Study in the Origins and Development of Jainism

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

Page 28

Origin, Antiquity
15
1.
3.
R. E. VIII, IX, XI, XIII; STrabo, XV. 1.59 M'crindle, 1901, p. 65, Fn.; Udına, P.T.S. Edn. p. 66-67. Manusmriti II, 11. 'Perhaps the entire concept that a person's situation and experiences are, infact, the results of deeds committed in various lives may be not of Aryan origin at all, but rather may have developed as part of the indigenous Gangetic tradition from which the various Śramana move ments arose'. Jaini, P.S. 'Karma and Bebirth in Classical Indian Tradition.' p. 218 ; Gananath Obeyeskar, 'Karma and Rebirth' in Classical Indian Tradition. p. 137 fn. 'It is indeed possible to point to some other concepts in Indian thought, such as atomism, for which it is not possible to posit any Vedic origin. Further, a critical study of some later systems of Indian philosophy like Sãmkhya, Yoga, Vaišeşika, Buddhism and Jainism would show that there existed in these systems a substratum of common concepts which are definitely not derived from the Vedas but which might be traced back to a pre-Vedic Magadhan thought complex. The traditions regarding the various lives of Gautam. Buddha and the twenty four tirhankaras who preceded Mãhãvira are certainly quite significant in this connection. It would seem that the pre-Vedic current of thought with its ramifications continued through centuries to serve as a significant source for the later Indian thought to draw upon. The Vedic Aryan current which was in a sense, foreign to the Indian soil, never succeeded in superceding it completely. As a matter of fact, a large number of elements in the classical Hindu, way of life and thought clearly betray a pre-Vedic non-Aryan origin". Dandekar, R. N. Exercises in Indology, p. 339. Chatterjee, S. K. The Vedic Age, P. 151. Dandekar, R. N. Exercises in Indology, P. 338 Pandey G. C. Origins of Buddhism; Chakravorty, Harpad, Asceticism in Ancient India. Pandey G. C. Origins of Buddhism ; Dandekar R. N. Exercises in Indology p. 338. 'In this connection we may indeed speak, in very broad term, of two traditions- the pre-Vedic, non-Aryan Muni- Yati