Study in the Origins and Development of Jainism

Author(s): S N Shrivastava
Publisher: Rekha Publication Gorakhpur

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INTRODUCTION
A number of theories regarding the origin of Religion have been propounded by scholars, and almost all of them proceed with the basic assumption that all the religions, which have come into existence in human history so far, have acquired their typical personalities owing to their specific course of historical development. Though generalisation is no more considered to be out of the purview of history, broad generalisations often engulf the particular which history is required to deal with. As such, the origin and development of a particular religion should be inquired in its specific historical perspective. It is satisfying to note that this field of inquiry is no more ignored.
Though several volumes on the history of Jain religion have appeared in past years, the question of the origin and early development of Jainism is still an enigma in ancient Indian history. A critical analysis of modern Jain historiography reveals that the approach of scholars was vitiated because of certain specific reasons. Many of the scholars who took interest in the history of Jainism happen to belong to the Jain community. Owing to their inherent psychological attitude they could not transcend the clouds of sectarian spiritual zeal, and they either blindly took legends for history or consciously advanced arguments based upon flimsy grounds in support of their traditional belief.
On the other hand, the European scholars, who seriously undertook the task of working out the history of ancient Indian religious tradition and whose writings on the Brahmaṇical religio-philosophical tradition are still considered to be standard ones, have, by and large, rejected the early Jain tradition as a product of fiction. They are not prepared to take the antiquity of Jainism beyond Mahāvīra. The tradition of Tirthankaras is not acceptable to them. Even some of them ventured to suggest that Jainism is only an offshoot of Buddhism and that Mahāvīra was an imaginary person whose personality was conceived on the model