Study in the Origins and Development of Jainism

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

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A Study in the Origins and Development of Jainism
In the Rigveda nothing is clearly stated as to what happens to one whose sojourn in the pitriloka or heaven is terminated. It is difficult to agree with the contention that termination of sojourn in the pitriloka presupposes the return of the being from the pitriloka to the physical world. Had it been so, there would have been some indications of it in the Rigveda.
P. V. kane has elaborately dwelt upon the problem of the antiquity and origin of the doctrine of karma and rebirth. He, while critically reviewing the evidence and arguments adduced by Deussen, Ranade, Karandikar and others, has convincingly demonstrated that there is no clear statement on this doctrine in the Vedas. According to him, this doctrine had taken a definite shape in the Upanisadic period. In support of this view he cites the evidence of Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad and Chhandogya Upanisad. He makes no definite statement as to how the doctrine of karma and rebirth appeared in the Upaniṣadic period, but he appears to believe that it was a natural philosophical development occurring in the Vedic tradition. In this connection, he refers to the ideas of pitṛiyana, devayāna and punarmrityu as predating the idea of rebirth. Hedraws our attention to a passage of Taittiriya Samhita in which it is stated "whoever threatens, a Brahmaṇa, he shall atone for it with a hundred years. He who strikes him (shall atone) with a thousand years; he who sheds the blood of a Brahmaṇa would be moistened into a ball by the stream of blood". Commenting on this passage he writes, "This passage is important as conveying that for a very mortal sin the offender would have to suffer for a thousand years or even several thousand years and, therefore, would have to be born for several lives, since one human life was held to extend to one hundred years only"."
The first clear mention of the doctrine of karma and rebirth is found in a few references of Brihadaranyaka Upaniṣad and Chhandogya Upanisad. In the Brihadāraṇyaka Upanisad it is stated,