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other writers substitute synonyms, such as vivasana, muktāmbara, etc. The name nirgrantha for the Jaina religious men occurs also in the edicts of Asoka under the form of nigantha (Buhler ; E.I. ii. p. 272). The pitakas of the Buddha often mention the niganshas as opponents of Buddha and his followers. Wherever they are mentioned in the Buddhist canon, it is mostly to refute their belief, and thus to assert the superiority of the faith of Lord Buddha. These facts prove two things ; that the Jaina monks were called niganshas, and that, so far as the Buddhist writings reach, the Jainas and Buddhists were great rivals (Mitra. R; The Sanskrit Buddhist Literature of Nepal, Calcutta, 1882 p. 11). Jnātiputta/Nätputta
Siddhartha, the father of Mahāvira, was of kāśyapa gotra, belonging to the clan of the Jñatikșatriyas. For this Mahāvira was known as Jñātiputra in his own days. At present, in Pali, Näta is equivalent of jñāti, and hence jñātiputra means Nätaputta, which more resembles Nāyaputta, “a Biruda of Mabāvīra used in the Kalpa-sūtra and the Uttarādhyayana sūtra" (Jacobi, Kalpasūtra, Int. p. 6). Thus we may conclude that the titles like niganthanātha, niganchanātha năttaputta, and also merely nätaputta refer to nyne else but Mahāvīra. Again there is a reference to nātaputtas system in the Sāmaññaphala sütta, as : catuyāma samvara sanivutio, which has been interpreted by Jacobi as referring to the Jaina term căturyāma. "It is applied”, says Jacobi, "to the doctrine of Mahāvīra's predecessor, Pārsva, to distinguish it from the reformed creed of Mahāvīra, which is called Pancayāma Dharma. (Jacabi, I.A. ix, p. 160).
Thus, the Buddhist suttas recognise the historical character of Pārsvanatha's life. Besides this there is one thing which sounds very strange when we consider all these references about Nätaputta and his philosophy that are available in the Buddhist canon. With all these refutations and references about them in the canonical works of the rival faith the Jainas could ignore their adversaries. It may be argued that the Nirgranthas were considered by the Buddhas as an important sect, while the Nirgranthas in their turn did not think it worth while to take any notice of the sister faith. These strange coincidences of both the Buddhist and the Jain literature go a long way to prove the existence of Jainism much before the advent of Buddha and Mahāvīra. Now it may not be out of context to quote some lines of the great scholar Jacobi in support of our view. He says : "The nirgranthas are frequently mentioned by the Buddhists, even in the oldest parts of the pitakas. But I have not yet met with a distinct mention of the Buddhas
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