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beginning of his ascetic career and that he left it on account of some possible regeneration that had crept into that community." (5) Pārśvanatha's Contribution
Pārsvanatha flourished, as already noted, towards the end of the ninth century (817) B.C.17 which was the age of Brahmanical predominance. Parsvanatha's position, therefore, becomes more distinct and the value of his servies becomes more prominent when one takes into consideration the possible difficulties he might have undergone in rising an uncompromising protest against Brahmanical tyranny.
It appears that Pārśvanatha, "the people's favourite" founded a new religion which was not meant for the sacred few but for all. The age of Pārsvanatha was coeval with the age of the older. Upaniṣads when the thoughtful section of the community in their zeal for the attainment of the knowledge of the supreme world left the suffering masses to shift for themselves. At this juncture Pārśvanatha recognised the moral elevation of the people at large and especially of the lower castes as a supreme task of religin. He felt for them and came forward to their help. Hence the significance of the standing addition "the people's favourite" 18 to his name. It implies that Pārsvanatha's mission was to uplift the mass. It apears, besides, that his movements, as such, were not favourably looked upon by the aggressive Brahmanism of the period and the attitude of it was probably positively hostile. This is confirmed by the utter silence of the Brahmanical literature about Parsva and the fact that though he was a prince of the Madhyadeśa he could not do anything great in that part of the country where Suddha and Mahāvīra moved so triumphantly later on. His progress in that quarter was not anything remarkable and his order probably could not be anything better than a shifting body of monks and nuns, as it really was when Keśi was at the head." 19
Another characteristic feature of Parsvanatha's order appears to have been the elevation of the status of women. However eloquent we may be about the names of Gärgi Vāchanavi and Maitreyi, it cannot but be admitted that the status of women-folk was far from being very high in the time of Pārsvanatha. Only a few women might have raised themselves into recognition by dint of their own learning and independence of spirit. Pārsvanatha seems to have tried his best to give to this weaker sex full freedom and to maintain equality between man and woman in matters religious. This is why we see that he admitted a large number of female disciples into his order without any consideration of the possibility of a
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