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Jainism in Bengal
Dr. Harihar Singh*
Bengal came into contact with Jainism as early as the 6th century B.C. as the Acārāngasūtra, which is taken to be the earliest Jaina canon by the Svetambaras, gives a vivid account of Mahavira's itinerary of Ladha (Western Bengal). There we are told that when Mahavira (24th Tīrthankara) travelled in the pathless country of the Lāḍhas, enduring of course manifold pains caused by grass, clod, fire, flies and gnats, the natives of Ladha attacked him, disallowed him from entering their village, made dogs bite and run at him, used abusive language to him, struck him with stick, fist, lance, fruit, cold and potsherd, cut his flesh, tore his hair, covered him with dust and hit to let him fall, but all the times he remained undisturbed and proceeded on the path of Nirvana (liberation). Many other mendicants, eating rough food and carrying a strong stick to keep off dogs, were also bitten and torn by the dogs. It was thus very "difficult to travel in Ladha." This far-famed country of Ladha in old days lay west of the Bhagirathi river and included roughly the present day districts of Howrah, Hooghly, Burdwan, Murshidabad and Dinajpur.2 From the above narratives of the Acarängasūtra it appears that the people of Bengal were still primitive and outside the pale of Aryan civilization and hence they could not appreciate the mendicant life of Mahavira. It is very unfortunate that in a country like India where saints and seers are treated as reverent persons for their asceticism, such an act of ill-treatment was done disregarding all the human values. It was probably the nudity of Mahāvīra which enraged them most. This may be surmised from the fact that the inhabitants of the village did not allow him to enter their village, saying, "Get away from here."
Deptt. of A.I.H.C. and Archaeology, B.H.U., Varanasi
