Some Aspects of Jainism in Eastern India

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

Page 35

Twenty-Four Tírthařkaras and Their Activities and Teachings
19
tīrthankaras, before him, each appearing with a span of few centuries from his predecessors.
Some scholars doubt the historicity of these tirthařkaras, except the last two, i.e. of Pārśva and Mahāvira. Pārsva's predecessor Arişțanemi or Neminātha is said to have connected with the legend of Krşņa as his relative. He is said to have died 84,000 years before Mahāvīra's nirvāņa. Similarly, Pārsva, the son of the ruler of Kāśi, lived and preached his religion about 250 years before Mahavira, i.e. in the (c. eighth century BC) and his teachings were contiguous to the teachers about self-abjugation, known in Bihar during his time.
In spite of its remote antiquity Jainism first flourished as an organised and methodical form of religious creed in eastern India in the sixth century BC. Mahāvīra, like Basava of the Vira-Saivas or the Lingāyats in Karnataka, gave the real shape of a religion. He claims no originality for his doctrine. He reformulated the system which already existed and there were other followers of Pārśva even before Mahāvīra became a 'Jina' and main spokesman for the Nirganthas as the Jainas were known by that term in the sixth century BC. Mahavira, however, more heavily emphasized the ascetic rules for the monks than had Pārsva. Mahāvīra may have noted the moral laxities found in contemporary monks whether Jaina, Buddhist or Ajivika. He set an unusually high standard of ascetic morality which has led to regard him as an originator of this system of philosophy and rel gion.
Again, if we think of them in the historical probability of a 'succession of teachers', we can come to the definite conclusions that outside the pale of Vedic culture and religion especially in eastern India the pre-Vedic and non-Vedic ideas had a long tradition of continuity. We have already pointed out that there were persons believing in different faiths and institutions fighting for the cause of their survival and development and that some of the pre Vedic ideas and practices were revived by the Buddha, Mahāvira and other in the reformistic movements, launched by them. Jacobi's observation in this connection is worth noting --"These particulars about the religion of the Jainas previous to the reform of Mahāvīra are so matter of-fact like, that it is impossible to deny that the may have been handed down by a trustworthy tradition."" These tirthankaras belonging to a community later on known as the Parivrājakas wandered from one place to other along with their