Introduction p. XXI. 2 Jaina Sahityano Samkşipta Itihasa (ISSI), M. D. Desai, Bombay, 1933, Para 32. 3 HK (cited above), Intr. p. XLIII. 4 JSSI (cited above), Para, 235. 5 Merutunga's Prabandhacintamani, trans, C. H. Tawnay, p. 19. 6 Bombay Gazetteer, I-p. 169 7 G. Buhler, Ueber das Leben des Jaina mouches Hemacandra, Denks cdripten der Kais Akademie der Wissenschanften in Wien, 1889 8 HK (cited above) Intr. p. CLXXXVIII. 9 G, H, Oza, Rājaputānekā Itihäs, Vol. I, pp. 218-219 10 H. Glassenapp. Der Jainismus (DJ) pp. 61-62. 11 HK (cited above) Intr. p. CX. 12 Muni Jinavijayaji's article Räjarşi Kumirapila' (RK) Bharatiya Vidyā (Guj.-Hindi), Vol. i. Ny 3, 233. AS-9 Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211