Sramana Tradation

Author(s): G C Pandey
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 51

Sramana Tradition
The rise of asceticism must be counted as a revolutionary and unique movement in the history of religion. While religion is as old as man, asceticism can be discerned for the first time only in Indian Sramanism. Its appearance within Orphicism and later among the Essenes and the Theraputae and still later among the Christi in all probability not without a historical contact with India, especially as induced by the missionary activities of Asoka and the Buddhist Samgha.31 We have already argued that the origin of asceticism in India should not be traced to a reform which first began within the Brahmanical fold and led to the recognition of the fourth Aśrama. This view which was strongly argued by Jacobi rests on the similarities between the vows of the mendicants, Brahmanical as well as Śramaņic, and the assumption that the fourth Āśrama must be older
e Sramana sects. 32 This second assumption we have already disputed. The similarities between the vows of mendicants are of a general type relating to the very ideal of an ascetic. The five great vows' (panca-maha-yratas ) as they are described, for example, in the Yoga-sūtras are Ahimsā, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacarya and Aparigraha. The Caturyāma samvara of Pārsva included non-injury, truth, nonstealing and non-possession. It may be noted that the Buddhist account of the Căturyāma saṁvara appears confused as it speaks of restraint in the use of cold water, evil, sin and ease on account of purification of sin.33 Mahāvīra added celebacy as the fifth vow and thus the Panca-maha vratas of the Jainas came to be identical with those mentioned by Patañjali. Thus the Ayaramga34 describes the first mahāvrata as Pāņāivāyāo veramanam and details its five bhāvanas and goes on to mention the other mahāvratas implying aviodance of musåvāya, adinnādāņa, mehuna and pariggaha and similarly describes the five bhāvanås for each. Among the Buddhists the Pañcasilas include desisting from destroying life, from stealing, from telling lies, from wrong sexual conduct and from drinking intoxicating liquors. These become the eight-fold Sila if one adds to it not eating unseasonable 31. Cf. H. C. Raychaudhuri, Political History of Ancient India, (7th ed., Calcutta,
1972), pp. 294-295. 32. See Jaina Sūtras, Pt. I, pp. xxiii-xxxii. 33. Barua, op cit., p. 378. 34. Ā yaramga, 2.15.