Some Aspects of Jainism in Eastern India

Author(s): Pranabananda Jash
Publisher: Munshiram Manoharlal Publisher's Pvt Ltd New Delhi

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Some Aspects of Jainism in Eastern India
regions is known from the testimony of Aśokan inscriptions as well as his successor Dasaratha in the Barabara and Nagarjuni caves inscriptions.85 In the Barabar Hill complex there are in all four caves, viz. Karna Chopar cave, Sudama cave, Viśvāmitra cave and Lomas Rși cave, of which three contain Aśokan inscriptions; while the nearby Nagarjuni Hill contains three similar caves, viz. Vahiyaka cave, Gopika cave and Vadathika cave, for providing shelters to the Ajivika ascetics during the rainy season."
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The prevalence of the sect in castern India in the Christian era has hardly substantiated by any archaeological remains. It is rather difficult to speculate about the exact time and reasons for the total extinction of this faith from this part of the country. Occasional references to them are not wanting in Sanskrit literature of the later period, but these are hardly any positive bearings on the history and philosophy of the sect.
It is really curious to note that a sect, a leading representative of the heretical orders, that emerged with equal stronghold and wide influence like those of the Buddhists and the Jainas, did not survive or continue as an independent sect for long in the region of its origin. It is, however, not an easy task to ascertain the reason/ reasons behind its oblivion from the stage of Indian religion. But it is certain that by the time of the Vayupuräna the sect seemed to have 'struggling for survival as a sort of secret society'; and during the time of Varahamihira87 the Ajivikas survived only as one of the seven classes of religious mendicants. According to P.C. Bagchi, "the Ajivika sect had, by the time of Hiuen-Tsang, merged into the community of the Nirgranthas who were then numerous in Bengal. In any case, there is no evidence to prove the separate existence of the Äjivikas in Bengal."88 The conjecture put forward by P.C. Bagchi seems to be possible as the emergence of the mystic saints and their religious communities like the Avadhutas, etc. in the mediaeval period bear ample resembles in respect of activities and ritualistic performances with the naked Nirgrantha and the Ajivika ascetics.
Denying the authority of the Vedas, the Ajivikas were also indoctrined as the propounder of heretical philosophy. The Buddhists and the Jainas considered the Ajivikas as amoralists and proceeded to condemn them as immoral in practice. Buddha is said to have branded the system of Gośãia among those four groups of ascetics whom he condemned as 'living in incontinency' abrahmacarya
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