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Jainism as a Pre-Aryan Religion
was a senior contemporary of the Buddha. He carried as we said earlier, the traditions of the previous tirthankaras. Rşabha was the first tirthankara. There are references to Rşabha in the Rgveda, Yajurveda and Bhagavata Purana. Yajurveda mentions Rşabha, Ajita and Aristanemi as tirthankaras. Bhagavata Purana endorses the view that Rsabha was the founder of Jainism.
Jainism has been variously referred to in the early vedic and Buddhist literature. It was called 'Arhat Dharma' and the followers of teachings of the Arhats were the Ārhats. The Arhats do not recognise. Vedas and the Brahmaņas. In the Rgveda we find that the followers of the Vedas and the Brahmanas were called 'Bärhat'. 6 The utterances of the Vedas were referred to as Brhati. The Ārhats believed that the self gets bound by karma and the goal of freedom for every self is possible through self-effort, Sarvara and Nirjard. The Padma Purana eologieses the Ārhat religion as good, 7 S'atapata Brahmana 8 also describes the Ārhan as a superior being. Srutakevali Bhadrabahu has referred to Arişğanemi and other tirthankaras as Arhats. In the Padma Purana 10 and Vişnu Puranall the word Arhat Dharma is used for describing Jaina religion.
If we survey the religious literature of the time of Mahavira we find that the word 'Niggantha' was used for Arhat. In the Dighanikaya, Maharira was referred to as Niggantha Nataputta. 12 In the Asokan Inscriptions the word Niggantha has been used. 13 In the Vedic literature also we find the word Niggantha used 14 We find the use of jina Sasana, Jina Vacana and Jina Marga in the Dasavaik alika 15 Uttaradhyayana 16 and Sūtrakstanga 17 In the Visesavas yaka Bhasya there is mention of Jina dharma Later references are many. For instances in the Matsya Purana 18 and Devibhagavata 19 "Jina dharma” and “Jaina dharma” are used. From this it is clear that the Jaina religion, as the expression of sramaņa thought propounding the theory of the karmic bondage and need for the freedom from bondage as a continuous tradition, was recognised by the Vedic and the Buddhist currents of thought. In certain exigencies of time it was described as Arhat Darsana and also as Jaina dharma. Jaina Dharma, therefore, is a stream of thought expressing the framanic current and specifying the teachings of 24 tirthankaras.
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