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THE RELIGIOUS
QUEST OF INDIA
EDITED BY
J. N. FARQUHAR, M.A.
LITERARY SECRETARY, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF YOUNG MEN’S
CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS, INDIA AND CEYLON
AND
H. D. GRISWOLD, M.A., Ph.D.
SECRETARY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN
MISSIONS IN INDIA
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
ALREADY PUBLISHED
INDIAN THEISM, FROM By Nicol Macnicol, M.A.,
THE VEDIC TO THE D.Litt. Pp.xvi + 292. Price
MUHAMMADAN 6s. net.
PERIOD.
IN PREPARATION
THE RELIGIOUS LITERA-
TURE OF INDIA.
THE RELIGION OF THE
RIGVEDA.
THE VEDANTA .
HINDU ETHICS .
BUDDHISM . . . .
ISLAM IN INDIA
By J. N. Farquhar, M.A.
By H. D. Griswold, M.A.,
Ph.D.
By A. G. Hogg, M.A., Chris-
tian College, Madras.
By John McKenzie, M.A.,
Wilson College, Bombay.
By K. J. Saunders, M.A.,
Literary Secretary, National
Council of Y.M.C.A., India
and Ceylon.
By H. A. Walter, M.A.,
Literary Secretary, National
Council of Y.M.C.A., India
and Ceylon.
EDITORIAL PREFACE
The writers of this series of volumes on the variant forms
of religious life in India are governed in their work by two
impelling motives.
I. They endeavour to work in the sincere and sympathetic
spirit of science. They desire to understand the perplexingly
involved developments of thought and life in India and dis-
passionately to estimate their value. They recognize the
futility of any such attempt to understand and evaluate,
unless it is grounded in a thorough historical study of the
phenomena investigated. In recognizing this fact they do no
more than share what is common ground among all modern
students of religion of any repute. But they also believe that
it is necessary to set the practical side of each system in living
relation to the beliefs and the literature, and that, in this
regard, the close and direct contact which they have each had
with Indian religious life ought to prove a source of valuable
light. For, until a clear understanding has been gained of the
practical influence exerted by the habits of worship, by the
practice of the ascetic, devotional or occult discipline, by the
social organization and by the family system, the real impact
of the faith upon the life of the individual and the community
cannot be estimated ; and, without the advantage of extended
personal intercourse, a trustworthy account of the religious
experience of a community can scarcely be achieved by even
the most careful student.
II. They seek to set each form of Indian religion by the side
of Christianity in such a way that the relationship may stand
out clear. Jesus Christ has become to them the light of all
their seeing, and they believe Him destined to be the light of
a 2
IV
EDITORIAL PREFACE
the world. They are persuaded that sooner or later the age-
long quest of the Indian spirit for religious truth and power
will find in Him at once its goal and a new starting-point, and
they will be content if the preparation of this series contri-
butes in the smallest degree to hasten this consummation.
If there be readers to whom this motive is unwelcome, they
may be reminded that no man approaches the study of a
religion without religious convictions, either positive or nega-
tive : for both reader and writer, therefore, it is better that
these should be explicitly stated at the outset. Moreover,
even a complete lack of sympathy with the motive here
acknowledged need not diminish a reader’s interest in follow-
ing an honest and careful attempt to bring the religions of
India into comparison with the religion which to-day is their
only possible rival, and to which they largely owe their pre-
sent noticeable and significant revival.
It is possible that to some minds there may seem to be
a measure of incompatibility between these two motives.
The writers, however, feel otherwise. For them the second
motive reinforces the first : for they have found that he who
would lead others into a new faith must first of all understand
the faith that is theirs already, — understand it, moreover,
sympathetically, with a mind quick to note not its weaknesses
alone but that in it which has enabled it to survive and has
given it its power over the hearts of those who profess it.
The duty of the editors of the series is limited to seeing that
the volumes are in general harmony with the principles here
described. Each writer is alone responsible for the opinions
expressed in his volume, whether in regard to Indian religions
or to Christianity.
THE RELIGIOUS QUEST OF INDIA
THE
HEART OF JAINISM
MRS. SINCLAIR STEVENSON
M.A., Sc.D. (Dublin)
OF THE IRISH MISSION IN GUJARAT
SOMETIME SCHOLAR OF SOMERVILLE COLLEGE, OXFORD
AUTHOR OF ‘NOTES ON MODERN JAINISM’, ‘FIRST STEPS IN GUJARATI*
‘ON SOME PAINTERS OF THE RENAISSANCE’, ETC.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION
BY THE
REV. G. P. TAYLOR, M.A., D.D.
PRINCIPAL OF STEVENSON COLLEGE, AHMADABAD
HUMPHREY MILFORD
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW NEW YORK
TORONTO MELBOURNE BOMBAY
Fecisti nos ad te, et inquietum est cor nostrum donee requiescat in te.
(Conf. Div. Aur. Augustini, i. I.)
TO MY HUSBAND
WITH
HAPPY MEMORIES
OF
NINE YEARS’ COMRADESHIP
IN WORK AND PLAY
PREFATORY NOTE
Amongst the many friends, Indian and English, whose
help has made the production of this little book possible,
the writer owes a special debt of gratitude to the Rev.
G. P. Taylor, M.A., D.D., who years ago first directed her
attention to Jainism as an almost untrodden field for
research, and who ever since has allowed her to make the
fullest use of his unrivalled stores of oriental scholarship ;
to Mr. J. N. Farquhar, M.A., from whom she has received
constant help and suggestion, especially in the compilation
of the Historical Summary and the paragraphs on Jaina
writers ; and to her husband, who, when she was hindered
by illness, not only prepared the index, but also under-
took, together with Mr. Farquhar, the whole of the proof
correcting.
Amongst her Indian friends, the writer would like to
thank two Jaina pandits, who successively lectured to
her in Rajkot (Kathiawad) almost daily during a period
of seven years, for the patience and lucidity with which
they expounded their creed. Each of these gentlemen,
the one representing perhaps the more modern, and the
other the more conservative, points of view, most kindly
re-read the MS. with her.
In her study of Jainism, however, the writer is not only
indebted to pandits, but also to nuns in various Apasara,
to officiants in beautiful Jaina temples, to wandering
monks, happy-go-lucky Jaina schoolboys and thoughtful
students, as well as to grave Jaina merchants and their
delightful wives. Nearly all these informants spoke Gujarati,
X
PREFATORY NOTE
but the technical words they used in discussing their
faith were sometimes of Gujarati, sometimes of MagadhI
and sometimes of Sanskrit origin. This 4 use which
seems to be one of the idioms of Jainism, the writer has
tried to reproduce by transliterating the actual words
employed, believing that thus her work would retain more
of the character of field-study and have less of the odour
of midnight oil than if she had standardized and sanskritized
all the terms.
But whatever language they spoke, every one whom the
writer asked showed the same readiness to help ; indeed
almost every fact recorded in this book owes its presence
there to the courtesy of some Jaina friend, and every page
seems to the writer water-marked with some one’s kindness.
The difficulty of the task has sometimes seemed over-
whelming ; but never perhaps does the magnificent old
motto Dominus illuminatio mea prove a greater inspiration
than when one is attempting sympathetically to decipher
an alien creed ; and to no one does it, together with its
sister-saying Magna est veritas et praevalebit, ring a happier
carillon of hope than to the foreign missionary.
MARGARET STEVENSON.
Dublin,
■S7. Patrick's Day, 1915.
INTRODUCTION
To the general public Jainism is little more than a mere
name, and even students of the Religions of India have
often failed to give it the attention it well may claim. True,
out of India’s 315 millions less than one million and a
quarter (1,248,162) to-day profess the Jaina faith, and the
last twenty years have witnessed a steady decrease in the
number of its adherents ; but, its numerical weakness
notwithstanding, Jainism can make its own distinct appeal
for a more informed acquaintance with its special tenets.
If Professor Hopkins is right, and we believe he is, in
affirming that Jainism ‘ represents a theological mean
between Brahmanism and Buddhism ’/ then assuredly
a serious study of Jainism becomes incumbent on all who
may seek to understand aright either the early Brahmanic
ritual or the trenchant and for long effective Buddhist
protest which that elaborate ritual evoked.
In that sixth century before Christ which in so many
countries witnessed an earnest aspiration after higher
truths and nobler lives, the country of Bihar was strangely
agitated by the teachings of not a few bold reformers, men
then styled heretics. Mahavira, Buddha, Gosala, Jamali,
all founded sects of their own, and others there were who
vied with these either in propounding rival heresies or in
establishing separate monastic organizations. Yet of all
these ancient Orders one only has survived in India down
to the present day, and that one is the Jainism founded
whether by Mahavira himself or by his reputed master
1 E. W. Hopkins, The Religions of India , p. 283.
INTRODUCTION
xii
Parsvanatha. It were surely at once an interesting and an
instructive study to search out the causes that enabled
Jainism thus to weather the storms that in India wrecked
so many of the other faiths. Quietly, unobtrusively,
Jainism has held on the even tenor of its way : but why ?
Here, for the student of Comparative Religion, lies a
fascinating problem. Dr. Hoernle’s discussion of this
subject in his Presidential Address of 1898 before the
Asiatic Society of Bengal was singularly luminous, empha-
sizing as it did the place accorded from the very first to the
lay adherent as an integral part of the Jaina organization.
In the Buddhist Order, on the other hand, the lay element
received no formal recognition whatsoever. Lacking thus
any ‘ bond with the broad strata of the secular life of the
people Buddhism, under the fierce assault on its monastic
settlements made by the Moslems of the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries, proved incompetent to maintain itself
and simply disappeared from the land. In contrast there-
with, Jainism, less enterprising but more speculative than
Buddhism, and lacking the active missionary spirit that
in early times dominated the latter, has been content to
spend a quiet life within comparatively narrow borders,
and can show to-day in Western and Southern India not
only prosperous monastic establishments but also lay
communities, small perhaps, yet wealthy and influential.
Adopting the terms of present-day ecclesiastical discussion,
one may say the survival of the Jainas has been due in large
measure to their having opened the doors of the Synod of
their Church to lay representation.
Yet another reason that well may attract to the study
of Jainism lies in the fact that a singular interest attaches
to its doctrines and its history. Its first home was near
Benares, and thus lay to the east of that ‘ holy land ’ which
was the seat of the Vedic cult. But with the process of
years it has migrated westwards and northwards, with the
remarkable consequence that to-day ‘ there are no Jainas
INTRODUCTION
xiii
among the indigenous inhabitants of Bengal, which includes
Bihar, where the religion had its origin, and Orissa, where
the caves of Udayagiri and Khandagiri bear witness to its
popularity in the early centuries of our era k1 While to the
north in Mathura, Delhi, Jaipur, and Ajmer, it is still fairly
well represented, the chief seats of Jaina influence in
modern times are the cities and trading marts of Western
India. The mercantile communities of Gujarat and Marwar
owe not a little of their prosperity to Jaina enterprise, and
the Order is said to be largely recruited from the cultivators
in the Carnatic district of Belgaum. To trace through the
centuries this westward trend of Jainism and to investigate
its causes were surely a subject worthy of engaging the
attention of students of the Indian religions.
Again, in its origin, Jainism was a protest on the part of
the Ksatriyas, or warrior caste, against the exclusiveness
of priests who desired to limit entry into the mendicant
stage ( Sannyasin Asrama ) to persons of the Brahman caste
alone. As Professor Hopkins graphically puts it, ‘ The
Kings of the East were impatient of the Western Church :
they were pleased to throw it over. The leaders in the
“ reformation ” were the younger sons of noble blood . . .
they were princes and had royalty to back them.’ 2 But
time brings its revenges, and this Jaina religion, cradled in
the aristocracy of a military caste, was destined to become
the chief exponent of a grotesque exaggeration of the
principle of ahimsa , or ‘ non-injury ’ to any living being.
The explanation of a change so radical cannot but prove
of the deepest interest.
Yet once again Jainism, with its explicit belief in a
plurality of eternal spirits, every material entity having
its own individual spirit, jivatma, no less expressly dis-
believes in the Supreme Spirit, the Paramatma. Jainism is
definitely atheistic, if by atheism we mean the denial of
1 Imperial Gazetteer of India (New Edition), i. 417.
2 E. W. Hopkins, op. cit., p. 282.
XIV
INTRODUCTION
a divine creative spirit. In the philosophy of the Jainas
no place is reserved for God. Indeed it seems probable
that the first Jainas did not acknowledge gods at all.
They early taught that one should not say ‘ God rains but
just ‘ the cloud rains ’. Thus one of their fundamental
principles would seem to have been that there is no power
higher than man. This principle, however, it is instructive
to note, soon proved unworkable, and it has long since been
practically abandoned. The Jainas do worship, yet are the
objects of their worship neither God nor gods. Denying
God, they worship man, to wit, the Venerable ( Arhat ), the
Conqueror (Jina), the Founder of the (four) Orders ( Tlrthah -
kara). Now this revolt from God-worship, and the
acceptance in its stead of man-worship, this startling
anticipation of Positivism, may well claim one’s attention,
if only as affording some idea of the possibilities of intel-
lectual frailty.
Within the last thirty years a small band of scholars,
pre-eminent amongst w'hom are the late Hofrath Professor
Biihler, Professor Jacobi, and Dr. Hoernle, have effected
a great advance in our knowledge of Jainism. For long
it had been thought that Jainism was but a sub-sect of
Buddhism, but, largely as a consequence of the researches
of the Orientalists just mentioned, that opinion has been
finally relinquished, and Jainism is now admitted to be
one of the most ancient monastic organizations of India. So
far from being merely a modern variation of Buddhism,
Jainism is the older of the two heresies, and it is almost
certain that Mahavlra, though a contemporary of Buddha,
predeceased him by some fifty years.1 A flood of light has
been shed on the origin of Jainism, on its relations both to
Brahmanism and to Buddhism, on the sects of the Jainas,
1 As now generally accepted, the dates are
for Mahavlra, 599-527 B.c.
and for Buddha, 557-477 B.c.
If these dates be correct, then Mahavlra and Buddha were for thirty
years contemporaries.
INTRODUCTION
xv
the ‘ white-clad ’ and the ‘ space-clad ’ votaries and the
non-idolatrous Sthanakavasis, on the formation of the
Jaina Siddhanta or Canon, and on the Councils of Pafali-
putra and Vallabhi that legislated regarding the Jaina
Scriptures : also the highest linguistic scholarship has been
brought to bear upon translations of a few of the Sacred
Books of the Jainas. For all this good work accomplished,
students of Jainism cannot be too grateful. But one whole
department of this large subject still awaits elucidation.
One can learn much concerning early Jainism and of its
development in mediaeval times : but modern Jainism, its
present-day practices and its present-day teachings, these
still remain very much a terra incognita. Biihler’s Indian
Sect of the Jainas and an article by Dr. Burgess on the
Jaina Temple Ritual tell us something, but very much
remains untold.
And just here a necessary caution should be given. It
is not always safe to assume that the meaning a technical
term bore in early times remains the same in the
Jainism of to-day. For instance, the term Tirtha-kara,
or Tlrthankara, would seem originally to have denoted
the man who has ‘ made the passage ’ across the ocean
of worldly illusion ( samsara ), who has reached that
further shore where he is, and will for ever be, free from
action and desire : thus, the man who has attained unto
a state of utter and absolute quiescence, and has entered
into a rest that knows no change nor ending, a passionless
and ineffable peace. But no Jaina whom I have ever
consulted has assigned this meaning to the word Tirthan-
kara. Widely different is the explanation given me by
those whom I have asked, and they all agree. A Tirthan-
kara, they say, is one who has ‘ made ’, has founded, the
four ‘ tlrthas But what then is a tirtha ? Tirtha,
derived from the root tr, ‘ to save ’, is, they affirm, a technical
term indicating ‘ the means of salvation ’, the means par
excellence ; and the caturvidha sangha, or that ‘ fourfold
XVI
INTRODUCTION
Communion ’ within which all who take refuge find ultimate
salvation, consists of the four tlrthas, or ‘ orders ’, namely,
those of (i) sadhu or monk, (2) sadhvi or nun, (3) sravaka
or lay-brother, and (4) sravika or lay-sister. These four
tlrthas are thus, as it were, four boats that will infallibly
carry the passengers they bear unto the desired haven of
deliverance ( moksa ). Hence the Tirthankara is one who
is the Founder (with a very large F) of the four 1 orders ’ that
collectively constitute the Communion or Sahgha.
Another illustration of a term whose meaning may have
changed with time is Nirvana. Originally the prefix nir, or
nis, was held to be intensive, and hence nirvaija, from the
root va, ‘ to blow ’, came to mean ‘ blown out, extinguished
Thus, according to the early Jainas, Nirvana is that state
in which the energy of past actions (karma) has become
extinguished, and henceforward the spirit ( jivatma ), though
still existent as an individual spirit, escapes re-embodiment,
and remains for ever free from new births and deaths. But
nowadays some Jainas at least regard the prefix nir as
a mere negative, and thus with them Nirvana implies that
state in which ‘ not a breath ’ reaches the emancipated one.
The underlying conception is that of a constant steady
flame with ‘ never a breath ’ to make even the slightest
tremulous quiver.
Evidently, then, the study of the Jainism of the past,
helpful though it be, does not of itself alone suffice to
acquaint one accurately with the current phases of that
faith, and accordingly some account, more or less detailed,
of modern Jainism becomes a distinct desideratum. It is
in the hope of supplying this felt need that Dr. Margaret
Stevenson has prepared the present volume. She has
named it ‘ The Heart of Jainism ’, and aptly so, for in the
writing of it she has been careful to indicate not so much
the causes that contributed to the origin and development
of that religion as the conditions that now obtain in it, and
its present-day observances. The life-blood that is coursing
INTRODUCTION xvii
through its veins and is invigorating it, this she seeks to
gauge. She would fain register, and not unsympathetically,
its pulse-beats and its heart-throbs. For the execution of
this self-imposed task Mrs. Stevenson has special qualifica-
tions. More than eight years ago, on her arrival as a bride
in Ahmadabad, she and her husband visited with me the
large Jaina temple erected in this city so recently as 1848,
through the munificence of Seth Hatthisimha. We were
on that occasion conducted past the enclosing cloisters
(bhamatl) with their fifty-two small shrines to the inner
court, and then admitted to the temple itself, passing
through first the open porch (mandapa) and next the hall
of assembly ( sabha mandapa ), till we stood on the very
threshold of the adytum ( gabha.ro ), and there we witnessed
the ceremonial waving of lights ( arati ). The pathos of
this service and its sadness made a deep impression, and
from that evening Mrs. Stevenson has been a keen and
constant student of Jainism. Her knowledge of the
Gujarati language has enabled her to acquire much
information at first hand both from the Jaina pandits who
have for years assisted her in her research-work, and from
the vernacular text-books which have of late been issuing
from the local printing-presses. Her kindly sympathies
have won her many friends in the Jaina community, and
have even procured her a welcome entree into the seclusion
of a Jaina nunnery. Time and again she has been present
by invitation at Jaina functions seldom witnessed by any
foreigner. Her long residence in Kathiawad has afforded
her opportunities for repeated visits to those marvellous
clusters of stately temples that crown the holy hills of
Girnar and Abu and Satrunjaya. In her admirable Notes
on Modern Jainism , severely simple notes published five
years ago, Mrs. Stevenson gave us a first instalment of the
rich fruits of her patient research, but since then she has
been able to glean a more abundant harvest. The contri-
bution that she now offers to the public will prove simply
b
INTRODUCTION
xviii
invaluable to the Christian missionary and to the student
of the religions of India, but we further bespeak for it
a hearty welcome from all who delight in fine scholarship
and literary grace.
GEO. P. TAYLOR.
Stevenson College,
Ahmadabad.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAGE
INTRODUCTORY i
The ideal of Indian thought death, not life — Attraction of
asceticism— Revolt against Brahman exclusiveness — Rise of
Buddhist and Jaina orders.
CHAPTER II
HISTORICAL SUMMARY 7
The sixth century — Mahavlra — Order of Parsvanatha —
Sudharma and his successors — The great famine and conse-
quent migration under Bhadrabahu to Mysore — Sthulabhadra
and the Council of Pataliputra — The Canon of Scriptures— The
nudity question — Idolatry — Suhastin — Disruption into Svetam-
bara and Digambara sects— Council of Vallabhi — The Scrip-
tures—Zenith of Jainism — Decline under Mohammedan and
Saiva persecution — Rise of SthanakavasI sect — Modern con-
ditions.
CHAPTER III
THE LIFE OF MAHAVlRA 21
Birthplace — The fourteen dreams — Birth — Childhood and
legends — Initiation — Parsvanatha’s Order — Legends of Maha-
vlra’s asceticism — Enlightenment — Preaching — Death — Pre-
vious incarnations.
CHAPTER IV
MAHAVIRA’S PREDECESSORS AND DISCIPLES . . 48
Parsvanatha — The Four Vows of Parsvanatha — The twenty-
two earlier Tlrthahkara: — Risabhadeva — Ajitanatha — Sam-
bhavanatha — Abhinandana — Sumatinatha — Padmaprabhu —
Suparsvanatha— Candraprabhu — Suvidhinatha — Sltalanatha —
Sreyamsanatha — Vasupujya— Vima]anatha — Anantanatha —
Dharmanatha — Santinatha — Kunthunatha— Aranatha — Malli-
natha — Munisuvrata — Naminatha — Neminatha— The Fol-
lowers of Mahavlra : — Gosala — Gautama Indrabhuti — Sermon
by Mahavlra — Sudharma.
XX
CONTENTS
CHAPTER V
PAGE
HISTORY OF THE JAINA COMMUNITY .... 65
The four Tlrtha: — Monks — Nuns — Laymen — Lay women —
The great leaders: — Jambu SvamT — Prabhava — Sayambhava—
Bhadrabahu — Sthulabhadra — The six Srutakevali — The Dasa-
purvl— The early Schisms : — Jamah’s — Gosala’s — Avyakta,
KsanikavadI, and Ganga schisms— Mahagiri — Samprati —
Suhastin — Susthitasuri — Indradinna — Kalikacarya — Siddha-
sena Divakara — VajrasvamI — Vajrasena — Digambara schism
— Differences between Svetambara and Digambara — Hari-
bhadra Suri — Siddhasuri — Sllagunasuri — Bappabhattlsuri —
Sllahgacarya — Abhayadevasuri — Hemacarya — Epigraphic
Corroboration — The later sects — Non-idolatrous sects : Lohka
— Sthanakavasl.
CHAPTER VI
INTRODUCTION TO JAINA PHILOSOPHY ... 89
Origin of Jaina ideas — The Sankhya and Vedanta schools —
The Saptabhangl Naya.
CHAPTER VII
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS 94
i. JIVA (94): Prana — Divisions of Jlva : into Siddha and
Sathsarl — Male, Female and Neuter — Hell-beings, Animals,
Human beings and Gods — Ekendriya, Be-indriya, Tri-indriya,
Corendriya and Pancendriya — Prithvlkaya, Apakaya, Teukaya,
Vayukaya, Vanaspatikaya and Trasakaya — Two artificial
divisions — Lesya division — Paryapti division.
ii. AJIVA (106): Arupl : (Dharmastikaya — Adharmastikaya
— Akasastikaya — Kala) — RupT : (Pudgajastikaya).
iii. MERIT (no): Nine kinds (giving food, drink, clothes,
lodging and bed ; good wishes, kind acts, kind words and
reverence) — Forty-two ways of enjoying the fruit of Merit.
iv. SIN (1 1 6) : Eighteen kinds (killing, untruth, stinginess,
impurity, acquisitiveness, anger, pride, deceit, greed, attach-
ment, hatred, quarrelsomeness, slander, tale-bearing, criticism,
lack of self-control, hypocrisy, false faith) — Eighty-two results
of Sin.
v. ASRAVA (Channels of Karina) ( 1 39) : Seventeen major
and twenty-five minor.
vi. SAMVARA (Impeding of Karma) (144) : Five points of
CONTENTS
xxi
PAGE
good behaviour (Samiti) — Control of mind, speech and body
(Gupti) — Twenty-two ways of enduring hardship (Parisaha) —
Ten duties of Ascetics — Five Rules of Conduct (Caritra) —
Twelve important Reflections (Bhavana).
vii. BONDAGE to Karma (161) : Four kinds.
viii. DESTRUCTION of Karma (163): Six Exterior Aus-
terities— Six Interior Austerities.
ix. MOKSA (169) : the Siddha — Final Bliss.
CHAPTER VIII
KARMA AND THE PATH TO LIBERATION . . .173
Four Sources of Karma — Nine ways of arresting Karma —
Eight kinds of Karma— their arrangement — Ghatin and Aghatin
— Three tenses of Karma— Fourteen steps to Liberation.
CHAPTER IX
THE LIFE STORY OF A JAINA 193
Babyhood and birth-ceremonies — Betrothal and marriage
ceremonies — The first child — Death and funeral ceremonies.
CHAPTER X
THE JAINA LAYMAN AND HIS RELIGIOUS LIFE . . 205
The Twelve Lay Vows : Five Anuvrata (against killing,
falsehood, dishonesty, unchastity and covetousness) — Three
Strengthening Vows (limiting travel and use of possessions
and guarding against abuses)— Four Vows of Religious Ob-
servances— How the vows are taken — Santharo (Religious
suicide) — The eleven Pratima — The perfect gentleman.
CHAPTER XI
THE JAINA ASCETIC 225
Initiation — Daily duties — Begging — Confession — Leisure —
Study — Nuns — Gorajf — The Five Great Vows : (Non-killing
— Truth — Honesty — Chastity — Detachment) — No meals after
sundown — The ideal monk.
CHAPTER XII
THE END OF THE ROAD 239
The Five Great Ones : (Sadhu — Upadhyaya — Acarya — Tir-
thankara — Siddha) — Rules by which even non-Jaina may reach
Moksa — The Three Jewels — The Three Evil Darts.
XXII
CONTENTS
CHAPTER XIII
PAGE
JAINA WORSHIP AND RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS . . 250
Temple worship (Digambara and Svetambara) — Private wor-
ship— Jaina holy days— Pajjusana — Samvatsarl — Divall —
Full-moon fasts — Dusting day— the Eleventh — Saint-wheel
worship — Days of Abstinence — Consecration of an idol —
Sravana Belgola festival — 0]i — Hindu festivals — Sraddha —
Superstitions: Evil eye — Demons and ghosts — Plague and
Small-pox — Childless women.
CHAPTER XIV
JAINA MYTHOLOGY 268
Gods in Hell and Patala — Gods in Heaven — Divisions of
time: AvasarpinI and UtsarpinI — The twenty-four Tlrthan-
kara to come.
CHAPTER XV
JAINA ARCHITECTURE AND LITERATURE . . .279
Wooden buildings — Stupa — Cave-temples — The golden age
of architecture — The shadow of Islam — Modern architecture —
Architecture of the South — -Jaina writers — Hemacandra —
Modern literature.
CHAPTER XVI
THE EMPTY HEART OF JAINISM 289
Attraction of Christ for the Jaina — Dissatisfaction with in-
adequate ideals — -The problem of pain — Mahavlra and Christ
— The lack of Jainism — No Supreme God — No forgiveness —
No prayer — No brotherhood of man — Difference in ideas of
Heaven— Karma and Transmigration — Ahiriisa and service —
Ethics — Personality and Life — The empty Throne.
APPENDIX
I. Analysis of the Nine Categories 299
II. The Twenty-four Tirthankara of the Present Age . . 312
INDEX 314
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barodia, U. D., History ami Literature of Jainism, Bombay, 1909.
Benarsi Dass, Lala, Lecture on Jainism, Agra, 1902.
Bhandarkar, R. G., Report on the Search for Sanskrit Manuscripts in
the Bombay Presidency during the year 1883-4, Bombay, 1887.
Bombay Gazetteer, vol. ix, part I.
Biihler, J. G., On the Indian Sect of the Jainas (translated and edited
with an outline of Jaina mythology by J. Burgess), London, 1903.
Ueberdas Leben des Jaina- Monches Hemachandra, Vienna, 1889.
Colebrooke, H. T., Miscellaneous Essays, vol. ii, London, 1873.
Crooke, W., Article on Indian Religions in the Imperial Gazetteer of
India, vol, i, Oxford, 1909.
De Milloue, Essai snr la religion des Jains, Le Museon, Louvain, 1884.
Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (E.R.E.) : articles on Jaina
topics.
Girnara Mahatmya (in Gujarati).
Guerinot, A. A., Essai de bibliographie jaina, Paris, 1906.
Hoernle, A. F. R ., Annual Address, Asiatic Society of Bengal (A.S.B.),
Calcutta, 1898.
Uvasagadasao, Calcutta, 1890.
Hopkins, E. W., The Religions of India, Boston, 1895.
Jacobi, H., Sacred Books of the East (S.B.E.), vols. xxii and xlv.
The Metaphysics and Ethics of the Jainas (Transactions of the
Congress for the History of Religion), Oxford, 1908.
Edition of Hemacandra’s Parisista Patman (Bibl. Ind.), Calcutta,
1891.
Jaina Dharma Pravesa Pothl Series, Ahmadabad, 1907 (in Gujarati).
Jaini, Manak Chand ,Life of Mahavira, Allahabad, 1908.
Jhaveri, J. L., First Principles of faina Philosophy, Bombay, 1912.
Latthe, A. B., An Introduction to Jainism, Bombay, 1905.
‘ Seeker ’, Notes on the Sthanakwasi or the non- Idolatrous Shwetambar
Jains, India, 1911.
Shah, Popatlal K., Jaina Dharma Niriipana (in Gujarati).
XXIV
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Smith, Vincent A., The Early History of India (third edition), Oxford,
1914.
Stevenson, Rev. J., Nava Tatva , London, 1848.
Stevenson, Mrs. Sinclair, Notes on Modern Jainism, Oxford, 1910.
Weber, A., Sacred Literature of the Jainas (tr.), Indian Antiquary
(I. A.), xvii(i888)-xxi (1892).
Jaina Architecture and Archaeology.
Biihler, J. G. Specimens of Jaina Sculptures from Mathura, Epi-
graphia Indica, i (1892) and ii (1894).
Burgess, J., Digambara Jaina Iconography, I.A., xxxii (1903).
Fergusson, J., History of Indian and Eastern Architecture (new
edition), London, 1910.
Fergusson, J., and J. Burgess, Cave Temples, London, 1S80.
Guerinot, A. A., Repertoire dlepigraphie jama, Paris, 1908.
Smith, Vincent A., A History of Fine Art iti India and Ceylon,
Oxford, 1 91 1.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
The desire of India is to be freed from the cycle of re-
births, and the dread of India is reincarnation. The rest that
most of the spiritual seek through their faith is a state of
profound and deathlike trance, in which all their powers
shall have ceased to move or live, and from which they shall
never again be awakened to undergo rebirth in this toil-
some and troubled world.
If, therefore, we would try reverently and sympatheti-
cally to grasp the inner meaning of an Indian faith, we
must put aside all thought of the perfectly developed per-
sonality which is our ideal, and of the joy and zest that come
from progress made and powers exercised, and, turning our
thoughts backwards, face for a while another goal, in which
death, not life, is the prize, cessation not development
the ideal.
In Indian religions as in ours asceticism has its place, but
we must remember the different connotation which that
word bears to Indian minds. To the Christian, asceticism
is only a means to an end, the eager, glad decision of the
athlete to refuse the lower, if it clash with the higher, good.
Far different is the Indian ideal, for in India asceticism
has been born of fear, fear of future rebirths no less than of
present ills. To Indian thinkers asceticism is the beginning
in this life of the cessation they crave, and their hope is that
thus one by one their powers and talents, with all that
leads to and results from action, may drop off, burnt away
in the glow of austerity, till only a stump of character
remains, from which the soul may easily free itself. The
unused gifts shrivel up the quicker if their owner be a pro-
fessed ascetic, for the more limited the sympathies and the
B
2
INTRODUCTORY
fewer sides of life a mortal touches, the better. All that
makes for colour and vividness and joy in life must be
sacrificed, and if through voluntary starvation life itself
should go, the less risk is there of doing those actions which
involve reincarnation.
To men believing thus, the life of the professed ascetic
offered irresistible attractions. As such they were cut off
from wife and child, and from all the labours and keen joys
and sorrows these entail ; clothing, food, or shelter need
not claim their thought or work ; houseless and effortless
they might wander at will through a land of hospitality
and sunshine.
To understand the creeds of India one must, of course,
remember its climate : over a large part of the country,
except during the rainy season, when ascetics suspend their
wanderings, it is always fine : no drenching rain and (in the
greater part of India) no biting frost compel men to provide
themselves with houses or fires. The intense heat dis-
courages exertion and robs men of energy, till rest seems
the greatest bliss and meditation an alluring duty. And
then, as we know only too well, the influence of the climate
breeds pessimism eventually in the blithest European or
Indian. In the east death and disease come with such
tragic swiftness, and famine and pestilence with such
horrifying frequency, that the fewer hostages one has given
to fortune, the happier is one’s lot.1 To the poor and un-
aided in ancient India justice was unknown and life and
property but ill secured, just as we may see in many native
states to this day. All these influences, creed, climate,
pessimism and injustice, pressed men more and more
towards the pathway of the professed ascetic’s life; but
the door of this pathway was barred more and more firmly
as time went on to every qualification but that of birth.
1 ‘ Happy are we, happy live we who call nothing our own ; when
Mithila is on fire, nothing is burnt that belongs to me.’ Uttaradhya-
yam, S. B. E., xlv, p. 37.
INTRODUCTORY
3
Unless a man had been born a Brahman,1 he must remain
in all the hurry, sorrow and discontent of the world, until his
life’s end ; but to a Brahman the way of escape was always
open; he must pass through the four Asrama (or stages),
and having been successively a student, a householder,
and a hermit, spend the remaining years of his life as a
wandering mendicant.
There must have been constant revolts against the ex-
clusiveness that so selfishly barred the door to other castes,
and echoes more or less clear of such revolts have come
down to us, but only two were really permanent — the
revolt of the Buddhists and the revolt of the Jaina. The
Buddhists are scarcely found any longer in India proper,
but the Jaina exist as an influential and wealthy community
of laymen who support a large body of ascetics, the only
example of the early mediaeval monastic orders of India
which has survived to our day.
Both Buddhist and Jaina orders arose about the same
time, the sixth century b.c., a period when the constant
wars between various little kingdoms must have made the
lot of the common people hideous with suffering and oppres-
sion ; and a man might well have longed to escape from all
fear of rebirth into such a sorrowful world, and have hoped,
by renouncing everything that could be taken from him,
and by voluntarily stripping himself of all possessions and all
emotions, to evade the avaricious fingers of king or fortune.2
About this time, too, a wave of religious feeling was making
itself felt in various parts of the world, and India has always
been peculiarly susceptible to psychic emotions.
1 Some European scholars doubt this, but all the Jaina the writer
has met believe it most strongly ; and the aim of this book throughout
is to present the Jaina point of view and to reflect current Jaina
opinions.
2 ‘ At one time, his manifold savings are a large treasure. Then at
another time, his heirs divide it, or those who are without a living
steal it, or the king takes it away, or it is ruined in some way or other,
or it is consumed by the conflagration of the house.’ Acardhga
Sutra, S. B. E., xxii, p. 20.
4
INTRODUCTORY
The fact of being debarred from entering the ascetic life
through the recognized stages and of being treated as in
every way inferior was naturally most keenly felt by those
in the caste next below the Brahmans, the clever, critical
Ksatriya,1 and it is from the ranks of these that the Jaina
as well as the Buddhist reformers sprang.
Sacrifice was another occasion of quarrelling between the
two castes. The Ksatriya claimed that in old days they
had been allowed to take part with the Brahmans in the
sacrifices from which they were now shut out ; but the
whole feeling about sacrifice was altering. As the Aryan
invaders settled down in India, they grafted on to their
original faith much from the darker creeds belonging to the
lands and people they conquered, and gradually lost the
child-like joy of the earlier Vedic times. The faith of the
woodland peoples inspired them with the idea that all
things — animals, insects, leaves and clods — were possessed
of souls ; and this, together with the growing weight of
their belief in transmigration, gave them a shrinking horror
of taking life in any form, whether in sacrifice2 or sport,
lest the blood of the slain should chain them still more
firmly to the wheel of rebirth. So they came to dislike
both the creed and the pretensions of their own priests,
and the times were indeed ripe for revolt.
The Brahmans declared that their supremacy and their
sacrifices were -based on the Vedas, so the authority of the
Vedas was denied by the new thinkers. The Brahmans
claimed that the four castes had been created from the
mouth, arms, thighs and feet of the Creator, thus ensuring
the supremacy of that caste which had issued from the
1 It seems probable that the atheistic (anti-Brahmanic) system of
philosophy — the Sankhya — also arose amongst the Ksatriya. Jaina
philosophy, as we shall see later, has much in common with this.
2 ‘ The binding of animals (to the sacrificial pole), all the Vedas,
and sacrifices, being causes of sin, cannot save the sinner ; for his
works (or Karman) are very powerful.’ Uttaradhyayana, S. B. E.,
xlv, p. 140.
INTRODUCTORY
5
highest portion, i. e. the Brahmans who came from the
god’s mouth. So the reformers proceeded to deny the exis-
tence of a creator, feeling that, if that creator had existed,
not only would he be responsible for the superiority of
the Brahmans but also for all the sorrows that darkened
existence.
From the birth-story of their great founder one school of
reformers — the Jaina — proved that it was a greater honour
to be born of a Ksatriya than of a Brahman mother.
Indeed all through the Jaina sacred books one comes across
traces of this antagonism to Brahmans and to Brahmanic
practices such as bathing,1 divination,2 &c., and one whole
chapter, 1 The True Sacrifice ’,3 is directly written against
them.
The Brahmanic ascetic had to pass through four stages,
but once the door of asceticism was forced open by rebels
like the Jaina, it was opened as widely as possible, and the
postulant was allowed to leap the intervening stages and
become a wandering mendicant at once, if he so willed.
Having declared against birth exclusiveness, the Jaina
were bound to find some other hall-mark of worth, and for
this purpose they laid stress on karma. A man’s karma4 —
his actions — not his caste, they declared, was of supreme im-
portance, but from this position they have since backslidden,
as they themselves lament, and it rests with the Jaina of
to-day to free themselves from the shackles of caste which
they have allowed to rebind them, and once more to restate
this fundamental tenet of their creed.
It must always be remembered that Jainism, though
a rebellious daughter, is none the less a daughter of Brah-
manism, many of whose leading beliefs are still held by the
1 Siitrakritahga , S. B. E., xlv, p. 294.
2 Ibid., p. 366.
3 Uttaradhyayana, S.B.E., xlv, p. 136 ff.
4 ‘ By one’s actions one becomes a Brahmana or a Kshattriya or
a Vaisya or a Sudra . . . him who is exempt from all Karman we call
a_ Brahmana.’ Uttaradhyayana, S.B.E., xlv, p. 140. See also
Acarahga Sutra, S.B.E., xxii, p. 45.
6
INTRODUCTORY
Jaina, while much of their worship exactly resembles Hindu
worship, and their domestic chaplains, though not their
temple officiants, are still Brahmans ; in fact both faiths
must be studied if Jainism is to be understood. One
might even suggest that one of the easiest approaches to
the study of the boundless creed of Hinduism would be
through the study of its more clearly defined and less
nebulous offspring, Jainism.
CHAPTER II
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
Early Indian history as yet resembles those maps of our
grandfathers in which
Geographers for lack of towns
Drew elephants on pathless downs.
The genius of the people of India does not lie in historical
research : to them metaphysical thought is the chief end
of man, and they are content to leave to Western scholars
the task of filling in the large gaps of unexplored country
in their history. It is the misfortune of Jainism that so
much of its life-story falls within these unexplored tracts
of time, and, though the Jaina have kept historical records
of their own, it is very difficult to correlate these records
with known facts in the world’s history.
Modern research seems to have proved that this great
monastic fraternity arose at the end of the sixth century b.c.,
and one of its great claims to interest lies in the fact that
enshrined in its rules and precepts it has, like some slow
moving glacier, brought down to this materialistic century
the thoughts of a time when men, ignoring the present,
were ready to stake their all on a future life. Originating
amongst a people whose trade was war, it has laid greater
emphasis on the duty of mercy and the evils of killing than
any sect save the Friends ; its founder was an aristocrat,
but it has met with greatest acceptance amongst the middle
classes ; and though an unworldly faith, whose highest
precept it is to discard all wealth as dross, it has nevertheless
won its adherents from a class famed throughout India
for their love of gain and their reluctance to part with
8
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
money, and induced these close-fisted merchants to support
out of their largesse a large body of religious mendicants.
Indeed it would be impossible to imagine any creed or rule
of conduct which, prima facie, would seem so little likely to
appeal to a constituency of cautious, middle-class bankers
and shopkeepers. Yet even to-day Jaina men and women
are renouncing everything for the sake of an idea with
a heroism that has all the romance of the early Rajput days,
when kings and nobles vied with one another to enter the
order ; and to this wealth of devotion, this still surviving
power of renunciation, the religion of the Cross must
eventually make a victorious appeal.
It may make for clearness to state quite baldly the few
facts which we do know about Jaina history, taking, as it
were, a bird’s-eye glance over it from a European stand-
point, before we look at it from the Jaina point of view.
Mahavira, the great hero of the Jaina, was born the
second son of a Ksatriya chieftain, in Magadha (the modern
Bihar), then the most powerful state in India. According
to Jaina tradition, he was born in 599 and died in 527 b. c.1
Many modern scholars think these dates are somewhat too
early, and are inclined to place his death about the begin-
ning of the fifth century, but absolute certainty is not yet
attainable. When he was thirty years of age, he entered
a previously established order, that of Parsvanatha, but
left it after twelve months and spent the following eleven
years in preaching his Law of Renunciation, albeit with
little acceptance. Then came the high tide of success,
and during the last thirty years of his life men and women
from the lands east of ‘ the middle country ’ crowded into
his order. His adherents were drawn chiefly from the
Ksatriya aristocracy, with whom he was connected through
his mother by ties of kinship. The great ascetic pro-
ceeded to organize all his followers into a regular com-
munity containing lay as well as monastic members of
1 Other traditions give 545 and 467.
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
9
both sexes; and at his death it contained more than 14,000
monks.
Under Mahavira’s influence members of two differing
opinions had joined the order, those who held with the
great leader that the complete abandonment of possessions
involved the giving up of all clothing, and also members
of another and earlier order, that of Parsvanatha, who
felt that some covering was a necessity and stopped short
of this extreme of Renunciation. For long after the
founder’s death the sections cohered together, and the
genius of Mahavlra in adapting his order to the need of
the times was shown in the numbers of harassed men
and women who crowded into it, finding in the renuncia-
tion of all things — property, affections and emotions — the
surest refuge from the trials and changes of this mortal life.
The Jaina sometimes speak of Mahavira’s order as a pro-
test against caste exclusiveness as such, but some European
scholars hold that it was rather a protest of Ksatriya
against Brahman ; and the present practices of the Jaina
community would seem to uphold this view, for the modern
Jaina is as fast bound as his Hindu brother in the iron
fetters of caste.
But, whatever its origin may have been, the order after the
death of Mahavlra continued to flourish under the rule of the
great ascetic’s disciple, Sudharma, and his successors, as
we shall learn from our study of Jaina legends and history.
Unlike Buddhism, Jainism has never spread beyond the
borders of India. A religion which, by its very nature, is
one of intense individualism, feels little responsibility for
another’s soul and spends its energy on saving itself, is not
likely to spread rapidly or far ; yet, as we shall see, Jainism
did gradually extend over the whole of India.
In particular it is plain that it found its way into Mysore
and the Tamil country at a very early date. We shall study
later the literary and artistic results of the predominance
of this religion in the south during the early centuries
IO
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
of the Christian era. The following tradition is given by
Jaina authorities as the reason for this early transplanting
of the faith to such a distance. There is no conclusive
evidence of the truth of the narrative, and some modern
scholars think it a pure invention ; yet it links itself so
closely and naturally to later facts, that it is safer to say
that it is probably, though not certainly, historic.
Some two centuries after Mahavlra’s death, according
to this story, a terrible famine visited Magadha, which had
been the scene of his labours. Year after year the monsoon,
on which the fertility of the land depends, failed, until at
length all the accumulated stores of grain were consumed,
and it became apparent that the country had no longer any
superfluity, out of which to provide for a large body of
mendicants. Accordingly half the community, under the
leadership of Bhadrabahu, moved off towards the south
and settled in Mysore ; and as the famine lasted for twelve
years, they were able to establish their faith in all that
region. We are also told that the emigrants were accom-
panied to Mysore by Candragupta, the first Emperor of
India, and founder of the Maurya Dynasty, whom the Jaina
claim as a co-religionist. They add that he committed
religious suicide by self-starvation at Sravana Belgola. If
the tradition is trustworthy, the date of the migration
must be placed c. 298 or 296 b.c., for Bindusara succeeded
Candragupta about that time.
This period is perhaps the most important in Jaina
history ; for not only did it lead to the establishment of
Jainism in the south, but it is also the time of the fixing
of the earliest canon of Jaina scripture.
Tradition says that all the monks did not migrate to the
south ; some, under the leadership of Sthulabhadra, pre-
ferred to cling at any risk to the hallowed scenes of their
Holy Land. It was perhaps easier for the minority to carry
things through than it would have been for the whole un-
wieldy body ; or it may have been that the death of many
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
XI
of their members through famine warned their leaders on
how precarious a footing the memoriter knowledge of their
sacred books stood. However this may be, Sthulabhadra
summoned a council of monks early in the third century
b.c. at Pataliputra, the modern Patna, a place historic in
the annals of their order and at that time the capital of
the Maurya Empire. This council fixed the canon of the
Jaina sacred literature, consisting of the eleven Anga and
the fourteen Purva. It seems likely that the books were
not committed to writing at this time, but were still pre-
served in the memories of the monks. The action of the
council would thus be limited to settling what treatises
were authoritative. Unfortunately, as we shall see later,
the sects do not quite agree as to what is meant by the
eleven Anga and the fourteen Purva, so that the work of
the famous council of Pataliputra did not carry the weight
which Sthulabhadra hoped it would have done.
During this period not only was Jainism established in
the south and the canon of the Scriptures fixed in the north,
but also the famous clothes-m\JMS-nudity question was
raised, never again to be laid. We are told that, when at
last the famine was over and the real head of the order, Bha-
drabahu or his successor, could bring some of his travelled
mendicants back from the south to the original home
of their order, he found that the home-keeping minority
had all adopted some form of clothing ; and, though the
actual schism did not take place until two more centuries
had passed, the unity of the order was lost for ever, and any
whole-hearted agreement on such a question as the canon
of their scriptures was never again possible.
As the Jaina laity had been drawn away from Hinduism
by their adhesion to Mahavlra, they were left without any
stated worship. Gradually, however, reverence for their
master and for other teachers, historical and mythical,
passed into adoration and took the form of a regular cult.
Finally, images of these adored personages were set up for
12
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
worship, and idolatry became one of the chief institutions
of orthodox Jainism. The process was precisely parallel
to what happened in Buddhism. It is not known when
idols were introduced, but it was probably in the second or
first century b.c.
The third and second centuries b. c. must have been
a period of great activity amongst the Jaina. Under Asoka
the religion is said to have been introduced into Kashmir.
Under Suhastin, the great ecclesiastical head of the order
in the second century, Jainism received many marks of
approbation from Samprati, grandson of Asoka. Inscrip-
tions show that it was already very powerful in Orissa in
the second century and in Mathura in the north-west in
the first century b. c. The history is not known in detail,
but it is clear that after the Christian era the faith spread
over the whole of the west and rose to great prominence
and power in Gujarat. We have also evidence of its activity
in most parts of Southern India during the first millen-
nium of the Christian era.
The next important event in Jaina history is the great
schism and the final division into Svetambara (white-
clothed) and Digambara (atmosphere-clad, i.e. nude) sects
which took place in a. d. 79 or 82. The Jaina have many
legends to account for the division taking place when it did ;
but, whatever the reason, the depth of the cleavage between
the two parties is shown by the fact that nowadays every
sect adds after its own particular designation the name of
one of these two great parties to which it adheres. For in-
stance, the members of the modern non-idolatrous sect, the
Sthanakavasi, call themselves Sthanakavasi Svetambara,
though it would seem to us that in having no idols they
differ from the Svetambara far more than the Svetambara
differ from the Digambara.
In the meantime the sacred literature of the Jaina was
in a thoroughly unsatisfactory state, and was in real danger
of being entirely lost. Owing to the conversion or patron-
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
*3
age of western kings the centre of Jainism was gradually
changing from Bihar to Gujarat, and so when the great
council of a. D. 454 1 came together, it was summoned not
in the historic land of Magadha but in the western country
won for the Jaina faith by missionary effort. The place
chosen was Vallabhi, near Bhavnagar, and the president
of the council was Devarddhi. So far the Svetambara
and SthanakavasI sects concur, though they do not agree
as to the canon of the scriptures then determined. In
Kathiawad at the present time there are at least eleven
sub-sects amongst the SthanakavasI Jaina and eighty-four
amongst the Svetambara, and these hold differing views
as to the correct list of books rightly comprised in their
canon. Curiously enough they do not seem much to study
the sacred texts themselves, but usually content themselves
with quoting lists of the names of their books. It will
perhaps suffice for our purpose if we note one such list
from amongst those that have been given to the writer.
A. The Eleven Ahga.
1. Acaranga Sutra.
2. Suyagadanga (Sutrakritanga) Sutra.
3. Thananga (Sthananga) Sutra.
4. Samavayanga Sutra.
5. Bhagavatiji or Vivihapannanti.
6. Jnatadharma Kathanga.
7. Upasaka Dasanga.
8. Antagada Dasatiga (Antakritanga).
9. Anuttarovavai Dasanga (Anuttaropapatika).
10. Prasna Vyakaraiia.
11. Vipaka Sutra.
B. Twelve Upahga.
1. Uvavai (Aupapatika).
2. RayapasenI (Rajaprasnlya).
3. Jivabhigama.
1 Other traditions, however, put the date as late as a.d. 467 or even
A.D. 513.
14
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
4. Pannavaga (Prajnapana).
5. Jambudivapannati (Jambudvlpaprajnapti).
6. Candapannati (Candraprajnapti).
7. Surapannati (Suryaprajnapti).
8. Niravalla (Nirayavall) (according to other lists,
Kappla).
9. Kappavadisayya (Kalpavantasika).
10. Pupphiya (Puspaka).
11. Puppaculla (Puspaculika).
12. Vanhidasa.
C. Six Chedagrantha (or Five Chedagrantha).
1. Vyavahara Sutra.
2. Brihatkalpa (Vrihatkalpa).
3. Dasasrutaskandha.
4. Nisitha.
5. Mahanisltha.1
6. Jitakalpa.2
Four Mulagrantha (according to the Svetambara canon).
1. Dasavaikalika.
2. Uttaradhyayana.
3. Avasyaka.
4. Oghaniryuti.
Four Mulagrantha (according to the SthanakavasI canon).
1. Dasavaikalika.
2. Uttaradhyayana.
3. Nandi Sutra.
4. Anuyogadvara.
This completes the SthanakavasI canon, but the Svetam-
bara also accept the following : —
Ten Pay anna (or Prakirna).
1. Causarana (Catuhsarana).
2. Santhara (Sanstaraka) Payanna.
1 SthanakavasI Jaina do not recognize the Mahanisltha or the
Jitakalpa.
2 Some Svetambara Jaina do not accept the Jitakalpa, but add
another Mulagrantha.
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
1 5
3. Tandulaveyalia (Tandulavaicarika).
4. Candavijaya (Candravedhyaka).
5. Ganlvijaya (Ganividya).
6. Devindathuo (Devendrastava).
7. Virathuo (Virastava).
8. Gacchacara.
9. Jyotikaranda (Jyotiskarandaka).
10. Ayuhpaccakhana (Aturapratyakhyana).
In certain other lists the Svetambara canon is made to
contain eighty-four books by adding twenty more Payanna,
twelve Niryukti, and nine miscellaneous works, including the
Kalpa Sutra, which is held in special honour among the
Svetambara. Both Svetambara and SthanakavasI agree
that there were originally twelve Atiga, but that the twelfth
or Dristivada Anga, containing an account of the fourteen
Purva, has been lost.
What is the relation of the new canon to the old ? It is
probable that the Anga of the later correspond to those
of the original canon ; but it is also probable that during
the centuries they underwent many changes. Jaina tra-
dition acknowledges that all the Purva were lost at quite
an early date. The other books are doubtless of later origin ;
yet even they rest on early tradition and probably contain
a good deal of early material.
The original canon was not written, but it is not unlikely
that individual monks used writing to aid memory long
before the second codification. It seems certain that in
a. d. 454 the whole canon was reduced to writing, and that
a large number of copies were made, so that no monastery
of any consequence should be without one.
The Jaina are very proud of the fact that their scriptures
were not written in Sanskrit but in * one of the most im-
portant, the best preserved, and the most copious of all the
Prakrit dialects ’J that of Ardha-MagadhI ; that is to say,
1 Imperial Gazetteer of India, ii, p. 261.
i6
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
not in the language of the learned but of the common
people ; and we who have our scriptures and our book of
Common Prayer in our mother tongue can understand
their pride.
The Svetambara do not, as a rule, allow their scriptures
to be read by laymen, or even by nuns, but restrict the
study of them to monks. The laity seem to read chiefly
a book composed of quotations from their scriptures. The
Sthanakavasi are not so strict, and allow most of their sacred
books to be read by the laity, but not the Chedagrantha,
which they say were intended for the professed alone. The
most popular of the books amongst the Sthanakavasi laity
are the Upasaka Dasanga , the Acaranga Sutra , and the
Dasavaikalika. To judge by their preaching and lectures
the Kalpa Sutra would seem to be the scripture most studied
by the Svetambara sadhus.
The Digambara canon differs so entirely from the
Svetambara that it does not seem probable that the sect
was represented at the great council of a. d. 454.
They call their scriptures their Four Veda, and members
of their community at Mount Abu and at Palitana gave
the writer a list of them in the following order :
1. Prathamanuyoga.
2. Karananuyoga.
3. Carananuyoga.
4. Dravyanuyoga.
Professor Jacobi adduces in proof of the antiquity of the
Jaina scriptures, amongst other things, the fact that they
contain no reference to Greek astrology which was intro-
duced into India in the third or fourth century a. d.
As we have already seen, it seems probable that, though
the canon of the scriptures had been fixed in 300 b. c. by the
council of Pataliputra, they had not all been committed to
writing, but had generally been handed down by word of
mouth from teacher to disciple ; the result, however, of the
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
T7
council of Vallabhi was the enshrining of the sacred lore in
manuscript books. To this day the manuscript scriptures
are considered more sacred than those which have been
printed — the writer has sometimes seen a little pile of rice
placed before a bookcase to do honour to the manuscript
scriptures it contained.
The zenith of Jaina prosperity lasted from the council
of Vallabhi down to the thirteenth century. Strangely
enough the years that witnessed the decline and fall of
Buddhism saw the spread both in the west and south of its
rival faith, and though Jainism almost vanished from
Bihar, the land of its birth, yet in the west it became the
court religion. The events of these happy centuries are
enshrined, as we shall see, in the legends that are still current
amongst the Jaina, and more abiding monuments to this
epoch of prosperity remain in the books that were written
and the temples erected in the sunshine of royal favour.
The princely names the Jaina best love to recall in this
connexion are Mandalika, a king of Surastra (Kathiawad)
about a. d. 1059, who repaired the temple of Neminatha on
Mt. Girnar ; Siddharaja Jayasirhha, a king of Gujarat
(died a. d. 1125), the first patron of Hemacandra, who
often went on pilgrimage to Girnar, and his successor
Kumarapala (a. d. 1125-59) whom the Jaina claim to have
been converted to their faith,1 and who is said to have
established Jainism as the state religion.
But the decline of Jainism was close at hand. The
Jaina attribute the first destruction of their temples to
the hostility of the Brahmans, especially under Ajayapala,
a. d. 1174-6, but the injuries he inflicted were as nothing
to the devastation wrought by the Mohammedans. As the
Irish execrate the name of Cromwell, so did the Jaina that
of Ala-ud-dln — ‘ the Bloody ’ — who conquered Gujarat
a.d. 1297-8.
1 At any rate he built thirty-two temples to atone for the sins of his
teeth !
C
i8
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
He razed many of their temples to the ground, massacred
their communities and destroyed their libraries. Many of
the most beautiful Mohammedan mosques in India have
woven into their fabric stones from Jaina shrines which
the ruthless conquerors had destroyed.
In the south Jainism had flourished exceedingly after its
introduction by Bhadrabahu, and many of the languages
and grammars were largely shaped by the labours of Jaina
monks.
In a. d. 640, when the Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang
visited India, he met numbers of monks belonging to the
Digambara (naked) sect in the south and admired their
beautiful temples. But after his visit a great persecution
arose. A Jaina king, Kuna,1 became converted to Saivism
in the middle of the seventh century and, if we may trust
the sculptures at Trivatur in Arcot, slew with the most
horrible severity thousands of his former co-religionists who
refused to follow his example. Even if the account of the
persecution be exaggerated, there is no doubt that after
this time the prosperity of Jainism in the south steadily
declined.
To return to the north. The wonder is, not that any temples
survived the Mohammedan persecutions, but that Jainism
itself was not extinguished in a storm which simply swept
Buddhism out of India. The character of Jainism, however,
was such as to enable it to throw out tentacles to help it in
its hour of need. It had never, like Buddhism, cut itself
off from the faith that surrounded it, for it had always
employed Brahmans as its domestic chaplains, who presided
at its birth rites and often acted as officiants at its death and
marriage ceremonies and temple worship. Then, too, amongst
its chief heroes it had found niches for some of the favourites
of the Hindu pantheon, Rama, Krisna and the like.
Mahavlra’s genius for organization also stood Jainism
in good stead now, for he had made the laity an integral
1 Vincent Smith, Early History of India , third edition, p. 455.
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
i9
part of the community, whereas in Buddhism they had no
part nor lot in the order. So, when storms of persecution
swept over the land, Jainism simply took refuge in
Hinduism, which opened its capacious bosom to receive it ;
and to the conquerors it seemed an indistinguishable part
of that great system.
The receptivity, however, which Hinduism has always
shown towards it is to-day one of the reasons that makes
Jainism so difficult to study; for many Jaina, justified by the
resemblance in their worship and thought, simply count
themselves Hindus and actually so write themselves down
in the census returns.
If one effect of the Mohammedan conquest, however, was
to drive many of the Jaina into closer union with their
fellow idol-worshippers in the face of iconoclasts, another
effect was to drive others away from idolatry altogether.
No oriental could hear a fellow oriental’s passionate outcry
against idolatry without doubts as to the righteousness of
the practice entering his mind.
Naturally enough it is in Ahmadabad, the city of Gujarat
that was most under Mohammedan influence, that we can
first trace the stirring of these doubts. About a. d. 1452
the Lonka sect, the first of the non-idolatrous Jaina sects,
arose and was followed by the Dhundhia or Sthanakavasi
sect about a. d. 1653, dates which coincide strikingly with
the Lutheran and Puritan movements in Europe.
Jainism has never recovered its temporal power since the
days of the Mohammedan conquest ; it is no longer in any
sense a court religion ; nevertheless the influence that it
wields in India to-day is enormous. Its great wealth and
its position as the religion par excellence of money-lenders
and bankers makes it, especially in native states, the power
behind the throne ; and if any one doubt its influence, he
need only count up the number of edicts prohibiting the
slaying of animals on Jaina sacred days that have recently
been issued by the rulers of independent states.
20
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
According to the last census the Jaina numbered some
1,248,182, but probably many more are included under
Hindus. Their standard of literacy (495 males and 40
females per thousand) is higher than that of any other
community save the Parsis, and they proudly boast that
not in vain in their system are practical ethics wedded to
philosophical speculation, for their criminal record is
magnificently white.
CHAPTER III
THE LIFE OF MAHAVIRA
Birth and Childhood.
We have seen that in the sixth century b.c. the times
were ripe for revolt ; now, after the event, it is almost easy
to prophesy where the revolt was first likely to arise.
The strongest centre of Brahmanical influence was in Birth
the country lying round the modern Delhi — it was the place
language spoken by the people in this tract of land that
was destined to be developed by grammarians into the
classical Sanskrit, and it was they who composed much
of the old Brahmanic literature that has come down to us.
All this region, Dr. Grierson tells us, was called the ‘ Mid-
land ’, but encircling it on east, south, and west was an
‘ Outland ’, where the Brahmanic influence was less strong,
and where the thinkers were to be found not in the priestly
ranks, but ‘ among the Ksatriya class to whose learning
and critical acumen witness is borne even in contem-
porary Brahmanic writings.’ 1 In this Outland near the
modern Patna is a town called nowadays Besarh.
Most Indian towns are to-day divided into wards, where
the various castes live apart. One must seek the potters
in one quarter and the washermen in another, whilst the
lowest of all, the despised refuse-removers, live actually
outside the city walls.
Some two thousand years ago in Besarh the same divi-
sions existed as would be found to-day ; and there, in fact,
the priestly (Brahman), the warrior (Ksatriya), and the
commercial (Baniya) communities lived so separately that
their quarters were sometimes spoken of as though they had
been distinct villages, as Vaisali, Kupdagrama, and Vani-
jyagrama. Strangely enough, it was not in their own but
1 See art. Bhakti- Marga in E.R.E.
The
fourteen
dreams.
22 THE LIFE OF MAHAVlRA
in the K§atriya ward that the man was born who was to
be the great hero of the Baniya, and who was to found
amongst these commercial people a religion which, with all
its limitations, yet made one of the most emphatic protests
the world has ever known against accounting luxury, wealth,
or comfort the main things in life. It seems almost para-
doxical also that the warrior caste should produce the great
apostle of non-killing. He was afterwards known from his
exploits as Mahavira — the great hero — but his earliest
name he derived from his birthplace, being known simply
as Vaisaliya, ‘ the man of Vaisall ’ (the main ward of the
town). The government of such a city or ward seems to
have resembled that of a Greek state. ‘ It was ’, says
Dr. Hoernle,1 ‘ an oligarchic republic ; its government was
vested in a Senate, composed of the heads of the resident
Ksatriya clans, and presided over by an officer who had
the title of king and was assisted by a Viceroy and a Com-
mander-in-Chief.’ The chief of one of these Ksatriya clans,
the Nata or Naya clan, was a man called Siddhartha, who
doubtless attained some eminence in Senate and State,
for he eventually married the daughter of this republican
king, a Ksatriya lady named Trisala.
This old-world princess longed, as every Indian woman
does to-day, to bear her lord a son, and suddenly one night,
the legend tells, wonderful dreams came to her as she slept,
revealing to her not only that she should bear a son, but
also that this son should win everlasting rest and renown.
These dreams of Trisala’s 2 are to-day often graven
round the silver treasuries in Jaina temples, and Jaina
women love to recall them, for it is given to all the
mothers of the great Jaina saints to see them.
First the happy princess dreamed of a mighty elephant 3
1 Hoernle, J. A.S. £., 1898, p. 40.
2 Many devout laymen and laywomen repeat them every day at
their morning devotions.
3 All mothers of Tlrthankara see first of all this elephant in their
dreams, excepting only the mother of Risabhadeva, who saw a bull
first, hence the child’s name.
THE LIFE OF MAHAvIRA
*3
whose colour was whiter than a cloud, a heap of pearls,
the spray of water, or moonbeams, and the sound of whose
voice was like thunder.
Then she saw a white bull, whiter than the petals of the ii
lotus, which diffused a glory of light on all around, and this
— so one sect of the Jaina, the Digambara, say — foretold
the birth of a great religious teacher who should spread the
light of knowledge. Another sect, however, the Sthana-
kavasi, hold that it showed that he should have strength to
bear the yoke of religion, for the yoke that a Jaina ascetic
must bear is not light, and no weakling can endure it.
The next dream prophesied that she should bear one iii
who should overcome all his enemies (i. e. his karma,
the results of his actions) : for she saw a magnificent white
lion leap from the sky towards her face ; his eyes were like
pure lightning, and his tongue came out of his mouth 1 like
a shoot of beauty ’. This further foretold that Mahavlra
should be ‘ the lion of houseless monks ’, and so he has the
lion as his symbol.
The fourth dream was of the beautiful goddess Sri or iv
Laksrni (the goddess of wealth), whom Trisala saw floating
on the petals of a lotus in the lotus lake on Mount Himavata,
with guardian elephants ‘anointing’ her with water, and this
she knew meant that her son should be an ‘ anointed ’ king.
Next, a garland1 of sweet-smelling Mandara flowers fore- v
told how fragrant the body of the little child should be.
The white moon 2 dispelling the darkness of the wildest vi
wilderness again prophesied a religious preacher.
The radiant sun,3 red as the beak of a parrot, which vii
1 The SthanakavasI say there were two garlands.
- In all the pictures of this moon vision a stag is seen in the centre
of the moon. The general belief of all Indians is that there is either
a stag or a hare inhabiting the moon. There are a score or more of
names for the moon in Sanskrit, and a dozen at least are derived from
this belief. The villagers, however, find in the moon an old woman
spinning a wheel and a she-goat standing by her.
3 The Digambara assert that she saw the sun before the dream
about the moon.
24 THE LIFE OF MAHAVIRA
throttles the cold and ‘ disperses the evil-doers who stroll
about at night, whose thousand rays obscure the lustre
of other lights showed that the child should dispel the
darkness of ignorance.
viii The sects do not agree as to what the eighth dream of
the princess was about. The Svetambara believe she saw
a beautiful banner (an Indra Dhvaja) embroidered with
those signs which Hindus and Jaina alike consider specially
auspicious, and to whose golden pole 1 was tied a plume of
peacock’s feathers ; while the Digambara affirm that she
saw two fishes, which showed the child was to be happy.
ix The ninth dream, the Svetambara say, was a golden
pitcher of exquisite beauty, filled with water — or, accord-
ing to others, with jewels — which was the abode of happy
fortune and was wreathed at all seasons with fragrant
flowers, portending happiness. The Digambara assert
that she saw two golden pitchers filled with pure water,
to show that the child should be constantly immersed in
spiritual meditation.
x The next vision was that of a lotus lake whose flowers
‘ were licked by bees and mad drones ’, from which Trisala
knew that her baby would possess all the marks of
a perfect being ; or, as the SthanakavasI say, that the
honey of his sermons would be eagerly absorbed by the
whole world.
xi The princess then saw the milk ocean, white as the
breast of LaksmI, tossing its transparent breakers as the
wind played over it and the great rivers rushed into it,
and this foretold that the child should attain to the perfect
knowledge of the Kevali.
xia At this point the Digambara, who believe the princess
saw not fourteen but sixteen dreams, insert a vision of
a throne of diamonds and rubies, which foretold that the
coming child should rule over the three worlds.
1 According to the Tapagaccha sect the pole was topped by a temple
roof.
THE LIFE OF MAHAVIRA
25
Her next dream was of a jewel-bedecked celestial abode 1 xii
which shone like the morning sun and which was hung
with garlands and pictures of birds and beasts. There the
celestial choirs gave concerts, and the place resounded
with the din of the drums of the gods which imitated the
sound of rain clouds.
Here again the Digambara insert a vision of a great xii a
king of the gods dwelling below the earth. This the
Svetambara do not accept, but both agree about the next xiii
dream, in which Trisala saw a great vase piled up with
jewels. The base of the vase was on the level of the earth,
and its height was as the height of Mount Meru, and its
brightness illuminated even the sky ; it foretold the birth
of a child that should possess right knowledge, right intui-
tion, and right conduct.
Her last dream was of a clear fire fed with clarified butter, xiv
whose beautiful flames seemed almost to scorch the firma-
ment, which prophesied that the white-souled child she
was to bear should illumine the universe by his wisdom.
All these dreams Trisala related to Siddhartha, and the
next day the interpreters that he summoned foretold from
them the birth of a spiritual conqueror (Jina), lord of the
three worlds and the universal emperor of the law.
Some of the more advanced Jaina do not believe that
Trisala actually saw all these dreams,2 but they hold that
before the child’s birth both father and mother knew
that he would be either a Cakravarti (universal monarch) or
a Tirthankara. Perhaps the legend of the dreams may
carry with it this meaning, that at that time there was
a universal stirring of desire, and that many were hoping
some reformer or religious leader might be born. At any
1 The SthanakavasI believe this abode to have been a huge im-
movable car as big as a city.
2 A really orthodox Jaina, however, would deny the title of Jaina
altogether to any one who did not hold these and all the other legends
mentioned in this book to be literally and historically true, though
varying interpretations of them are given.
Birth.
26 THE LIFE, OF MAHAVlRA
rate they qnust have conveyed the welcome assurance
that the child at least would safely survive all the dangers
that an Indian birth-chamber holds for both mother and
babe.
There is another legend about Mahavira’s birth which
is also recorded in the Jaina sacred books, and which
possesses some value as showing the intense hatred exist-
ing between the Brahmans and the K§atriyas. Accord-
ing to this legend, a Brahman lady, Devananda, wife
of the Brahman Risabhadatta, living in the Brahmanical
part of the town, saw the Fourteen Auspicious Dreams
which foretold the birth of a great saint or Tirthan-
kara. But Indra,1 the chief of the gods, saw from his
celestial throne what had happened, and knew that the
child would be the great Tlrthankara Mahavira ; so he
sent his commander-in-chief in the form of a deer to
remove the embryo from Devananda2 and to give it to
Trisala, in order that Mahavira might not be born in a
* beggarly or Brahmanical family However that may be,
the stories go on to show how carefully Trisala, two thou-
sand years ago, prepared for the joy of motherhood just
as a modern woman would, by avoiding all sickness and
fatigue and walking in quiet country places, so that she
might gain health for body and mind. At last, in the
year 599 b.c. of our era, or towards the end of the
Dusama Su$ama period, as the Jaina reckon time, on
the thirteenth day of the bright half of the moon in the
month Caitra, the time came when Trisala, herself perfectly
healthy, gave birth to a perfectly healthy child.
The thought of India centres largely round marriage
and motherhood, and the birth of a manchild then, as now,
1 The Jaina believe that Indra (or Sakra), the chief of the sixty-four
gods of that name, belongs especially to them, but has been stolen from
them by the Brahmans.
2 It is interesting to compare with this the story of Krisna being re-
moved from the womb of DevakT to that of RohinI, for the Jaina believe
Krisna to be one of their own future Tlrthankara.
THE LIFE OF MAHAVIRA
27
was the occasion of a very delirium of rejoicing. To-day,
in a native state, the birth of an heir is celebrated in very
much the same way as it was in Mahavira’s time. The
town is en fete, prisoners are released, fines are cancelled,
presents are given, and presents (alas !) are exacted.
When the child was three days old, it was shown the
sun and the moon (this is not usual now) ; on the sixth
day they observed the religious vigil (modern Jaina still
worship ‘ Mother Sixth ’), Trisala bathed on the tenth
day, and on the twelfth, after the usual family feast, the
boy was named with all pomp and circumstance. In
India it is the father’s sister who usually names a child,
but his parents themselves chose Mahavira’s name, an-
nouncing that ‘ since the prince was placed in the womb
of the K§atriyanl Trisala this family’s (treasure) of gold,
silver, riches, corn, jewels, pearls, shells, precious stones
and corals increased ; therefore the prince shall be called
V ardhamdna (i. e. the Increasing1) ’. Mahavlra was some-
times, as we have seen, called Vaisaliya from his birth-
place ; his followers, however, seldom call him by this or
by the name his parents gave him, but prefer to use the
title they say the gods gave him, that of Mahavlra, the
great hero, or else Jina, the conqueror, though this last
is really more used in connexion with the religion (Jainism)
he promulgated than with himself. He is also known as
Jnataputra, Namaputra,2 Sasananayaka, and Buddha.
It was partly the multitude of his names, partly also the
number of legends that loving child-like folk had woven
round the cradle of their hero, that long obscured the
fact that Mahavlra was an historical personage. Another
reason for doubting his existence lay in the superficial
resemblance there is between his life and teaching and
that of his contemporary, Buddha. It was assumed that
one of the two systems must have sprung from the other,
1 Acardhga Sutra , S.B.E. , xxii, p. 192.
2 Or Nayaputra, sometimes Nataputta.
28
THE LIFE OF MAHAVIRA
Child-
hood.
and it is only through the labours of European scholars
like Jacobi, Hoernle, and Biihler that Mahavlra’s historical
existence has been proved. It seems strange that Jaina
should still be dependent on the labours of scholars of
another faith and speech for all they know about their
greatest hero !
We have noticed some of the legends that have gathered
round Mahavira, and it is worth while examining more,
since legends help us in a special way to grasp the latent
ideals of a faith. We can learn from them what its
followers admire and what they despise, and also what
qualities they revere sufficiently to link with their leader’s
name. If we contrast the stories told of Mahavira with
those told, for instance, of Krisna by Hindus, we shall see
at once that the thoughts of these early followers of Jainism
moved on a higher, cleaner plane, and this purity of
thought is one of the glories of Jainism to-day.
Austere though the creed of the Jaina is, there are
some amongst them whose habit of mind leads them to
interpret even these severe tenets as sternly as possible.
This diversity of temperament (which is surely inherent
in the human race) manifests itself in the stories told of
Mahavlra’s life. The Digambara (who are the straitest
sect among the Jaina) always represent their hero as
choosing the sterner and less pleasing path : avoiding
marriage and going on his way unhindered by any fear of
hurting his parents’ feelings. The Svetambara sect, on
the other hand, believe that, though from his earliest hours
Mahavira longed to forsake the world and betake himself
to a houseless, wandering life, he nevertheless felt he
could not do this during his parents’ lifetime, lest he
should cause them pain. Even before his birth, the legend
runs, he decided thus : ‘ It will not behove me, during the
life of my parents, to tear out my hair, and leaving
the house to enter the state of houselessness.’ 1 So he
x Kalpa Sutra, S. B. E., xxii, p. 250.
THE LIFE OF MAHAVTRA
29
lived the ordinary life of a happy boy, watched over
by the innumerable servants that seem inseparable from
Indian life,1 but enjoying to the full * the noble five-
fold joys and pleasures of sound, touch, taste, colour
and smell
Both sects delight to tell of his boyish prowess and of how
easily he excelled all his companions in strength and
physical endurance, as he did in beauty of mind and body.
One day, they say, the sons of his father’s ministers had
come as usual to play with him in the royal gardens, when
suddenly a mad elephant charged down on the group of
children, who fled hither and thither in their efforts to
escape. Mahavlra, however, quietly went up to the in-
furiated animal, caught it by its trunk, and climbing up on
it, escaped being trodden by its feet by riding on its back !
Another legend tells how, when he was playing with the
same children at ambali plpall (a sort of ‘ tick ’ or ‘ tig ’)
among the trees, a god appeared and thought to frighten the
child by carrying him high up into the sky on his shoulders.
Mahavlra, however, was not in the least alarmed, and,
seizing the opportunity to show his superiority over im-
mortals, whacked the god and pulled his hair so hard,
that he was only too ready to descend and get rid of his
obstreperous burden. The child who had thus defeated
one of their number was called Mahavlra by the other gods
— a name mortals were quick to adopt.
According to the Svetambara tradition Mahavlra married
a lady called Yasoda (belonging to the Kaundinya gotra),
and a daughter was born to them named Anuja (Anojja)
or Priyadarsana. This daughter eventually married a
nobleman called Jamali, who, after becoming one of
Mahavlra’s followers and fellow workers, ended by opposing
him. Their child (Mahavlra’s granddaughter) had two
names, being known both as Sesavatl and Yasovati.
1 He had five nurses : a wet nurse, a nurse to wash him, one to dress
him, one to play with him, and one to carry him.
3°
THE LIFE OF MAHAViRA
It was pointed out in the introduction how profoundly some
Indians believe that the result of action (karma) ties men
to the cycle of rebirth, and that if, through the cessation
of life, action and its resultant karma could be ended, so
much the less would be the danger of rebirth. This tenet
naturally encouraged belief in suicide as a form of prudential
insurance ! Amongst the recorded deaths by suicide are
those of Mahavlra’s parents, who, according to the Svetam-
bara belief, died of voluntary starvation : 1 on a bed of
kusa grass they rejected all food, and their bodies dried
up by the last mortification of the flesh which is to end in
death.’ 1 At their death Mahavlra, who was by now ap-
proaching his thirtieth year, felt free to become an ascetic,
and asked his elder brother’s permission to renounce the
world ; the brother consented, only stipulating that Maha-
vlra should do nothing in the matter for a year, lest
people should think they had quarrelled.
The Digambara accounts differ widely from this. Accord-
ing to them, even when only a child of eight, Mahavlra
took the twelve vows 2 which a Jaina layman may take,
and that he always longed to renounce the world ; other
Digambara say that it was in his thirtieth year that, whilst
meditating on his * self ’, he determined to become a monk,
realizing that he would only spend seventy-two years in
this incarnation as Mahavlra. At first his parents were
opposed to the idea of their delicately nurtured child
undergoing all the hardships that fall to the lot of a house-
less mendicant, but at last they consented, and it was
during their lifetime that Mahavlra entered on the spiritual
vocation, which in India, as in Europe, has so often proved
a suitable career for younger sons.
Modern research would seem to favour the Svetambara
belief that Mahavlra had married, but this the Digambara
strenuously deny, for an ascetic who has never married
1 Acdrdhga Sutra, S.B.E., xxii, p. 194.
2 See below, Twelve Vows of a Layman, p. 205.
THE LIFE OF MAHAVlRA
3i
moves on a higher plane of sanctity than one who has
known the joys of wedded life.
Mahavira' s Initiation.
Jainism, though it denies the existence of a creator
and of the three great gods of the Indian Trimurti, Brahma,
Vispu and Siva, has never shaken itself free from the belief
in many of the minor gods of the Hindu pantheon. It gives
these gods, it is true, a very secondary position as servants
or tempters of the great Jaina saints, but their existence
is accepted as undoubted; accordingly, in the account
of Mahavira’s initiation we shall find many of the old Hindu
gods represented as being present.
This initiation, all sects agree, took place when Mahavira
was about thirty years of age, some time therefore between
570 and 569 b. c. The Naya clan to which he belonged
seem to have supported a body of monks who followed
the rule of Parsvanatha, an ascetic who had lived some
two hundred and fifty years before Mahavira. It was
naturally to this order, probably considered rather irregular
by the Brahmans, that the thoughts of Mahavira turned.
Its monks had their cells in a park1 outside the Ksatriya
suburb (Kundagrama) of Vaisall, and in the centre of this
park grew one of those evergreen Asoka or ‘ sorrowless
trees, whose leaves are supposed never to know either
grief or pain. The Asoka tree is always associated with
Mahavira, for the legends say that in his later life an Asoka
tree grew wherever he preached, and it was now under
its shade that he made the great renunciation and entered
upon that ascetic life, whose austerities were to dry up
all the founts of karma and free him from the sorrowful
cycle of rebirth.
Mahavira had fasted for two-and-a-half days, not even
allowing water to cross his lips, and had then given away
1 The Svetambara call the park Sundavana, the Digambara Sarathi
Khanda.
32
THE LIFE OF MAHAVIRA
all his property, which can only have been the ordinary
possessions of the cadet of a small House, but which the
love of his followers has exaggerated into the wealth of
a mighty emperor.1 Then, followed by a train of gods
and men, he was carried in a palanquin to the park and,
alighting, took his seat on a five-tiered throne,2 which
was so placed as to face the east. There he stripped
himself of all his ornaments and finery, flinging them to
the attendant god Vaisramana, who caught them up as
they fell.
Most Hindu mendicants cut or shave off their hair, but
a peculiar and most painful custom of the Jaina is that
all ascetics, as a proof of their power of endurance, must
tear out their hair by the roots. One Jaina writer declares
in his English ‘ Life of Mahavira ’ that ‘ only those can do
it who have no love with their flesh and bones ’. It is looked
on as a sign that henceforth the monk or nun will take no
thought for the body.
As Mahavira performed this crowning act of austerity,
Indra, the leader and king of the gods, falling down before
the feet of the venerable ascetic, caught up the hairs in
a diamond cup and took them to the Ocean of Milk. The
saint then did obeisance to all liberated spirits, and vowing
to do no sinful act, adopted the holy conduct.3
The Jaina mark with great precision the five degrees of
knowledge that lead to Omniscience. Mahavira, they say,
was born with the first three, Mati jnana, Sruta jnana,
1 The Jaina believe that when an ascetic who will eventually develop
into aTirthankara is about to give away his possessions, the god Indra
bestows on him all the wealth that has been buried in forgotten treasure
stores, in order that the amount to be given away may be worthy of
the giver.
2 This sort of throne is called a Pandusila , and in Jaina temples
Mahavlra’s image is generally kept on one.
3 The Kalpa Sutra gives quite a different account, in which it says
that Mahavira fasted for two-and-a-half days after all the pomp, and
then, ‘ Quite alone, nobody else being present, he tore out his hair, and
leaving the house entered the state of houselessness ’. Kalpa Sutra ,
S. B. E., xxii, p. 259.
THE LIFE OF MAHAViRA
33
and Avadhi jnana. He now gained the fourth kind of
knowledge, Manahparyaya jnana, by which he knew the
thoughts of all sentient beings of five senses in the two-
and-a-half continents, and it only remained for him to
obtain the fifth degree of knowledge, that of Kevala jnana
or Omniscience, which is possessed by the Kevall alone.
The Digambara, however, do not believe that Mahavira
obtained the fourth kind of knowledge till some time after
his initiation. According to them, he failed to gain it,
though he performed meditation for six months, sitting
absolutely motionless. At the end of the six months
he went to Kulapura ; the king of Kulapura, Kuladhipa,
came and did him honour, washed his feet with his
own hands and, having walked round him three times,
offered him rice and milk; these Mahavira accepted
and took them as his first meal (paranum ) after a fast
of six months. He returned to the forest and wandered
about in it performing twelve kinds of penance, but still
the knowledge was withheld from him. At last he visited
UjjayinI (Ujjain) and did penance in a cemetery there,
when Rudra and his wife in vain tried to interrupt him ;
it was only after overcoming this temptation and again
entering on his forest life of meditation that, according to
the Digambara belief, he obtained Manahparyaya jnana.
Henceforth Mahavira was houseless, and wandered through
the land so lost in meditation as to be indifferent to sorrow
and joy, pain and pleasure, subsisting only on the alms of
the charitable.
Research seems to have established the fact that at first
he belonged to the order of Parsvanatha mentioned above,
a body of mendicants leading a more or less regular life,
and that in accordance with their custom he wore clothes ;
but many Jaina will not acknowledge that a Tlrthankara
could have belonged to an order even for ever so short
a time ; they agree, however, that for thirteen months he
did wear one cloth.
D
34
THE LIFE OF MAHAVlRA
The legend runs that the god Indra himself gave Maha-
vlra the beautiful robe which he wore at his initiation.
Before the ceremony the saint had given away all his goods
in charity, but a certain Brahman named Somadatta, being
absent at that time, had received nothing. He came and
complained, and Mahavlra was greatly troubled to think
that he had nothing left to give him, till he remembered
Indra’s robe ; taking this off, he cut it in two and gave
half to the greedy Brahman. Somadatta was delighted,
and showed it off with great pride to a friend of his who
was a weaver. The weaver told Somadatta to go back and
get the other half and then he would have a robe worth
having, which could all be woven into one. The Brahman
was ashamed to actually go and ask for the remaining part,
but knowing how completely unconscious of everything
that went on around him Mahavlra was, he walked softly
behind the ascetic, and when the robe slipped off (as is
the nature of half robes) he stooped, and gently lifting it
off the thorns on to which it had fallen, quietly made off
with his booty. When Mahavlra discovered the theft, all
he did was to make a parable about it, in which he taught
how thorny would be the road of his true disciples in this
world, but how priceless would be their value when delivered
at last from the thorns that beset them.
Not only was the great ascetic unconscious of the
whereabouts of his earthly possessions, he was also abso-
lutely indifferent to pain ; for instance, one day he was
sitting in meditation outside a village, when some herdsmen,
in rough sport, lit a fire between his feet and drove nails
into his ears, without the saint being in the least aware of
what they were doing.
In India it would be specially easy for abuses to spring
up among a body of mendicants ; they could gain their
food so easily, that a great part of ‘the long Indian day’
would hang idle on their hands, and our proverb about
Satan finding work for idle hands to do has its Gujarati
THE LIFE OF MAHAVlRA
35
counterpart : ‘ A man sitting idle brings ruin to pass.’ 1
Many men doubtless had become monks through a constitu-
tional aversion from honest labour, and the climate and
leisure, whilst increasing this distaste for work in them,
would be apt to create it even in those who had entered
the order from the highest motives. Altogether the world-
old employer of the unemployed could find fair scope for
his mischievous energies amongst them ! 2 And so before
long Mahavlra found the discipline of Parsvanatha’s monks
too lax, and after a year he left them, to wander alone in
a state of absolute nudity.
The question of clothes was a crucial one amongst the
Jaina. Mahavlra apparently felt that the complete ascetic
must have completely conquered all his emotions, shame
amongst others. A true monk would not feel either heat
or cold, and so would not need the protection from the
weather offered by clothes, and he would be so indifferent
to mere appearance as to be unconscious as to whether he
wore raiment or not. Being rid of clothes, one is also rid
of a lot of other worries too : one needs no box to keep them
in, no materials to mend them with, no change of raiment
when the first set is dirty or outworn, and, still more impor-
tant to a Jaina, no water is needed in which to wash them.
On this point Mr. Benarsi Dass makes some rather
interesting remarks in his lecture on Jainism, and throws
an astonishingly new light on an old story.
‘ Jaina monks he says, ‘are naked because Jainism says that as
long as one entertains the same idea of nakedness as we do, he cannot
obtain salvation. One cannot, according to Jain principles, obtain
Moksa, as long as he remembers that he is naked. He can only cross
over the ocean of the world after he has forgotten that he is naked. . . .
As long as a man thinks and knows that he is naked, that there is
something like good and evil, he cannot obtain Moksa. He must
forget it to obtain Nirvana. This is very well illustrated by the well-
1 ^ ^ Idb-
2 The Brahmans had tried to avoid some of the more obvious abuses
by restricting entrance to the fourth asrama to men of mature years,
who had passed through a long course of preparatory discipline.
D 2
36
THE LIFE OF MAHAViRA
known story of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from heaven. Adam
and Eve were naked and pure. They enjoyed perfect happiness in the
garden of Eden. They had no knowledge of good and evil. The
devil, their enemy, desired to deprive them of their happiness. He
made them eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. They at once saw their nakedness. They fell. They were ex-
pelled from heaven. It is this knowledge of good and evil, it is this
knowledge of nakedness, that deprived them of Eden. The Jains hold
the same belief. Our knowledge of good and evil, our knowledge of
nakedness, keeps us away from salvation. To obtain it we must forget
nakedness. The Jaina Nirgranthas have forgot all knowledge of good
and evil. Why should they require clothes to hide their nakedness ? ’ 1
Sir Monier Williams suggests2 that the Jaina ‘felt that
a sense of shame implied sin, so that if there were no sin
in the world there would be no shame. Hence they argued
rather illogically that to get rid of clothes was to get rid
of sin, and every ascetic who aimed at sinlessness was en-
joined to walk about naked with the air or sky (dig) as his
sole covering.’
The Digambara believe that Mahavlra abandoned clothes
at the time of his initiation ; the Svetambara, as we have
seen, that he abandoned them after thirteen months.
It was whilst Mahavlra was walking naked and homeless
and, as the Digambara believe, keeping absolutely un-
broken his vow of silence, that he was joined by Gosala,
a disciple whose story we shall have to study more in
detail later. For the present we need only note that
Gosala followed Mahavlra for six years, but subsequently
left him and fell into those grievous sins which so easily
beset a mendicant, and to guard against which so many
precepts in the Jaina scriptures are directed.
For twelve years Mahavlra wandered from place to place,
never staying for longer than a single night in a village
or for more than five nights in a town. The object of
this custom may have been to avoid levying too great
1 Lecture oti Jainism. Agra, 1902, p. 69.
2 Buddhism, p. 530.
THE LIFE OF iMAHAVIRA
37
a tax on the hospitality of the people, and also to pre-
vent the ascetic forming close or undesirable friendships,
which might tempt him to break either his vow of non-
possession of goods or of chastity.1 The rule was, however,
relaxed during the rainy season, when Mahavira, like his
subsequent followers, made a practice of remaining for
four months at the same place, lest he should injure any
of the young life that springs so suddenly and abundantly
into being, once the monsoon bursts and the rains, on
which India’s prosperity depends, begin to fall. During
these twelve years, we are told, he meditated always on
himself, on his Atma, and walked sinless and circumspect
in thought, word and deed.
‘As water does not adhere to a copper vessel, or collyrium to
mother of pearl (so sins found no place in him) ; his course was un-
obstructed like that of Life ; like the firmament he wanted no support ;
like the wind he knew no obstacles ; his heart was pure like the water
(of rivers or tanks) in autumn ; nothing could soil him like the leaf of
a lotus; his senses were well protected like those of a tortoise; he
was single and alone like the horn of a rhinoceros ; he was free like
a bird ; he was always like the fabulous bird Bharunda, valorous like
an elephant, strong like a bull, difficult to attack like a lion, steady
and firm like Mount Mandara, deep like the ocean, mild like the moon,
refulgent like the sun, pure like excellent gold ; like the earth he
patiently bore everything ; like a well-kindled fire he shone in his
splendour.’ 2
Many legends are told of Mahavira’s absolute absorp-
tion in meditation and of his unconsciousness of outward
circumstances during these years. One of these stories
has a slight resemblance to that of King Alfred and the
cakes : Once upon a time the great ascetic sat down to
meditate on the outskirts of Kumaragrama. He crossed
his ankles, and, gazing fixedly at the tip of his nose, was
soon so immersed in reflection as to be lost to all that went
1 There is a Gujarati couplet :
‘ Water should be allowed to flow that it become not stagnant,
Monks should be allowed to wander that they may be stainless.’
A Sanskrit proverb runs : * A monk who wanders is worshipped.’
2 Kalpa Sutra, S. B. E., xxii, pp. 260, 261.
How
Mahavlr;
attained
Omni-
science.
38 THE LIFE OF MAHAVlRA
on around him. A busy farmer bustled past and asked
this man who was sitting down and apparently doing
nothing to look after his bullocks till his return. Mahavira
neither heard the request nor saw the animals, far less
took care of them. On his return the farmer saw the
apparently idle man still seated doing nothing, but could
get no answer from him as to the whereabouts of his beasts
and had to go off in search of them. The bullocks mean-
while, having eaten their fill, returned and lay down to
rest beside the gentle saint. The poor owner searched
for the beasts the whole night through, and was enraged
on returning next morning to find where they were, for it
seemed to him a plot to steal the animals ; so he seized
their halter and began to beat Mahavira with it. For-
tunately the god Indra knew what was happening and
interfered in time to stop such sacrilege ; but he begged
Mahavira to allow him in future to guard him himself, or
to appoint some other god to do so. The saint, however,
refused any protection, saying that, just as a Tirthankara
must always obtain omniscience by his own unaided efforts,
so must he attain Moksa unprotected by any one. But
the gods had grown nervous lest Mahavira should be killed
inadvertently, so Indra, without the saint’s knowledge,
appointed one Siddhartha (a cousin of Mahavira’ s who had
become a god) to protect him.
Enlightenment and Death.
We have seen that Mahavira was born with three degrees
of knowledge and had acquired the fourth. He was now,
at the end of his twelve years of wandering and penance,
to acquire the fifth degree — Kevala jhana or Omniscience.
In the thirteenth year after his renunciation of the world
and initiation as an ascetic, Mahavira stayed in a place
not very far from the Parasnath hills called Jrimbhaka-
grama.1 There was a field there belonging to a farmer
1 Also called Jrimbhila or Jrimbhikagrama.
THE LIFE OF MAHAVlRA
39
called Samaga 1 which surrounded an old temple, and
through this field the river Rijupalika2 flowed. One after-
noon Mahavlra was seated under the shade of a Sala tree
in this quiet meadow in deepest meditation. Just as before
his initiation, so now he had fasted for two-and-a-half
days without even touching water, and as he sat there
lost in thought, he peacefully attained supreme knowledge.
Henceforth he possessed 1 complete and full, the unob-
structed, unimpeded, infinite and supreme, best knowledge
and intuition called Kevala jnana ’. His meditations and
austerities had been so profound as to destroy the last of
all the karma, the enemies to enlightenment, knowledge
and freedom, and henceforth his pathway would be unim-
peded. Mahavlra now added to his titles those of Jina
(or Conqueror of the Eight Karma, the great enemies), from
which Jainism derives its name, Arhata (or Being worthy
of Veneration), Arihanta (or Destroyer of Enemies) and
Aruhanta or (One who has killed even the roots of karma).
Now,3 as the conqueror of karma and equipped with Maha-
supreme knowledge, Mahavlra began to teach his way, p^a^er
and his first sermon was on the five great vows which we
shall study later.
The Jaina declare that Mahavira’s great message to
mankind was that birth is nothing and caste nothing,
but karma everything, and on the destruction of karma
future happiness depends.
The Brahmans had laid stress on birth, and had insisted
that, however bad a Brahman were, he would need to do
small penance compared with what would be obligatory
on even a righteous man of low caste.
Mahavira’s contemporary Buddha had taught that in
desire lay the cause that led to rebirth ; that mental
' Or Samaka or Samaka.
2 Or Rijukula, or Rijuvalika.
3 If Mahavlra had preached before he got Kevala jnana, his sermons
would have contained some mistakes ; now of course they were
perfect.
40
THE LIFE OF MAHAViRA
discipline was of supreme importance, and asceticism and
austerity of no avail. Mahavira, on the contrary, laid the
greatest stress on asceticism. In its glow karma could be
burnt up, and only through austerities could one become
a Tirthahkara.
Mahavlra’s first disciple was Gautama Indrabhuti, who
in turn became a Kevall, and whose story we tell later.
After instructing Gautama, Mahavira set off on his preach-
ing tours in real earnest, and taught his Rule with great
acceptance to all his warrior kinsfolk. Like Buddha, he
preached first to the rich and aristocratic, and though his
followers to-day are to be found more amongst the middle
classes, his earliest supporters seem to have been rulers
and petty kings. This may have been because they too
disliked Brahman pretensions and were pleased that one
of their own kinsfolk should lead a revolt against them.
Mahavlra’s connexions through his mother Trisala must have
been invaluable to him at the beginning of this work; indeed,
Dr. Jacobi thinks that the real meaning of the story about
the removal of the embryo from one mother to another was
to hide the fact that Mahavira was really the son of another
and far less highly connected wife of the king, and to pre-
tend that he was the son instead of the stepson of Trisala.1
This of course the Jaina indignantly deny. The Digambara
and Svetambara legends give the names of the different
rulers Mahavira visited, and tell how Cetaka, king of Videha,
became a patron of the order, and Kunika, king of Ahga,
gave him the most cordial welcome, and how, when he
travelled as far as KausambI, he was received with the
greatest honour by its king Satanika, who listened with
deep interest to his preaching, and eventually entered
his order. The Digambara claim that in thirty years he
converted to Jainism Magadha, Bihar, Prayaga, Kau-
sambI, Campapurl and many other powerful states in
North India. They believe that he did not travel alone,
1 See Introduction, S. B. E., xxii, p. xxxi.
THE LIFE OF MAHAVIRA
4i
but that everywhere he went he was accompanied by all
the monks and nuns who had entered his order (eventually
these amounted to fourteen thousand persons), and that
magnificent halls of audience were erected for him to preach
in. He preached in a language which they call An-ak§ari,
which was unintelligible to the common people, so Gau-
tama acted as his interpreter and translated all he said
into Magadhi.
According to the Digambara again, the place Mahavira
loved best of all was Raj agriha, the capital of Magadha.
Its king Srenika, with his whole army, had gone out to do
honour to the saint on his first entry into the country and
had been won over by him. The king asked sixty thou-
sand questions concerning the faith, and all of them being
satisfactorily answered by Gautama, he entered the order
and became one of the staunchest champions of Jainism.
The Svetambara have recorded the names of the places
where Mahavira stayed during each rainy season, and
they cover a period of forty-one years. First, they say,
he went to Asthikagrama (the village of bones). The
name of this village, the commentators declare, was
originally Vardhamana (the Kathiawad Jaina believe it
to have been identical with the modern Wadhwan) ; but
an evil demon, Yaksa, collected there an enormous heap of
bones belonging to all the people he had killed, and on this
heap the inhabitants built a temple, hence the change
of name.
Mahavira then spent three rainy seasons in Campa and
Pristicampa (Bihar). As a prophet he cannot have been
without honour in his own country, for he spent twelve
monsoons at Vaisali and its suburb Vanijyagrama, doubtless
recruiting for his order, which, having at its head the
brother of their king, naturally held out many attractions
to the inhabitants. He was also able to win over all the
members of the order of Parsvanatha to which he had
originally belonged. He paid even more visits to Rajagriha,
42
THE LIFE OF MAHAVlRA
where, as the Svetambara and Digambara both agree, he
was much beloved, and whose inhabitants prevailed on him
to return fourteen times. Another favourite resort, Mithila,
has provided the Jaina ascetics with a proverb : ‘ If Mithila
burns, what have I to lose ? ’ ; and it must have been a place
of considerable importance, for Mahavlra spent six mon-
soons there, and its kings, as we know from other sources,
were men of high standing and culture. The great ascetic
spent two rainy seasons in Bhadrika, and then just for one
monsoon he went to Alabhika, to Punitabhumi, and to
SravastI in turn, and his last monsoon he spent at Papa
(or Pampa).
It will be noticed how closely these travels of Mahavlra
resemble those of Buddha, and this, and the fact that
they never met , led to a doubt of Mahavlra’s separate exis-
tence. It must have required no small tact to have won
over the members of an order to which he had once belonged
and afterwards left, but, despite this tact, Mahavlra seems
never to have possessed the personal charm which Buddha
had, a charm which even Western people can feel to-day
as they read his story ; but the Jaina leader certainly
possessed a greater power of organization (a gift which
seldom goes with charm), and to this faculty we owe the
existence of Jainism in India to-day.
The work of Mahavlra during these years must have
closely resembled that of the Dominican or Franciscan
monks who (owing how much of their inspiration to him
and his compeers we do not know) were to wander over
Europe centuries later.
About a year after gaining Omniscience Mahavlra became
a Tlrthankara, one of those who show the true way across
the troubled ocean of life. The path Mahavlra pointed
out for others to follow lay in becoming a member of one
of the four Tirtha — a monk, or nun, if possible, otherwise
a devout layman or lay woman.
We come now to the closing scene of Mahavlra’s life.
THE LIFE OF MAHAVlRA
43
He died in his seventy-second year, some fifty years before The
his rival and contemporary Buddha.1 Modern research has ^j^of
shown that the traditional dates for his birth and death,2 vira.
599 b.c. and 527 b.c., cannot be far wrong.
Mahavira’s last rainy season was spent in Papa, the
modern Pavapurl, a small village in the Patna district
which is still held sacred by the Jaina. The king of Papa,
Hastipala, was a patron of Mahavira’s, and, according to
some accounts, it was in his ‘ office of the writers ’ that
the saint died. Sitting in the Samparyahka position, he
delivered the fifty-five lectures that explain the results
of karma and recited the thirty-six unasked questions
(i. e. the Uttar ddhyayana Sutra), and having finished his
great lecture on Marudeva he died all alone, and cut asunder
the ties of birth, old age and death.3
Legends have gathered as thickly round Mahavira’s
death as round his birth. One tells how nearly all the
ruling chiefs of the country had gathered to hear his dis-
courses, and how the saint preached to them with wonder-
ful eloquence for six days ; then on the seventh he took
his seat upon a diamond throne in the centre of a magni-
ficent hall, which had been specially built for him on the
borders of a lake. His hearers had arranged themselves
into twelve grades according to their rank, for all were
there from the king to the beggar. It was a dark night,
but the hall was brilliantly illumined by the supernatural
glow that issued from the gods who had come to listen to
the illustrious preacher. Mahavlra preached all night,
and towards dawn his hearers fell asleep. The saint knew
by his Sukladhyana that his end was drawing nigh, so he
sat reverently with clasped hands and crossed knees (the
Samparyanka position), and, just as the morning dawned,
1 Hoernle, A.S.B., p. 42. Buddha’s dates are 557-477 B.C.
2 The word the Jaina prefer to use instead of Death is Mrityu
Mahotsava or Great Death Festival.
3 Kalpa Sutra, S. B. E., xxii, p. 264 ff.
44
THE LIFE OF MAHAVlRA
he attained Nirvana, and the people awakened only to find
their lord was dead.
Now at last Mahavlra was freed ; his forty-two years
as a monk with all their self-denial and austerities had
completely exhausted his karma. He had, unaided, worked
out his own salvation, and never again could the accumu-
lated energy of his past actions compel him to be reborn,
for all their force was spent. The Jaina say there are two
Terrible Ones who dog the soul, like policemen attending
a prisoner : one is called Birth and one Death. ‘ He who
is born must die some day or other, and he who is dead
must be born in some form or other.’ These two Terrible
Ones had no longer any power over Mahavlra, for the
chain of karma that bound him to them had been snapped,
and never again could the prisoner be sentenced to life.
All of Mahavira’s disciples had been present at his death,
save the chief of them, Gautama Indrabhuti. This earliest
disciple knew that he could never attain omniscience
whilst he was attached to a human being ; nevertheless,
he could not conquer his love for his master. On the
night of Mahavira’s death he had been sent on some mis-
sion, and whilst absent he was able to overcome this last
tie of friendship, and having attained Kevala jnana,1 he
returned to find the master, whom he no longer loved, dead
and the people mourning.
The kings who were present on the night that Mahavlra
died instituted an illumination to commemorate him, for
they said, ‘ Since the light of intelligence is gone, let us
make an illumination of material matter ’ ; 2 and this the
Jaina claim to be the origin of the yearly festival of lamps,
Divall, which the Hindus and they alike observe.
Some Digambara give a different version of the saint’s
1 It was only for sixty-four years after Mahavira’s death that it was
possible for any one to obtain Kevala jnana, but during that time not
only Gautama but also Sudharma (on Gautama’s death) and Jambii
(on Sudharma’s death) became omniscient.
2 Kalfta Sutra, S. />. E., xxii, p. 266.
THE LIFE OF MAHAViRA
45
death, according to which they say that there was neither
hall, illumination, nor audience, but that Mahavlra died
quietly and alone, and when he had passed away only his
nails and hair were left, all else had dried up and dis-
appeared with his karma. A new body was made from
these relics, which was duly cremated with all fitting
ceremony.
Mahavlra’s enemies record yet another version — that the
saint died in a fit of apoplectic rage. But this hardly
accords with the character of the man, nor with his prob-
able physical condition after such prolonged austerities.
Both Digambara and Svetambara Jaina love to visit
Pavapurl at the feast of Divall. There are several small
temples there belonging to both sects, but the main temple
is the one which contains the footprints of Mahavlra, and
a narrow stone bridge leads to this shrine over a lake on
which bloom white and red lotus lilies.
Mahavlra, or rather his jlva, the more orthodox Jaina
believe, passed through many incarnations previous to his
birth as Mahavlra. Some of the more modern members
of the community believe these to be purely legendary,
but they illustrate the Jaina view of karma so pictorially
as to be worth quoting here.
Once upon a time Mahavlra was incarnate as a carpenter
called Nayasara, who worked at his trade in the jungle.
One day he met there some tired, travel-worn Jaina sadhus,
whom he took pity on and fed. They preached to him
in return the Jaina creed, with the result that he became
a convert. He met his death later through a branch of
a tree falling on him, and was reborn as MaricI, the grand-
son of Risabhadeva, the first Tirthankara.
This was the most famous of his early incarnations, and
during it he became a Jaina sadhu through listening to
a sermon of Risabhadeva’s. However, he found the life
of an ascetic as usually practised very hard, and the
hardest part of all was to remember to control speech,
Previous
incarna-
tions of
Maha-
vlra.
46
THE LIFE OF MAHAVlRA
word and act, which the Jaina call the three Danda. This
difficulty he evaded by an ingenious mechanical pun. The
word Dartda or stick is the same as the word Danda that
connotes the three controls he found it so hard to exercise,
so he gathered together three sticks and preached far and
wide the comforting doctrine that any ascetic might do
what he liked and linger at will on the primrose path of
dalliance, provided he carried in his hand three rods. He
gained a disciple, Kapila, who preached the doctrine even
more vigorously than his master.
Mahavlra was then reborn a god, and in his next birth was
born as a Brahman, and after that he was born alternately
as a god and a Brahman, with the occasional interlude
of being born a king, for countless ages. He was once the
famous king Vasudeva or Triprista, and during this incar-
nation he wrought so many evil deeds that he was con-
demned to spend his next rebirth in hell (Naraka) ; from
there he issued forth in his following incarnation as a lion.
When a lion he slew so many people that his evil karma
condemned him once more to Naraka for an incarnation ;
when that was over he became a god, and then a Brahman,
and, alternating between the two, he at last arrived at his
twenty-seventh and most famous incarnation as Mahavlra.
During his incarnation as Maria he had learned 1 that he
was to be the twenty-fourth and last Tlrthaiikara, where-
upon he had been so overcome with pride and joy and
had shown so much conceit, that he had accumulated
a great weight of karma ; it was this that very nearly
resulted in his being born a Brahman, but fortunately his
karma was exhausted just before his birth in time to
admit of his embryo being removed from ‘ the beggarly
Brahman stock ’ to the womb of a Ksatriya lady.
The Jaina women have a story to account for the dis-
1 King Bharata had once asked his father Risabhadeva who would
be among the next Tirthankara, and Risabhadeva had pointed to Marie!
who was sitting last in the assembly.
THE LIFE OF MAHAvIRA
47
appointment of the poor Brahman lady Devananda, which
was due, they say, to her evil karma. In a previous
incarnation Devananda and Trisala had been sisters-in-
law, and Devananda had taken advantage of their intimacy
to steal a priceless jewel from Trisala, and so, by the auto-
matic working of the law of karma, which invariably
makes the punishment fit the crime, her jewel of a son
was removed from her and given to the woman she had
wronged.
CHAPTER IV
Pars-
vanatha.
MAHAvIRA’S predecessors and disciples
Parsvanatha, the Tlrthankara who immediately pre-
ceded Mahavlra, may also have been an historical person.
Very probably he did something to draw together and
improve the discipline of the homeless monks who were
outside the pale of Brahmanism, much as St. Benedict did
in Europe. If so, he was the real founder of Jainism,
Mahavlra being only a reformer who carried still further
the work that Parsvanatha had begun.
The Jaina say that Parsvanatha was born in what is
now the city of Benares about 817 b. c. His father,
Asvasena, was the king of that town, and to his mother,
Queen Varna, were granted the wonderful dreams which
always foretell the birth of a Tlrthankara. Before he was
born, his mother, lying in the dark, saw a black serpent
crawling about by her side, and so gave her little son the
name of Parsva. All his life Parsvanatha was connected
with snakes, for when he was grown up he was once able
to rescue a serpent from grave danger. A Brahman
ascetic was kindling a fire, without noticing whether in
so doing he was destroying life or not, when Parsvanatha
happened to pass and drew from the log the Brahman was
lighting a poor terrified snake that had taken up its abode
in the wood.
Whilst in the world, Parsvanatha bore himself with
great credit ; he was a brave warrior and defeated the
Yavana king of Kalinga, and he eventually married Pra-
bhavatl, daughter of Prasannajita, king of Ayodhya.
At the age of thirty he renounced the world and became
an ascetic with the same ceremonies that have been de-
scribed in the case of Mahavlra. In order to gain Omni-
MAHAVIRA’S predecessors
49
science he practised austerities for eighty-three days, and
during this time an enemy, Kamatha, caused a heavy
downpour of rain to fall on him, so that these austerities
might be made as trying to flesh and blood as possible.
Now this enemy was no one else than the Brahman ascetic
whose carelessness in a previous incarnation had so nearly
caused the death of the poor snake. But if Parsvanatha’s
enemies were active, his grateful friends were no less
mindful of him, and the snake, who by now had become
the god Dharanendra, held a serpent’s hood over the
ascetic, and sheltered him as with an umbrella ; and to this
day the saint’s symbol is a hooded serpent’s head. On
the eighty-fourth day Parsvanatha obtained Kevala jnana
seated under a Dhataki tree near Benares.
He now became the head of an enormous community,
his mother and wife being his first disciples. Followed
by these, he preached his doctrines for seventy years, until
at last his karma was exhausted, and, an old man of
a hundred years, he reached deliverance at last on Mount
Sameta Sikhara in Bengal, which was thenceforth known
as the Mount of Parsvanatha.
Parsvanatha made four vows binding on the members The four
of his community : not to take life, not to lie, not to steal p^|v°f
and not to own property. He doubtless felt that the vow of natha.
chastity and celibacy was included under the last two heads,
but in the two hundred and fifty years that elapsed between
his death and the coming of Mahavlra, abuses became so
rife that the latter was forced to add another vow — that of
chastity— to those already enumerated. This he did by divid-
ing the vow of property specifically into two, one part relating
to women and the other to material possessions. Some Jaina,
however, believe that Parsvanatha’s four vows were those
of non-killing, non-lying, non-stealing and chastity, that
it was the promise to keep nothing as one’s own possession
that Mahavlra added to these, and that it was in order to
keep this vow that Mahavlra himself went about naked.
E
Jainism
the
oldest
religion.
50 MAHAvIRA’S predecessors
Another reform which they say Mahavlra introduced was
the making confession compulsory instead of optional for
monks. All these traditions bear out the idea that Maha-
vira was a reformer rather than a founder of his faith and
order, and that the rule of Parsvanatha had not been found
in practice sufficiently stringent.
The Twenty-two Earlier Tirthahkara.
We have begun our survey of Jaina legend with the
birth of Mahavlra, but no Jaina historian would do that.
The Jaina firmly believe that theirs is the oldest religion
in India, and delight to quote many passages 1 from the
Veda which prove to them that Jainism existed before
the Veda were written and cannot therefore be an offshoot
of Brahmanism, as most scholars believe. They reject
the old theory 2 that Gautama Indrabhuti revolted from
Jainism and became the founder of Buddhism, and claim
Buddhism as a late offshoot of Jainism, telling the follow-
ing legend to prove it. During the interval between the
days of Parsvanatha and those of Mahavlra there lived
a certain Jaina monk called Buddha Kirti, who was well
learned in the scriptures. One day he was performing
austerities by the side of the river Sarayu in Palasa Nagara,
and as he sat there he saw a dead fish floating by him.
As he watched it, he reflected that there could be no harm
in eating the flesh of dead fish, for there was no soul within
it. This thought inspired him, the Jaina say, to found
a new religion ; he left his austerities, assumed red gar-
ments, and preached Buddhism.
According to the Jaina, the best way to begin the study
of their history is through the stories of the Tirthahkara.
We have studied the lives of the two latest Tirthahkara,
Parsvanatha, the twenty-third, and Mahavlra, the twenty-
1 See, for instance, Jain Itihas series, No. I, a lecture by Lala
Benarsi Dass, M.A., Agra, 1902.
2 They declare that this mistake was never made by Jaina, only by
European scholars.
AND DISCIPLES 51
fourth ; but the Jaina have legends regarding each one
of their predecessors.
The first Tlrthahkara was born when the world had
passed out of its happiest stage and was in the era of
Susama Du§ama.1 A Rajput king had a little son born to
him, whom his mother called Risabhadeva, because in her
dream she had seen a bull (risabha) coming towards her.
Risabhadeva (also called Adinatha) taught men seventy-two
arts and women sixty-four, for these have only to be skilled
in domestic and not in literary and industrial crafts ; but
his great glory lies in the fact that he first taught men the
Jaina faith. He lived for eighty-four lakhs of purva of time,
of which he spent only one lakh of purva as an ascetic.
Risabhadeva had one hundred sons (amongst whom was
the famous king Bharata) ; their height was five hundred
bow-shots. This first Tlrthankara attained moksa from
Astapada (or Kailasa) in the modern Himalayas.
The world grew steadily worse, and in fifty lakhs of crores
of sagara of time the next Tlrthankara, Ajitanatha, was
born in Ayodhya. After his birth all his father’s enemies
were conquered {jit a), hence his name, ‘ the invincible one
He was born in the period called Dusama Su$ama, and all
the remaining Tlrthankara were born in the same period.
His sign, which one sees on all his images in the temples,
is an elephant. During his life he himself earned the title
of Victorious, for he was so devout an ascetic that he was
beaten by none in performing austerities. He attained
moksa together with a thousand other Sadhus.
After thirty more lakhs of crores of sagara Sambhava-
natha, the third Tlrthankara, was born in SravastI of Rajput
parents. The king his father had been distressed to see the
way his dominions were ravaged by plague and famine, but
when he heard the good news of the boy’s birth, he felt
there was a chance ( sambhava ) of better times coming, hence
the boy’s name. He too was able to persuade a thousand
1 Otherwise : Susama Duhsama.
E 2
1. Risa-
bhadeva
or Adi-
natha.
2. Ajita-
natha.
3. Sam-
bhava-
natha.
4. Abhi-
nandana.
5. Suma-
tinatha.
6. Pad-
mapra-
bhu.
7. Supar-
svanatha.
52 mahAvira’s predecessors
ascetics to join his community or sa/rgha, who eventually
all attained moksa with him. His emblem is the horse.
The fourth Tlrthankara owes his name to the fact that
the god Indra used to come down and worship ( abhinanda )
him in Vanita, where his parents, Samvara and Siddartha
Rani, ruled. He attained moksa accompanied by a thou-
sand monks, as indeed did all the first eleven Tlrthankara
except Suparsvanatha. Abhinandana has the ape for his
sign ; he was born ten lakhs of crores of sagara of time
after his predecessor. His height was three hundred and
fifty bow-shots.
The legend about the fifth Tlrthankara, Sumatinatha,
is more interesting ; he was born in Kahkanapura, where
his father, a Rajput named Megharatha, was king ; his
mother’s name was Sumangaja. The child was called
Sumatinatha, because even before his birth his mother’s
intellect ( sumati ) was so sharpened. To prove the queen’s
ability, a story is told resembling that of the judgement
of Solomon. An old Brahman died, leaving two wives ;
both women claimed the only son as theirs, and the dispute
was taken to the queen to settle, who decreed, as Solomon
did (and with similar results), that the living child should
be cut in two. This Tirthankara’s sign is sometimes given
as a red goose, but others say it is a red partridge. He
was born nine lakhs of crores of sagara after Abhinandana,
and his height was three hundred bow-shots.
Suslma, the mother of the sixth Tlrthankara, longed
before his birth to sleep on a bed of red lotuses ( padma ),
with the result that her son was always the colour of a red
lotus, which flower he took for his emblem. His father, Dhara,
was the Rajput king of Kausambl. Padmaprabhu was born
ninety thousand crores of sagara of time after his predeces-
sor ; his height was two hundred and fifty bow-shots.
The father of the next Tlrthankara was the Rajput king
of Benares ; but his wife suffered from leprosy in both
her sides. This dreadful disease was cured before the
AND DISCIPLES
53
child’s birth, so he was given the name of Su (good) parsva
(side). His emblem is the Svastika symbol 1 J [. Unlike
the other earlier Tlrthaiikara he attained moksa with only
five hundred companions. Nine thousand crores of sagara
of time had elapsed since the death of his predecessor, and
his height was two hundred bow-shots.
After a further interval of nine hundred crores of sagara
of time the eighth Tlrthankara was born ; his height was
one hundred and fifty bow-shots. Before his birth his
mother (the wife of the Rajput king of Candrapuri) longed
to drink the moon ( candra ). To assuage her craving, a plate
of water was one night handed to her in such a way that the
moon was reflected in it ; when the child was born, he was
found to be as bright and white as the moon, which accord-
ingly became his emblem, and he was called Candraprabhu.
Two names are given to the next Tlrthankara. Owing
to the peace he brought to a distracted family, all of whose
kingly relatives were warring against one another, he is
called Suvidhinatha, for on his birth they gave up fighting
and took instead to performing their religious duties
(. suvidhi ) ; but as his teeth were so beautiful that they
resembled the buds of an exquisite flower (puspa ), he was
also called Puspadanta. There is a dispute over his emblem :
the Svetambara say it is the crocodile, while certain Digam-
bara declare it is the crab. Ninety crores of sagara elapsed
before his birth, and his height was one hundred bow-shots.
The tenth Tlrthankara had a marvellous power of im-
parting coolness ( sitalata ) to fevered patients. Before his
birth his mother laid her hand on her husband, the
Rajput king of Bhaddilapura, and immediately the fever
which had defied all the efforts of his physicians left him,
and all his life long the saint had a similar power, hence
his name, Sltalanatha, , Lord of Coolness. His sign is
the Srlvatsa svastika~L^ f-^ ^ or according to the Digam-
bara, the Ficus religiosa. 'His height was ninety bow-shots,
8. Can-
drapra-
bhu.
9. Suvi-
dhinatha.
io. Sita-
lanatha.
54
MAHAVIRA’S predecessors
ii. Sre-
yarhsa-
natha.
12. Vasu-
pujya.
13. Vima-
l.anatha.
and the interval of time between him and his predecessor
was nine crores of sagara.
King Visnudeva, who ruled in Sirhhapurl, possessed
a most beautiful throne, but unfortunately an evil spirit
took up his abode in it, so that no one dare sit there. His
wife, however, so longed to sit on it that she determined
to do so at any risk ; to every one’s astonishment she was
quite uninjured, so, when her son was born, he was named
Sreyarhsanatha, the Lord of Good, for already he had
enabled his mother to cast out an evil spirit and so do
a world of good ( sreyamsa ). His sign is the rhinoceros ;
one crore of sagara of time had intervened before his
birth ; and his height was eighty bow-shots.
Before the birth of the twelfth Tlrthankara the gods
Indra and Vasu used to go and worship the father of the
future saint, and as the father’s name was Vasupuja and
the god Indra used to give him jewels called vasu, the
child was naturally enough called Vasupujya. His sign
is the male buffalo, and he passed to moksa from his birth-
place, Campapurl, accompanied by six hundred Sadhus.
Fifty-four sagara of time had intervened, and his height
was seventy arrow-shots.
The sign of the thirteenth Tlrthankara is the boar.
He got his name Vimajanatha, Lord of Clearness, through
the clearness ( vimalata ) of intellect with which he endowed
his mother before his birth, and which she displayed in
the following manner. A certain man and his wife un-
wisely stayed in a temple inhabited by a female demon,
who, falling in love with the husband, assumed his real
wife’s form. The miserable man was quite unable to
tell which was his true wife, and asked the king of Kam-
pilapura to distinguish between them. It was the queen,
however, who solved the difficulty. She knew the long
reach that witches and only witches have, and telling the
husband to stand a long distance off, challenged the two
wives to prove their chastity by touching him. Both
AND DISCIPLES
55
tried their utmost, but, of course, the human wife could
not reach so far, whereas the demon wife did and thus
showed her real character. Vimalanatha had six hundred
companions to mok§a. Thirty sagara of time had passed
before his birth, and his height was sixty bow-shots.
There was an endless ( ananta ) thread which lay about
quite powerless in Ayodhya ; but after the king’s wife had
given birth to the fourteenth Tirthankara, it became
endued with power to heal diseases ; this event, com-
bined with the fact that his mother had seen an endless
necklace of pearls, decided the child’s name. Ananta-
natha’s birth was divided from his predecessor’s death by
nine sagara of time, and his height was fifty bow-shots.
His sign is the hawk, or, according to the Digambara,
the bear.
The fifteenth Tirthankara was born four sagara of time
after Anantanatha’s Nirvana, and his height was only
forty-five bow-shots. His parents were the Rajput king
and queen of Ratnapuri, and before his birth they exhibited
such new zeal in the performance of their religious duties
(dharma), that the child was given the name of Lord of
Religion, Dharmanatha. He attained mok?a with eight
hundred monks. His sign is a thunderbolt.
After the nirvana of the ninth Tirthankara, Suvidhi-
natha, the Jaina faith disappeared until the birth of the
tenth Tirthankara, who revived it; on his nirvana it dis-
appeared again, but was revived on the birth of the eleventh ;
and this continued to be the case until the birth of San-
tinatha, the sixteenth Tirthankara, after which it never
disappeared again. The parents of this Tirthankara ruled
in Hastinapura three sagara of time after Dharmanatha’s
nirvana. It happened that plague was raging. Before
Santinatha’s birth, however, his mother was able to stay
the course of the pestilence by sprinkling the sufferers
with water ; so when the child was born he was called
Santinatha, or Lord of Peace ( santi ). The special interest
14. Anan-
tanatha.
15. Dhar-
manatha.
16. San-
tinatha.
56
MAHAVIRA’S PREDECESSORS
of this saint lies in the fact that he was the first Tirthan-
kara to become a cakravarti,1 or emperor of the whole
of Bharata (i. e. India). Santinatha’s height was forty
bow-shots, and his emblem is the deer. He attained
moksa from Mt. Parsvanatha in Bengal in company with
nine hundred Sadhus. With the exception of four,2 all
the Tlrthahkara passed to nirvana from this hill.
17. Kun- After half a palya of time the seventeenth Tlrthahkara
thunatha. wag born in Gajapuri, where his parents, King Sivaraja and
Queen Srldevi, reigned. Before his birth his mother saw
a heap ( kuntha ) of jewels ; during his life people began to
show greater kindness to insects ( kunthu ), and the power
of his father’s enemies was stunted [kuntha). Kunthuna-
tha’s sign was the goat, and he was thirty-five bow-shots
in height. He, like his predecessor, became an emperor,
and obtained moksa from Parsvanatha, but accompanied
by a thousand companions.
18. Ara- Queen Devi, wife of King Sudarsana of Hastinapura,
natha. saw a vjsion 0f a bank of jewels before the birth
of her son, the eighteenth Tlrthahkara, who was born
a quarter palya of time after Kunthunatha. Aranatha was
thirty bow-shots in height, his emblem is the third kind
of svastika (the Nandavartta), he was also an emperor,
and he passed to moksa from Sameta Sikhara (Mt. Pars-
vanatha) with a thousand monks.
19. Mai- The nineteenth Tlrthahkara is the most interesting of all,
linatha. for owjng to deceitfulness in a previous life this saint was
born as a woman ; 3 having, however, done all the twenty
things that make an ascetic a Tlrthahkara, nothing could
prevent his becoming one, but his previous deceitfulness
resulted in his becoming a female Tlrthahkara. She was
born in Mithila, where her parents, King Kumbera and
1 There have been twelve of these great rulers, and these with the
twenty-four Tlrthahkara, nine Bajadeva, nine Vasudeva, and nine
Prati-vasudeva make up the sixty-three Great Heroes of the Jaina.
* Risabhadeva, Vasupujya, Neminatha and Mahavlra.
3 See p. 12 1.
AND DISCIPLES
57
Queen Prabhavati, ruled. Before her birth her mother
longed to wear a garland ( malli ) woven of the flowers of all
seasons, and the gods and goddesses themselves brought
the flowers to gratify her desire. Mallinatha’s symbol is
a water-jar, and she also passed to moksa from Sameta
Sikhara. Her height was twenty-five bow-shots. The
Digambara, who deny that any woman can pass to moksa
without rebirth as a man, deny of course that Mallinatha
could have been a woman. Another point of interest is
that the time between the Tirthankara can now be
measured by years, and this nineteenth Tirthankara was
born a thousand crores of years after the eighteenth.
Before the birth of Munisuvrata, his mother, the wife 20. Mu-
of King Sumitra of Raj agriha, kept all the beautiful vows nisuvrata
of Jainism ( su vrata, good vows) as devoutly as if she had
been an ordinary woman and not a queen ; hence the child’s
name. His height was twenty bow-shots ; he was born fifty-
four lakhs of years after the last Tirthankara. His parents,
while Ksatriya or Rajputs, belonged to the Hari dynasty,
whereas all the other Tirthankara, save the twenty-second,
belonged to the Iksvaku family. His symbol is the tor-
toise.
The twenty-first Tirthankara was born in Mathura after 21. Na-
an interval of only six lakhs of years. His father, King minatha*
Vijya, was engaged in an apparently hopeless warfare with
his enemies, but the astrologers declared that if his wife,
Queen Vipra, showed her face on the city wall (this was
before the time of the zenana system) the enemy would
bow down ( nama ) with fear and flee away. This all hap-
pened, and the child was named accordingly. Naminatha
was fifteen bow-shots in height, his emblem is the blue
lotus, and he attained moksa from Sameta Sikhara together
with a thousand ascetics. 22 Ne_
The twenty-second Tirthankara (like the twentieth) is minatha,
always represented as black ; before his birth his mother, ”e^;-a
the wife of Samudravijaya, king of Sauripura, saw a wheel natha.
58
MAHAVIRA’S predecessors
Maha-
vira’s
unruly
disciple
Gosala.
( nemi ) of black jewels (arista). Krisna and his brother
Baladeva lived at this time, and were cousins of Nemi-
natha’s. This Tirthahkara was ten bow-shots in height,
and his sign was the conch shell. Unlike most of the
other Tirthahkara, he attained mok$a from Girnar in
Kathiawad.
The twenty-third and twenty-fourth Tirthahkara are
respectively Parsvanatha and Mahavira.
The Followers of Mahavira.
The peculiar temptations with which an ascetic’s life
are beset are illustrated for us in the life of Gosala, an
early antinomian. He seems to have been the head of
a body of unclothed anchorites, a section of the Ajivika
monks, and joined forces with Mahavira whilst the latter
was still practising austerities before the period of his
enlightenment. Gosala, Dr. Hoernle suggests in his ex-
haustive article on the Ajlvikas,1 may either have been
moved by a desire to learn the tricks of Mahavira’s trade,
or else the strong stern personality of the great ascetic
may have had an irresistible attraction for the weaker
sensual nature. At any rate, for six years they lived
together, but a permanent association was impossible
between a man like Mahavira and one of Gosala’s tricky,
unreliable disposition.
There seems no doubt that they separated owing to
some act of unchastity on Gosala’s part, and this had the
natural effect of opening Mahavira’s eyes to the special
temptation besetting wandering mendicants. An added
element of bitterness would be caused by the disciple
venturing to preach before the master felt himself qualified
to do so, for whilst Mahavira waited twelve years before
teaching his Way, Gosala preached after only six.
It was probably owing to Gosala’s conduct that Mahavira
1 E. R. E., vol. i.
AND DISCIPLES
59
added the vow of chastity to the four vows of Parsva-
natha’s order, and all through the Jaina scriptures one
seems to find references to this unworthy disciple. ‘ A
wise man should consider that these (heretics) do not live
a life of chastity.’ 1 ‘ In the assembly he pronounces holy
(words), yet secretly he commits sins ; but the wise know
him to be a deceiver and great rogue.’ 2 A dialogue is
given between a disciple of Mahavlra’s, called Ardraka, and
Gosala, in which Gosala, like many another impenitent,
tries to defend himself by finding fault with his old leader,
and takes up an antinomian position : ‘ according to our
Law an ascetic, who lives alone and single, commits no
sin if he uses cold water, eats seeds, accepts things pre-
pared for him, and has intercourse with women.’ 3
The references to Gosala in the Buddhist books, though
slighter, bear out the same idea of his character. Dr.
Hoernle mentions Buddha’s well-known abhorrence of
Gosala, and tells how Buddha classified the ascetic systems
differing from his own into those whose members lived in
incontinency and those which could only be condemned
as unsatisfying — placing Gosala amongst the former.
Gosala obtained this his best-known name through
having been born in a cowshed, but he is also known by
another name, that of Mankhali Putra, which the Jaina
say was given to him because he was the illegitimate son
of a monk. If there were this piteous taint in his blood
it would account for his strange dual nature, his strivings,
and his failure. After he left Mahavira, he and his followers
seem to have lived in open defiance of all the laws of
ascetic life, expressed or implied, and to have made their
head-quarters in the premises of a potter woman in the
town of Sravasti. There after sixteen years Mahavira
found him and exposed his real character. Gosala had
previously tried to justify himself by adopting not only
1 Sutra Kritahga, S. B. £., xlv, p. 245.
2 Ibid., xlv, p. 273. 3 Ibid., xiv, p. 41 1.
6o
MAHAVIRA’S PREDECESSORS
an antinomian position, but also one of absolute fatalism,
in which he declared that all things were absolutely fixed
and so man was relieved of all moral responsibility. Now
he brought forward another doctrine, that of re-animation,
by which he explained to Mahavira that the old Gosala
who had been a disciple of his was dead, and that he who
now animated the body of Gosala was quite another
person ; this theory, however, deceived nobody, and Go-
sala, discredited in the eyes of the townspeople, fell lower
and lower, and at last died as a fool dieth. Just before
the end, however, the strange duality of his nature again
asserted itself, and, acknowledging that all that Mahavira
had said against him was true, and that he had left the
true faith and preached a false one, he directed his own
disciples to drag his body through the town by a rope
for people to spit at, and to bury him with every mark
of shame.1 This command they naturally did not carry
out, nor would it have been necessary for us so long after
his death to have discussed this unhappy man, but for the
profound effect his life had on the formulation of Mahavira’s
doctrine.
Gosala is of importance to those of us who are trying to
understand Jainism for two reasons : the sin and shame
of his life emphasized the need for stringent rules for the
order ; and the doctrine of absolute fatalism was shown
to result in non-moral conduct. Jainism avoids this
determinism, as we shall see later, by teaching that, though
karma decides all, we ourselves can affect our past karma
by our present life.
1 Some Jaina believe that, because he so sincerely repented before
his death, he went not to hell, but to one of the Devaloka, i.e. heavens,
and is now, at the time of writing, in the Twelfth Devaloka, from
which he will pass in another age to be a Tirthankara.
AND DISCIPLES
61
Other Disciples.
The Svetambara tell the following story of the conver-
sion of Mahavira’s earliest and greatest disciple, Gautama
Indrabhuti. It happened that once when Mahavlra went
to the city of Apapa to preach, a rich Brahman was pre-
paring to offer a great animal sacrifice, and had invited
Gautama Indrabhuti and his ten brothers to be present.
They heard of the new teacher, and that he was denouncing
the animal sacrifice at which they had assisted, and they
were very much enraged at his audacity. They therefore
determined to oppose him and expose the falseness of his
teaching, but felt that they must first learn more of this
new doctrine. They listened to Mahavira’s discourses,
and heard the gentle, thoughtful answers he gave to all
questioners, till at length, being convinced of the truth of
his Way, they cast in their lot with his, and became his
chief disciples or Ganadhara.1
The Digambara give a different account of Gautama’s
conversion. Indrabhuti was, they say, born of Brahman
parents in a village called Govara, his father’s name being
Vasumati, and his mother’s PrithvI; 2 he became a very
learned pandit and grew extremely vain of his learning.
One day, however, an old man appeared and asked him
to explain a certain verse to him. Mahavlra had, the old
man said, repeated the sloka to him, but had immediately
afterwards become so lost in meditation that he could get
no explanation of it from the saint, and yet he felt that
he could not live unless he knew the meaning. The verse
contained references to Kala 3 and Dravya , Panda Astikaya,
Tattva and Lesya* not one of which could Gautama under-
stand, but being too true a scholar to pretend to a knowledge
which he did not possess, he sought out Mahavlra to ask
1 At this time Candana, daughter of Dadhivahana, king of Campa,
also entered the order and became the head of the nuns.
2 Sanskrit PrithivT. 3 Sanskrit Kala. 4 Often written Lesd.
Gautama
Indra-
bhuti.
6 2
MAHAVIRA’S predecessors
for an explanation. The moment he was in the presence
of the great ascetic all his pride in his fancied learning fell
from him, and he besought Mahavlra to teach him. He
not only became a convert himself, but took over with him
his five hundred pupils and his three1 brothers.
The Sthanakavasi tell yet a third story of Gautama’s
conversion. Indrabhuti was going to assist at a great
sacrifice, but, to his surprise, he saw that all the gods,
instead of going to the sacrifice, were going to hear an
ascetic preach ! Gautama asked who the ascetic was, and,
going to meet him, was astonished at being called by his
own name. He was still more astonished when Mahavlra
proceeded to answer all the unspoken questions and solve
all the doubts that had been in his mind about karma,
jiva, moksa, &c.
All sects believe that, however converted, Gautama by
his intense attachment to his master, was for long prevented
from attaining Kevala jnana or Omniscience.
A sermon The Uttaradhyayana records a sermon entitled The Leaf
by Maha- 0j fa 'Treevt hich the Jaina say Mahavlra preached to Gau-
tama to try and help him to reach Kevala jnana. It is
worth while studying it closely,2 for it tells us much of
Mahavira’s doctrine. Mahavlra warns Gautama that life
will end sometime, even as the withered leaf of a tree
must fall to the ground when its days are done ; and that
its duration is as brief as that of a dew-drop clinging to
a blade of grass. Only when the chances of rebirth have
resulted in one’s being born as a human being can one get
rid of the result (karma) of past action. How rare is the
opportunity; for one’s soul might have been imprisoned
for aeons in an earth, or a fire, or a wind body ; or it might
have been clothed with a plant, an insect, or an animal
form ; one might have been born in heaven or hell as a god
1 According to other accounts there were only two brothers.
2 This sermon the Jaina regard as containing the essence of their
religion.
AND DISCIPLES
63
or a demon, but only to a human being is the chance of
escape open. Even if one happens to be born as a man,
one might not be born an Arya but only an aboriginal
or a foreigner (to whom apparently Mahavira did not
regard the way of escape as open) ; or if born as an Arya,
one might not be capable or have the opportunity of
intelligently hearing and believing the Law ; or again,
one might not have the strength of will to choose the
hard path of asceticism. As Gautama grows old and
frail, this priceless opportunity which comes so seldom
will gradually pass away from him, so Mahavira beseeches
him to cast away every sort of attachment that might chain
him to rebirth, and, since he has chosen the path of asceti-
cism which leads to deliverance, to press on to the very
end. ‘ You have crossed the great ocean, why do you
halt so near the shore ? Make haste to get on the other
side and reach that world of perfection [nirvana] where
there is safety and perfect happiness.’
In the Uttaradhyayana it is recorded that the effect
of this sermon was such as to enable Gautama to cut off
love and reach perfection,1 but the Kalpa Sutra supports the
current belief that it was not till the night that Mahavira
died that this the oldest of his disciples ‘ cut asunder the
tie of friendship which he had for his master, and obtained
the highest knowledge and intuition called Kevala ’.2
Gautama survived Mahavira for twelve years, and finally
obtained nirvana at Raj agriha at the age of ninety-two,
having lived fifty years as a monk.
It will be remembered that ten3 of Indrabhuti’s brothers
attached themselves to the great ascetic at the same time
that he did. They, too, must have been men of strong
character, for three3 of them became heads of communities.
There was another great disciple of Mahavira called Su-
Sudharma, who also survived him, and to whom we are Pharma
1 5. B.E., xlv, p. 46. 2 Ibid., xxii, p. 265.
3 The numbers vary in different versions of the story.
64
MAHAVIRA’S disciples
indebted for the Jaina scriptures. The Jaina say that
Gautama Indrabhuti had become a Kevall and imparted
knowledge which was the result of his own thinking, but
Sudharma, not having attained omniscience, could only
pass on the teaching of others.1 He therefore wrote out
what he had heard his master say and compiled twelve
Anga, eleven Upanga, and various other works. All that
tradition states about Sudharma could be tersely expressed
on a tombstone. He was born in a little village called
Kollaga, his father was a Brahman called Dhamila, and
his mother’s name was Bhaddila. He lived for fifty years
as a householder before receiving ordination from Mahavira,
and then followed him for thirty years. After Mahavlra’s
death he became head of the community, and held that
position for twelve years, till he too obtained Kevala jnana,
whereupon the headship of the order passed to a disciple
of his named Jambu Svaml. It is said that Sudharma
attained moksa when a hundred years old.
1 This must surely be one of the earliest references to the difference
between original work and compilation !
CHAPTER V
HISTORY OF THE JAINA COMMUNITY
The Four Tirtha.
During Mahavlra’s lifetime he attracted a great number
of disciples, both men and women, and from these grew the
four orders of his community : monks, nuns, laymen and
laywomen.
Chief amongst his followers were fourteen thousand Monks,
monks (or muni ) and at the head of these were eleven chief
disciples or Ganadhara whom Jaina compare to the twelve
disciples of our Lord, Gosala the twelfth corresponding to
Judas. Mahavira had seen in the case of Gosala and others
the special temptations and dangers which beset ascetics
in their wandering life, and he resolved to combat these as
well as he could by organization and regulations. He
therefore divided his fourteen thousand followers into nine
regular schools called Gana and placed each school under
the headship of one of his chief disciples or Ganadhara.
The leading Ganadhara had five hundred monks under
them, but some of the others had only three hundred or
two hundred and fifty.
Gautama was at the head of a school of five hundred,
and so were his brothers Agnibhuti and Vayubhuti, his
other brother Akampita 1 being at the head of three hundred
scholars.
Sudharma was at the head of another school of five
hundred monks.
Only two of these eleven Ganadhara, Gautama and
Sudharma, survived Mahavira; the others attained Kevala
jnana and died of voluntary starvation at Rajagriha before
their master’s death.
1 The SthanakavasI Jaina do not believe that Akampita was the
brother of Gautama ; they think he was only a friend.
F
66
HISTORY OF THE
Nuns.
Laymen .
All the present Jaina monks are considered to be the
spiritual descendants of Sudharma, for the other Ganadhara
left no disciples.
Besides the fourteen thousand monks a great multitude
of women followed Mahavlra, and of these some thirty-six
thousand, the Jaina say, actually left the world and
became nuns. At their head (at least according to the
Svetambara) was Candana, a first cousin of Mahavira’s,
or as other accounts have it, his aunt.1
In those troublous times acts of oppression and violence
must have often occurred, and it was such an act that led
to Candana’s becoming a nun. Once, as a girl, the story
runs, Candana was walking in an open garden, when a
wicked man named Vidyadhara saw her and, fascinated by
her beauty, carried her off, meaning to take her to his own
home. On his way thither he began to realize how dis-
pleasing her presence in his house would be to his wife, so,
without troubling to take her back to the garden where he
had found her, he abandoned her in a forest. A hillman
found her weeping there, took her to Kausambi and sold
her to a wealthy merchant named Vrisabhasena, who in-
stalled her in his house against his wife’s will. The wife
grew more and more jealous of her, for Candana’s beauty
increased every day, and ill-treated her in every possible
way, clothing her in rags, feeding her on broken meats,
and often beating her. Mahavlra came and preached in
Kausambi and poor Candana needed but little persuasion to
convince her of how evil a place the world was ; gladly
renouncing it she joined his community and eventually
became the head of the nuns.2
Mahavira’s third order consisted of laymen ; these
1 Candana was the daughter of Cetaka, king of Vaisall ; and this
Cetaka was either the brother or the father of Trisala, Mahavira’s
mother.
2 The Sthanakavas! legend differs a good deal. Candana according
to this was captured in warfare and sold by a soldier into the house
where she was ill-treated.
JAINA COMMUNITY
6 7
were householders who could not actually renounce the
world, but who could and did keep his rule in a modified
form, while their alms supported the professed monks.
The genius for organization which Mahavlra possessed is
shown in nothing more clearly than in the formation of this
and the order of laywomen. These two organizations
gave the Jaina a root in India that the Buddhists never
obtained, and that root firmly planted amongst the laity
enabled Jainism, as we have seen, to withstand the storm
that drove Buddhism out of India. The laymen,1 Sravaka
or Hearers as they were called, numbered during Maha-
vlra’s lifetime one hundred and fifty-nine thousand men.2
At the head of their order were SankhajI and Satakaji.
These Hearers numbered amongst their ranks many nobles
of high rank and even kings, who were delighted to thus
proclaim their opposition to the priestly pretensions of
the Brahmans ; nowadays the Sravaka are almost entirely
recruited from the mercantile classes.
The fourth and last order consisted of devout laywomen Lay-
or Sravika, whose household duties prevented their becom- 'vomen
ing nuns, and who yet served the great ascetic in many ways.
They numbered some three hundred and fifty-eight thousand,
and at their head were two women Sulasa and Revati. Sulasa
is considered the highest type of the purely domestic woman,
the faithful wife or satl, and the Gujarati Jaina women
sing the following verse about her in the hymn of praise to
the sixteen faithful wives which they chant every morning
when they get up :
Sulasa was a really faithful wife, there was no sham about her !
She found no pleasure in worldly delights.
If we saw her face sins would flee away,
If we mention her name our minds are filled with joy.
Revati is typical of the generous woman who gladly gives
alms to ascetics. Once when Mahavlra was ill (injured
1 It is interesting to compare with these the Grihastha of the
Hindus. 2 The Digambara say 100,000.
68
HISTORY OF THE
Jambu
Svami.
through the magic fire the faithless Gosala had thrown at
him) he felt that only one thing would cure him, and that
was some of the jam which Revati made. Much as he
longed for it, however, he warned his disciples that they were
not to accept it unless Revati gave it gladly, for it was the
very best jam ! However, Revati was so delighted to give
it, and pressed it on the monks with such eagerness, that
her name has ever since been a synonym for hospitality.
The Great Leaders }
Mahavira was during his lifetime the head of all the
four orders in his community. After his death Gautama
Indrabhuti, according to some authorities,1 2 succeeded him
and continued to be the spiritual leader3 for twelve years; he
was followed by Sudharma, who held office for another twelve
years. Jambu Svami, a pupil of Sudharma, succeeded his
old master and led the community for twenty-four years ; he
was the last Jaina to obtain Kevala jnana, for after him both
moksa and omniscience were closed to men.4 At the present
time not only omniscience but also the degree of knowledge
next below it, Manahparyaya jnana, are lost to mankind.
Jambu Svami is called ‘ the celibate ’, and the following
story is told of him. He was the son of a rich merchant
in Rajagriha, and eight other rich merchants of the same
town offered him their daughters in marriage. He (though
not only already convinced through Sudharma’s teaching
of the higher virtue of the unmarried state, but having
1 The following history is gleaned entirely from Jaina sources and
represents what the Jaina say about themselves and their past. It
was found impossible to include all the legends, so the selection
was left to Jaina pandits who chose those which they considered of
crucial importance for the comprehension of their religion. The dates,
unless otherwise stated, are those given by the Jaina.
2 According to others Gautama never held office, having become
a Kevall.
3 The word the Gujarati Jaina use for the spiritual headship is
FTZ fata.
4 This was a sign of the degeneration of the Avasarpinl.
JAINA COMMUNITY
69
actually taken a vow of perpetual celibacy !) offered no
resistance to his father and eight would-be fathers-in-law,
but married all the eight ladies. After the eight-fold mar-
riage Jambu returned to his father’s house, which that
very night was attacked by Prabhava, the bandit son of
Vindhya, king of Jaipur. The doughty robber had taken
the precaution to weave a spell (for he was not only a prince
and a robber but also a magician), which ought to have
caused all the inhabitants of the merchant’s house to fall
into a cjpep sleep ; but this aristocratic spell had no effect
on Jambu. When Prabhava asked the reason, Jambu ex-
plained that, as he was going to enter a spiritual career the
next morning, spells had no power over him; Prabhava tried
to dissuade him, and apparently their discussion aroused
the eight wives of the celibate, for they joined their en-
treaties with his. Jambu told them many moral tales
showing the superior virtues of celibacy ; the ladies replied
with other stories upholding the honour of the married state,
but the palm lay with Jambu, for not only was he, with
his parents’ consent, initiated next morning by Sudharma,
but in a few days Prabhava, the robber, also followed his
example and renounced not only his habit of acquiring
other people’s property, but also his own possessions.
Jambu attained moksa according to Jaina authorities Pra-
in 403 b.c., and was succeeded by Prabhava, the erstwhile bhava.
prince, robber and magician. It was no longer possible for
any one to attain moksa, so Prabhava (who died 397 b.c.)
was not immediately released from the cycle of rebirth ; yet
so famous a saint must eventually attain moksa, though he
would first have to pass through one, three, five, or at most
fifteen, rebirths.
It was during this time that the two sects of Osavala Jaina
and Srimala Jaina arose. It is also said that it was now that
the image of Mahavira was enshrined at Upakesa Pattana.
This is probably a reference to the first introduction of idol
worship into Jainism.
70
HISTORY OF THE
£ayam-
bhava.
Bhadra-
bahu.
Prabhava felt that there was no one amongst the Jaina
capable of succeeding him as leader, and being much im-
pressed by the spiritual genius of a staunch Brahman called
Sayambhava, he determined to win him over. He was suc-
cessful and converted him just after he had offered a great
sacrifice. Though he was married, he left his wife to be-
come an ascetic, and the little son Manaka who was shortly
after born to her eventually became a Jaina ascetic also,
receiving initiation at his father’s hands. Sayambhava
knew by his supernatural powers that his son would only
live a short time, so he wrote a book for him called Dasa-
vaikalika, in which he gave a complete conspectus of the
leading Jaina tenets ; it is on this book (a monument of
a father’s love persisting even in the ascetic life) that
Sayambhava’s claim to fame rests.
He was followed by Yasobhadra, who died in 319 b. c.,
and was succeeded by Sambhutivijaya, who only held
sway for two years. The rule of these two was not
marked by any outstanding event, but after them we
come to one of the great epochs in Jaina history, which
began with the leadership of Bhadrabahu, who succeeded
in 317 b. c.
The new leader was a scholar, and Jaina credit him with
the authorship of the Niryukti or commentaries on the ten
canonical books, and of a book on astronomy which is named
after him the Bhadrabahu Sarhhita. He also wrote what
the Svetambara Jaina consider to be their holiest work, the
Upasarga Harastotra Kalpa Sutra.
It was during the headship of Bhadrabahu and during
the reign of Candragupta1 of the Maurya dynasty that
a great famine 2 took place, which seems to have been of
the most terrible severity. It would of course be very
1 Candragupta ( c . 322-298 B. c.), grandfather of Asoka and first
paramount sovereign of India. According to Jaina tradition he
abdicated in 297 B. C., became a Jaina ascetic, and died twelve years
later of voluntary starvation in Sravana Belgola in Mysore.
2 Dr. Hoernle suggests 310 B. c. as the date of this famine.
JAINA COMMUNITY 71
difficult for a starving population to support a huge body
of mendicants during famine years, and as the monks
were homeless and wanderers by profession, it was only
sensible that they should wander where food was more
plentiful. Now it is probable, as we have seen, that
Mahavira’s community or saiigha had been formed by the
union of two orders of mendicants, one clothed and one
naked. This difference, being outward and visible, would
be always liable to recur and cause schism, and probably
the fusion of the two orders had never been complete, so
that the famine sufficed to sever the community along the
lines of the old division.
Part of the community, numbering, the Jaina say, twelve
thousand, went with Bhadrabahu to the south of India
where famine had not penetrated, whilst the other part, also
amounting to twelve thousand, remained behind under the
leadership of Sthulabhadra. Sthulabhadra was the son
of Sakadala, who had been prime minister to the ninth
Nanda king ; on his father’s death he was offered the
post, but renounced that and all earthly love to become
an ascetic.
It was naturally only the more vigorous monks who
undertook the long journey to Southern India, and perhaps
the older and more infirm ascetics who remained at home
had already been allowed to wear some clothing as a con-
cession to their infirmities; the habit of so doing1 would
have been likely now to become general amongst them.
Thus one element of division was established amongst the
Jaina, that of difference in practice, and it only remained, in
order to make the division permanent, that they should have
a differing sacred literature. Experience has shown what
a unifying force a common sacred literature has on diver-
gent sects, and the converse is also true. For example, it is
probably only their refusal to accept the Veda as sacred which
has prevented the Jaina from being long ago amalgamated
1 They seem generally to have worn white garments.
Sthula-
bhadra.
72
HISTORY OF THE
Sruta-
kevall.
Da£a-
purvl.
with the Hindus. This element of division was not to be
lacking between the two sects of Jaina. Sthulabhadra was,
the Jaina say, keenly alive to the importance of preserving
their sacred literature, and he alone had learnt (in Nepal)
the ten Purva and (on condition of keeping them secret)
the four other Purva. In spite of the absence of Bha-
drabahu and his party, he called a council at Pataliputra
(modern Patna), which collected the Eleven Aiiga, but found
that the Twelfth was missing. This Twelfth Anga con-
tained fourteen Purva, which Sthulabhadra was able to
supply. When the famine was over, Bhadrabahu returned ;
but he and his party refused to accept the work of the
council of Patna and declared that the Anga and Purva
were lost ; they also declined to wear clothes. Though all
this laid a very firm foundation for the schism between the
Digambara (sky clothed, i.e. naked) and the Svetambara
(white clothed) when it should come, yet the split did not
actually arise till a. d. 142, according to Jaina dates, or
a. d. 82 according to Dr. Hoernle.
Bhadrabahu died in 297 b.c. and was succeeded by
Sthulabhadra, who remained the head of the whole com-
munity till his death in 252 b.c.
The six spiritual leaders who followed Jambu SvamI are
called Srutakevall, because, though the complete omni-
science Jambu SvamI and his predecessors attained was
denied to them, they possessed complete knowledge of the
scriptures. They were followed by the Dasapurvi, or
leaders who knew the ten Purva of the Twelfth Anga.
The Great Schism.
Two schisms had already taken place during the lifetime
of Mahavlra, and two leaders had left the community. One
was headed by Jamali, son-in-law of Mahavlra, who denied
that a thing is perfected when it is begun (which some
Jaina scriptures teach), and was specially annoyed when
JAINA COMMUNITY 73
the doctrine, to his own discomfort, was applied by a disciple
to the practical question of bed-making.
The other we have already noted ; it was led by Gosala,1
and its main tenet was Fatalism.
During the years that immediately followed the death
of Sthulabhadra three more schisms took place, seriously
weakening the Jaina church. In 251 b.c. A§adha Acarya
headed a schism called Avyakta. Four years later Asva-
mitra left the Jaina community and became head of the
Ksanikavadi; and in 239 b.c. a Jaina called Ganga led a
fifth schism.
The great schism had not, however, as yet taken place.
It is interesting to remember that Bhadrabahu had returned
from South India to be head over the whole community,
even over the refractory part that had taken to clothes;
that he, the staunch believer in nakedness, had been
followed by Sthulabhadra, the clothed ; and that this man in
his turn was followed by a leader who discarded clothing.
Mahagiri, the next head of the community after Sthula- Maha-
bhadra’s death, is said to have revived ‘ the ideal practice giri'
of nakedness ’ which had fallen into disuse. During his rule
two famous Jaina books are said to have been written :
Tattvartha Sutra, by Umasvati, and the Pannavand Sutra
(one of the Upanga), by Syamacarya, who was himself
a disciple of Umasvati. Mahagiri’s rule is also noteworthy
for his endeavours to bring the community back to their
primitive faith and practice ; he was a real ascetic and
recognized that under Sthulabhadra’s sway many abuses
had crept into the order. It was doubtless this that had led
so many of the community to drift away from it under the
leaders of the schisms already mentioned. Mahagiri was
spurred on in his efforts after reform by the memory of
a prophecy which foretold that after Sthulabhadra the
monks would become less strenuous in their lives. He was Sam-
defeated in his aims by the conversion of Samprati, grand- prat1,
1 See p. 58.
74
HISTORY OF THE
son and successor of Asoka 1 and by the disastrous effects
of the royal bounty that thenceforth flowed into the
community.
The legend of Samprati’s conversion is given as follows
by the Svetambara. Suhastin was one of the leading
members of the Jaina community under Mahagiri, and
he once met King Samprati in Ujjain (East Malwa). Now
in a previous birth Samprati had been a beggar and had
seen Suhastin’s disciples carrying sweets. When he asked
for some of this confectionery Suhastin said he could
only give them on condition of Samprati’s becoming his
disciple, so he received initiation, took the sweets, ate
heartily of them and died. When, as King Samprati, he
saw Suhastin again, his former birth came back to his
memory, and he again became a convert to Jainism.
Samprati tried to spread Jainism by every means in his
power, working as hard for Jainism as Asoka had for
Buddhism : he even sent preachers as far as Afghanistan ;
but unfortunately he quite demoralized the monks with
the rich food he showered upon them. Suhastin dared
not refuse this food, for, as in his previous birth, the king
laid great stress on diet and would have been irreconcilably
offended if it and his superabundant alms had been re-
fused. So the old leadex of the community, Mahagiri, saw
all his hopes of winning the monks to lives of sterner
asceticism overturned ; and, finding that remonstrance
with Suhastin was of no avail, he separated from him
and withdrew to Dasarnabhadra, where he committed
suicide by voluntary starvation.
Suhastin. After Mahagiri’s death Suhastin became de jure the leader
that he had previously been de facto, and the Jaina account
him one of their greatest spiritual heads. A strong man
was needed, for the community had been much weakened
by the three schisms and by the late quarrel between
1 Asoka was Emperor of India 273-231 B.c. The Jaina say that he
was a Jaina before he was converted to Buddhism.
JAINA COMMUNITY
75
Mahagiri and himself ; Suhastin therefore set himself to gain
newdisciples, and owing to his influence many new branches of
the order were formed. Perhaps new recruits were received
too readily, at any rate it was under him that AvantI
Kumara, whom the Jaina cite as the typical man who found
the ascetic life too hard, joined the order. AvantI, the son
of a rich man and brought up in luxury, could not bear all
the suffering and hardships which fell to his lot as a monk.
He dared not return to the world, so, to put an end to a
position which he found intolerable, he committed suicide
by fasting. His relatives built a magnificent temple on the
spot where he died, and the Jaina say that this was the
temple of Mahakala in Ujjain, which is now, however, one
of the twelve most famous Saiva temples in India. Poor
Avanti’s story is still quoted as a warning not to enter on
the mendicant life without counting the cost, and he is
known as AvantI Sukumara — AvantI the delicate.
Suhastin was succeeded by Susthitasuri in 177 b. c. Susthita-
Under him, according to the Jaina, their name of Nirgrantha- sun'
gaccha was changed to that of Kalikagaccha in honour of
the krores of times the leader repeated the secret mantra
taught him by his guru.
Indradinna, who followed Susthitasuri, is famous, not for indra-
anything that he did, but because the great Jaina saint dinna.
Kalikacarya flourished under his rule.
The Jaina tell many stories of Kalikacarya and the Kalika-
occult powers that his great learning gained him. It was carya>
owing to these powers, they believe, that he was able in 61
b. c. to destroy the dynasty of Gardabhila. Kalikacarya’ s
sister was a nun, and she was once carried off by King
Gardabhila. The saint went to a Scythian king and im-
plored his assistance, but the king was afraid of attacking
so powerful a sovereign as Gardabhila, especially as he was
under the peculiar protection of the goddess Rasabhl, who was
able by the witchery of her singing to make it impossible
for any one to approach within fourteen miles of the king.
Siddha-
sena
Diva-
kara.
76 HISTORY OF THE
Kalikacarya could, however, on his part produce wealth
by magic, and by this means he persuaded the Scythian
king to come to his aid with an army. They encamped at
a safe distance of about fifteen miles from King Gardabhila,
and when his protecting goddess began to sing, all the
Scythian army shot arrows at her mouth and filled it so
full that she was unable to utter a sound. The spell
being broken, Gardabhila was easily captured, and Kali-
kacarya’s sister released. The king Gardabhila was even-
tually forgiven and set at liberty ; he betook himself to
a neighbouring forest, where he was finally devoured by
a tiger, to the total extinction of his race.
Kalikacarya is, however, specially remembered through the
dispute which continues to this day about the keeping of Paj -
jusana/some Jaina sects holding that it should begin on the
fourth and some on the fifth day of the month Bhadrapada.
The difference arose in this way : Kalikacarya once visited
the king of Pentha (in the Dekkan) and asked him to come
and listen to the discourses he was going to deliver at
Pajjusana. The king said he would have come if it had
been any day but the fifth (in those days Pajjusana only
lasted for one day), but that being a special festival of
Indra which he was bound to keep, he asked the saint to
postpone the fast till the sixth. The ascetic, while declaring
any postponement impossible, offered to arrange to hold it
one day earlier, on the fourth of Bhadrapada. This was
accordingly done, and ever since then some sects 2 have
begun the fast on the fourth and some on the fifth. The
importance they give to this difference reminds one of the
old ecclesiastical dispute about the date of Easter.
According to the Jaina a learned ascetic, Siddhasena
Divakara, the son of a Brahman minister, lived about this
1 Or Paryusana, the sacred festival at the close of the Jaina year.
2 The Tapagaccha observe the fourth, the SthanakavasI the fifth
day, the Ancalagaccha sometimes the fourth and sometimes the fifth.
Occasionally owing to differing astrologers all sects observe the same
day as the beginning of the fast.
JAINA COMMUNITY
77
time at the court of King Vikramaditya.1 There was
another equally learned ascetic called VriddhavadI, and
these two were anxious to meet and discover whose
learning entitled him to be regarded as the superior of
the other. At last they did encounter each other, but
unfortunately they met in a jungle where the only judges
they could find to decide their cause were ignorant village
cowherds. Siddhasena, fresh from the Sanskrit-loving court,
began the dispute, but used so many Sanskrit words that
the cowherds had no idea what he was talking about, and
quickly gave the palm to VriddhavadI who spoke in the
simplest language and quoted many a shrewd rural jest
and proverb ; so Siddhasena had to accept VriddhavadI as
his conqueror and guru. Siddhasena, however, still proud
of his Sanskrit, formed the plan of translating all the Jaina
scriptures from MagadhI (a language understood by the
common people) into Sanskrit : but his guru showed him
the sin it would be thus to place them out of the reach
of ordinary folk, and as penance for the very idea he
wandered about for twelve years without uttering a word.
His importance to Jainism lies evidently in his failure
to sanskritize either the language or the scriptures ; 2
but he is also credited with the conversion to Jainism
of King Vikramaditya of Ujjain and of Devapala, king
of Kumarapura. He is supposed to have died about
57 b.c.
Two other events are supposed to have happened about
this time, the defeat of the Buddhists in a great argument
by a famous Jaina controversialist, an ascetic called Arya
1 Vikramaditya, according to tradition, was king of Ujjain, and
‘the golden age ’ of Sanskrit literature is said to have coincided with
his reign. He is now considered by many scholars to be a purely
legendary monarch.
2 There is said to be always a marked difference between the
speech of a Brahman and a Jaina, since the former use as many
Sanskrit words as possible, and the latter, especially the Sthana-
kavasl, use the simple vernacular.
HISTORY OF THE
Vajra-
svamT.
Vajra-
sena.
The
Great
Schism.
78
Khaputa who lived in Broach, and the founding of Satrun-
jaya1 in the state of Palitana.
The next spiritual leader 2 of great importance for our
purpose was VajrasvamI, the last and greatest of the Dasa-
purvl. It was in his time that the sixth schism took place.
A Jaina sadhu called Rohagupta3 taught that there are not
seven but only three constituent elements of the earth, viz. :
Jlva, Ajlva and Nojiva ; the schism is accordingly called
the Nojiva schism and is believed to have arisen in a. d. 71.
A seventh schism, led by Gosta Mahal, also took place
under Vajrasvaml’s rule. The Jaina believe that VajrasvamI
was able to call up at will a magic carpet which conveyed
him and his friends to any distance, and that once by its
means he transplanted the whole community from a famine-
stricken district to the town of Purl. The more enlightened
Jaina say that this carpet really represents some modern
mode of locomotion (steam engine, motor car, or aeroplane)
the secret of whose construction VajrasvamI had anticipated.
VajrasvamI had a famous disciple, Aryaraksita, who had
originally been a Brahman and had studied all knowledge at
Benares. His mother spurred him on to study the Jaina
Purva, and whilst doing so he was converted to Jainism and
learnt from VajrasvamI the whole of the nine-and-a-half
Purva. He is famous amongst the Jaina for having arranged
the Sutra into four divisions that they might be the more
easily understood.
We now come to the great division of the community.
VajrasvamI was followed by Vajrasena, and under his
leadership the Digambara finally separated from the main
community. The new Head had not the personality of his
1 Satrunjaya, the Jaina say, was built by a monk who had the
power of rising through the air, and by a disciple of his who had the
power of creating gold. This fortunate conjunction of talents has
resulted in one of the loveliest temple cities in the world.
2 Indradinna had been followed by Dinnasuri, and he by Simhagiri,
and then came VajrasvamI.
3 Rohagupta had a disciple called Kanada who was, according to
the Jaina, the founder of the famous Vaisesika philosophy.
JAINA COMMUNITY
79
predecessors, and was probably not strong enough to hold
the balance between two contending parties ; at any rate the
Digambara now hived off. Differing dates are given for the
separation : the Svetambara believe it to have taken place
in a. d. 142, the SthanakavasI in a. d. 83, whilst Dr. Hoernle
places the date about a. d. 79 or 82.
The Svetambara declare that the opposition sect was
really founded (like many another sect since !) in a fit of
temper, and give the following account of how it occurred.
A certain Sivabhuti, who had been in the service of the
king of Rathavirapura, decided to become a Jaina ascetic.
On the day of his initiation the king gave him a most costly
and beautiful blanket as a farewell present. Seeing how
over-fond he was of it, his guru advised him to return the
gift, but he refused ; whereupon, to save him from the
snare, the guru during his absence tore the blanket into
small pieces. Sivabhuti was so angry when he found what
had happened that he declared that if he might not keep
his blanket he would keep no covering at all, but would
wander naked through the world like the Lord Mahavlra
himself. His first two disciples were Kaundinya and
Kattavira. His sister Uttara also wanted to follow him,
but, seeing that it was impossible for a woman to go about
nude, Sivabhuti refused to allow her to join him and
declared that no woman could attain moksa without
rebirth as a man.
The probability is that there had always been two parties
in the community : the older and weaker section, who wore
clothes and dated from Parsvanatha’s time, and who were
called the Sthavira kalpa (the spiritual ancestors of the
Svetambara) ; and the Jina kalpa, or Puritans, who kept the
extreme letter of the law as Mahavlra had done, and who
are the forerunners of the Digambara.
The five main tenets of the Digambara in which they
oppose the Svetambara views1 are : that the Tlrthankara
1 They also differ on many points of ritual and custom.
8o
HISTORY OF THE
Differ-
ences be-
tween
Svetam-
bara and
Digam-
bara.
Hari-
bhadra
Suri.
must be represented as nude and unadorned, and with
downcast eyes; that women cannot obtain moksa; that
Mahavlra never married ; that once a saint had obtained
Kevala jnana he needed no food, but could sustain life
without eating ; and finally the great point over which the
split occurred, that ascetics must be entirely nude, a decision
which condemns the one or two Digambara ascetics now
existing to live in the strict seclusion of a forest, somewhat
to the relief of the reformers of their sect, who are thus
saved from their interference.1
There were several spiritual leaders of no great moment
who followed Vajrasena,2 but the next of real importance
was the great Haribhadra Suri. Haribhadra was origin-
ally a learned Brahman and inordinately proud of his
knowledge. He was converted to Jainism through hearing
a Jaina nun named Yakani recite a sloka which Haribhadra
could not understand ; the nun referred him to her guru,
but the guru refused to explain it unless the inquirer first
received initiation as a Jaina monk, which he accord-
ingly did. Two of Haribhadra’s nephews, Hamsa and
Paramaharhsa, became his disciples, and later on he sent
1 The Digambara also differ on certain historical details. The
following, according to some authorities, is the list of Acarya who
came after Jambu SvamI ; this list carries their records up to a. d. 216.
Visnu, Nandimitra, Aparajita, Govardhana and Bhadrabahu, who all
knew the twelve Ahga. These were followed by Visakhacarya,
Paustilacarya, Ksatriya, Jayasena, Nagasena, Siddhartha, Dhritisena,
Vijaya, Buddhimana, Ganadeva and Dharmasena ; all these eleven
knew eleven Ahga and ten Purva. Naksatra, Jayapala, Pandu,
Dharmasena and Kamsacarya, who followed, knew only the texts
of eleven Ahga. Then came four men, Subhadeva, Yasobhadra,
Mahlyasa and Lokacarya, who knew only one Ahga.
2 His immediate follower was Candrasuri, under whom the name
of the community was changed from Kodlgaccha to Candragaccha,
only to be renamed Vanavaslgaccha under the next leader, Samanta-
bhadrasuri, owing to that ascetic’s love of living in the forest.
Manadeva was the next Head of the community. He was waited on
by four goddesses, and composed many mantras (called santistotra ),
against the plague that raged in Taxila. He was followed by
Manatunga, the author of the Bhaktamarastotra. This stotra of forty-
four verses was so powerful that each verse when repeated could
break open a locked door !
JAINA COMMUNITY 8t
them disguised to study Buddhist doctrines in order to re-
fute them on their return. The Buddhist monks, however,
were suspicious of the orthodoxy of these new inquirers
and drew images of the Tlrthaiikara on the steps of their
monastery to see if they would tread on them. But the
two Jaina boys neatly turned the tables by adding the
sacred thread 1 to the sketches and so making them repre-
sentations of Buddha ; this done, they trod on them happily
enough. Enraged at this insult to their great leader, the
Buddhist monks slew the lads. Haribhadra, maddened at
their loss, determined to slay all the monks, some 1,444,
in boiling oil by means of his occult powers, but was stopped
in time by his guru.2 He repented deeply of his hasty
resolve, and to expiate it he wrote no less than 1,444 books
on various subjects, some of which remain to this day.
Siddhasuri 3 was the next great head of the community ;
he was the grandson of a Prime Minister of Srlmala (once
the capital of Gujarat) and the cousin of the famous
Sanskrit poet Magha. Siddhasuri’s conversion happened
on this wise. After his marriage he became a great gambler,
and his wife grieved sorely over his absences from home.
One night she was sitting up as usual waiting for his return,
when her mother-in-law, seeing her weeping, asked her to go
to sleep and said she would sit up for her son. When
Siddhasuri returned long after midnight, his mother refused
to open the door and told him to go and spend the night
anywhere he could gain a welcome, for there was no admit-
tance for him there. Deeply hurt, he sought entrance at the
only open door he could find, which happened to be that of
a Jaina Apasaro.4 The sadhus were all sitting on the floor,
1 The Jaina never wear the sacred thread as the Buddhists do. The
Brahmans of course always wear it from their eighth year.
2 Bhandarkar gives a different account in his Search after Jaina
MSS., 1883, p. 1 41, where it is said that Haribhadra actually killed
the monks. This the Jaina indignantly deny.
3 His date is variously given as A. D. 536 and 539.
4 The name given to a Jaina meeting-house and monks' lodging.
G
Siddha-
suri.
82
HISTORY OF THE
^Ilaguna-
suri.
recalling what they had learnt during the day, and their
head, the gargarisi, as he was called, told him that before
he could join their company he must become a sadhu too.
Siddhasuri instantly resolved to do so : he obtained his
father’s permission, though with great difficulty, and was
initiated on the following morning.1 He studied Jainism
deeply and became a great scholar, writing a commentary
on the Upadesamala of Dharmadasaganl. He then wished
to study Buddhism and asked the gargari§i’s permission to
go to a Buddhist monastery for this purpose. The gargarisi
agreed, though with misgivings, but stipulated that if ever
Siddhasuri felt he was being drawn to the Buddhist faith,
he should come back and see him at least once before he
joined their order. It fell out as the gargarisi had feared;
the Buddhists were so struck with Siddhasuri’s learning that
they proposed that he should turn Buddhist and become
their Acarya. Remembering his promise, he returned home
to see the gargarisi once again ; he was, however, engaged,
and asked Siddhasuri to read a certain book, the Lalitavi-
stara by Haribhadrasuri, whilst he waited. As he read it,
repentance overtook him ; he was again convinced of the
soundness of the Jaina faith, sought forgiveness from the
gargarisi, performed the penance imposed and became a
sound Jaina. Eventually he rose to the position of Acarya
and strove by every means in his power to spread the faith.
The biographies of the successive leaders of the com-
munity need not detain us, but about two hundred years
later there arose a great sadhu named Sflagunasuri, who
is famous as the restorer of the Cavada dynasty. Once
when wandering as a sadhu in the jungle between Wadhwan
and Kadlpatana he saw a cradle hanging from a tree with
a baby in it. By his knowledge of palmistry he at once
discovered that this forlorn child would some day be a king.
The child’s mother appeared and told him that she was the
1 The Jaina now wish to institute a period of testing and training
before a candidate can obtain initiation.
JAIN A COMMUNITY
«3
widow of the vanquished king of Gujarat, Jayasikhara,
and that the child’s name was Vanaraja. Sllagunasuri
went to the neighbouring city and told the Jaina laymen
of his discovery and of his belief that this child would one
day be a king, and advised them to bring him up as a Jaina
to the advantage of their faith. It all fell out as Sllagunasuri
had foretold, and when, grown to manhood after some years
of outlawry, Vanaraja defeated his enemies and recovered
the crown, he called Sllagunasuri to his court, declared his
intention of reigning as a Jaina king, and built the temple
of Pancasara Parasanatha which still stands in Patana.
An Acarya named Siddhasena once had a dream in which Bappa-
he saw a lion’s cub on the roof of a temple ; by this sign bha-lsul
he knew that whoever should come to him during the
following day would be capable of becoming a great sadhu.
The next day a clever lad called Bappa appeared, and
Siddhasena asked him if he would like to stay in the Apasaro
and study with him. The boy agreed, and the boy’s father
too was quite content, until he learnt that Siddhasena wished
to turn his son into a sadhu. The father’s chief objection
was that, as the boy was an only son, his own name would
die out, but this was overcome by adding the father’s name
to the son’s and calling him Bappabhattl. Bappabhatti
as a sadhu was most zealous for the faith. Once he saw
a boy weeping in a Jaina temple, who told him that he and
his mother (one of the wives of the king of Kanauj) had
been driven out through the intrigues of a co-wife. Bappa-
bhatti arranged for the boy’s comfort and assured him that
he would one day be king of Kanauj. When this happened,
the young king called Bappabhattl to his court and assisted
Jainism in every possible way by building temples and
Apasara. Bappabhatti declined to stay long in the morally
enervating atmosphere of a court, but during his second
visit was enabled to save the king from the toils of a nautch
girl. Visiting Bengal, Bappabhatti won over a reigning
prince to the Jaina faith. Later he met a Buddhist preacher
84
HISTORY OF THE
Silanga-
carya.
Abhaya-
devasuri.
Henia-
carya.
whom he defeated in a discussion, thereby gaining for himself
the magnificent title of the Lion who defeated the Elephant
in argument. After spreading the faith in many other ways,
he died in a. d. 839.
Passing over other leaders of less importance, we come to
Silangacarya,1 the dates of whose birth and death are un-
certain, but who was alive in a. d. 862. He wrote com-
mentaries on each of the eleven Aiiga, but unfortunately
only two of these remain.
In a. d. 1031 a boy of sixteen, named Abhayadevasuri, was
made head of the community ; he wrote commentaries to
supply the place of the missing nine commentaries of
Silangacarya.
Some sixty years later was born the famous Hemacarya2 or
Hemacandrasuri, who became Head or Acarya in a. d. 1121.
He wrote a comparative grammar of six of the Prakrits,
with which Siddharaja, the reigning king of Gujarat, was so
delighted that he placed it before him on an elephant and
took it to his treasury in state. The next king, Kumarapala,
was converted to Jainism through Hemacarya’s influence.
This monarch, besides building magnificent temples, en-
deared himself still more to his Jaina subjects by prohibiting
the killing of animals throughout his dominions. Under
Kumarapala Jainism became the state religion of Gujarat,
and its head-quarters were no longerjto be found in the
district of Bihar its birthplace, but were transferred to the
dominions of this Jaina king. Hemacarya continued his
literary labours throughout his long life, and it is said that
before his death in a. d. 1184 he had written 35,000,000 sloka
on such differing subjects as religion, history and grammar.
As Hemacarya wrote chiefly in Sanskrit, his name is held
in high honour by educated Hindus as well as Jaina. No
Acarya since Hemacandra has ever wielded so great an
1 Or, Sllankacarya.
2 Dr. Jacobi gives Hemacandra’s dates as A.D. 1088 or 1089-1173,
E.R.E., vi. 591.
JAINA COMMUNITY
»5
influence;1 he is called the ‘Omniscient of the Kaliyuga’,
and with his name we may fitly close our account of the
early Heads of the Community.
Epigraphic Corroboration.
In our study of the Jaina tradition with regard to
Mahavira and his successors we have incidentally touched
the outstanding points of Jaina history as accepted to-day
by European scholars. Not long ago all statements made by
the Jaina about themselves were received with the gravest
suspicion, but the inscriptions which have been deciphered
at Mathura and elsewhere so corroborate the Jaina account
that it would seem well worth while to collect and collate
their annals and legends as material for that Jaina history
which, owing to the incompleteness of our knowledge,
cannot yet be written in full.
The events on which in the meantime most scholars are
agreed, and which are borne out in the Jaina history that
we have studied, include the existence of the Parsvanatha
order of monks prior to Mahavira ; the birth of Mahavira
somewhere about 599 b.c. and his death about 527 b.c. ;
and the remarkable spread of Jainism under Suhastin in the
third century b.c., which, as Dr. Hoernle 2 points out, is
corroborated not only by their own pattavalls,3 but also
by an inscription of Kharavela on the Khandagiri rock near
Cuttack, which shows that by the middle of the second
century the Jaina had spread as far as Southern Orissa.
There is a still earlier inscription dating from about
242 b. c. referring to the Jaina, the edict of Asoka, the
great Maurya king who lived in the third century b.c.,
which is cited by Vincent Smith.4 He says in the second
part of the seventh ‘ pillar ’ edict which he issued in the
twenty-ninth year of his reign :
1 An English-speaking Jaina has written of him thus : ‘ He was man
pious and profound and wiser even than Shakespeare, and had a
memory far surpassing that of Macaulay.’
- J.A.S.B., 1898, p. 48. 3 Lists of the succession of teachers.
4 Asoka (Rulers of India series), pp. 192, 193.
86
HISTORY OF THE
‘ My Censors of the Law of Piety are employed on manifold objects
of the royal favour affecting both ascetics and householders, and are
likewise employed among all denominations. Moreover, I have
arranged for their employment in the business of the Church ( sangha )
and in the same way I have employed them among the Brahmans and
the Ajlvikas, and among the Jains also are they employed, and, in fact,
among all the different denominations.’
This, as Dr. Biihler says, shows that the Jaina occupied
a position of no small importance even at that date.
The inscriptions in Mathura dating from the first and
second century a. d. also go to prove the trustworthiness of
the Jaina historical traditions enshrined in the Kalpa Sutra,
for they show the same divisions and subdivisions of the
Jaina schools, families and branches as the Kalpa Sutra
recorded,1 and they also mention the Kautika2 division
(founded by Susthita) which belonged to the Svetambara
sect, thus proving the early date of the schism.
After the schism the next great event in Jaina history
was the birth of Hemacandra, his success in winning over
to Jainism Kumarapala (perhaps in a. d. 1125) and the
resulting change of the Jaina head-quarters from Bihar, its
birthplace, to Gujarat, which since that date has been the
chief centre of Jaina influence.
The legends, however, throw light for us on much of the
intervening time, witnessing as they do to the conflicts
between Jainism and its two great rivals, Brahmanism and
Buddhism.
The Later Sects.
Under the rule of Hemacandra Jainism reached its
zenith, and after his time its influence declined. Brahman
opposition grew stronger and stronger, and the Jaina say
that their temples were often destroyed. Constant dissen-
sions amongst themselves divided the Jaina community
into numberless sects such as the Punamlyagaccha, the
1 J. G. Biihler, The Indian Sect of the Jainas, London, 1903, p. 43.
2 Hoernle, J. A . A'. B., 1 898, p 50.
JAINA COMMUNITY 87
Kharataragaccha, the Ancalagaccha, the Sardhapunamiya-
gaccha, the Agamikagaccha and the Tapagaccha.1
Thus weakened, Jainism could ill withstand the Moham-
medan deluge which swept over India in the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries. Jaina temples were razed to the
ground, their sacred books burnt and their monastic com-
munities massacred. Buddhism was simply swept out of
India proper altogether by the storm, but, as we have already
noticed, Mahavira’s genius for organization now proved the
salvation of his community. Firmly rooted amongst the
laity, they were able, once the hurricane was past, to
reappear once more and begin to throw out fresh branches.
One trace of their suffering still remains in the way the
Jaina guard their sacred books in Treasure Houses (often
underground) to which no alien can gain admittance.
The next outstanding event in Jaina history was the rise Rise of
of the non-idolatrous sects. The SthanakavasI love to non'
ldola-
point out the similarity of dates between their rise, which trous
was a true Reformation as far as they were concerned, and sects-
that of the birth and work of Martin Luther in Europe.
They arose not directly from the Svetambara but as re-
formers of an older reforming sect.
Loiika Sa was the name of an Ahmadabad Jaina belonging The
originally to the Svetambara sect, who employed several
clerks to copy the Jaina scriptures. About a. d. 1474
a Svetambara sadhu named JnanajI asked him to copy
several sacred books for him : whilst reading these,
Lonka Sa was struck with the fact that idol-worship
was not once mentioned in them. He pointed this out
to JnanajI and others, and a sharp controversy arose
between them as to the lawfulness of idolatry. In the
meantime a crowd of pilgrims going to Satrunjaya arrived
in Ahmadabad and were won over to Lonka Sa’s side, but
unfortunately they had no sadhu amongst them. At length
1 This last is the most important sect. It is ruled by twelve Srlpujya,
the chief of whom has his seat in Jaipur.
The
Sthana-
kavasl
sect.
88 HISTORY OF THE JAINA COMMUNITY
a Svetambara layman named Bhanaji was convinced and
decided to become a sadhu. As there was no guru obtain-
able, he ordained himself and became the first Acarya of the
Lonka sect. The office of Acarya might almost be said to
have become hereditary in his hands ; for though, of course,
he had no descendants, yet he himself selected from the
Lonka sadhus the one who should fill the office of Acarya
on his death ; his successor did the same, and this custom
exists amongst the Lonka Jaina down to the present day.
Some of the members of the Lonka sect disapproved of
the lives of their sadhus, declaring that they lived less
strictly than Mahavira would have wished. A Lonka lay-
man, Viraji of Surat, received initiation as a sadhu and
won great admiration through the strictness of his life.
Many from the Lonka sect joined this reformer, and they
took the name of SthanakavasI 1 whilst their enemies called
them Dhundhia.2
The present writer had the pleasure of meeting the Acarya
of the Sthanakavas! sect, a gentleman named Sr! Lalaji,
whom his followers hold to be the seventy-eighth Acarya
in direct succession to Mahavira. Many sub-sects have arisen
amongst the Sthanakavas! Jaina, and each of these has its
own Acarya, but they all unite in honouring Sri Lalaji as a
true ascetic. Excepting on the crucial point of idol-worship,
the SthanakavasI differ very little from the Svetambara sect
out of which they sprang, often indeed calling themselves
Sthanakavas! Svetambara.
1 Those who live in Apasara (not in temples).
2 Searchers. This title has grown to be quite an honourable one.
CHAPTER VI
INTRODUCTION TO JAINA PHILOSOPHY
A well-known authority has said that it is doubtful
whether Jainism can truthfully claim to have contributed
a single new thought of value to the sum of philosophy.
However that may be, it is absolutely necessary to follow
this intricate system through all those long lists with their
divisions and subdivisions in which the Jaina love to classify
and arrange their thought, if one would understand how they
think of the soul ( jlva ) and the means by which it may free
itself from the consequence of action and obtain deliverance ;
for this is the chief content of Jaina philosophy. A special
interest to the student of Jaina thought lies in trying to guess
— for as yet we are only in the guessing stage— from whence
the Jaina have gleaned their various ideas. The animistic
element bulks largely in all Indian thought, and one proof
of the antiquity of Jainism is the way in which it has in-
corporated animistic beliefs into its ‘ systematic theology ’ ;
for, as we shall see when we come to discuss the nine cate-
gories, the system is not only animistic but hylozoistic.
The Jaina, in common with the Buddhists, seem to have
accepted as the ground-work of their belief the philosophy
of the Brahman Sannyasin. They incorporated into their
faith the doctrines of transmigration and karma1 without
putting a special stamp on either ; but the doctrine of
non-killing (ahi/'usa), which they also borrowed, they
exalted to a position of primary importance, and they
laid an entirely new emphasis on the value of austerity
both inward and outward. Like Buddhism and Brah-
manism, Jainism might be defined as a ‘ way of escape ’
1 Save that whilst the Brahmans believe that karma acts indirectly
through the agency of God, the Jaina hold that it acts automatically.
90 INTRODUCTION TO J AINA PHILOSOPHY
not from death but from life ; but unlike either of them,
it hopes to escape not into nothingness nor into absorption,
but into a state of being without qualities, emotions, or
relations, and removed from the possibility of rebirth.
It is interesting to look at Jainism in relation to the six
schools of Indian philosophy. In reference to them the
Jaina quote the old story of six blind men who each laid
their hands on a different part of an elephant and tried
to describe the whole animal. The man who held the
ear thought the creature resembled a winnowing-fan, the
holder of the leg imagined that he was clinging to a big
round pillar, and similarly each opinion differed, but the
owner who saw the whole explained that each had only
a portion of the truth. The six men represent the six
schools, and the owner is in their view of course Jainism.
The Jaina hold in fact that the six schools of philosophy
are part and parcel of one organic whole, and that if one
be taken by itself it becomes a false doctrine. One of the
great questions amongst the schools is as to whether an
effect is the same as its material cause or pre-exists in that
cause and is only made manifest by the operation which
that cause undergoes (this is the Satkarya doctrine of
the Sankhya and the Vedanta) ; or whether the effect
is something new and did not exist before (which is the
Asatkarya doctrine held by the Vaise§ika). On this point
Jainism shows its usual comprehensiveness, and believing
that both views were linked together from time without
beginning, says that ‘ an effect pre-exists in the cause in
one sense and is a new thing in another. If you look at
an effect such as a jar as a mere substance, the substance
is the same as in the loose earth of which the jar is made ;
but if you look at the jar as a modification, it is new and
did not exist when the earth was in the condition of loose
particles
Another burning question is whether or no the soul
1 Bhandarkar, Search for Sanskrit Manuscripts in 1883-4, p. 101.
INTRODUCTION TO JAINA PHILOSOPHY 91
exists and acts. The Kriyavada doctrine teaches that the
soul exists, acts, and is affected by acts, and this is held
by the Jaina 1 in common with the Vaise§ika and Nyaya
schools. The opposite doctrine — the Akriyavada — that
the soul does not exist, or that it does not act, or is not
affected by acts, is held, according to the Jaina view, by
the Buddhists in common with the Vedanta, Sankhya
and Yoga schools, and those who hold this doctrine will
be, so the Jaina aver, whirled round in the endless circle
of rebirths.
Another great question is as to how the soul becomes
fettered. The Sankhya school believe it to be owing to an
insentient principle which they call prakriti ; the Vedantists
believe also that it is owing to an insentient principle, but
this principle they hold to be maya or avidya ; but the
Jaina believe the jiva to be bound through the pudgala 2
of karma.
Deliverance necessarily differs, according as the fetters
differ. The Vedanta school holds that mok§a is gained
by learning to distinguish the true soul ( atma ) from the
illusion {maya) which fetters it, and the Sankhya similarly
strives to know atma as separated from prakriti, but the
Jaina conceive of the spirit as freed through austerities
from the karma it had accumulated, and existing in limit-
less serenity.
The Jaina claim not to be Ekantavadin, those who look
at things from one point of view, but Anekantavadin,
those who look at things from various points of view, and
the part of their philosophy of which they are most proud
is the Saptabhangl Naya.
Dr. Jacobi3 thinks that this may have been invented to
confute the views of some dangerous opponent, probably
the Agnosticism of Sanjaya. (Certainly to fight against it
would be as difficult and useless as fighting against a London
fog !) The locus classicus of its exposition to which all
1 S. B. E., xlv, p. xxv. 2 See p. 106. 3 S. B. E., xlv, p. xxvii.
Seven
modes
of asser-
tion.
92 INTRODUCTION TO JAINA PHILOSOPHY
Jaina immediately refer you is in Dr. Bhandarkar’s Search
for Jaina Manuscripts ,x from which they always quote it
in full.
‘You can’, the famous passage runs, ‘affirm existence of a thing
from one point of view (Sydd asti), deny it from another (Syan ftdsti) ;
and affirm both existence and non-existence with reference to it at
different times (Sydd asti ndsti). If you should think of affirming
both existence and non-existence at the same time from the same point
of view, you must say that the thing cannot be so spoken of (Sydd
avaktavyah). Similarly under certain circumstances, the affirmation
of existence is not possible (Sydd asti avaktavyah) ; of non-existence
(Syan ndsti avaktavyah) ; and also of both (Sydd asti ndsti avaktavyah).
What is meant by these seven modes is that a thing should not be
considered as existing everywhere, at all times, in all ways, and in the
form of everything. It may exist in one place and not in another, and
at one time and not at another.’
The example pandits gave the writer to illustrate this
important doctrine was that one and the same man is
spoken of as father, uncle, father-in-law, son, son-in-law,
brother and grandfather.
As an illustration of its use they say :
‘ Let us suppose that an agnostic denies the existence of soul in all
ways. To him the Jaina Syadvada would answer that as soul is a
substance, it exists. Soul exists in itself and its modifications, but it
does not exist in other substances such as matter (pudgala), &c.,
and also other substances do not exist in soul. So, from this point of
view, soul does not exist. But soul sometimes exists and also does not
exist at different times. But the soul cannot be spoken of, if we think
of affirming its existence and non-existence, at the same time and from
the same point of view. Similarly, under certain conditions, viz. when
the state of existence (i.e. astitva) itself cannot be spoken of, i.e. exists
and exists and does not exist cannot be spoken of at the same time, we
are unable to affirm that existence is possible, that non-existence is
possible, and that both existence and non-existence are possible. Thus
Syadvada teaches the fundamental theory that everything in the
universe is related to every other thing. . . . The Jaina school of
philosophy coincides, in one respect, with Hegel’s idea that being
and non-being are identical.’ 2
1 Bhandarkar, loc. cit., pp. 95 ff.
2 U. D. Barodia, History and Literature of Jainism, Bombay, 1909,
p. 119.
INTRODUCTION TO JAINA PHILOSOPHY 93
But though the Jaina are very proud of this part of their
philosophy, they hold it as a thing apart, and it does not
seem to permeate their daily thought and life. To them
the crucial point is, how may a jlva free itself from its
transitory imprisonment, and, following the upward path,
attain deliverance at last ? The answer to this question
they find in the Nine Categories.
CHAPTER VII
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF FUNDAMENTAL
TRUTHS
First Category: Jiva.
The Jaina consider that the foundation of true philo-
sophy consists of nine categories.1 ‘ He who truly believes
the true teaching of the fundamental truths possesses
righteousness,’ says the Uttaradhyayana.2
All three sects of Jaina, however much they may
differ with regard to the eyes and adornments of their
idols, or as to whether they should have idols at all, agree
as to these principles, though the Digambara number them
differently, and by including two of them under other
heads make the categories seven instead of nine.
The first of these nine categories ( Nava Tattva ) is always
given as jiva, a word which is varyingly used to connote
life, vitality, soul, or consciousness. When jiva is used
as equivalent to ' soul ’ it differs from the Brahmanic idea
of ‘ soul ’, for the Jaina believe that whilst the knowledge
possessed by the jiva (or atma) may be boundless, the jiva
itself is limited ; whilst followers of the Saiikhya, Nyaya
and Vaisesika schools believe the soul to be co-extensive
with the universe. Both Brahmans and Jaina believe,
in contradistinction to the Buddhists, that the soul is
absolute and permanent, and according to the Jaina it
is the jiva which suffers or enjoys the fruits of its deeds,
and then, in consequence of the karma it has acquired,
goes through the succession of rebirths, and finally, obtain-
ing freedom through the destruction of its karma, soars
upwards to moksa.
1 An analysis of the Nine Categories is given in the Appendix.
2 S.F.E., xlv, p. 154.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS 95
A famous sloka of the great Hemacarya thus describes
the characteristics of the jiva :
It performs different kinds of actions, it reaps the fruit
of those actions, it circles round returning again ; these
and none other are the characteristics of the soul.
Jiva has further been described as a conscious substance,
capable of development, imperceptible to the senses, an
active agent, and as big as the body it animates.1
In a most interesting note Dr. Jacobi suggests that the
Jaina have arrived ‘ at their concept of soul, not through
the search after the Self, the self-existing unchangeable
principle in the ever-changing world of phenomena, but
through the perception of life. For the most general
Jaina term for soul is life (jiva), which is identical with
self ( aya , atman) ' ; 2 and the way in which the category
jiva is divided and subdivided, building up from the lesser
to the more developed life, certainly bears out Dr. Jacobi’s
contention ; for the Jaina lay stress on Life not Self.
Sometimes jiva itself is considered as a division of
Dravya (or substance), its chief characteristic being cai~
tanya (consciousness).
This conscious sentient principle, jiva or atma, so long The
as it feels desire, hatred and other attachments, and isP°-versor
fettered by karma, undergoes continual reincarnations, possessed
In each new birth it makes its home in a new form, and by J‘va-
there assumes those bodily powers or prana 3 which its
various actions in previous births have entitled it to possess,
for the possession or non-possession of any faculty depends
on karma. The most perfectly developed jiva has ten
prana and the lowest type must possess at least four.
Of these ten prana, five are called Indriya prana, since
they relate to the senses. They are the sense of touch
1 Bhandarkar, Search for Sanskrit MSS. in 1883-4, p. 106.
2 -S'. B. E., xxii, p. 3.
3 Much confusion has arisen through not distinguishing the Jaina
use of the word prana from the Vedantist, with whom it means breath,
and who say that there are five vital prana or breaths.
96
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
The
divisions
of Jlva
into : —
i. Two
classes.
ii. Three
classes.
iii. Four
classes.
( Sparsendriya ) ; the sense of taste ( Rasendriya ) ; the sense
of smell ( Ghranendriya ) ; the sense of sight ( Caksurindriya ) ;
the sense of hearing ( Sravanendriya ).
There are also three other powers known as Baja prana :
bodily power ( Kayabala ), speech (V acanaba/a) and mind
(Manaba/a). The ninth Prana, Anapana prana (or Svaso-
cchvasa) gives the powers of respiration ; and the tenth
prana, Ayu prana, is the possession of the allotted span
of life during which the jlva has to sustain a particular
bodily form.
In order to understand Jlva more fully, the Jaina divide
it according to the class of beings in which its past karma
may force it for a time to take up its abode. The first
division which they make is into Siddha and Samsari.
A man’s karma may force him to dwell in some being still
struggling with all the troubles of this present world,
sullied by contact with Ajlva (insentient matter), and
having further rebirths to undergo before he can reach
moksa ; or he may have attained deliverance and become
a Siddha. The Samsari live in the world, but the Siddha,
or perfected ones, who are freed from karma, live in a
place called Isatpragbhara, which consists of pure white
gold and has the form of an open umbrella.1 The beings
who dwell there have no visible form, but consist of Life
throughout and possess paramount happiness which admits
of no comparison.
We have divided Life into two classes : Siddha and
Samsari, perfected and unperfected ; we may now, the
Jaina say, divide Samsari life into three divisions : male,
female and neuter.2
Or again, we may regard it in four ways, according to
the place where it was born. Jiva born in hell are called
1 Cp. S. B. E., xlv, p. 212.
2 With the Jaina, however, these words do not seem to bear quite
the usual English connotation. Living things are sometimes con-
sidered neuter, and non-living things male or female.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
97
Naraki ; those born in a state lower than human and inhabit-
ing the bodies of insects, birds, reptiles, animals, or plants
are named T iryahc ; Manusya are jiva born as human beings ;
and those who are born as spirits, whether gods or demons,1
are called Devata. These four possible places of birth are
shown in the accompanying Svastika sign, which is con-
stantly seen in Jaina books and temples.
Devata
Manusya
Tiryanc
N araki
Jiva may be classified in five ways, according to the iv. Five
number of senses it possesses, as Ekendriya, Be-indriya,2 cIasses-
Tri-indriya, Corendriya, and Pancendriya..3
Ekendriya jiva possess only one sense, the sense of touch, iv ( a ).
but have four prana : touch, body, the power of exhaling Ek?ndri-
and inhaling, and the allotted term of life.
They are subdivided into Prithvlkaya, Apakaya, Teukaya,
Vayukaya, and Vanaspatikaya. Things belonging to the
earth, such as stones,4 lumps of clay, salts, chalk, diamonds
and other minerals, are called Prithvlkaya ekendriya.
Though ordinary persons are unable to perceive in these
the power of suffering, yet a Kevali can do so, for he sees
that they have four prana, including the power of breathing
and of touch. The longest span for which a jiva can be
1 A Vedantist would not use the word devata to express an evil
spirit, and this has sometimes led to confusion.
2 Sanskrit Dvlndriya, Trlndriya, Caturindriya, Pancindriya.
3 It is interesting to compare these divisions with those of Gosala,
which they much resemble.
4 Dr. Jacobi shows how this and the other animistic beliefs of
Jainism point to its antiquity. S. B. E., xlv, p. xxxiii.
H
9«
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
compelled to inhabit such a lodging is twenty-two thou-
sand years, and the shortest time less than forty-eight
moments,1 but as the jiva’s karma is gradually exhausted,
it will be reborn into happier conditions.2 These earth
lives are also divided into those which we can see and
those which are invisible to the human eye. By ill-treating
any earth life we deprive ourselves of our chance of happi-
ness and perfect wisdom.
The Jaina believe that water3 itself (not, as is so often
supposed, the animalculae living in it) is inhabited by
Ekendriya jiva called Apakaya ekendriya. Apakaya in-
clude rain, dew, fog, melted snow, melted hail, &c. The
shortest span a jiva can pass in water is a moment,4 though
more usually it will have to wait there for rebirth for at least
forty-eight moments ; but the longest time its karma can
condemn it to this imprisonment is seven thousand years.
It is this belief in the power of inflicting pain on water
that makes Jaina monks so particular about only taking it
when it has been boiled and strained and prevents some
of them using it at all for toilet purposes !
A man’s karma again may force him to become a Teukaya
ekendriya, or fire life, and he may have to pass into an
ordinary fire, the light of a lamp, a magnet, electricity,
a meteor, flintstone sparks, a forest conflagration, or a
submarine fire,5 but one can only be condemned to be
afire life for a period varying from one instant6 to three
1 Antarmuhurtta.
2 Jaina differ from some other schools of thought in believing that it
is possible for thejlva inhabiting a man to be so weighed down by evil
karma that it may in its very next rebirth have to pass into an
Ekendriya Prithvlkaya, or earth life. They also differ, of course, from
the Vcdantists, who believe in one all-soul, not in numberless individual
souls like these.
3 Compare ‘the heroes (of faith), humbly bent, (should retain their belief
in) the illustrious road (to final liberation) and in the world (of water
bodies)’. Acarahga Siitra, S. B. E., xxii, p. 5.
4 Some Jaina think it is forty-eight moments.
5 Jaina, like many Hindus, believe that waves are caused by sub-
marine fire in the bed of the ocean.
0 Samaya.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
99
days (i.e. seventy-two hours). A difference of opinion
exists amongst Jaina as to whether one can be condemned
to become lightning or not, for it does not seem to be known
for certain whether or no Teukaya exists in lightning.1
Again, all sorts of wind, such as cyclones, whirlwinds,
monsoons, west winds and trade-winds, are thought of as
inhabited by what are called Vayukaya ekendriya jiva. It
is difficult for us to understand that wind has a body and
can be made to suffer pain, but all this is plain to a Kevall.
The period a jiva may spend as wind varies according to
his karma from one instant to three thousand years.
All vegetable life, or Vanaspatikaya, also possesses but
one indriya. These jiva are divided into two classes :
Pratyeka, or life such as that of a tree (e. g. an orange or
mango tree), whose various branches, fruits and leaves
possess life derived from it, and Sadharana, the life pos-
sessed by potatoes,2 onions, carrots, figs, &c. Strict Jaina
will not eat any of the latter class, for example, potatoes,
beet, onions, &c., because more than one jiva has taken
up its lodging there ; but they will take oranges and man-
goes, once they are ripe, for then they are inhabited by
only one life. Life as a vegetable 3 may last from one
instant to ten thousand years.
Ascending the scale, we come to jiva possessing twoiv(£).Be-
senses (or Be-indriya ), that of taste as well as that of touch, ,ndri>'a-
and having six prana : taste, touch, body, the power of
exhaling and inhaling, an allotted term of life, and speech.
Such are animalculae, worms, things living in shells, leeches,
earth-worms. No one can be condemned to be a Be-indriya
for longer than twelve years.
1 In the Uttaradhyayana it is expressly stated that fire lives do exist
in lightning. S. B. E., xlv, p. 217.
2 In one potato there are countless bodies, and in each body count-
less lives exist.
3 Dr. Jacobi points out that plants and animals, being admitted
by all to be living beings, were_considered a better support of the
hylozoistic theory than wind. Acarahga Siltra , S.B.E., xxii, p. 9.
100
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
iv (c).
Tri-ia-
driya.
iy (d).
Coren-
driya.
A strict Jaina abstains from killing anything even in
the Ekendriya class, but the actual vow of Ahirhsa or
Non-killing for laymen starts from the Be-indriya class.
Monks vow not to kill anything in the Ekendriya class,
and hence refuse to touch water, clay, a clod of earth,
fire, &c. They cannot of course help breathing air, but
to hurt it as little as possible they cover their mouths
with a cloth. Monks never snap their fingers, or swing or
fan themselves, lest they should injure air. No point in
Jainism has been more misunderstood than this, even
scholars 1 supposing the mouth-cloth to be worn to pre-
vent the taking of animal life, whereas it is to prevent the
taking of air life.
In the next highest class, Tri-indriya, are placed all those
beings that in addition to the sense of touch and taste have
also the sense of smell, and so possess three indriya and seven
prana. In this class are red ants, white ants, black ants, bugs
and moths. A Jaina told me that in order to please the
insects of this class a devout householder when he finds
vermin will often place them on one particular bedstead
and then pay some poor person from four to six annas to
spend the night on that bedstead ! Others, however, deny this.
Of course no true Jaina will kill vermin, but will carefully
remove it from his body or house to some shady place
outside where it can dwell in safety. They say that, far
from killing vermin, they are bound to protect it, as it has
been created through their lack of cleanliness. No one’s
karma can force him to pass into this class of being for
more than forty-nine days, or for less than an instant of
time.
Beings still higher in the scale are the Corendriya,
those possessed of the four senses of touch, taste, smell
and sight ; these of course have eight prana. Wasps,
1 Mr. W. Crooke, for instance, says ( Imperial Gazetteer, vol. i, p. 416),
‘ They wear a screen of cloth before their mouths, lest they should
unwittingly inhale and destroy animal life.’
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
JOl
scorpions, mosquitoes, gnats, flies, locusts and butterflies
should be included under this heading, and also, according
to some Jaina, moths, which are, however, often classed as
Tri-indriya. Beings cannot be kept in this division for
longer than six months without rebirth.
The extra sense added to the jlva in the next class is
that of hearing ; and these Paiicendriya should therefore,
to correspond, be possessed of nine prana. Some, how-
ever, have an extra prana added, that of mind, and these
are called Samjnl paiicendriya, whilst the rest who have
only nine are called Asarhjhl. There are four divisions of
the Paiicendriya : hell beings, lower animals, human beings
and demigods. Of these the hell beings, human beings
and demigods are possessed of intelligence, and so are cer-
tain creatures such as cows, buffaloes and other domestic
animals; whilst frogs, fish and disease germs have no intel-
ligence, for these are all self-created !
Germs which are thus classified in a way that seems
strange to us as Paiicendriya are of great importance in
Jaina philosophy. When engaging in Pratikramana (or
Padikamanurh), i. e. Confession, Jaina think of the sins
they may have committed against any being possessing any
indriya and ask forgiveness. At this time they also think
of any germs which they may have created by sinning
against the laws of sanitation in fourteen specified ways.
If through a man’s carelessness or insanitary habits germs
should have multiplied and infection spread, Mahavlra
declared him to be guilty of a sin as grave as that of
murder.
The minimum of time which a being may be sentenced
to spend as a hell being or a demigod is ten thousand
years, and it may extend to thirty-three sagaropama. In
the case of human beings (including germs, which are
ranked as humans !) and lower animals, the period may
extend from one instant to three palya of time.
We have already followed the Jaina as they divided
iv (e).
Pancen-
driya.
102
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
v. Six
classes.
vi. Seven
classes.
vii. Eight
classes.
vii (a).
vii (d).
Jlva, in two, in three, in four, and lastly in five ways. We
now come to the six ways in which Jiva may be divided,
namely, into Prithvikaya, Apakaya, Teukaya, Vayukaya,
Vanaspatikaya, and Trasakaya. Of these we have studied
earth, water, fire, wind and vegetable lives, so it only
remains for us to look at Trasakaya. The Jaina say that
in the class of Trasakaya are included all lives that have
the power of motion and which, when swayed by trasa
(dread), can try and get out of danger. All lives possess-
ing two or more indriya are included under this heading
as Trasakaya or mobile, whilst earth, water, fire, air and
vegetable are considered immobile.
Again, Jlva may be classified in seven ways : hell beings
(which are all neuter !), male lower animals, female lower
animals, male human beings, female human beings, male
demigods and female demigods.
This last is perhaps a somewhat artificial classification
introduced for the sake of symmetry, but when we come
to the next series, where Jiva is divided into eight classes,
we touch on one of the most important points in Jaina
philosophy, and one which it shares with the followers
of Gosala. The Jaina say Jiva may be divided into eight
classes according to the six Lesya 1 by which it is swayed,
and according to whether it is swayed by any emotion
or not.2 These emotions affect the colour of the soul they
govern just as a crystal is coloured by the hue of the sub-
stance on which it rests.
Beings in the first class, or Salesi, include all who
are yet swayed by any of the three good or three bad
emotions.
Krisnalesya is the worst of the three bad emotions, and
it is described as being black as a thunder-cloud, bitter
as a Neem tree, smelling like a dead cow, and rougher
1 Or Lesa.
2 Jaina divisions are not, unfortunately for the student, mutually
exclusive, and even include the whole along with its parts.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
i°3
than a saw to the touch. Jiva, under the direction of
this so graphically described bad temper, accumulate
karma by all sorts of cruel and violent acts without stopping
to think of the consequences. All the emotions last for
differing periods according to whether they influence a god,
a hell being, or a man.
In the third division are all those ruled by Nilalesya. vii (c).
This emotion is less evil than the last, though it is still
evil enough ; its colour is blue as indigo, its taste more
pungent than pepper, it still has the odour of a dead cow
about it, and its roughness is as bad as ever. A man under
its influence is envious of the good qualities of others ;
he will not only not perform austerities or acquire know-
ledge himself, but tries to hinder others from doing so ; and
he is lazy, gluttonous, and wanting in modesty. Such
a man thinks only of his own happiness, and pursuing
only his own pleasure is continually beset by evil thoughts
and purposes.
The last wicked emotion that may lead men to do evil vii (d).
is called Kapotalesya. It is grey in colour like a dove,
as bitter of flavour as an unripe mango, and of as evil an
odour and as rough to touch as its predecessors. A man
under its command becomes crooked in thought and deed,
he develops into a thief and a liar, loves intrigue, and
delights to expose the bad qualities of others whilst con-
cealing his own faults. It is torment to such a person
to see others prosperous or wealthy.
There are three good emotions whose scent is like to vii ( e ).
fragrant flowers and whose touch is as soft as butter, and
these govern three more classes of beings. The first good
emotion, Tej olesya, is red like the rising sun and sweeter
to the taste than ripe mangoes. It removes all evil
thoughts from the jiva under its sway as dawn destroys
the darkness of night, and all under its influence are bright
and happy. Men governed by it are firm in their religion,
afraid of sinning, anxious to keep the law, desirous of
104
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
vii (/).
vii (g).
vii ( h ).
viii. Nine
classes.
ix. Ten
classes.
getting knowledge, humble and free from curiosity, straight-
forward and righteous.
The second good emotion takes its name, Padmalesya,
from the lotus-flower, for jiva beneath its dominion open
their hearts to all good things as lotus lilies expand to the
sun. Its colour is yellow,1 and its taste is better than
honey. Through its power a man controls anger, pride,
deceit and avarice, and gains as a reward a quiet mind,
whose thoughts are always calm and collected.
The last emotion, the Suklalesya, is the highest of all ;
it is as white as pearls, and its taste sweeter than sugar.
Love and hatred disappear when a man is under its
influence, and he feels in harmony with all nature.
Knowledge is now complete, austerity finished and char-
acter perfected, for, governed by it, the mind itself becomes
a sun and has no stain of evil and, unbarred by karma,
the way lies open to moksa.
The eighth class of jiva are called Alesl, for they have done
with all feeling and completely stultified everything in
their personality which might respond to emotion. Only
the Siddha are to be found in this class.
The Jaina divide Jiva again in nine ways : Prithvikaya,
Apakaya, Teukaya, Vayukaya, Vanaspatikaya, Be-indriya,
Tri-indriya, Corendriya, and Pancendriya, but all these
have already been discussed, and this division is only
made for the sake of symmetry.
When Jiva is classified in ten ways, the five old divi-
sions we already know of (Ekendriya, &c.) are used, but
each of these is subdivided into two classes, Paryapta
and Aparyapta, according as they have or have not all
the Paryapti. There are six of these paryapti : ahara,
the seed of life ; sarira, the body ; indriya, the senses ;
svasocchvasa, breathing; bhasa, speech; and mana ,2 intel-
lect ; and in this order the Jaina believe the jiva develops
them as it passes by transmigration from life to life. The
1 Sthanakavasi say pink. 2 Sanskrit manas.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
105
resemblance between paryapti and prana will be noticed.
A Jaina sadhu told the writer that the peculiarity of
paryapti consisted in the fact that when a jiva migrated
from one life to another, it could obtain these paryapti in
the space of forty-eight minutes. Others, however, say
that paryapti and prana are practically identical. Some
jiva have all six paryapti, some five, and some four ;
but none can have less than four ; if a jiva dies before
it attains the number decreed for it, it is classed as
Aparyapta.
When Jiva is classified in eleven ways, to the first four x. Eleven
orders of indriya are added the three subdivisions of pancen-
driya ( narakl , tiryahc and manusya ) which we have already
discussed, and then to these are added the four subdivi-
sions of demi-gods, or Deva.1 Jaina subdivide their gods
into Bhavanapati, the lords of the lower parts of the earth,
who are often serpents of various kinds ; Vyantara, evil
spirits such as ghosts, witches, goblins, &c. ; Jyotisi, who
live in ‘ planets ’, under which are included sun, moon,
and stars ; and Vaimanika, or residents of celestial worlds,
which are sometimes larger and sometimes smaller than
our world.
The twelve ways in which Jiva can be looked at are xi.
made up of Pfithvikaya, Apakaya, Teukaya, Vayukaya, Jesses
and Vanaspatikaya (i.e. the five divisions of Ekendriya),
Trasakaya (the collective name for the last four indriya),
and the subdivision of each of these six classes into Par-
yapta and Aparyapta.
The thirteen ways are similarly artificially formed by xii.
dividing the six Lesya into Paryapta and Aparyapta and ^g^11
adding Alesi.
In the fourteen-fold division the five orders of Indriya xiii.
are divided into Paryapta and Aparyapta, but Ekendriya
are divided into two new classes : Suksma ekendriya and
1 It will be remembered that demi-gods were the fourth subdivision
of Pancendriya.
Dharma-
stikaya.
106 THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
Badara ekendriya. In the first of these are lives so minute
that they can never be seen, killed, or destroyed, whilst
those of the Badara ekendriya can be killed or destroyed,
and can sometimes be perceived. To make up the number
to fourteen the two divisions of the fifth class, Sarhjni and
Asamjni, are included.
The Second Category: Ajlva.
The second great Tattva of the Jaina deals with Ajlva
(things inanimate), and is in all respects the opposite of
Jiva. Until jiva is freed from one particular division
( pudgala ) of ajiva, it is impossible for it to progress towards
deliverance. The union of jiva with ajiva is never so
absolutely complete as to make their separation impossible.
Ajlva is divided into two main classes : Arupi (without
form) and Rupi (with form). Arupi ajlva has four great
subdivisions : Dharmastikaya,1 Adharmastikaya, Akasasti-
kaya and Kala.2
Dharmastikaya helps the jiva associated with pudgaja3
to progress just as (to use their own illustration) water
helps on the movements of a fish. It is divided into three
classes : Skandha, Desa, and Pradesa. The whole power
of motion is called skandha ; a large fraction of it is called
desa as long as it is linked with skandha ; while pradesa
is a small fraction of desa. The Jaina declare that they
had so thoroughly studied the laws of motion that they
were cognizant of the law of gravity long before Sir Isaac
Newton discovered it.
1 The ordinary meaning of Dharma and Adharma is of course merit
and demerit, or right conduct and unrighteousness, as Dr. Jacobi a and
Dr. Bhandarkarb translate them ; but all the Jaina that I have met in
India assure me that these two words are here used in a special
technical sense which we shall better understand as we discuss these
divisions.
a Introduction, S.B.E., xlv, p. xxxiv.
b Dr. Bhandarkar, Search for Sanskrit Manuscripts , p. 96. Dr.
Biihler falls into the same trap, Indian Sect of the Jaina . p. 9.
2 Sans. Kala.
3 Pudgala (Sans, pudgala) is roughly translated by Jaina as ‘matter’.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
107
Adharmastikaya the Jaina explain by an illustration Adhar-
of a man walking along a road on a hot day ; he sees the j^*1'
shadow of a tree, and the shadow first attracts him to seek
its shelter, and then keeps him quietly resting under it.
So Adharmastikaya without any movement on its part
first attracts and then keeps motionless the one attracted.
It has the same divisions of skandha, desa, and pradesa
as Dharmastikaya.
The third subdivision of Arupi Ajlva is Akasastikaya, Akasasti-
or that which gives space and makes room. If, for example, kaya’
a lamp is lighted, it is Akasastikaya which gives space for
its beams to shine in ; if a nail be knocked into a wall,
it is Akasastikaya which gives it space to go into the wall.
Again, if a lump of sugar is dropped into a cup of water
and melts, the Jaina declare that the water remains water
and the sugar sugar, but that a hidden power gives the
sugar room to melt, and this power is Akasastikaya. As
a house affords room for its residents, so Akasastikaya
gives space for Ajlva to dwell in. Akasastikaya is also
divided into skandha, desa, and pradesa, but the skandha
of Akasastikaya includes space in the heavens as well as
on the earth.
The real nature of Kala or time (the fourth division of Kala.
Arupi Ajlva) can only, according to the Jaina, be under-
stood by the initiated. To the worldling Kala bears the
connotation of 1 time ’J and he divides and subdivides it
into seconds, minutes, hours, days, years, &c. But to the
initiated Kala is indivisible,2 and is that which is con-
tinually making old things new and new things old.3 As
an illustration, the Jaina quote the fate of a jiva or soul
which may be forced by its karma to inhabit the body
of a child. The child grows up into a young man, and
finally dies in old age, and the jiva is forced to inhabit
1 Or Vyavaharika Kala. 2 Addhasamaya.
s Dr. Griswold draws attention in this connexion to Bergson’s doctrine
of Time in his Creative Evolution.
Pudgajas-
tikaya.
108 THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
afresh the body of another infant. The jlva remains the
same, but the power that made its covering body at one
time old and then young again is Kala. As Kala in this
sense is indivisible, it cannot have the divisions of skandha,
desa, and pradesa.
All these four divisions of Arupl ajlva are further
subdivided with regard to Dravya (substance), Ksetra
(place), Kala (time), Bhava (nature), and Guna (qualities).
For instance, Dharmastikaya is considered of one sub-
stance ; its place is the seven lower worlds, including the
worlds of the serpents, this world, and the worlds of the
demi-gods ; with regard to time, it is without beginning
and without end ; its nature is without colour, without
smell, without taste, imperceptible to touch, and without
form ; its quality is that it helps motion. Adharmastikaya
when looked at in this way agrees with Dharmastikaya in
every point, excepting that its special quality is to arrest
motion. Akasastikaya differs in that it has its place in
both Loka and Aloka, and that its quality is to afford space.
Kala with regard to place is found in two-and-a-half con-
tinents only (i.e. Jambudvlpa, DhatakI Khanda and half
of Puskara), and its quality is to make old things new and
new things old. In this way they make up twenty divi-
sions, and sometimes thirty by skandha, desa, and pra-
desa, out of the four original divisions of Arupl ajiva,
without, however, adding enough new material to make
it worth our while to follow out the labyrinth.
The Rupi division of Ajiva contains only Pudgalastikaya,
or matter which possesses colour, smell, taste and form,
and is perceptible to touch. Pudgala can be consumed
or destroyed, and it may decay or alter its form. Where
there is no pudgaja present, none of the five primary
colours, black, green (or blue), red, white, or yellow, can
be present, and so, for instance, a Siddha who is freed
from pudgala is freed from colour also. The smells of
pudgaja, the Jaina say, are of two kinds, pleasing and
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
109
unpleasing,1 and a Siddha being free from pudgaja is also
free from odour.
Pudgaja may have any of the five flavours : pungent,
bitter, astringent, sour, or sweet. It may be of five shapes :
circular, globular, triangular, square, or oblong, i. e. ‘stretched
out like a log lying on the earth.’ A Siddha, of course,
is freed from all shape.
There are eight kinds of ‘ touch ’ that pudgaja may
have: it may be light or heavy, hot or cold, rough or
smooth, wet or dry ; but a Siddha can possess none of
these qualities.
Jaina indulge their genius for subdivision by dividing
each colour by the two smells, five flavours and eight
touches, and then again they divide each smell by the
five colours, five tastes and eight touches, and so on, till
they get 560 divisions out of pudgaja.
Pudgaja is also divided into four classes : Skandha, Desa,
Pradesa, and Paramanu (i.e. the smallest particle). Skan-
dha, desa, and pradesa are linked together, but paramanu
is separate and indivisible.
The pudgaja enter and leave our bodies incessantly,
and are infinitely more numerous than jiva. As we shall
see later, the Jaina believe that karma arises out of pudgaja.
The Jaina hold that it is through Jiva and these five
divisions of Ajiva (Dharmastikaya, Adharmastikaya, Aka-
sastikaya, Kaja, and Pudgajastikaya) that the universe
exists, and that these serve instead of a creator, whose
existence they do not acknowledge.
1 In order that the uninitiated may realize this deep truth, the follow-
ing legend is told. Once a king crossed a stream wherein a dead dog
lay, and to avoid the smell held a cloth across his nose. When he
asked his prime minister why he did not do likewise, he replied that
he knew his Jaina philosophy, and realized that it was of the nature of
pudga]a to be sometimes sweet and sometimes evil smelling. Seeing
his master unconvinced, he secretly drew water from the very place
where the corpse of the dog lay, and, having filtered, iced and spiced
it, offered it to the king, who drank it with delight. Afterwards learn-
ing its source, he learnt also that the same pudgala may sometimes
be of a sweet odour and sometimes of an evil one.
no
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
Nine
kinds of
Punya.
i. Anna
punya
ii. Pana
punya.
iii. Vastra
punya.
The Third Category : Punya.
Another of the great Tattva deals with Punya or merit.1
The actions which lead to the good karma which bring
peace of mind are called punya, and there are nine ways of
performing these actions.
If we give food to deserving people who are hungry,
weak, destitute of help and needy, we perform Anna punya.
The greatest merit is gained when the food is given to
monks or nuns, but these must be Jaina ascetics (not
Hindu for instance), and in order to gain the fullest benefit
from charity the food must be given in such a way as not to
involve hirhsa.2 It will be remembered that Mahavlra in
a previous birth, when a woodcutter, gained great punya by
feeding a party of monks who had lost their way. His
reward was that in his next incarnation he became a devata,
and after many many rebirths was incarnate as Maha-
vlra. For less illustrious services one may in the next life
become a merchant, or a ruler, or gain some other coveted
position.
In common with many other religions that have arisen in
sultry lands, Jainism teaches that a special reward is attached
to giving water to the thirsty ( Pana punya). There is no
harm in giving unboiled water to a layman, but boiled water
must always be given to an ascetic. The story of Neminatha,
the twenty-second Tirthankara, shows how great the reward
is. A king named Sankara and his wife Jasomati once
showed kindness to some thirsty monks by giving them
water in which grapes had been soaked. In their next
birth, as a reward, the king was born as Neminatha and
his wife as the daughter of a famous king of Sorath ; in
this incarnation, though betrothed, they did not marry, but
instead they both became ascetics on the day fixed for
their wedding, and eventually obtained moksa.
A great reward is also obtained by giving clothes to the
1 The Digambara include Punya under Asrava (see p. 139).
2 i.e. destruction of life.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
hi
poor ( Vastra punya ) and especially to monks, as the following
legend teaches. Once upon a time a rich merchant’s wife saw
some monks shivering with cold, and made them blankets of
cloth of gold out of some magnificent material she had by
her. As a recompense she became in her next birth Maru-
devi, the mother of the first Tlrthankara Risabhadeva, and
attained moksa in the same incarnation.
Another legend illustrates the reward gained by any one, iv.
even a heretic, for building or lending a house to a monk
( Layana punya), or providing seats, beds or bedding v. Sayana
( Sayana punya). A potter named Sakadala, a follower of Pul?ya-
Gosala, once saw Mahavlra enter his village and approach
his dwelling. At first he thought of not inviting Gosala’s
great opponent into his house, but seeing Mahavira’s divine
qualities, he at length asked him in and gave him lodgings
and a bed. (He could not offer food, as a sadhu may not
eat at the house where he stays.) In return Mahavlra taught
Sakadala the law and converted him to the true faith, and
he became a devoted Sravaka in this life and after death
a god. Being reincarnated as a man, he became a sadhu
and so reached moksa.
By thinking well of every one and wishing them well we vi. Mana
gain Mana punya, and by exerting ourselves to render them Pu?ya-
service or to save life we accumulate Kay a or Sarxra punya , vii. Sarira
as the following history shows. In a certain forest there pu”ya-
was a small clearing, and once, when a terrible fire raged in
the wood, all the animals rushed to this spot, and it became
dangerously overcrowded. Even the mighty elephant had
taken refuge there, and as he happened to raise his foot to
change his position a hare ran under it. The elephant saw
at once that if he put his foot down he would crush the hare,
and in that crowded space there was not another place to
which the hare could possibly move. So the elephant
continued to hold his foot in the air for hours and hours,
until at last, worn out, he fell to the ground and died.
Immediately he was reincarnated as the son of a mighty
1 1 2
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
viii.
Vacana
punya.
ix. Na-
maskara
punya.
king, and in his next birth became an ascetic and attained
moksa.
Merit is also won by speaking without hurting any one’s
feelings, and so as to influence others towards religion and
morality (Vacana punya). Krisna, for instance, the favourite
Hindu deity, when King of Dvaraka, once heard Neminatha
preach. He felt that he himself could not face the hardships
of a monk’s life, but he urged any of his subjects who could
to receive initiation, and promised to look after their fami-
lies. Some of the people thereupon became monks, and this
brought Krisna1 so much Vacana punya that he is bound
eventually to become a Tirthaiikara, though he has a lot of
karma to work off first.
One may also obtain merit by reverent salutations
(N amaskara punya). The Jaina say that one first bows
to religious men, then one gets to know them, next one
decides to follow their example and by so doing one attains
moksa. The Digambara and Svetambara can obtain merit
by bowing reverently to the images in their temples, but the
Sthanakavasi, having only gurus to bow to, show them
double reverence and so have been accused of worshipping2
their gurus, which they indignantly deny, pointing out that
they make them no offerings of flowers, fruit, &c. It would
be quite impossible to write down even the names of the
legends told with the object of illustrating the great
rewards gained by doing reverence. In fact the first step
to moksa is said to be climbed by bowing. We have seen
that the god Krisna is to be a Tirthaiikara, and the Jaina
say that he will take his first step from Patala (a lower
region), where he now is, towards this high future by doing
reverence.
1 We shall find constant examples of the influence Krisna worship
has on the Jaina. Many of them read and love the Bhagavadgitd
almost as much as the Hindus, though it is not one of their scriptures.
2 They point out the following mistake in the Imperial Gazetteer of
India (Oxford, 1907), vol. i, p.417 : ‘ The Dhondiyas, who worship their
gurus’, by which they complain that their feelings have been wounded.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
ii3
We have seen that there are nine chief ways of laying up
merit : the Jaina believe that there are forty-two ways in
which the reward of this merit can be reaped. If one is
very happy in having all that one needs to eat, drink and
wear, one knows that one is enjoying Satavedaniya. If one
is born in a high family ( Uncagotra ) ; if one has had the
joy of being born as a man ( Manusya gati ), and not as a
beast, god, or hell being ; and moreover if one is sure to be
born in one’s next birth as a man and not a beast ( Manu-
sya anupurvi), one is experiencing three happy results of
punya. The last of these results is often likened to the
reins that pull an ox on to the right road, so strong
is the force inherent in punya. If the merit acquired
were very powerful, one might be born as a god and
so enjoy Devata gati, even becoming Krisna or Indra.
To be even a minor god is a stage higher than being
born as an ordinary man, and another of the fruits is
Devata anupurvi, which keeps one on the path of becoming
a god.
If we have all five senses in this life, it shows that we are
enjoying P ahcendriyapanuvi, and if we have a large and
imposing body instead of a little one like an ant, that is
owing to Audarikasarira. Sometimes punya has a magical
effect, owing to which one may gain Vaikreyasarira, or
a body like a god’s, which can appear and disappear at will,
can produce six or four hands, and become mountainous or
minute. Certain monks by virtue of their knowledge and of
their austerities gain the power of sending out a tiny body
from themselves which can go to Mahavideha and obtain
answers to any doubts or spiritual difficulties from the
Tirthankara there.1 This tiny body is called Aharakasarira,
and the power of creating it is regarded as one of the most
valued fruits of punya. Certain other fruits of punya
( Audarika ahgopahga, V aikrey a ahgopaiiga, and Aharaka
1 Not from the Siddha, who take no interest in anything earthly.
I
The
forty-
two
ways of
enjoying
the fruit
of Punya,
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
114
ahgopahga) carry with them the assurance of having the
full complement of limbs with these last-mentioned three
bodies. It is only through having heat in one’s body
( Taijasasarlra ) that such physical functions as digestion,
circulation, &c., can be carried on, and the possession of this
heat is one of the fruits of punya. Tejolesya is inherent
in such a body, and so is the power of producing magic
fire. Every one possesses a body ( Karmanasarlra ) round
which his various karma accumulate, and without which
one could never experience any of the happy fruits of merit ;
the very possession of this body is owing to punya, for every
one has amassed merit of some kind.
Several of the rewards result in bodily strength or
beauty, such as Vajrarisabhanaraca sahghayana , which en-
sures one’s possessing bones in one’s body as hard as iron
and as strong as a bull’s ; Samacaturastra santhana , that
gives a well-proportioned, shapely and elegant body; and
Subha varna, Subha gandha, Subha rasa and Subha sparsa,
which endow one with a good complexion, pleasing bodily
odour, good corpuscles in one’s blood, and a skin that feels
smooth as a peach to the touch. Again, the fruit of punya
ensures one’s being neither too fat nor too lean, but of
exactly right weight ( Agurulaghu namakarma), and also
makes one so powerful ( Paraghata namakarma) that
one is always victorious. Asthma or consumption are a
clear sign that one has committed sin in a previous exis-
tence, for merit would have won Ucchvasa namakarma,
which ensures one’s having no impediment in one’s
breathing.
Jaina also believe that as a result of merit they may
be born again as Jyotisi devata, living in the sun for one
life and giving off almost unbearable effulgence. This efful-
gence is a result of Atapa namakarma. Others as a reward
of merit go to the moon, where it is very cold, and so they
give off a cold radiance which is due to Anusria namakarma.
Even one’s method of walking is affected by one’s previous
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
u.5
actions, and a stately gait ubhavihayogati ), like that of
an elephant, a goose, or a bull, is a much coveted prize for
merit.
Another fruit of punya ( Nirmana namakarma ) leads to
one’s being born with all one’s limbs supple and perfect.
Through Trasa namakarma one is certain to be born as at
least a two-sensed being and may be endowed with all the
senses. Some lives are microscopic, but if one has acquired
Bddara namakarma , one may rest assured that one will at
least have sufficient size to be perceptible to the naked eye.
In whatever class of life one is born, provided only one has
gained Paryapti namakarma, one will be perfect in that
class.
Every ailment and every illness is traced back to a fault
in a previous birth : thus a rickety child must have com-
mitted some sin which prevented its gaining Sthira nama-
karma, for that would have given it strong and well-set
limbs, fine teeth and a well-knit frame.
It has been already mentioned that Jaina believe that
every onion, potato, garlic, carrot, turnip and ground root
is the home of innumerable jiva. If a man has acquired
Pratyeka namakarma he cannot be forced to dwell in one
of these underground roots, but in whatever body he may
be born, he will have that body to himself. There cannot be
more than one jiva inhabiting a human body at the same
moment, nor more than one in a bird, beast, or insect; it is
only underground roots that take in troops of tenement
lodgers.
Certain other rewards ensure one’s having a handsome
body ( Subha namakarma ), at least from the waist up, or
being loved by all with whom one comes in contact ( Subhaga
namakarma), having a pleasant voice ( Susvara namakarma),
gaining respect from all whom one meets ( Adeya nama-
karma), or even gaining fame wherever one goes ( Yasokirtti
namakarma).
Three different results of punya decide the term of
The
eighteen
kinds
of Sin.
i. Jiva
hiihsa.
1 16 THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
life which one will spend as a god ( Devata ayusya), or
a human being ( Manusya ayusya ), or a lower animal
( Tiryahc ayusya). The greatest and the final reward of
punya is Tirthahkara namakarma , which ensures one at
last becoming a Tirthahkara.
The Fourth Category: Papa.
In order to understand the religion of the Jaina we must
try and grasp their idea of sin, for it is a very different
conception from the Western, being in fact often ceremonial
rather than moral.
To take any life seems to the Jaina the most heinous
of all crimes and entails the most terrible punishment ;
yet the central thought of Jainism is not so much saving
life as refraining from destroying it. ‘ Ahii'nsd parama
dharma — Destroy no living creature! Injure no living
creature ! This is the highest religion ! ’ declared a modern
Jaina lecturer, and with almost Irish eloquence he goes on
to say : 1 I stand before you this noon to speak on a religion
whose glory the dumb creatures, the cows, the goats, the
sheep, the lambs, the hens, the pigeons, and all other living
creatures, the beasts and the birds sing with their mute
tongues ; the only religion which has for thousands of
years past advocated the cause of the silent-tongued
animals : the only religion which has denounced slaughter
of animals for sacrifice, food, hunting, or any purpose what-
ever.’1 ‘ The foundation principle of the Jaina religion’,
writes another,2 ‘is to abstain from killing.’ They even call
their faith the religion of non-killing ( Ahimsa dharma ).
To people believing thus, killing {Hiihsa) is the greatest
sin and abstaining from killing ( Ahivisa ) the most binding
moral duty. There is a higher and a lower law for ascetics
and for the laity. A monk must strive not to take any life
1 Lecture by Mr. Lala Benarsi Dass, Jain Itihas Society, Agra, 1902,
pp. 1 flf.
2 Popatlal K. Shah , Jaina Dharma Nirftpana , p. 33.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
] 17
(insect, vegetable, or animal) that has even one sense, but
the laity are only forbidden to take any life possessed of two
or more senses. The Jaina make a very interesting distinc-
tion between spiritual and actual murder ( Bhava hivisa and
Dravya hivisa). One sins against Bhava ahirhsa by wishing
for any one’s death or desiring harm to befall them. Not
only so, but if one does not continue and complete one’s
own education, or strive to improve one’s own mind, or
if one fails to exercise and discipline one’s own soul, one
commits Bhava himsa, for one kills by stultification what
one might have been.1 Dravya ahirhsa (or the forbidding
of material killing) is absolutely binding on all Jaina of
every sect, and to offend against this is the greatest of all
sins. Breaches of the seventh commandment are con-
sidered as breaking this law,2 because more than one jiva
are thereby held to be destroyed.
As a man kills a jiva, so will he be killed in hell, and
lurid pictures are published to illustrate this tenet ; but
if any one kills a monk, that monk in the next world is
given the privilege of killing his murderer without sinning
against Ahirhsa.
The Jaina say (with how much truth is doubtful) that
their ancient rivals the Buddhists were once as careful as
they to observe the rule against killing, but when Buddhism
spread to different lands, it had to be adapted to the habits
of people who declined to give up slaughter. A Jaina friend
of the writer once acted most dramatically the way in which
he declared Buddhists in Burma who desire to eat fish lift
them carefully out of the water, and, having left them on
the bank to die, say : ‘ Lo, here is a poor thing that has
died ! No sin will accrue to us if we eat it.’ They also
assert that the Buddhists in Tibet, calculating that sin
1 This is strangely contradictory of the general aim of the whole
system, which is none other than the gradual and complete stultification
of character.
2 In another aspect such ofifences are regarded by the Jaina as
a form of stealing.
1 1 8
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
accrues equally whether they kill the smallest or the greatest
jlva, say: ‘ Therefore since we must acquire sin, let us kill an
elephant,’ and so get as much as possible for their money.
In connexion with Ahirhsa the lecturer whom we have
before quoted gives a derivation for the word Hindu which
is perhaps more ingenious than ingenuous :
‘ Hindus were not those who originally lived on the banks of the
river Indus. Hindus were those from whom himsa was away. Let
us not misunderstand words. Let us interpret them correctly. It is
those men who are the slaves of taste who say that Hindus were those
who lived on the banks of the Indus. We, Jaina, call Hindus those
from whom him or himsa is du or dur , i. e. away ! ’ 1
ii. Asatya Though Himsa is the greatest of crimes, the Jaina also
vada. ‘ recognize seventeen other sins, and the next worse of these is
untruthfulness, Asatya or Mrisavada. They divide the way
ordinary folk talk into four classes : they may tell the
truth ; or they may tell absolute lies ; they may occasionally
make use of white lies ; or their conversation may be a
mosaic of truth and lies. Now a Jaina is only allowed
to speak in two ways : either he must tell the truth ; or, if
that be too difficult, he may avail himself of white lies ; but
he must neither lie, nor speak the half-truth half-lie that is
ever the blackest of lies.
The sad story of King Vasu shows the power of absolute
candour and the fall that follows any declension from it.
Vasu was known as ‘ the Truth-teller ’, and his throne was
established on veracity ; indeed, so strong was the power
engendered by his absolute fidelity to truth, that his throne
was supported by it alone at a great height from the ground.
Two men named Parvata and Narada came to him to ask
him to tell them the exact significance of the word Aja, for
one held it to mean ‘ grain ’ and the other ‘ goat ’. The
king’s papdit had told him that it meant ‘ grain ’, but
instead of saying this, the king, endeavouring to please
both parties, gave the word a double signification, saying
Lala Benarsi Uass, loc. cit., p. 75.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
1 19
it might mean either ‘goat’ or ‘grain’. The result of this
deviation from the strict truth was that the king’s throne
fell to the ground, but if you look in a dictionary you will
see the word bears a double meaning to this day !
The rules regarding truthfulness and untruthfulness
differ for monks and laity, as we shall see when we come
to discuss the twelve vows.
Dishonesty ( Adattadana ) is another class of sin which is iii. Adat-
forbidden to all Jaina; besides actual theft, this sin includes t:l ^na'
keeping lost property or treasure trove, smuggling, cheating,
taking bribes, and all treason and law breaking. It was
explained to the writer that the reason why treason and law
breaking were included under this category was that origin-
ally they led to much financial profit, and all illegitimate
financial profit was stealing ; nowadays they are not so
advantageous, but they are still strictly prohibited. Under
this head is also forbidden all sharp practice in business,
together with the misappropriation of trust funds and the
use of charitable funds for private gain.
Another sin that also bears a different connotation for iv.Abrah-
the professed religious and the layman is unchastity macaI7a-
(. Abrahmacarya ) ; for whereas a layman is bound to
maintain his own wife in all honour and happiness, it
is sin for a sadhu to allow so much as the hem of his
garment to touch a woman. When we deal with the
vows, we shall notice how much Eastern and Western
monasticism have in common on this point.
The Jaina realized how many sins sprang from excessive v. Pari-
love of one’s own possessions. They taught that if a monk graha‘
kept one garment or one vessel above the allowed number,
or if he even became over attached to one that he lawfully
possessed, he committed the sin of Parigraha, or covetous-
ness. In the same way the layman was instructed that if he
showed uncontrolled grief when one of his cattle died or his
money disappeared, he too had given way to greed. vi
As one studies more closely the Jaina idea of what sin Krodha.
120
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
vii.
Mana.
consists in, one is struck with their profound knowledge of the
human heart, a knowledge shared by all faiths which practise
confession. Another thing that strikes one is the great
stress they lay on anger ( Krodha ) as a source of sin. The
merest globe-trotter notices how differently we Westerners
look at anger, hardly accounting it a sin, while to an
Oriental it seems a most heinous offence. We shall have
to return to the subject of anger again and again in our
analysis of Jaina thought; here it will suffice to notice that
the Jaina hold that anger, though generally unrighteous
(. aprasasta ), may also sometimes be righteous ( prasasta ).
For instance, it is righteous for a guru to scold a lazy
disciple 1 or for a magistrate to speak severely, but it is
unrighteous to get angry without a cause, or to add to
the ill feeling between two persons.
The seventh of the eighteen kinds of sin is conceit or
1 That even when angry with reason a guru must govern his anger
the following legend shows. Once a guru had an impertinent disciple,
and as the master sat engaged in his evening Padlkamanuih, thinking
over his sins of the day, the disciple reminded him that he had walked
on and killed a frog, and must perform prayascitta for this sin. Now
the guru had not killed a frog, the one seen by the young man having
been hurt by other passers-by ; and feeling that at any rate it was not
a novice’s part to remind him of it, the guru leapt up from his seat,
brush in hand, determined to chastise the cheeky youngster ; un-
fortunately for himself, he rushed against a pillar and dashed his
brains out.
The poor guru having died in a fit of anger slipped far down below the
human level he had been on, and was reborn not as a man but as
a snake, in fact a cobra. He took up his abode in an ant-hill near
Wadhwan and became, sad to say, not only a cobra, but a very bad
cobra, who bit everybody who came near him ; at last he established
a reign of terror, and the road leading past the ant-hill was deserted
through fear of him.
At this time Mahavlra was alive, and his peregrinations happened
to bring him to Wadhwan ; despite all his friends’ warnings, he deter-
mined to remedy this evil ; so he went out and sat down on the snake’s
ant-hill and meditated there. The enraged cobra dashed out and bit
him over and over again, but Mahavlra continued his meditations.
Suddenly, as he looked at the master, all his former life came back
to the snake’s memory, he repented of his wrath, and ever after allowed
little boys to chase him and ants to walk over him unmolested, and
eventually died in the odour of sanctity. He is now steadily mounting
the ladder of higher births.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
121
Mdna , and of conceit there are eight forms : 1 pride of caste,
of family, of strength, of form, of wealth, of reputation, of
learning, and last but not least, the pride of being a landed
proprietor.
A great deal of confusion has arisen over the word viii.
Maya, which the Jaina use to denote the eighth sin. The ^y
Vedantists of course use the word to mean illusion, and
a smattering of their philosophy is now so common, that
many people loosely read Vedantism into all Indian philo-
sophy and suppose maya invariably to have this meaning.
The Jaina, however, consider themselves to be nearer to
the Sankhya than the Vedanta school of philosophy, and
their properly instructed 2 teachers declare that the word
generally means intrigue, cheating, attachment, ignorance,
wealth, and only occasionally illusion. In the Jaina scrip-
tures it usually connotes intrigue or cheating.
A commercial people are naturally prone to this sin, but
the sanction it carries with it is very heavy — a man who
cheats in this life may be born a woman in the next ! Not
only commercial but religious cheating may involve this
penalty, as the case of Mallinatha, the nineteenth Tirthan-
kara shows. In a previous life he and five friends delighted
to perform their religious duties together, and all six fasted
and meditated with the utmost regularity and circumspec-
tion. Gradually, however, Mallinatha began to long to outdo
1 Jaina children are taught to remember these different sorts of
conceit in little rhymes much like those of Jane Taylor’s which we
children of a Western growth learnt in our childhood. Legends too
are told showing the result of each of the eight kinds of conceit. As
an example of the evil results brought about by pride, hear the sad
story of MaricI, the son of Bharata, King of India. Bharata was the
son of Risabhadeva, the first Tlrthankara, and it was revealed to
him that his son should become a Tlrthankara in a future life. Over-
hearing this, MaricI became very conceited and danced and jumped
with joy. As a consequence of showing too much emotion a fetter
itahkum) was formed, and this bound MaricI to become a beggar in
his next incarnation, though nothing of course could prevent his
eventually becoming a Tlrthankara, which he did as Mahavlra.
2 It is a common complaint amongst the Jaina that so many of their
gurus are extraordinarily ignorant of their own religion.
122
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
them in austerity, and thus get ahead of them on the
path to liberation ; and so, yielding to temptation, he once
added an extra fast to the days they had agreed to observe
and kept it on the quiet without telling his colleagues.
His friends were deeply grieved when they discovered the
deceitful way they had been outdone, but Mallinatha
suffered also ; for though he had acquired so much merit
that it automatically made him a Tirthahkara, the spiritual
maya he had indulged in turned him into a female one.1
ix.Lobha. 1 he Jaina have many legends that show the evils of
Lobha or avarice, the ninth kind of sin. Thus, a great
king, Subhuma, lost his kingdom through greed and was
drowned in the sea ; and it was through avarice again that
a certain merchant prince lost all his millions and died
without a pie. Indeed the proverb Lobha papanuih mula ,
‘ avarice is the root of sin ’, is current not amongst Jaina
only but among all Indians.2
Kasaya. We now come to an analysis of these four sins (anger,
conceit, intrigue and greed), together called Kasaya, which is
of the first importance to our sympathetic understanding of
the strength of Jainism. The value of Jaina philosophy lies
not only in the fact that it, unlike Hinduism, has correlated
ethical teaching with its metaphysical system, but also in
the amazing knowledge of human nature which its ethics
display. Very often Jaina divide and subdivide a subject
in such a way as to throw no fresh light on it, but in the
subdivisions of these four faults (which they rightly and
profoundly regard as sister sins) they have seized on an
essential truth, that the length of time a sin is indulged in
affects the nature of the sin ; for sins grow worse through
long keeping.3
1 Digambara of course do not believe this, as they hold that no
woman can ever be a Tirthahkara.
2 It is interesting to compare with this the Christian saying : ‘ The
love of money is the root of all evil.’
3 Compare again : ‘ Let not the sun go down upon your wrath ’ ; for
the anger which is kept overnight has grown deadly by the morning.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
123
The worst degree to which any of these four sins may
be indulged is called Anantanubandhi, when the sin is
cherished as long as life lasts, and if there be an offender in
the case, he is never forgiven. Whilst under the sway of
sin to this degree, it is impossible for a man to grasp any
ideas of religion or to give his mind to study.
In the next degree ( Apratydkhyanl ) the sin, though nursed
for a year, is confessed at the great annual confession of sin.1
During the time that a man is under its influence he might
possess an intellectual grasp of religious principles, but it
would be impossible for him to carry them out into his
daily life.
In the third degree ( Pratydkhyd.nl ) the sin lasts only for
four months and is confessed and given up at Comas! 2 (the
four-monthly confession), but during those months in which
it is indulged, it prevents a man becoming a really holy
monk or layman, though outwardly he may keep the vows.
For instance, it would not hinder his doing some outward
act such as giving up eating potatoes, but it would prevent
his really giving up all attachment to the world.
The same four faults are cherished to the least of the
four degrees ( Sanjvalana ) when renounced at the evening
confession, or at least not carried beyond the fortnightly
confession ;■ but during the time a man indulges them to
even this degree, though it would be possible for him to
become a monk, he could not become the ideal sadhu as
depicted in the scriptures, the goal which every true ascetic
has set before him, and which he hopes to attain. This
point the enlightened and spiritually minded Jaina love to
discuss and compare with the Christian ideal of consecration
and throwing aside every weight to reach the goal.
The Jaina are past masters in the art of illustration,
and it is interesting to notice in their sacred books and in
their sermons how many of their allegories are drawn
1 See p. 259.
2 Sanskrit Caturmasl.
124
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
from common objects of the countryside. It makes one
realize how largely India is a country of villagers.
Each of the four sins has its own parable. In the case of
anger, the least degree is likened to a line drawn on water,
which soon passes away ; the next to one drawn in the dust,
which is stamped out and effaced in a day ; the third to a
crack in the dried mud at the bottom of an empty village
tank, which will not disappear till the yearly rains fill the
tank and cover it ; and the worst of all to a fissure in a
mountain side, which will remain till the end of the world.
To illustrate the four degrees of conceit, the Jaina take
the stages of the growth of a tree, and remind us that the
twig is pliable and easily bent again to humility ; that the
young branch of a tree can bend humbly if a storm force
it ; and that the wood of the stem may be taught humility
(though with difficulty) by being oiled and heated ; but
conceit in the worst degree outdoes any simile taken from
a tree, being as unbending as a pillar of stone.
Deceit or intrigue again leads to crookedness : in the
least degree it can be straightened as one can straighten
a bamboo cane ; in the second degree it is like the crooked
track of moisture left in the dust by the dripping from the
water carrier’s leather bucket; when it grows worse it is
as crooked as a ram’s horn ; and in the worst degree of all
it is like the knot in the root of the bamboo, the crookedest
thing in the land.
The most subtle perhaps of all the similes is that which
deals with greed, and the Jaina illustration of its effects on
the soul is of special interest, for this sin is said to change
the colour of the human heart. If avarice be cherished
even to the least degree, it will stain the soul yellow like
turmeric, but this discoloration can easily be washed off ;
if greed be given way to for a fortnight, the heart will
be soiled like earthen cooking-pots which can only be
cleansed with great labour ; if one cherishes it for four
months, its stain grows as difficult to efface as the marks
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
1 25
left by the oil of a cart wheel ; and in the last degree it
can never be washed away in this life, whatever efforts one
may make, but is as ineffaceable as the crimson dye.1
The result of any of these four sins, if indulged in to the
worst degree, is to condemn a man to rebirth in hell ; the
next worse forces him in his next life to become a bird,
a beast, or an insect ; if he has not indulged his sin for
longer than four months, he may be born as a man ; if he
had thrown it off within a fortnight from its inception, he
might become a god ; but if in all his life he had remained
free from all wrath, conceit, intrigue and greed, he would
become a Siddha without rebirth.
All these four, Krodha, Mana, Maya and Lobha, are called
Kasaya, or things which tie one down to this world ; they
are also called Candala Cokadi, the four vile or outcaste
ones, and the following legend is told to show how indul-
gence in them destroys all true dignity and drags one down
to the lowest level. A certain Brahman, having bathed
and worshipped, felt himself polluted by the accidental
touch of a sweeper woman, and, being enraged, swore at her.
To his astonishment she promptly caught hold of his gar-
ments, and the more he swore at her, the more tightly she
clung. Mad with rage, the Brahman rushed to the king
demanding redress. The king asked the woman how she
had dared to catch hold of a Brahman, but she replied that
the Brahman had already polluted himself by receiving a
Candala into his heart when he became angry, and therefore
her touch could no longer pollute him, for he had become
her fellow outcaste.
The Jaina sum up their teaching about these four sins by
1 To Jaina it is of special interest that about a century before this
idea had been incorporated into their teaching, the great Hebrew
prophet was also reflecting on the discoloration produced on the soul
by sin, but declared that there was One who could remove even the
crimson stain. ‘ Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord :
though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ; though
they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’ Isaiah i. 18.
X.
Raga or
Asakti.
126 THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
saying that when wrath leaves, forgiveness for others 1 enters ;
when conceit goes, humility comes ; intrigue gives place to
simplicity ; and when avarice disappears, content reigns.
The tenth class of sin is even more worth our studying,
for it seems to put into our hands the key that unlocks the
very heart of Jainism and reveals the loneliness within. All
over-fondness ( Raga or Asakti) for a person or thing is sin,
since it hinders that perfect detachment from the world
which is the goal of the whole system.
It is easy to see that in a coarse way an attachment may
hinder a monk’s progress, but the legend that the Jaina tell
to illustrate this obvious fact is worth recording, for it
shows how clearly they have realized the strange contra-
dictions in character that may exist in the same person.
It is told how Mahavira once preached at the court of
Srenika, King of Magadha, with such power that the heir,
Prince Nandisena, became converted and, leaving all his
splendour, went to live in the woods. There unhappily
he fell under the sway of a courtesan, and as he felt
he could neither leave her nor give up his belief that
Jainism was the true faith, he had resort to that most
intricate of all compromises, a bargain with his conscience.
He decided to stay with her and also to preach Jainism,
though he no longer practised it ; he determined as a
further sop to his conscience to regularly convert ten people
to Jainism every day. He continued to do this for some
time, but one day he happened to have only ten people in
his audience, and though he converted nine of these, the
tenth, a goldsmith, was a very hard nut to crack. The
woman wanted her breakfast, but the erstwhile prince was
determined to get his tale of ten converts complete. At
last the woman called out ‘Why on earth don’t you convert
yourself and so get your ten, and let us have our breakfast?’
The taunt went home, and there and then he tore out the
1 The Jaina pathetically believe that though there is forgiveness for
sins against others, there is none for sins against themselves.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
127
hair, which had grown whilst he dallied with sin, and re-
turned to the forest. The Jaina say that such a man, having
overcome raga, would on his death go to svarga.
This was of course an example of wrong love, but the
Jaina believe that indulgence in even right affection will
hinder one’s attaining liberation, as the pathetic story of
Mahavlra’s greatest disciple, Gautama, shows. It will be
remembered that Gautama could not conquer his per-
sonal attachment to the great ascetic, and despite all his
endeavours he continued to think of him as ‘ my master ’
and ‘ my friend’, thus showing that he had allowed him-
self to become attached by the roots of his personality
to another. Only on the night that Mahavira died was
he able to overcome all mamatva or feeling of personal
devotion and possession. It had been easy for Gautama to
give up all outward possessions of wealth and property, it
was agony to him to tear out love from his heart. Devout
Jaina are very interested in the contrast between this story
and that of the Christian disciple, Thomas, who touched
the highest development of the Christian faith when his
mamatva became perfected, and he could say to his Master:
‘ My Lord and my God.’ 1
Our study has now brought us to a most interesting
parting of the ways between Jainism on the one hand
and both Hinduism and Christianity on the other, for the
understanding of which the writer is deeply indebted to
both Jaina and Hindu friends, who have taken endless pains
to make their view-points clear.
As all personal attachment is burnt up in the glow of
asceticism, the true Jaina cannot hold any doctrine of
personal devotion ( bhakti ) to a god such as has inspired
so much of the most beautiful Hindu literature. Yet
there is amongst some modern Jaina a tendency towards
giving to Mahavira a devotion which almost resembles
bhakti; this may be indirectly due to the influence of
1 St. John xx. 28.
128
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
the Bhagavadgita, which is widely read amongst them, or
of the stories they have read of Jesus Christ, for whose
person the Jaina, with their eager love of all that is tender
and beautiful, have a great reverence. Nevertheless,
according to their creed, they do not believe in a Creator,
much less in a Father Omnipotent, to whom they might
feel such personal devotion. The state of godhood is
what they fix their thoughts on, a state of passive and
passionless beatitude enjoyed by several separate Siddha ;
and for this state of godhood they are permitted to have
an attachment, and it is on their own attainment of
this state that they fix their hopes and their ambitions.
1 Why should I love a personal god ? ’ a Jaina once said
to the writer, ‘ I hope to become a god myself ’. And in
one of their sacred books the whole matter is summed up in
words terrible in their loneliness : ‘ Man ! Thou art thine own
friend ; why wishest thou for a friend beyond thyself ? ’ 1
Dvesa. The eleventh kind of sin, hatred or envy ( Dvesa or Irsya),
is entirely evil, and the soul that would proceed on the
great journey must completely free itself from it. As it
often springs from possession, the man who strips himself
of all property goes far to rid himself of the sin too, as the
following legend shows.
There was once a king named Dravida, who on his death
divided his property between his elder son, Dravida, and
his younger, Varikhilla, leaving the senior more property
than the junior. The younger, however, succeeded by wise
management in so increasing his estate that his elder brother
grew more and more envious, and finally on some pretext
or other a war broke out between the two. During the
monsoon there was perforce a truce, and Dravida had
leisure to hear a famous non-Jaina ascetic preach on the
sin of envy ; becoming converted, he went off to the camp
of his younger brother to beg forgiveness. The brothers
were completely reconciled, and both of them not only
1 Acarahga Sutra, S. B. E., xxii, p. 33.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
i 29
renounced envy, but agreed also to renounce their kingdoms,
the possession of which had given rise to so great a sin. They
became Jaina sadhus and lived at Satrunjaya, and passing
from thence to moksa they became Siddha. And still on the
full moon day of the month Kartika, when the faithful go on
pilgrimage to Satrunjaya, they remember the two brothers
who gave up all things to free themselves from envy.
Quarrelsomeness or Klesa, the twelfth form of sin, is xii. Klesa.
specially dangerous to family happiness, as we can easily
understand, when we remember how many members of a
family live under one roof in India. This is believed to be
the particular vice to which mothers-in-law are liable, and
it is often only owing to the influence of this sin that they
complain of their daughter-in-law’s cooking ! The Jaina
scriptures are full of examples of the evils that spring from
such quarrelsomeness, showing that it has often not only
ruined families but even destroyed kingdoms.
So greatly do the Jaina value the peace of their homes, xiii. Abh-
that the next sin, slander ( Abhyakhydna ), is also looked at y^khya-
chiefly as a home-wrecking sin. So grievous a crime is it,
that nature will work a miracle to discredit it, as illustrated
by the following legend. In a certain city a fierce mother-
in-law accused her son’s wife of unchastity. The poor girl
could only protest her innocency, but was quite unable to
prove it, till suddenly a great calamity befell the city :
the massive gates of the town stuck fast and could not be
moved ! An astrologer, being called in to help, declared
that they could only be opened by a woman so chaste that
she could draw water from a well in a sieve and sprinkle
with it the obdurate gates. The accused girl seized this
chance to prove her innocency, and did it so successfully
that her slanderer was confounded and condemned.1
Paisunya, or telling stories to discredit any one, is another xiv. Pai-
sin resembling in its guilt that of slander. sunya.
1 This story is told in The Lives of Sixteen Chaste Women, a famous
Jaina classic.
K
I3°
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
XV.
Ninda.
xvi. Rati,
Arati.
xvii.
Maya-
mrisa.
xviii.
Mithya-
darsana
Salya.
It is also a very serious sin to be always criticizing and
finding fault [Ninda). The Jaina tell many stories to show
that one should look at one’s own sins and not at the sins
of others, saying that if one is continually thinking of the
faults of others, one’s own mind becomes debased and one
grows like the very sinners one criticizes.
It is natural for an ascetic religion to reckon the lack of self-
control in the presence of either joy or sorrow [Rati Arati)
as a very grave sin, tending, as it does, not only to injury
of health and spirits, but also to excessive attachment to
temporal and transitory objects of affection.
The seventeenth form of sin in our list, Maydmrisa, is very
far-reaching. It is that species of untruthfulness which in
ordinary conversation leads to suggeslio falsi, and which in
religion leads to hypocrisy. The Jaina love of the country-
side and their shrewd country wit is shown in the fact that
the typical example they quote of the hypocrite is the stork.
This bird, they declare, stands on the river bank on only one
leg (to pretend he has the least possible connexion with the
things of earth) and seems to be lost in meditation, but, if
a fish appear, he swoops down and kills it, thus committing
the sin of hirhsa, the most heinous of all crimes, whilst
professing to be engaged in devotion.
The last of the eighteen sins, Mithyadarsana Salya, em-
braces those that spring from false faith, such as holding
the renegade Gosala, who was nothing but a failure, to be
a Tlrthaiikara, or believing in a false religion,1 or taking
a man who is a hypocrite for one’s guru. There are
altogether twenty-five divisions of the sin of false faith,
but we need only glance at one or two of the most impor-
tant, as throwing an interesting light on the way Jaina
regard the religions by which they are surrounded. Such
are Laukika mithyatva, or believing in such gods as
Ganesa or Hanuman, whom the Jaina do not believe to be
1 All religions outside Jainism are false, but those which do not
inculcate compassion are specially unworthy of credence.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
>3*
gods at all ; and Lokottara mithyatva, which includes all
forms of spiritual bribery, such as the offering of vows to
various Jaina saints or gurus for the fulfilment of the wor-
shipper’s wishes. Under this it is even forbidden to pray for
a child’s recovery from sickness ! It is also accounted a sin,
though a venial one, if a Jaina woman, for instance, promises
in the event of a son being granted to her to give a cradle
to a temple, or to donate money to a sadhu, or that her
husband will feed their caste fellows; for the Jaina say that
they should never give alms with any object save that of
aiding themselves on the journey to moksa, and should be
careful not to import into their religion the practices of an
alien faith.1 Two other branches of the sin of false faith
are such as might prevent conversion to Jainism : the
obstinate holding of a belief, when the holder is convinced it
is false ( Abhigrahika mithyatva) ; and the resting content in
a state of ignorance, when there is an opportunity of striving
to learn (Ajhana mithyatva). Other sins included under this
head consist in lack of reverence towards sacred things : for
instance, he who fails to pay the honour due to a guru or a
god is guilty of Avinaya mithyatva ; and a man wrho enters
a temple wearing his shoes, or chewing betel-nut, or who
spits in the temple precincts, is guilty of Asatana mithyatva.
The last of these twenty-five which we need enumerate is
Anabhigrahika mithyatva ,2 the sin which any Jaina would
commit who, for example, became a theosophist, or came to
regard all religions as true and all their founders and
apostles as equally worthy of reverence and belief.
Such are some of the faults which are included under this
sin of false faith, the last on the list of the eighteen
kinds of sin. Such a list is in itself enough to justify the
claim of the Jaina that the philosophy of their faith is
an ethical philosophy; but to Western eyes it seems no
1 The intelligent Jaina clearly recognize that Hinduism has a very great
influence over the religious ideas and practices of the less instructed
members of their community.
2 Otherwise Anabhi grahitva.
13 2
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
The five
Jnana-
varanlya.
less remarkable for its omissions than for its inclusions.
To judge this list fairly one must remember that it is
not an unused piece of lumber stored away in the Jaina
statute book, but that the most careless of Jaina test their
consciences by it at least once every year, and that the
more devout use it every four months and some even every
fortnight. It cannot be denied that such lists, together with
kindred enactments, have educated the Jaina conscience
to some knowledge of what sin is.
The Eighty-two Results of Sin.
Under their fourth principle the Jaina include not only
the forms which sin takes, but also the results which follow
from it. Jaina have a great admiration for beauty of person
and of intellect, and they believe that sin in a previous birth
will inevitably produce deformity in mind or body in the
next existence.
They say that there are five ways in which sin can im-
pede knowledge. It may impede the free use of the intellect
( Matijhandvaraniya ). It is true that when a man becomes
a Siddha, his soul will have perfect knowledge and will be
able to cast aside the mind as no longer needed, but in this
life he must use his intellect and his five senses to the full
as a means of gaining wisdom. Sin in a previous birth
hinders all exercise of the intellect, as dirt clogs the machi-
nery of a watch. Another effect of sin on the intellect is
to prevent our gaining any good from hearing or reading
the scriptures ( Srutajhanavaraniya ). Sin also impedes the
use of occult powers. Certain Jaina, even after shutting
their eyes, know what is going on around them, but the
effect of some sins would neutralize this knowledge ( Ava -
dhijhdndvaraniyd). By the practice of austerities these
occult powers can be so developed that a man can know
what is going on in Jambudvlpa, DhatakI Khapda,1 or half
of Puskaradvipa, but previous sin ( Mana/iparydyajhand -
1 Or Kalodadhi Khanda.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
I33
varanlya ) would spoil these powers, even as another of its
results (. Kevalajndnavaraniya ) can prevent any one’s attain-
ing omniscience, the highest knowledge of all. Evidently
the Jaina have clearly realized that part of the wages of sin
is death to the intellectual life.
Sin can also impede our enjoyment of many other things The five
besides intellect. If one is longing to experience the pleasure Antaraya>
of giving away, and even has everything ready, sin will
prevent one’s actually dispensing the alms (Danantaraya) .
If a man works hard in business, but never manages to make
a profit, he knows that it is owing to sin (Labhantaraya) .
In this case, however, he may .hope to overcome the effect
of sin, if it had not become ripe enough for punishment, by
accumulating merit. There are two ways of enjoying the
possession of property : there is the enjoyment a poor man
would take in having some great luxury like a motor car,
and the enjoyment he has in using such necessaries of life
as food and clothing. The fruit of sin will prevent his
enjoying either ( Bhogantaraya and Upabhogantaraya). The
Jaina hold also that sin will prevent a man’s rejoicing in his
strength, and if they see that some one, though evidently
possessing great physical or spiritual powers, has been from
his youth up unable to use them ( Viryantaraya ), they say at
once that he must have committed some sin in his previous
birth.
Sin has a specially evil effect on sight, both physical and The
spiritual (Caksudarsanavaraniya) : one effect of sin maY^'an
be to actually render a man blind, a less gross sin would avara-
result in his being short-sighted, and if the sin were only ^'y3,
a venial one, its fruit might be only night blindness. Other
sins would injure other senses ( Acaksudarsandvaraniya ) such
as hearing, smelling, tasting and the sense of touch. Then,
just as we saw that the degrees of knowledge were impeded
as a penalty for sin, so with regard to sight in various de-
grees : sin prevents any one seeing with the eyes of the soul
what people at a distance are doing ( Avadhidarsanavaranlya ),
!34
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
The five
Nidra.
Five
unclassi-
fied
results.
and of course also hinders any one from getting that super-
natural vision which is only possessed by the omniscient
(Kevaladarsandvaraniya). If any sin be very heinous, its
fruit may ripen in the very life in which it was committed, so
that the sinner may suffer for it before death without having
to wait for rebirth, but usually the wages of sin accumulate
and only affect a jiva in succeeding lives.
Sin seems to have a specially unfavourable influence on
attempts at meditation, for one of the fruits of sin is slumber,
that great foe to prayer. All indulgence in sin leads to
sleepiness : if the sin had been slight the slumber is light
(Nidra), and the sleeper can be awakened easily ; but heavier
sin brings on heavier slumber ( Nidranidra ), from which
the awakening is painful. In a worse state sleep comes un-
invited to a man as he tries to meditate when he is standing
up or sitting down ( Pracala ) ; and as a punishment for yet
grosser sin it does not wait for movement to cease, but over-
powers him even as he is walking along the road ( Cala or
Pracalapracala). The worst type of slumber (. Styanarddhi
or Thinarddhi) is the fruit of gross sin, and indues its victims
with terrific vigour, so that they possess at least half of the
strength of the great Vasudeva. With this strength they
commit in their sleep all sorts of crimes, murders and man-
slaughters, so that their guilt is increased, and with it is
increased also their slumber, hence they are perpetually in-
volved in a hideous circle of crime bringing forth slumber and
slumber bringing forth crime, from which there is no relief.
In the long list of eighty-two results of sin one comes
after Nidra to some unclassified results, which we shall
deal with more fully elsewhere, such as the being born
in a low-caste or poor family ( Nicagotra ), being born in
hell (Narakagati), or suffering sorrow on sorrow (Asata-
vedamya), perhaps in hell. As a result of sin, too, the force
(N arakanupurvi) is accumulated which will send one to hell,
and the time one will have to spend there (N arakayu) is also
dependent on our previous sins.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS 135
Next on the long list come the twenty-five Kasaya (those
sins which result in tying men to the cycle of rebirth). We
have discussed 1 sixteen of these under the heads of anger,
conceit, intrigue, and greed, and their subdivisions, and
must now look at nine minor faults (N okasaya) and their
results. These sins are such as it is very important for
ascetics to avoid, but as they are not in themselves very
heinous transgressions, they do not bring such terrible con-
sequences in their train. Nevertheless a sadhu must avoid
the sin of laughter ( Hasya ), for when he made the great
renunciation he bade farewell to all enjoyment of merriment.
If a sadhu laughs even once, some punishment will follow,
and if he persists in the indulgence, it will lead to his
rebirth. The next sin is worth remembering, for it brings
out most clearly the difference between the Christian ideal
of asceticism, as typified, for example, by St. Francis of
Assisi or David Livingstone, with their joy in all the beauty
and wonder of the world, and the Jaina ideal. A sadhu must
not rejoice in beauty (Rati2) nor in the joyousness of a little
child, nor in the sound of exquisite harmony, nor in the
glories of art, for a religious has done with all pleasure which
is worldly and arises from delight in pudgaja. A monk has
bidden farewell also to all disgust ( Arati ), and must not feel
dismay at the sight of an evil-looking person, or on hearing
even the vilest abuse. A sadhu must be free from all fear
(. Bhaya ) of men or animals : indeed in their scriptures he is
expressly told that, even if he sees a vicious cow coming for
him, he is not to leave the road, butwithamind ‘ not directed
to outward things ’ continue in contemplation.3 Similarly
he must never indulge in grief (§oka) through being deprived
of anything, but must remain undisturbed, even if thieves
rob him of his last garment. Many legends record how
scrupulously good monks have abstained from the next sin,
The
twenty-
five
Kasaya,
includin
the
nine
Noka-
saya.
1 See pp. 122 ff.
2 Rati and Arati bear various meanings in Jaina philosophy.
3 Acarahga Siitra, S.B. E., xxii, p. 147.
Six re-
sults
affecting
class of
jlva.
Six
physical
ble-
mishes.
136 THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
that of feeling dismayed when assailed, either by words of
hatred or contempt, or by an evil smell ( Dugancha ). The
remaining three minor faults ( Purusaveda , Strlveda , Napui'n-
sakaveda) remind us how completely the Jaina ascetic has
parted with love and affection, for if he be a true monk,
he must form no friendship even with another monk, and
similarly no nun may desire the companionship of another
nun, or a neuter of a neuter. Though these nine minor
faults are sins that the ascetic is specially bound to shun,
they also show the things that the layman will do well to
avoid, for the over-indulgence in any of them will result in
rebirth.
Sin will further affect the class of beings into which one is
born in the next incarnation, for the Jaina draw no barriers
between animal and human life, and the result of sin in
this life may be to accumulate a force ( Tiryanc anupurvl)
which will cause one to be reborn on the next occasion as
a beast or a bird ( Tiryanc gati) or as a one-sensed, two-
sensed, three-sensed, or four-sensed being ( Ekendriya nama,
Be-indriya nama , Tri-indriya nama , Corendriya nama).
Sin also results in personal ugliness of various kinds. If
one sees some one who walks in a very ugly way like a
camel or a donkey, one knows at once that it is the result
of sin ( Asubha vihayogati) ; certain ugly diseases ( Upaghata
nama), such as boils under the tongue, diseases of the throat,
teeth dropping out, or curvature of the spine, are caused by
sin. Indians very much admire a complexion of the colour
of ripe wheat and dislike a very dark skin; and Jaina believe
that complexions are the result of conduct in a past life, and
that a really black skin is the fruit of sin ( Asubha varria).
So is an unpleasant bodily smell (Asubha gandha), unpleasant
bodily essence ( Asubha rasa), and a skin that is unpleasant
to the touch ( Asubha sparsa). The general result of beliefs
of this kind is to dry up sympathy for sufferers from bodily
defects.
Sin also results in loss of bodily strength, and to under-
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
137
stand this we must try and grasp a new idea of anatomy. The five
The Jaina believe that sinews are wrapped round the
bones of the human frame like a bandage, and that on
the tightness of this wrapping the strength of the body
depends. Sin has affected this bandage in five particular
ways : firstly ( Risabhanaraca sahghena ), owing to the
general depravity of the age, the peg that fastened the
bandage tightly to the human frame and prevented its
getting unwound has dropped out, and got permanently
lost, so that there is no security against loss of bodily
strength. As the world has grown steadily wickeder, the
bandage has passed through successive stages of becoming
loose ( Naraca sahghena) and so greatly weakening the body ;
dropping half off ( Ardhanaraca saiighena ) ; slipping right
off ( Kilika sahghena ), so as to leave only the two little nails
that fastened the bones before they were bandaged ; until
at last we reach the present epoch, when not only has the
bandage entirely disappeared ( Sevartta sahghena), but also
the nails that held the bones, and so the human frame,
having lost the strength the bandage formerly gave, as well
as the cohesion due to the nails, now only keeps together in
a weakened condition * owing to sockets, &c.’ !
Sin also results in various deformities in the human body. The five
A good figure is held to be a reward of past merit, and the
various failures to reach the perfect physical standard are
the fruits of sin. As the upper portion of a banyan tree is
famous for its beauty, whilst nearer the ground it looks ugly
enough, so it often happens that, though the head and trunk
of a man are perfectly formed, his legs are short and spindly ;
this failure of upper and lower to correspond ( Nyagrodha -
parimandala sahisthana ) is the fruit of sin. So is the reverse
( Sadi sahisthana ), when the head and trunk are miserably
thin and badly developed, while the legs are strong and
vigorous. Or the head and legs may be normal, but the
torso ill-formed ( Kubjaka sahisthana) . The result of sin
may be to make a man a dwarf ( V amana sahisthana) ; and
i38
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
The
Sthavara
Dasaka.
still grosser sin may result in the malformation of every
limb and every feature (. Hunda saihsthana).
Pursuing our way down the long list we come next to
a rather heterogeneous group of ten results of sin. Certain
sins condemn the soul that commits them to be born in the
next life in the class of motionless beings [Sthavara), or per-
haps to be so tiny as to be invisible and unable to move
(Suksma). Other sins prevent a soul acquiring the full
number of powers and senses that belong to the class in
which it is born ( Aparyapti ). A still more dreaded result of
sin forces a soul to take up its abode in a body already in-
habited by numberless other souls ( Sadharatta ). Jaina, as
we have seen, believe that thousands of lives lodge in every
single potato, onion, artichoke and beet ; and so they never
eat any tuber, root, or bulb, lest they should take not one
but thousands of lives by so doing. No punishment is more
feared by the Jaina than that the jlva, instead of having
some shelter (human, animal, or vegetable) to itself, may have
to lodge along with myriads of others in an overcrowded
dwelling. Again, as the result of sin, the body that the jiva
inhabits may be complete in every respect, but the limbs
may be unstable ( Asthira ) : a shaky hand, a palsied head and
loose teeth are all put down to sin in a past life. Sin may
make a man unlucky and his name so inauspicious ( Asubha )
that people do not like to mention it early in the morning,
lest misfortune pursue them all day ; or it may make a man
a failure ( Durbhaga ), so that everything he touches goes
wrong. The voice, too, may be affected ( Dusvara ), so that
it becomes unpleasing to the listener and lacks all harmony :
a donkey’s bray, the hooting of an owl and the cracked
voice of a man all bear witness to sin in a previous life.
Though the sound of a voice may be all right, the effect of
sin may be to take away all authority from it ( Anadeya ) :
when a man’s commands are disobeyed, his warnings dis-
regarded, and his words disbelieved, it is plain that he must
have sinned deeply in his last birth. One notices, too,
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
L39
that however hard some men strive, disgrace instead of fame
seems to be their lot ( Ayasa ) ; this also is the result of sin.
The last of the eighty-two fruits of sin ( Mithyatva
mohanxya ) is the most terrible of all, for it deprives a man
of the power of believing in the truth. He is forced by it
to believe in a false instead of in a true god ; in an evil guru
and not in a good one ; and in a false creed instead of the
true faith.
The Fifth Category : Asrava.
Karma (the accumulated result of action) is one of the
central ideas of the Jaina faith, and the fifth principle of
Jaina philosophy deals with the way karma is acquired by
the human soul. Just as water flows into a boat through
a hole in it, so karma according to the Jaina flows into the
soul through Asrava and impedes its progress. No soul
can attain to moksa till it has worked off all its karma,
auspicious and inauspicious ( Subha and Asubha ). There are
forty-two chief channels or Asrava through which karma
enters a jiva ; and of these, seventeen are regarded as major.
The easiest way for karma to enter is through the senses :
so the five indriya must be guarded ; otherwise, through the
ear for example ( Kana asrava) pleasant sounds may be heard
and so gloated over and indulged in that a man would find
it impossible to live without them, and eventually through
his delight in these siren sounds forget all duty and be
lost to all progress in the upward path. Or once more
through the lust of the eye ( Ankha asrava ) he may be so
entangled by the beauty of women or art as to be hindered
from any progress, and so evil would flow into his soul.
Again the delight in sweet odours ( Naka asrava), as of
flowers, perfumes, or scent, may make him forget his duties.
Similarly taste ( Jibha asrava) may become a hindrance to
him, for he may waste time and money in purchasing deli-
cacies, and even eat things forbidden to the devout. The
Jaina lay great stress on the importance of controlling the
Mith-
yatva
moha-
nlya.
The
forty-two
Asrava.
The
seven-
teen
major
Asrava.
The Five
Senses.
The four
Kasaya.
The five
A v rata.
140 THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
sense of taste, for if that be disciplined, all the other senses
can also, they say, be kept in restraint, whereas gluttony
affects sight, hearing, smell and the sense of touch. The
sense of touch, too, must be carefully controlled ( Sparsa
asrava ), or the love of touching smooth things, for example,
may become such a snare that the toucher may be lulled
into unconsciousness through the pleasure of it.
Karma may enter through the four emotions ( Kasaya ) 1
whose exercise ties the soul to the cycle of rebirth, for if
anger be indulged (Krodha asrava), it burns the soul of him
who gives way to it, as well as the soul of the person he may
injure, and so both are harmed. Conceit and pride ( Maria
asrava ) are a terrible foe to progress and open the door to
all sorts of karma, besides they are the deadly enemy of
courtesy, by which merit is obtained. Deceit and intrigue
{Maya asrava) lead to many kinds of falseness in word and
deed, and thus much evil karma is accumulated ; and lastly
avarice {Lobha asrava) leads first to cheating and then to
actual thieving, and is opposed to self-sacrifice and self-
restraint.
The Jaina say that these four evil emotions must be
checked on the principle of cultivating the corresponding
virtue. Thus the angry man must exercise forgiveness,
the proud man humility, the deceitful frankness, and the
avaricious contentment ; but how this is to be done is not
explained.
Again, through not taking the five great vows evil karma
may flow in in five ways ( Panda Avrata). If a man fails to
go to a guru and, standing in front of him, to promise with
folded hands that he will not kill, this simple omission to
promise, without any commission, will lead to the acquisition
of karma ; for the Jaina hold that without the stiffening of
resolution that comes through taking the vow one is more
liable to do wrong ; this liability leads to instability of mind,
through which some karma enters. Of course more karma
1 See pp. 122 ff.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
141
would enter if one should go further and act contrary to the
spirit of the vow. Similarly karma is acquired by failing
to take, or offending against, the spirit of the vow against
lying, thieving, coveting and acting unchastely.
Karma will also flow into any soul which has allowed The three
either mind, speech, or body to become too entangled with 1ioga'
a material object. If the mind is taken up with meditation
on a Tlrthankara or on a Siddha, the influence is good, and
a favourable channel ( Subha asrava ) is opened up, through
which, instead of karma, merit (punya) flows into the soul ;
but if the mind is occupied with an evil thought (e. g. if
such and such a merchant dies, I shall get his wealth), a bad
channel is opened, and through this bad channel ( Asubha
asrava) evil karma enters. In the same way there is a subha
and asubha asrava of speech : by repeating the name of
Siddha or the Panca Paramesvara merit is acquired, but
by evil or abusive speaking bad karma enters the soul.
Finally, if one saves life, for example, by bodily exertion, it
is subha asrava, whilst killing is, of course, asubha asrava.
Besides these seventeen major channels or asrava, there The
are twenty-five minor ways by which karma is acquired, ^®nty‘
all of them connected with action. If one is not careful minoi
about the movements of one’s body, an injury may be Asrava.
inflicted on some person or thing ( Kayikx asrava) and evil
karma acquired, and the same thing may happen through the
careless use of weapons ( Adhikaraniki ), or through hatred
(. Pradvesikl ), or intentionally ( Paritapaniki ), or some prana
( Pranatipatiki ) may be injured. Again, by beginning to build
a house or to till a field some insect life may be hurt ( Aram -
bhikl), or by gathering together great stores of grain, cattle,
or wealth covetousness may arise ( Parigrahiki ) and give
birth to karma. One might do some one an injury through
deceit (Maydpratyayiki) , or acquire evil karma by acting
contrary to the dictates of Mahavira and obeying the
commands of some false faith ( Mithyadarsanapratyayikl ).
Through omitting to take a vow to go to a certain place (e. g.
142
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
to America) one might go there, and when there acquire evil
karma, or, in the same way through omitting to take a vow
against eating certain things one is liable to eat them and
so acquire karma (Apratyakhydniki) . By looking at some
object with excessive love or hatred, one makes a channel
for karma to enter ( Dristiki ), and by touching other objects
one produces the same effect ( Spristikl ). Another interest-
ing belief of the Jaina under this head is that sin committed
in a previous existence forms a channel through which, in
this life, karma may be more easily acquired ( Pratityaki ).
The Jaina, who in all sorts of ways show their realization
of the dangers of wealth, believe that if the possessor of
many goods be much praised for possessing them and thus
give way to conceit, he opens the way for evil karma to
accrue ( Samantopanipatikl ).
Machinery is guilty of destroying so much insect life, that
Jaina should only use it with the greatest caution, for a
man, even if he be an employe working at the express
command of a rajah whom he is bound to obey, does not
therefore rid himself of his personal responsibility, but
acquires evil karma through every life he takes (Naisastriki).1
The employer, however, is also responsible, and if a servant
in obedience to his master’s order so acts as to injure any
jlva, his guilt is shared by his master, who will also have
acquired evil karma ( Svahastiki ). There is an expressive
Gujarati adjective ‘ dodhadahyum ’ applied to people who
are too wise by half ; when folk suffer from this in religious
matters and know more than Mahavira taught, they open
the way for karma to flow in (Ajuapaniki) . Defamation
also leads to karma, and if a man unjustly speaks ill of
another, he has thereby opened the door to evil karma
(Vaidaranikl). The caustic wit of the Jaina shows in
the next item on the list, for they teach that if a man
pretends to be listening to a sermon with great interest
and all the time his wits are wool-gathering, he has
1 Or Naisristiki.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
U3
formed a new channel ( Anabhogikl ) for karma. They also
aim a shrewd blow at all reformers and such-like troublesome
folk by declaring that a very dangerous way of opening new
inlets for karma is to act in anyway against the prejudices,
usages, or beliefs that one knows one’s fellow caste-men to
hold in this world, or that one believes they will hold in
the next ! ( Anavakanksdpratyayikl ). In the same way
karma accrues if one acts against rule, or fails to control one’s
speech, body, mind, or movements ( Prayogikl ). There is
a difference of opinion as to the next item on the list
( Samudayikl ). Some pandits hold that it refers to the
channels an individual may open by acting in such a way
that all the eight karma simultaneously flow in. Others
believe it denotes the channels a crowd of people may open
at the same moment, as, for instance, if a number of
persons go to see a man hanged and all hope that the hang-
man will not keep them waiting about, but will get the
execution over as quickly as possible ; when this occurs
every single member of the crowd who feels this desire has
opened a passage for bad karma. When people act under
the influence of deceit or covetousness, they open a way for
karma ( Premikl ), and so they do when swayed by anger
(Dvesiki). In fact, karma, either good or bad, must accrue
so long as one has a body; even a Kevali (who, know-
ing all sin, tries to avoid it), so long as he is in the flesh, is
forced into some action, and every action good or bad
produces karma ( Iryapathikl ). So long as there is any
karma remaining, either good or evil, one cannot reach
moksa. The logical outcome of this belief one sees, for
example, in the action of Mahavira’s parents, who, trying to
avoid all action, lest karma (.the result of action) should keep
them from liberation, abstained even from the taking of
food, and so, prompted by the highest motives, died of
starvation. Only by dying can a Jaina help acquiring
karma, and karma, either good or bad, ties them inexorably
to the weary cycle of rebirth. Here, again, we touch one
144
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
The fifty-
seven
ways of
impeding
karma.
The five
Samiti.
of the great contrasts between the teaching of Mahavira,
who, good and great as he was, taught a system, the logical
outcome of which is death, and that of the Founder of
Christianity, who came that His followers might have life,
and have it abundantly.1
The Sixth Category : Saiiivara.
We now come to the sixth principle of Jaina philosophy,
which is the converse of the fifth, the way, namely, in
which the inflow of karma into the soul can be impeded.
The karma that has already been acquired can be dissipated
and so liberation attained, if only no new karma accrue :
‘As a large tank, when its supply of water has been stopped,
gradually dries up by the consumption of the water and by
evaporation, so the Karman of a monk, which he acquired
in millions of births, is annihilated by austerities, if there
is no influx of bad karman.’ 2
The Jaina themselves consider this principle of Samvara
of supreme importance, and it contains matter that is more
often quoted by them than anything else. Long and weari-
some as we shall find the lists it contains of the fifty-seven
ways of impeding karma, yet they are worth our study,
for, having already learnt what the Jaina mean by sin, we
shall now learn what they mean by holiness.
The first five ways of arresting the inflow of karma refer
to outward behaviour. A man who would be holy must
observe the greatest care whenever he walks anywhere not
to injure any living thing ( Irya samiti). This rule is, of
course, specially binding on all monks and nuns, for the
Jaina have a comfortably lower standard for the laity.
Ascetics must enter and leave their monasteries with the
greatest care, lest they step on any insect ; they must,
wherever possible, avoid field-paths and keep to highways,
where an animal or an insect can be more easily seen and
avoided ; they must walk miles round rather than cross
1 St. John x. io. 2 S.B.E., xlv, p. 174.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
145
a green patch of ground wherein there are likely to be many
living things ; and they must carefully examine the ground
a vama's length ahead (i.e. the distance of outstretched
arms) before treading on it. A sadhu to keep this rule
must, curiously enough, never cross the open sea,1 though
he may cross a creek. In order that a layman may keep
this rule, he must strive always to act so as to give
trouble to no living thing whilst he is walking, sitting, or
sleeping.
To arrest the inflow of karma one must also guard the
words of one’s mouth ( Bhasa samiti ) : one must always
speak kindly, never by word inflict pain on any one, and in
every way strive not to sin through speech. The Jaina
believe in auricular confession ; and if, for instance, a man
has eaten a potato but means never to do so again, he will
confess his sin secretly to a sadhu, and the sadhu (if he is
certain that the penitent means never to offend again) will
inflict a certain penance according to the rules laid down
in the Vyavahara Sutra, Nisltha, or Brihatkalpa. Should
the sadhu, however, break the seal of confession and
repeat what has been told him, he will have failed in Bhasa
samiti and be guilty of great sip. Under this rule one must
also guard against frightening any one by speech, making
a mock of any one, or preaching false doctrine.
Circumspection must also be exercised about all matters
connected with eating (Esana samiti ). A sadhu is only
allowed to use fourteen kinds of things all told, inclusive
of wearing apparel, food and drink. He has to beg for
everything he eats, but even then his food is limited, for in
order to guard against karma he must be careful only to
take such food as is allowed to him, e.g. he must not take
food underneath which a fire is burning. If it is raining,
1 It was this interpretation of the rule which prevented any sadhu
from accepting the invitation to speak at the Parliament of Religions in
America, or from even deputing any one to go. The difficulty was
solved by the lay community — the sahgha — sending a layman.
L
j46 the nine categories of
a monk must not go out from the Apasaro (monks’ rest-
house) to beg for food ; and, as no layman may take food to
the Apasaro, it often happens that during the rainy season
the sadhus get really hungry in their endeavours to avoid
acquiring karma. Again, a monk must not take food if he
thinks that by so doing he will leave the donor’s household
in straits ; in fact there are altogether forty-two faults
which a sadhu must avoid committing when he begs for or
receives food. A layman is simply bound to refrain from
committing sin in order to obtain food. Under this rule
again all intoxicants1 are forbidden to monks and laymen,
and so are meat, butter and honey.
In order to stop the inflow of karma a sadhu must also
be careful to possess only five cloths ( Adananiksepana sa-
miti), and when these are presented to him he must take
them with the greatest care, gently removing anything
that may be on them, lest in the very receiving of them
he injure any insect life. If he borrows a stool (for he
may not own one) he must dust it carefully and then sweep
the ground free from any insects before he sets it down.
In the same way a householder should arrest the possible
inflow of karma by carefully dusting all his books and
vessels with a ponjanl, the small brush used by the laity,
which is a smaller edition of the brush a sadhu may never
part from. A layman must also scrupulously sweep his
hearth and the wood he is going to burn, and be very care-
ful that the room he is going to keep his water-vessels in is
thoroughly swept. The result of these rules (as any one who
has had the privilege of friendship with Jaina ladies will
testify) is to keep a Jaina house exquisitely clean and fresh.
The careful disposal of rubbish and refuse is another
way of preventing karma being acquired ( Parithapanika
samiti2 or Utsarga samiti ). If a sadhu after begging food
1 So particular are the old-fashioned Jaina not to touch intoxicants,
that one reason they give for refusing to take European medicine is
that it might contain alcohol.
2 Otherwise, Prat st/iapana samiti.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
J47
find that there is insect life in it, he must neither use
it, nor throw it carelessly away, but carefully deposit it
where it can neither do nor suffer harm. A monk must
never keep either food or water overnight, but must care-
fully dispose of anything that remains over from the last
meal in some convenient place. Monks must try when out
begging only to accept as much food as they actually need,
for if they have often to throw away things, karma is
acquired. All other refuse of every kind must be carefully
disposed of by both laity and monks in desert places where
nothing can be injured by it.
Of equal importance with the five rules for outward The
behaviour are the rules for the controlling of mind, speech
and body, and the Jaina speak of the eight rules together
as ‘ the essence of their creed which a sage should thoroughly
put into practice ; such a wise man will soon get beyond the
Circle of Births ’/ and again as comprehending the whole
of the teaching of the Jaina and of their sacred books.2
In order that karma may be arrested, the mind must be
controlled ( Manogupti ) in three ways : one must not indulge
in uncontrolled grief, anger, joy, or anxiety ( Asatkalpanavi •
yogi)] neither must one show any partiality, but must think
alike of rich and poor, realizing that in both there is a soul, and
one must fix one’s mind on doing kindnesses and obeying the
tenets of religion ( Samatabhavinl ) ; and above all ( Atmarama -
to) one must think steadily, not of external things, but of one’s
own soul and of the saints who have attained omniscience.
Speech can be specially controlled ( V acanagupti ) in two
ways : either by observing a vow of silence ( Maunavalambi )
for a certain number of days, or ( V akniyami ) by speaking
as little as possible, and when it is absolutely necessary
to speak, holding a piece of cloth (mumati) in front of one’s
mouth in order not to injure the jiva of the air.
The movements of the body must also be controlled
( Kayagupti ) if the acquisition of karma is to be arrested :
1 Uttaradhyayana, S.B. xlv, p. 136. 2 Loc. cit. , p. 130.
L
The
twenty-
two
Parisaha.
148 THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
a human being must be careful to control his move-
ments according to the rules laid down in the scriptures
( Y athasutracestaniyami ), and at last, when he becomes a
saint omniscient, must maintain his limbs in that state of
absolute immobility ( Cestanivritti ) possible only to a Kevali.
There is the same difference in standard as to the way
a monk and a layman must observe the gupti that we have
noticed in all the Jaina rules, and the following example
may illustrate it. If a sadhu and a layman meet a shooting
party, and the sportsmen ask where the deer they are trying
to shoot has gone, the monk must keep silence, for he may
neither aid in the taking of life nor lie, but the ordinary
man may point in a wrong direction or give an untrue
reply, for, in order to save life, a layman may tell an
untruth. The keeping of the gupti is supposed to protect
a sadhu from all temptation ; and the scriptures say that if
a monk possesses the three gupti, his peace of mind cannot
be disturbed even by well-adorned goddesses.1
Since the inflow of karma can also be checked by endur-
ing hardship, the laity should endeavour to sustain certain
hardships, but the ascetic was expressly commanded by
Mahavira himself 2 to endure ‘ the twenty-two troubles ’
( Parisaha 3) that are likely to beset him in his life as a
wandering mendicant.
A monk must accordingly be prepared to endure the trial
of hunger ( Ksudha parisaha), if he cannot obtain food blame-
lessly and without committing one of the forty-two faults,
even though he were to grow as emaciated as the joint of a
crow’s leg. However thirsty ( Trisa p .) he may be, he must
never take unboiled water lest he should destroy some life.
However cold a monk may feel, he must endure it ( Sltap .),
without wishing that the sun would rise, that a fire were
lighted, or that he had more clothes ; nor must an ascetic
1 Uttaradhyayana , S.B. E., xlv, p. 186.
2 Uttaradhyayana , S. B. E., xlv, p. 9.
= Or Parisaha.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
149
ever warm himself at a fire, or light a fire. In the same
way he must endure heat ( Usnap .), without fanning himself,
going to a river side to cool himself, or longing to pour
cold water over his body. If when a monk is meditating,
a mosquito or a hornet sting him ( Damsa p.), he must not
brush it away nor be irritated by it, but must remain un-
disturbed, and by self-control conquer his internal foe, as
an elephant at the head of the battle kills the enemy.1
A monk must also endure anything in the way of clothing
( Vastrap .2), being content either to be without it or to receive
dirty, old and torn garments. He must also be absolutely
indifferent to the sort of lodgings ( Aratip .) he may be given
in the different villages. To the Jaina, woman was always
the temptress, never the helpmate, and the ascetic is
warned to renounce all liking for women’s society ( Strl p.),
remembering that they are ‘ a slough An ascetic is
bound also cheerfully to keep the rules about changing his
lodging (Cary a p.) : he must never stay longer in a village
nowadays than a month in fine weather, or four months
in the rainy season, but the shorter time he stops the
better (if possibA only one night), lest he should grow fond
of any one and form a friendship however innocent.
All monks must perform their meditation either sitting
or standing, keeping the eyes and limbs absolutely im-
movable. The more disagreeable a place one chooses to
meditate in the better, so the holiest monks choose the most
unpleasant spots (N aisidhiki p .3) . Every Indian believes that
the place where corpses are burned is haunted by all sorts
of hideous evil spirits, so that by going to meditate in such
a spot, or in a jungle haunted by tigers or lions, a monk
very effectually endures hardness, and shows his indiffer-
ence to fear by remaining immovable even when attacked
by evil spirits or wild beasts ! If a monk be benighted on
his peregrinations, he must gladly endure such hardships
1 Uttaradhyayana, S. B. E., xlv, p. 1 1- 8 Or Acela p.
3 Or Naisedhiki p.
150
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
( Sayya p.) as sleeping in the open air or under a tree,
without even a plank for a bed ; and in the same way, if no
one lends him a bed in a town, he must sleep contentedly
without it, knowing that he is thus arresting karma. Karma
is also checked by calmly enduring taunts and reproaches
(Akrosa p.) and not taking cruel or rankling words to heart.
The Jaina say that, before the ‘Pax Britannica’ ruled in
India, there was constant quarrelling between members of
the various religions, and the followers of Saiikaracarya in
particular persecuted them ; this often led to fights, but the
Jaina sadhus were urged to receive even beatings philoso-
phically, being assured that such endurance (Vadhap.) would
hinder the accumulation of karma; and to help them they
were told to reflect, when struck, that after all it might have
been worse, for they had not lost their lives. It sometimes
happens that a rich man’s son or even a prince becomes
a Jaina sadhu ; and it is specially unpleasant for a man of
such social position to go round begging, for ‘ the hand (of
the giver) is not always kindly stretched out to a monk when
he is on his begging tour’,1 but by enduring this ( Y aheap .) he
retards karma. Sometimes too a monk is met with a blank
refusal, or for fear of committing any of the forty-two faults
has himself to refuse food offered to him ; he must bear this
(. Alabha p.) calmly, thinking that though he get nothing
to-day, he may perhaps get something to-morrow.
Illness ( Roga p.) affords a monk a chance of checking the
growth of karma, if he endure it patiently as punishment
for past sin (we have already seen that Jaina look on all
illness as punishment for sin in a previous existence) and
neither desires medical attendance, nor cries out that he is
dying or dead, but continues to think of the welfare of his
soul, neither acting himself nor causing others to act. The
jungle grass in India is so full of thorns and prickles that
the Jaina scriptures truly say that if a naked ascetic lies
on the grass he will certainly be badly scratched ; in the
1 Uttaradhyayana , S.B.E., xlv, p. 13.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
151
sun the pain of the scratches will grow insupportable, but
the ascetic who cheerfully endures this pain {Trittasparsa p.)
knows that he is impeding karma. If a monk is given
water that has been previously boiled, he is allowed to
sponge his body or wash his clothes with it, but he may
never bathe or wash his clothes in a running stream ; when
an ascetic feels dirty and sticky and hot, he must never
allow his mind to rest on the delicious joy and refreshment
of a bathe, but is told, on the contrary, that by enduring
the horror of feeling dirty in his body ( Mela p.) he is benefit-
ing his soul (!), and practising ‘ the noble excellent Law, he
should carry the filth on his body till he expires h1
It is a perilous moment for a monk when he is praised ;
but if he can listen with absolute indifference ( Satkara p.),
he has obstructed the inflow of karma; and, vice versa, he
must also carefully perform the easier task of hearing
himself blamed unmoved. Even without being actually
praised by others, a man may become puffed up through
realizing the extent of his own learning and accomplish-
ments : such feelings must be sternly repressed [Prajha p.) if
karma is to be checked. To other monks there comes the
opposite temptation to be cast down at the thought of their
own ignorance ( Ajnana p.), but this also must be endured
with indifference. Finally, when enduring hardships or
studying other religions, a monk must never allow a doubt
as to the value of asceticism or the truth of his own religion
to enter his mind, but must be willing to endure martyrdom
rather than change his faith ( Samyaktva p.).
An ascetic can also stop the inflow of karma by faithfully The ten
observing his ten great duties, which in a lesser degree are duties of
binding on the laity also. The first of these duties is for-
giveness ( Ksama ) : every day and every moment of the
day a monk must learn to control his anger, and instead
of giving way to wrath practise the difficult duty of forgive-
ness. Monks are constantly reminded of how Mahavira
1 Ultaradhyayana, S.B.E., xlv, p. 14.
152
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
forgave his enemies, and, instead of getting angry and so
letting karma flow into his soul, even preached to a wicked
cobra which bit him.
Every day, too, a monk must strive to control the
arrogance which rises in his soul, for that would open
the door to endless karma, and instead he must cultivate
the humility ( Mardava ) which subdues pride. This duty
the Jaina illustrate by the story of the two sons of the
first Tirthahkara Ri$abhadeva, which they entitle 1 O
Brother, come down from the Elephant of Pride Risa-
bhadeva’s younger son, so the legend runs, became a
sadhu, and some time afterwards the elder son, Bahubaja,
followed his example and became an ascetic too, renouncing,
as he thought, everything to do so, but he found that there
was one thing he could not renounce, and that was pride in
his seniority of birth, so that he could not bow down to his
younger brother, who was, of course, his senior in the reli-
gious life. For days poor Bahubala struggled in vain alone
in the forest to overcome his pride, till at last his father
became aware of the spiritual conflict he was going through,
and sent his daughter to help her brother. She spoke so
beautifully of the glory of humility, that it enabled him
to conquer his pride ; and so, becoming humble enough to
receive help from a woman, he also became humble enough
to do reverence to his younger brother and thus check the
entry of karma, which would otherwise have annulled all
the merit he had gained through being an ascetic, besides
binding him for centuries to the cycle of rebirth.
Again, by separating himself from every sort of intrigue
or deceit, in speech or action, and cultivating that simplicity
[Arjava) which is opposed to cunning, a monk or a layman
can prevent the entry of karma. He must be careful,
however, not only not to tell a direct lie, but also never to
indulge in speech that could bear two meanings.
A sadhu must keep himself free from all greed ( Nirlo -
bhata), possessing nothing but the oldest clothes, and
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
]53
retaining no metal ; 1 if he borrow so much as a needle,
he must return it ere nightfall, lest, any door being left
open through which avarice might enter, karma should
enter with it. The Jaina love to tell the story of Kapila,
a layman who through fear of greed became a sadhu.
Kapila had been left an orphan, and his friends, seeing his
poverty, advised him to go to the court of a certain king
whose custom it was to give a bon! (morning gift) of two
masa to the first beggar he met. On his arrival at court
Kapila took good care to be the first petitioner the king
should see, but when he was offered the customary two
coins, he explained to the rajah that he was really very poor,
and that as a maso 2 was a very small weight, two would
not go far. The king told him to sit down and think what
gift would satisfy him, and he would give it him, so
Kapila sat down in the pleasant garden and began to think.
He asked himself if two or four or even eight masa would
content him, but his greed steadily growing, he saw that
even half the kingdom would not satisfy him, for he would
still desire the other half. It frightened him to think
what karma he might accumulate if avarice, when given
way to, grew at this terrible rate. He saw that greed and
selfishness are one, and the root of all the evil in the world,
and he realized that for him there was no safety save in the
religious life, for a sadhu is forced to check the very begin-
ning of avarice.
All monks and laymen must also practise fasting and
austerities ( Tapa 3), for by so doing they combat desire, one
of the great ways through which karma enters. We shall
have to examine the twelve ways in which austerities are
to be practised when we are studying the eighth principle,
Nirjara.4
A monk is also bound to subdue and control his mind,
1 The writer has known of two sadhus who evaded this rule by
keeping their fortune not in coin but in notes tied about their person !
2 A weight of gold equivalent to ^ of an ounce.
3 Sanskrit Tapas. * See p. 163.
The five
Caritra.
154 THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
his body and his speech ( Samyama ), lest through any act,
thought, or word karma should be acquired, and in parti-
cular he should guard against taking life in any way.
An ascetic must be careful to speak the truth ( Satya ), lest
any deviation from it should give rise to karma, but he is
bound to speak the truth lovingly and in such a way as to
hurt no one’s feelings.
There is a manifold duty of purity and cleanliness (Sauca1)
binding on all monks, for an ascetic must keep himself free
from all suspicion of dishonesty or thieving, and oppose to
this the constant giving of alms, and he must also keep his
body pure and his soul free from all dark thoughts.
An ascetic must also remember never to look on anything
as his own ( Akiihcinatva ) : he must regard no person as
related to him, and no thing as his property.
A monk must strictly observe the duty of celibacy and
chastity ( Brahmacarya ) in nine specified ways, which are
called the Nava Vada or Nine Ramparts, and which we need
not trouble to detail. In a passage which throws a most
interesting light on an old-world Indian household long
before the birth of Christ, one of the Jaina sacred books, the
Sutrakritanga, describes the fate that awaits a monk who
breaks the law, marries and settles down.2 It recites how
he will have to fetch and carry for his wife, bringing her
lip-salve, ribbons, combs, looking-glasses, &c. ; and how, if
a son be born, he will have to hold the baby or hand it to
its mother. ‘ Thus some supporters of their sons have to
carry burdens like camels. Getting up in the night they
lull the baby asleep like nurses. . . . This has been done by
many men who for the sake of pleasures have stooped so
low ; they become the equals of slaves, animals, servants,
beasts of burden — mere nobodies.’
The inflow of karma is also arrested by observing the Five
Rules of Conduct or Caritra, which are specially binding on
monks and nuns, but should also be observed by the laity.
1 Instead of Sauca some sects substitute Tyaga, or the renunciation of
palatable food, nice furniture and a comfortable house, and Antaratyaga,
the renunciation of black thoughts. 2 S. B.E., xlv, pp. 276 ff.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
155
The first rule ( Samayika caritra) entails two things : the
giving up of all evil conduct, and the turning to good actions
such as meditation. Both Sthanakavasi and Svetambara
ascetics are supposed to give themselves up to meditation
continually, and a layman must do it twice a day. A
Digambara layman must meditate four times : morning,
noon, evening and midnight. In order to carry out the
rule perfectly, both laity and monks must endeavour to
keep their minds in a state of equanimity, and to look on
all mankind with indifference.
The duty of repentance ( Chedopasthapaniya caritra) is
also binding on all who would arrest the growth of karma.
If a monk sins, he must confess to his own guru and do
the penance inflicted, which will be designed to fit the
crime : for instance, if a young monk, feeling hungry, has
eaten some of the alms given to him without first showing
the food to the senior monk in the Apasaro, he may be
ordered to fast for two days, or to fast from the particular
grain he took for four days ; if, however, a monk has com-
mitted one of the great sins which infringe the five vows,
for example given way to unchastity or dishonesty, he
would have to take the great vows again, meekly standing
in front of a guru. This retaking of the vows is called
Navi diksa or re-ordination, for it is the actual taking of
the vows, and not the accompanying ceremonies, which is
regarded as the essential part of initiation. If a layman,
on the other hand, sins in some gross way, he would after
confession and penance have to retake, not all the twelve
vows, but only the one which he has broken.
The third duty (P ariharavisuddha caritra ) is variously
interpreted by the different sects. The Sthanakavasi
and Svetambara believe it to be carried out when nine
monks at the order of their superior go out together
to perform austerities or tapa for eighteen months. (Of
the nine monks six will do tapa for six months, and the
remaining three will serve them ; for the next six months
the three servers will perform their austerities together
1 56
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
The
twelve
Bhavana
or Anu-
preksa.
with three of the original six, and be served by the three
remaining ; and for the last six months in the same way
another six will do tapa and three serve.) The Digambara
on the other hand regard the duty as performed simply by
being careful not to injure any jiva whilst moving about.
It is not very clear why the fourth rule ( Suksmasamparaya
caritra) should have separate enumeration here, for we shall
come across it again when we are considering the fourteen
steps towards liberation.1 The rule emphasizes the impor-
tance of being bound to the world as loosely as possible, and
of casting out the very last root of passion after the tumult
caused by it has died away. If a man has done this, he has
reached the tenth step in his upward progress.
By the time a man has reached the last stages of this up-
ward road, he will have lost all attachment to the world, and
think only of his soul ; so that he will automatically keep
the last (Y athakhyata caritra ) of the Five Rules of Conduct.
Finally the layman or the monk can arrest the inflow of
karma by keeping the Twelve Great Reflections or Bhavana
always in mind.
First, one must constantly remember that all things in
this world, ourselves, our bodies, our wives and our children,
are transient ( Anitya bhavana ), and that nothing is perma-
nent save Dharma (religion) and the soul that has faith
in dharma. Once upon a time, so the Jaina illustrate
the truth of this reflection, a beggar having eaten an un-
usually good meal spread his miserable bedding under a tree,
placed his waterpot beside him and, putting a stone under
his head, fell asleep. He dreamed that he was a king with
three wives to admire him, servants to wait on him and
slaves to fan him. He awoke to find that all his wealth and
all his grandeur had vanished, and that only his torn bedding
and his waterpot remained : even so in this life we must
expect everything we care for to pass away.
Another thing that a Jaina is bound constantly to remem-
1 See p. 189.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
i57
bcr is that there is no shelter for him ( Asarana bhavana).
In this world of misery, disease, old age and death, neither
wife, friends, nor guru can afford us protection ; only by
the practice of dharma can we escape from the cycle
of rebirth. To illustrate the truth of this reflection the
following story is told. There once lived in India the son
of a wealthy landowner, who was so handsome that his
father, his mother and his wife all adored him. Suddenly
the young man was stricken with an excruciating disease
of the eyes, and though his parents and his wife strove
to lighten the pain, they were powerless. Gradually the
youth realized that, as no one could shelter him from disease,
so no one could be his refuge from death, and the reflection
induced him to promise to withdraw from the world, if reli-
gion could cure him. His eyes were immediately healed, and
he went as an ascetic to live in a distant forest. The king
of that country happened to pass, and was astounded to
find so goodly a youth living the life of a monk, and thought
he must have withdrawn from the world in consequence of
some injustice or oppression. He therefore offered to take
up his cause, remedy any wrong that had been done to him,
and protect and shelter him against future injustice. But
the ascetic showed the king how impossible it was to find
any shelter in this world from oppression or from disease
and death, and how the only true refuge was to be found
in voluntarily forsaking all that one had, and following
a law whose goal was death ; on one who had taken up such
a life no injury could be inflicted. The king, listening to this
moving discourse, realized that in this world he could not even
protect his own royal self, and so he too became an ascetic,1
and by so doing stopped up all the channels through which he
could be wounded or through which karma could flow.
By never forgetting that the cycle of rebirth is end-
less, and that one may be reborn as a bird, or beast, or
1 Other Jaina deny that the king became an ascetic, and say he was
merely convinced of the truth of this bhavana.
158
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
denizen of hell ( Saihsara bhavana ), the wise will be stirred
up to try and stop the inflow of karma in this life, the only
opportunity a man may have for so doing.
We must also rememberthatwe came unaccompanied into
theworld, that we shall go out of it unaccompanied, and that
unaccompanied we shall have to endure the expiation of
our karma ( Ekatva bhavana). A king named Nami was led
to understand this reflection in the following manner. He
once fell very ill, and his queens called in a physician, who
ordered him to be rubbed with sandal wood. Each queen,
terrified of being widowed, seized a piece of wood and rubbed
some part of the king’s body. As they rubbed, their many
bangles jingled, and the august patient, who was not only
ill, but also irritable, exclaimed against the din. Instantly
each of the ladies tore off all her bangles save one (to have
taken all off would have been unlucky, since it would have
looked like anticipating widowhood) and the rubbing pro-
ceeded in silence. The king asked what they had done, and
when they explained to him that each of them was now only
wearing one bracelet, the true meaning of the bhavana he
had heard so often dawned on him. Exclaiming that he
was born alone and must die alone, he renounced the world
and his wives, and proceeding to the forest, received initia-
tion as a monk, and died in a few years.
Again, karma is impeded by remembering that in reality
the soul is separate from the body ( Anyatva bhavana ), though
through ignorance we think of it as attached thereto, for a
soul cannot actually be united to body or wealth, wife or child.
As an illustration of the importance of this reflection the Jaina
tell the following legend. Once upon a time the great King
Bharata, the son of Risabhadeva, was seated on his throne,
magnificently arrayed in all his jewels, when he noticed that
the ring he had been wearing on his little finger had slipped
off. He thought how ugly the finger looked without it, but
reflected that the finger had never possessed the ring, the
contact with which had been purely fortuitous. Amused at
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
159
the idea, he removed the rings from each finger, and notic-
ing how bare each looked when stripped of all adventitious
decoration, he became so strongly convinced of the truth
of this reflection, that the inflow of karma was arrested, he
became at once omniscient, and as in a few more years all
his acquired karma also disappeared, he eventually became
a Siddha.
The object of another reflection ( Asauca bhavana) is to
lead us to despise our bodies. To do this we must con-
stantly remember that the body is compact of filth, and
has such dirty habits that even our souls become soiled by
contact with it. If we forget this reflection and become
proud of our bodies, great misfortune will befall us, as the
following story proves. A certain prince called Sanatku-
mara was so handsome that his beauty was discussed in the
assembly of the gods, two of whom were sent down in the
guise of Brahmans to discover if he were really as beautiful
as he was described. Unfortunately this visit of the gods gave
rise to such pride in the heart of the prince, that karma
flowed rapidly into his soul ; and, as a result of this karma,
ill health (which, as we have seen, is always traceable to
karma) beset the prince, until at last he had no less than six-
teen diseases. However, he patiently endured the karma his
conceit had given rise to, gradually worked it off, received
initiation as a sadhu, and finally became a Siddha.
The seventh reflection ( Asrava bhavana ) reminds us that in
the worldly life karma is constantly flowing in through the
various channels which our actions, passions and senses, if un-
controlled, leave open to it, and that all our sufferings come
as a result of this karma. How much we may suffer, if we
ourselves open the channels, we may learn from the story of
King Pundarika. There were once two brothers, both of
whom ruled askings, buttheelderbrother, Pundarika, realized
that thisworldwas merely a junction of canals through which
karmawascontinually flowing, and so decided to renouncehis
throne and become an ascetic. He received initiation, but
160 THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
gradually found that the life of an ascetic was too hard for
him, and eventually persuaded his younger brother, Kunda-
rika, to give up the kingdom in his favour. Becoming
once more a king, Pundarika, instead of being happy, found
it only too true that the world is a dreadful place for acquiring
karma; and during his life he accumulated so much, that he
is still, by undergoing countless rebirths, trying to expiate it.
One must also reflect on and determine to adopt means
(such as the taking of vows) which will impede the inflow of
karma, and this reflection ( Saihvara bhavana) is illustrated
by the history of the younger brother in the last story.
Kundarika was delighted when his elder brother took his
crown, for now, he thought, he would have a chance of
arresting the inflow of karma ; so, meditating on this re-
flection, he renounced the world, took the vows of an ascetic,
and soon gained moksa, leaving his unfortunate elder
brother still tied to the cycle of rebirth.
Again, one must remember that by performing austerities
one can expiate karma ( Nirjara bhavana).
One must also reflect on the world ( Loka bhavana),
remembering that it was created by no one, and that the
elements it contains are in a sense permanent. By thinking
of the various worlds under the form of a man, one will
understand that at his feet is hell, his body is formed by
men who will have to undergo fresh births, the head is
Devaloka, and at the top of the head are the Siddha, those
who will never again pass through rebirth.
To arrest the inflow of karma one must also remember
{Bodhibija or Bodhidurlabha bhavana) that everything is easy
to acquire in this world save the three jewels : Right faith,
Right knowledge and Right conduct, which can only be
acquired by a human being. In the long cycle of rebirth
it seldom happens that a jiva obtains human birth. Re-
flecting thus, one must determine to use this opportunity
to the fullest, and, taking the first step in the pathway of
religion, continue on the upward course.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
161
Finally, one must remember {pharma bhavana ) that the
highest religion is to kill nothing and to injure nothing, but
to keep the three jewels, and to follow thankfully the law
of the Jaina. So doing, one will be able to cross the
troubled ocean of the world, be freed from the cycle of
rebirth and attain moksa.
These twelve 1 reflections are considered so important by
the Jaina that one finds them referred to in some form or
other in every book on Jainism, and it is recorded of them
in one of the sacred books, the Sutrakritahga, that 1 He
whose soul is purified by meditating on those reflections
is compared to a ship in water ; like a ship reaching the
shore he gets beyond misery \2
The Seventh Category : Bandha.
The seventh principle of Jaina philosophy deals with the
bondage of the soul to karma : this is caused by the union
of the soul with pudgaja,3 and the difficulty of understanding
it lies in the fact that the word pudgala is simply untranslat-
able. English-speaking Jaina usually render it by the word
matter , but that is unsatisfactory. Perhaps the safest way
to get at the meaning is to quote some of the illustra-
tions the Jaina themselves use. ‘ Now the principle of
Bandha or bondage’, says a Digambara Jaina, Mr. Latthe,
‘ is defined as the mutual entrance into each other’s spheres
of the soul and the Karman. When the soul is attacked
by the passions like anger and love, it takes on the Pudgal
[material] particles fit for the bondage of the Karmas, just
as a heated iron ball takes up water-particles in which it
is immersed. This is the bondage of the Karmas.’ 4
Another favourite illustration is taken from spilling oil.
If oil is spilled on a cloth, dust will easily adhere. The
1 They are sometimes classified into the nine first reflections and
the three additional reflections.
2 S. B. E., xlv, p. 330. 3 Or pudgala. 1 ■
* A. B. Latthe, M.A., An Introduction to Jainism , Bombay, 1905 ,
pp. 9 ff.
M
j62
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
cloth represents our jlva or atma (soul), the oil represents our
passions, transgressions and activities ( Kasaya , Pramada,
Avrata, Yoga ) by which karma is acquired, and the dust
represents pudgala. They say also that karma represents
a book of which pudgala are the leaves.
The four However difficult this is to understand, their teaching about
Bondage. t^le actua^ bondage is quite clear. They classify it in four ways :
according to its nature, its duration, its intensity, and its mass.
Man creates his own karma according to his own character
(. Prakriti ) : if we are by nature bitter and sharp, we shall
have to endure bitter karma; if, on the other hand, we are
sweet and pleasant, though we may accumulate karma, yet
it will be sweet and pleasant.
Karma can also be classified according to the time it
takes to expiate ( Sthiti ) : some will take a thousand years,
some only a decade, and some can be worked out in a day.
The intensity of karma ( Anubhaga ) also differs : it is
much heavier at some times than at others ; for instance,
if two boys are playing ball and one hits a cow and repents,
but the other when he hits the cow is rather proud of so
good a shot, then the first boy will have far less heavy karma
to expiate than the second.
Some karma has attracted more pudgaja, some less ; so
the Jaina also divide karma according to its thickness and
thinness ( Pradesa ).
To illustrate these four classifications the Jaina take
a ladu1 as an example. Some ladus, they say, are such as to
cure coughs and rheumatism (!), and this shows their nature;
others can be distinguished according to the time they keep
good ; others by whether they have melted butter in them
or not ; and others are thick or thin according to the amount
of flour with which they have been made.
We shall have to study karma more in detail later on,
when bondage to it will be further considered.
1 A ladu is a large round sweetmeat, about the size of a tennis ball, made
of wheat, sugar, ghl and spices, of which the Gujarati is inordinately fond.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
163
The Eighth Category: Nirjara}
In spite of all precautions karma does accumulate, and one
of the great categories of the Jaina faith deals with its destruc-
tion. This can only be accomplished gradually, and the Jaina
compare the way in which water slowly drains out of a porous
jar with the tedious way in which our accumulated karma
may be dried up. One of the chief ways of reducing the sum
of our karma is by burning it up in the glow of austerities ; and
these austerities are of two kinds, exterior or bodily ( Bdhya ),
and interior or spiritual ( Abhyantara ), all of which, though
binding on the ascetics, are also beneficial to the laity.
The first bodily austerity is fasting ( Anasana ). One may The six
take a vow to fast for a fixed period (Itvara), such as for a exten9r
r , r austeri-
day, or for thirty days, or one may take a vow to fast for ties.
the rest of one’s life (Y avatkathika) . Of course the latter '• Anasa
vow is the more beneficial and destroys far more accumulated
karma, so when a monk is very ill, and knows that he is going
to die, he takes this vow. If he has taken the first vow, he
may eat nothing, but may drink water or whey, but the
second vow excludes water or any liquid as well as all food.
This of course amounts very often to suicide by starvation,
and it still takes place far more frequently than Europeans
realize. For instance in Ahmadabad, as lately as 1912, asadhu
named ChaganalalajI took this vow, though in perfect health,
and died after forty-one days’ fasting ; 2 and the following
year in Rajkot a‘ nun named Jivibai, having first seriously
weakened herself by prolonged fasting, took this vow and
died after two or three days. To take this vow and die on
a bed of Kusa grass is called Santharo ; and though in this
age of Dusama 3 it is impossible for those who do so to go
straight to moksa, as they would formerly have done, yet
1 In order to avoid confusion it should be noted that the Vedantists
use a similar word in a totally different sense to denote God, the Nirjara
or undecaying one.
2 One of the writer’s pandits went fifty miles to do darsana to this
suffering man, the very sight of him conferring merit and nirjara.
;; Sanskrit Duhsama.
M 2
164
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
they pass to Devaloka, and may hope, if their previous
karma was good and their faith in the Jaina creed strong,
to pass to mok$a after fifteen more incarnations.
ii. If any one fears to face a complete fast, he may yet lessen
Unodari. his karma by partially fasting ( Unodarl ). He may vow, for
instance, to take a mouthful less every day, and so gradually
decrease the quantity he eats. The Jaina consider this to be
very beneficial to the health of the body as well as of the soul.
iii. Vritti- There is another vow of fasting, or rather of limiting the
sanksepa. f00cj that one eats (J7 rittisanksepa), which may be taken in
four different ways. If a monk or layman has been in the
habit of consuming twenty different kinds of food, he may
promise to limit his choice to, say, fifteen ( Dravya ). Or he
may limit the number of places from which he will obtain food
( Ksetra ), a sadhu vowing, for instance, that he would only
beg in one particular street, and a layman1 that he would only
eat food in Rajkot and Ahmadabad, and so when travelling
between those places refusing food at the junctions en route.
Again, one may promise that one will restrict one’s food by
time ( Kci/a ), a sadhu, for example, eating only the food
begged before noon, or a layman promising not to take
another meal after his midday one. Or the vow might
deal with posture ( Bhava ), a monk promising only to receive
food that is given to him by some one who is standing
upright, and a layman deciding only to eat what his wife
offers him in a certain position.
iv. Rasa- An ascetic usually vows when ordained to abstain all his
tyaga. fife, save when ill, from melted butter, milk, sugar, molasses,
or any other food that specially delights him ( Rasatyaga ).
He does this lest he should grow fat and sleep too much,2
and his interest in religion grow dim. A layman often
promises to abstain for a particular day from the special
food he most enjoys.
v. Kaya- Jaina believe that they may also reduce their karma
klesa.
1 Many laymen vow to eat only in their own houses.
2 There is a Gujarati proverb : ‘ He who eats much will sleep much.’
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
165
by bodily austerity ( Kayaklesa ), such as sitting to do medi-
tation in summer on heated stones in the full glare of the
sun, or in winter in the coldest places that can be found, with-
out wearing sufficient clothing. There is one such austerity
which is peculiar to Jaina ascetics, Loca, or pulling out
the hair by the roots. It is said to be most profitable, as
showing to the ascetic how hard a life he will have to undergo,
and at the same time proving to others that he has strength
of mind enough to endure it. If the sadhu is ill, the
following words are quoted to him : Loceva mundeva
katteva, i. e. if the pulling out of the hair cannot be endured,
hair cutting or shaving may be employed.1
There is another austerity which might almost be de- vi. Sam
scribed as the avoidance of temptation by control ( Sam - linata'
linata) in four ways : first by governing the senses (Indriya
samllnata ) and not allowing the eyes, for instance, to look at
anything beyond a certain distance ; then by controlling
anger, deceit, pride and greed ( Kasaya samllnata ) ; or
by refraining as much as possible from the exercise of
intellect, speech, or body ( Yoga samllnata), sitting silent,
for instance, in a cramped position ; and lastly, by being
very careful where one goes to stay, and previously ascer-
taining that no woman lives near (V iviktacarya).
Karma is also dried up by the right use of six interior The six
or spiritual austerities. interior
. , . austeri-
The first of these, confession and penance ( Prayascitta ), is ties.
binding on both ascetics and laity. The ascetic must con- i. Prayas-
fess to the chief guru, and the layman to whatever sadhu Cltta'
he chooses; and they must perform the penances allotted to
them, according to the rules laid down in the sacred books.
Also every morning and every evening when they engage
in Padikamanum 2 they must confess their faults generally
in the following Magadhi formula : Micchami dukkadaih ,3
1 Dr. Jacobi (S. B. E., xxii, p. 308, note 1) says he is not aware that
removing the hair is resorted to in the case of nuns, but the writer
knows as a fact that it is regularly done.
2 Sanskrit Pratikramana. 3 Sanskrit Mithyame duskritam.
1 66 THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
‘ May my sin be forgiven.’ Greater faults a layman
will confess privately to a sadhu at intervals of two or
four months, or whenever he specially feels the need of
confession, and will perform the penance given to him.
A sadhu should confess a grave sin at once, for if he
should wait even till the time of Padikamanurh some
karma will have accumulated, and more still if he should
wait for the big fortnightly PakkhI Padikamanurh. The
accumulation of karma will be worse if he does not confess
till the quarterly Comasi (Caturmasl) Padikamanum, and
his last chance comes at the annual Sarhvatsari Padika-
manurh. If he misses that and continues with his sin un-
confessed, though to all outward seeming an ascetic, he has
ceased to be a true sadhu, and if he dies, he will slip far down
the ladder of birth ( Adhogati ). Similarly, if a layman should
nurse the sin of anger unconfessed and unrepented of, despite
all the opportunities these various services give, he would
undoubtedly pass to hell on his death.
.Vinaya. Another interior austerity on which the Jaina lay great
stress is reverence (Vinaya), for this, duly paid, destroys
a great accumulation of karma. Both laity and ascetics
should show respect to all who are their superiors in know-
ledge (Juana vinaya ) ; in faith (Darsana vinaya) ; and in
character (Caritra vinaya). They must keep their minds
(Mana vinaya) in an attitude of humility towards their
superiors ; and do them honour by politeness when speak-
ing to them (V acana vinaya) ; and by salutation and bodily
service (Kay a vinaya) ; and should observe all the old customs
of reverence prescribed in the religious books (Kalpa vi-
naya) to be performed either in the house or in the monas-
teries. Under this last heading is included all the reverence
a wife should show her husband.1 On rising in the morning
1 A great many Indian gentlemen were being almost unconsciously
influenced by the chivalrous way in which they saw Englishmen treat
ladies, when the crude militant ‘suffragette’ movement arose. It is
impossible to over-estimate the evil that this movement did to the cause
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
167
a Jaina woman prostrates herself at her husband’s feet and
worships him. (The sentence in the English wedding service
where the husband says to the wife ‘ With my body I thee
worship ’ comes as a terrible shock to an old-fashioned
Jaina gentleman !) During the day the wife prepares her
husband’s meal and only eats when he has finished ; and
in the evening, when he comes home tired, she massages him.
Karma may also be worked off by another 4 austerity ’ iii. Vaiya-
( V aiyavacca ), service rendered to ascetics, or to the poor, vacca'
the helpless and the suffering, by giving them food, water,
shelter, or clothing. All the friends of the Jaina desire to see
them taking their proper share in the uplift of India, and
perhaps one might suggest that this belief of theirs in the
reflex benefit of helping others provides them with a power-
ful text from which to preach the duty of social service.
Study is another interior austerity ( Svadhyaya ). The iv. Sva-
Jaina lay great emphasis on the duty of studying their dtiyaya.
doctrines and their scriptures by reading, catechizing,
repetition, meditation and preaching, but they declare that
there is no duty that their laity and especially their college
graduates more neglect. Rich Svetambara laymen often
pay a pandit to teach their sadhus during the long intervals
of the day when, having finished their begging round and
having nothing else to do, they spend their time in idleness;
but they complain bitterly that the ascetics are generally
too lazy to learn. A Sthanakavasi monk may not study
with a paid pandit, only with one who gives his services
freely; but they also show little desire to learn. The whole
question, however, of the education of their monks is now
occupying the attention of the educated laymen of both
of women in the East ; for every foolish act of militancy was chronicled
in the papers, and men who were formerly anxious to educate their wives
grew afraid to do so. Perhaps the Western women in their selfishness
scarcely realized the solidarity of the modern world. One might almost
say that every window they broke in England shattered the prospect of
some Indian woman gaining a wider outlook on life ; and every time
they chained themselves up, they riveted the fetters more firmly on
their suffering Oriental sisters.
i68
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
v.
Dhyana.
vi.
Utsarga.
sects, and, together with caste, is regarded as one of the
burning questions of the day.
Karma is also destroyed by meditation [Dhyana), which
the Jaina consider to be another austerity ; but it must be
remembered that there are also two evil ways of meditating:
one, grieving too much for the dead ( Arta dhyana ), wailing
and beating one’s breast in grief for them ; and the other,
remembering with anger any personal injuries one may
have sustained and brooding over them ( Raudra dhyana) ;
by doing either of these things one only accumulates karma
instead of destroying it. There are, however, two good
ways of meditation : the first is thinking on religious sub-
jects in accordance with the precepts laid down in the
sacred books [Dharma dhyana) ; and the second (which
can only be performed after Dharma dhyana) is the purest
and highest meditation of all [Sukla dhyana), when, freed
from all earthly thought and cares, the soul meditates on
the fact that it itself is on the way to become a Siddha.
The last discipline [Utsarga) consists in showing and
feeling absolute indifference to the body and its needs. Only
ascetics as a rule practise this in its furthest development
[Padopagamana santharo), which leads to death. The sadhu
climbs some sacred hill such as Parasnatha, Girnar, or
Satrunjaya; and there, in order to do nothing that may lead
to karma, he does absolutely nothing at all, but awaits death
without moving hand or foot, head or body. The influence
of a negative religion is then worked out to its irresistible
conclusion, and with all the sorrows and ills of the world
waiting to be relieved, the soldier deserts his post in order
to free his own soul from suffering.
It is strange that a religious system which begins with
the most minute regulations against the taking of the lowest
insect life should end by encouraging human suicide.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
169
The Ninth Category : Moksa.
When the atma is freed from all bondage to karma and
has passed for ever beyond the possibility of rebirth, it is
said to have attained mok§a or complete deliverance. The
old-fashioned Jaina believe moksa to be a place situated
above the head of the figure that represents Devaloka ; 1
while some of the more enlightened describe it as a state or
condition of freedom.
A being who has attained mok§a is called a Siddha or
perfected one, and only a human being can directly become
a Siddha. ‘ The space occupied by each of the perfect is
boundless ’, says the NavaTattva,2 ‘and increases according
to any one’s desire.3 The term in which they remain in this
state is also infinite. Their parts are innumerable. There
is no returning again to a worldly state, and no interrup-
tion to their bliss.’
The Jaina definition of a Siddha is a being ‘ without
caste, unaffected by smell, without the sense of taste, without
feeling, without form, without hunger, without pain, with-
sorrow, without joy, without birth, without old age, without
death, without body, without karma, enjoying an endless
and unbroken calm ’.
Some Jaina say that no one who is born a neuter can ever
reach moksa ; and the Digambara declare that no woman can
ever reach mok§a without first undergoing rebirth as a man.
The Svetambara, whilst holding that it is possible for
a woman to become a Siddha, nevertheless declare that very
few women indeed have ever had sufficient strength of
mind or body adequately to study the faith,4 or endure the
hard life of an ascetic. But while not more than ten
1 See p. 160. 2 J. Stevenson, Nava Tatva, London, 1848, p. 127.
3 Some Jaina, however, deny that the space can be increased.
4 That the mere study of the Jaina faith is considered an adequate quali-
fication for Siddhahood may be illustrated by the fact that the present
writer has been assured by more than one Jaina that she was bound
ultimately to become a Siddha, whether she would or no, simply because
she had devoted seven years to the study of this religion.
i ;o
THE NINE CATEGORIES OF
neuters or twenty women in the old days used to attain
perfection, one hundred and eight males used to do so ; for
the Jaina seem to think men more religious than women.
All the twenty-four Tirthankara, ending with Mahavira, have
obtained moksa and become Siddha, though it is still by the
name of Tirthankara that the people love to speak of them.
In the country of Mahavideha there are at present about
one hundred and sixty Tirthankara, as well as many Kevali,
who will ultimately proceed to moksa. No one in the
present age can proceed to moksa from Bharataksetra,
which includes modern India.
There are fifteen different kinds of Siddha : those who have
been Arihanta and havebecomeSiddhaarecalledyinaSifiW/za;
those who, without even having been Arihanta themselves,
haveyet been the disciples of Arihanta arecalled AjinaSiddha.
A Tlrtha Siddha is one who has been previously a Tlrthan-
kara, and to be considered a Tirthankara a man must have
been an ascetic, have preached, and have founded a com-
munity or Tirtha consisting of at least four people (a monk
and a nun, a layman and a laywoman). If a man die before
he has preached or founded a community, he will neverthe-
less become a Siddha if he has had the requisite history
behind him (for such a history automatically compels one
to become a Siddha), but he will be called Atirtha Siddha :
for instance, the mother of Risabhadeva became a Siddha,
but an Atirtha Siddha, for at the time that she attained
moksa no community had been founded.
Though the recognized path to Siddhahood is by
becoming an ascetic, a householder of eminent holiness
might nevertheless on his death pass straight to moksa, as
King Bharata did, without ever having been an ascetic ;
such a jiva is called a Grihalihga Siddha. It is the
glory of Jainism that, whatever its present practice, its
doctrines steadfastly declare that conduct is greater
than caste. It is possible for a non-Jaina who exhibits
perfect holiness in his life to pass to mok§a and become
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
171
an Anyalinga Siddha : for instance, the famous ascetic,
Valkalaciri, who never professed the Jaina creed, became a
Siddha of this class. Those who follow the usual path and find
deliverance by way of asceticism are called Svalihga Siddha.
The dwellers in mok$a are also classified according to
their previous sex into Pullihga Siddha, who were formerly
men ; Strilinga Siddha, who were women, and Naputh -
sakalihga Siddha, who during their past life were neuters.
Again they are divided according to the influences that
led them to become Siddha. If it was their own gurus who
influenced them, they became Buddhahohi Siddha ; if it was
some particular thing, Pratyekabuddha Siddha-, and if it
was of their own notion without any outside influence,
Svayatnbiiddha Siddha. They are also classified according
to whether they proceeded to moksa by themselves, as Eka
Siddha ; whereas, if in the same samaya one hundred and
eight went together, they are called Aneka Siddha.
The Siddha, though they are the highest class of jiva,
are never worshipped, although the Tirthankara are. When
one asks the reason why the same Being should be wor-
shipped in his unperfected and not in his perfected state,
even the non-idolatrous Jaina give as the reason that the
jiva who has reached Siddhahood has no longer a body,
and that it is impossible to worship or pray to a bodiless
soul. The answer is intensely suggestive, bearing witness
as it does to the materialistic influence of idol-worship on all
sects of the Jaina. Jaina are, therefore, very interested in
the entirely opposite idea that is expressed in our Lord’s
saying that God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must
worship in spirit and truth.1
It is illuminating also to contrast the Jaina idea of
heaven with that of the Hindus : both use the same words,
such as moksa and nirvana, and both think of the highest
state as attained by those who have completely stultified
their personality, and who are not perfected characters but
1 St. John iv. 24.
172
THE NINE CATEGORIES
perfectly characterless beings1 who touch life on as few points
as possible ; both also agree that souls who have attained
mok$a can never again be reborn ; but the great ideal of
the Hindus, absorption into the Supreme, is alien to Jaina
thought. The Jaina Siddha through all eternity will main-
tain their separate entity.2
Though the Christian idea of heaven is so foreign to them,
the Jaina through their quick sympathy with idealism are
deeply interested in it as the thought of a fuller life, in
which a man, with all his powers perfectly developed,
his ideals realized, and his will absolutely attuned to the
divine will, moves without let or hindrance to fulfil God’s
plan for him. They note a further resemblance in the
Christian sloka where the promise is given to him that
overcometh (Jina) that he shall go out thence no more.3
They feel themselves less in sympathy, however, with the
Buddhists, who seem to them to use their common word
Nirvana as connoting extinction not only of desire (with
which the Jaina would agree) but also of the soul itself,
which they would indignantly deny.
With Moksa, the ninth principle, the category ends.
Tedious as it is, its study is essential to the real understand-
ing of Jainism, whose scriptures declare : ‘ He who is ac-
quainted with these nine principles, and lays hold of them
by faith, is perfect in knowledge. He who is ignorant of
them cannot be perfect in knowledge. The words and doctrine
of all the Jain Lords is here, and nowhere else to be found ;
therefore, he whose mind is instructed in these, possesses
true and stable knowledge. He who has had this knowledge
impressed on his mind for only an hour, is detained only by
half the mental and bodily attraction that he was before.’4
1 Cp. Rev. H. Haigh, Some Leading Ideas of Hinduism, London,
1903, p. 129.
2 Another great difference we have already incidentally mentioned.
In the Jaina moksa there is no thought of escape from maya, for the
Jaina have no conception of maya in the Hindu sense.
3 Rev. iii. 12. 1 J. Stevenson, Nava Tatva, p. 128
CHAPTER VIII
KARMA AND THE PATH TO LIBERATION
In our survey of the Nine Fundamental Categories of
the Jaina faith we saw that the thought of karma — the
energy accumulated by action — underlay them all, that
five of them were concerned entirely with either the acqui-
sition, prevention, impeding, or destruction of karma, and
two others dealt with bondage to it or freedom from it.
That seven out of the nine principles should be thus appor-
tioned shows the enormous importance Jaina, in common
with all other Indians, attach to karma. For them it is
the key that solves all the riddles of this unintelligible
world. Is a man born a cripple? It is owing to his karma.
Are Indian immigrants badly treated in South Africa and
made to live in special locations ? It is owing to the evil
karma they themselves acquired when they oppressed the
outcasts, and compelled them to live apart from their
fellow men.
If a man plead that he personally never thus ill-treated
his brother, the doctrine of Transmigration, the undivorce-
able spouse of karma, is brought in, and he is assured that
he must have done so in some previous existence. Nothing
is more extraordinary in Indian thought than the way in
which the unproved doctrine of karma has been univer-
sally accepted as an axiom.
The root of the word karma is, the Jaina tells us, the
verb kri (to do), and they believe it to be the result of
actions springing from four sources.
The first source of karma is Avirati, or attachment to the
things of this life such as food, raiment, lodging, women,
or jewels. The unlimited use and enjoyment of any of
The four
sources
of karma.
The nine
ways of
arresting
karma.
Differing
views of
karma.
174 KARMA AND THE
these gives rise to karma, and the more one limits one’s
indulgence in them, the less karma one acquires. Karma
is also engendered by giving the rein to anger, pride, deceit,
or greed [Kasaya), or any of their sixteen divisions, or the
nine Nokasaya. Karma is again produced by uniting one’s
body, mind and speech to worldly things [Yoga) ; and lastly,
Mithyatva, or false belief, is a fruitful source of karma.
Karma can be arrested by not using one’s own mind,
body, or speech ; by being careful not to cause any one
else to use their mind, body, or speech ; and by never
approving, or in any other way associating oneself with
what another does by mind, body, or speech. That is
to say, by never oneself doing any work, however useful
or noble ; never influencing any one else to do any such
work ; and never praising any work when done. ‘ As heat
can unite with iron ’, say the Jaina, 1 and water with milk,
so karma unites with the soul, and the soul so united with
karma is called a soul in bondage.’
We have already seen that it is the inequalities of life
and the desire to account for them that have given the
Jaina so firm a faith in karma ; to prove that the same
belief is shared by others they quote a Buddhist sloka, in
which a beggar says :
‘ In the prime of life I am deprived of all virility, my leg is injured,
and I am a beggar. All this is the result of my karma.’
The Jaina, however, say that they differ from the Hindus
in two main points. The Hindus, according to them,
believe,1 that God ( Paramesvara ) inflicts punishment for
evil karma just as a judge inflicts the penalties prescribed
by the law. On the other hand, the Jaina, who do not
believe in a Supreme God who takes any active part in
the world’s governance, declare that karma accumulates
energy and automatically works it off, without any outside
intervention.
1 This, however, would certainly not be true of all Hindus.
PATH TO LIBERATION
175
The other point of difference they lay stress on is that
while Hindus think of karma as formless ( amiirta ), Jaina
believe karma to have shape, and to prove this they
argue that karma cannot be formless, because formless
things can do us neither good nor harm. The sky, they say,
like space, is shapeless, and that does us neither evil nor
good; but as karma, according to its origin, does inflict hurt
or benefit, it must have a form !
To further understand karma we may look at it as easy
or difficult to expiate. A scarf may accumulate dust that
can be easily shaken off, but if it should get stained with oil
it will need much washing ; so, according to its nature, some
karma is got rid of easily, but some only with great difficulty.
As heat is latent in wood, oil in sesame seeds, and ghi in
milk, so karma is latent in all actions.1 Some people ask
when karma attaches itself to the soul ; this no one knows,
but the Jaina say the important thing is not so much to know
when the twro were united, but how they may be separated ;
for, just as when gold is found in the earth, the important
matter is not to inquire how it became impure, but to free
it by heat (representing austerities) from the clay and
impurities which cling to it, so in the spiritual sphere,
when the presence of karma is detected, the great thing is
to free the soul from it.
There is also a difference between Hindus and Jaina
with regard to the remembrance of karma. Some Hindus
believe that it is owing to Maya (illusion) that all remem-
brance of the deeds done in previous births, which led to the
accumulation of karma, is forgotten ; but Jaina hold that
it is owing to Ajnana (ignorance), and when the soul by
means of austerities and good actions has got rid of Ajnana,
it attains omniscience and remembers all the births it has
undergone and all that happened in them.
1 Compare the Hindu saying: ‘As fragrance is inherent in flowers,
oil in sesame seed, fire in wood, ghi in milk, sweetness in sugar-cane,
so wise men should recognize the soul in a body.’
176
KARMA AND THE
The Jaina divide karma according to its nature, dura-
tion, essence and content, quoting the following sloka :
‘ These are the four parts of karma : its nature, that is, its
character ; its condition, that is, the time it will last ; its constitution,
that is called its essence ; its scope, or the whole of its content.’
As long as the jlva or atma is fettered by karma, so long
must it undergo rebirth, and it must be remembered that
karma is acquired through good as well as through evil
actions. If the karma accumulated in the past life was
evil, the soul is bound to the cycle of rebirth by iron fetters,
if good, by golden chains, but in either case it is bound, and
until the karma is worked out, it must be reborn again and
again.
Karma is intimately bound up with the soul ; accordingly,
when the jlva leaves one body, the weight of its karma
draws it irresistibly to another gati (state), and there it
forms round itself another body. Only when the soul is
freed from good and bad karma alike can it attain the
highest state and become a Siddha.
Here we notice another point of difference from common
Hindu thought : the Jaina believe that once an atma has
attained the highest state, it is absolutely indifferent to
what is taking place on earth, and will never again undergo
rebirth ; so that the Hindu idea of incarnation in order to
help mankind is quite foreign to the Jaina, and they could
never use the famous sloka :
‘ O Bharata (Arjuna), whenever there comes a decline of faith and
irreligion uprises, then I will take birth. In every age for the
protection of the good, the destruction of the wicked, and the estab-
lishment of faith I become incarnate.’ Bhagavadgita , iv. 7, 8.
PATH TO LIBERATION
177
The Eight Kinds of Karma.
We have discussed various kinds of karma as we have
worked laboriously through the long lists of divisions and
subdivisions under which the Jaina classify the tenets of
their faith ; but it will probably make for clearness if, in
studying the most popular way of classifying this important
doctrine of karma, we begin as it were de novo and divide
the subject afresh under the eight headings which the Jaina
themselves most frequently quote.1
The first kind of karma is that which hides knowledge i. Jnana-
from us. As a bandage bound across our eyes prevents us
from seeing, so does Jnanavaraniya karma prevent our re-
ceiving mental illumination for innumerable oceans of time.
It is divided into eight classes : first Matijnanavaramya,
which prevents our making a right use of our conscience
and intellect ; this again is subdivided into Utpatiki , which
hinders the power of spontaneous thought; V ainayiki, the
karma which prevents our getting those powers which are
obtained by showing deference to our elders ; Parinamiki,
by which we are hindered from gaining any benefit or
knowledge from experience ; and lastly Kamiki,2 a karma
which impedes our obtaining any intellectual stimulus from
memories of the past or from hope for the future. Perhaps
these are nearly sufficient for our purpose, as showing how
completely karma can prevent our gaining knowledge ;
but the Nandi Sutra goes into the subject at great length,
and discusses twenty-eight other minor ways in which
Matijnanavaramya karma may impede learning. It is
important also to note the other kinds of Jnanavaraniya
karma, which prevent our getting any knowledge from
reading the sacred books ( Srutajndnavaraniya ) ; or never
allow us to know what is passing in the minds of others
(. M anakparydyajndnavaraniya ) ; or what is happening at
a distance ( Avadhijnanavaraniya ) ; and lastly prevent our
1 For a full analysis of this somewhat confusing subject, see Appendix,
p. 309. 2 Or Karmaja.
N
i78
KARMA AND THE
ii. Darsa-
navara-
nlya
karma.
iii. Veda'
ntya
karma.
ever attaining omniscience [Kevalajndnavaramya). But
Jnanavaranlya karma not only impedes us in gaining true
knowledge and sound learning, but actually gives rise to
false and hurtful knowledge and misuse of the intellectual
powers. For instance, weapons are invented which eventu-
ally kill people owing to Mati ajnana, or the misuse of the
intelligence ; again the knowledge gained through reading
the scriptures may be misunderstood or misapplied ( Sruta
ajnana ), and this might lead to the practice of bhakti
(devotion to a personal god) or to obscenity ; or karma
may hinder and falsify all spiritual insight ( Vibhanga jhana )
as well as physical sight. All this obstruction to knowledge
and gaining of false knowledge can be traced back to a
former life in which the jlva has been jealous of another’s
knowledge, or has failed to help another to gain knowledge,
or has actually tried to prevent any one from gaining know-
ledge by employing them in ways which left no time for
study, thus acquiring this evil karma.
The second of the eight great divisions of karma is
Darsanavaraniya, the karma which prevents our beholding
the true faith. As a door-keeper may prevent our getting
into the presence of a chief, or a peon hinder our gaining
access to an English official,1 so Darsanavaraniya karma
may prevent our ever seeing the true faith, however much
we may long to follow it. There are nine divisions of
Darsanavaraniya karma which we have already studied.
It affects those jlva which in a previous birth have
acquired evil karma by showing want of reverence to
sacred books or to saints, or by hindering those who would
like to believe in Jainism, or by imputing faults to Tlr-
thahkara, or by manifesting ill feeling to other religions.
V edanlya karma, the third of the great divisions, causes
us to experience either the sweetness of happiness or the
1 A frequent cause of misunderstanding in India is the way in which
a peon often manages to prevent Indians from approaching British
officials, until he receives a sufficient douceur.
PATH TO LIBERATION
179
bitterness of misery.1 The Jaina think of this life as
resembling two sides of a sword, the one smeared with
honey and the other with opium, and it is Vedanlya karma
which determines which side we taste. £ atavedanlya is
the karma that leads to happiness, and Asatavedanlya
that which produces the reverse. One ensures happiness,
or Satavedaniya karma, by showing reverence to our
superiors and serving them, by extending forgiveness
and mercy to any who have injured us, and by straight-
forward dealings with all mankind. But one must re-
member that good no less than evil karma has to be
‘ worked off ’ before one can go to mok§a, and that though
it is well to do good, it is better to do nothing at all after
one has reached a certain stage in development, for karma
lurks in all action. It may perhaps be owing to the in-
fluence of this belief, so inimical to anything like public
spirit, that the Jaina have shown such apathy during the
famines that from time to time have devastated India. They
have a saying that one needs the ship of good deeds or punya
to go from one harbour to another, but after reaching the
harbour the ship is no longer needed ; meditation alone will
transport us to our native village or moksa.
Just as wine, say the Jaina, prevents a man speaking or iv. Moha-
thinking clearly, so does Mohaniya, the fourth and most ^)a
dreaded karma, bemuse all the faculties. It results, gene-
rally speaking, from worldly attachments and indulgence
of the passions, but each of the twenty-eight divisions of
Mohaniya karma springs from some special cause. We
have already (fortunately for the reader !) discussed most
of these divisions, and only a few remain. The first of
these, Mithyatvamohanlya karma, induces a man to believe
good things to be unwholesome, or falsehoods to be
true, just as a patient who is delirious often longs for
1 Dr. Bhandarkar follows Govindananda in believing Vedanlya karma
to mean, * the belief that there is something which one has to know ’.
Jaina, however, seem to give it in this connexion the meaning rather
of experience. Search for Sanskrit Manuscripts, p. 97.
N 2
v. Ayu
karma.
180 KARMA AND THE
harmful things and declines health-giving food ; another
type of this karma, Misramohaniya karma, forces us to
vacillate, resting our faith sometimes on what is true and
sometimes on what is false ; while, owing to Samyaktva-
mohanlya karma, though we know which faith is true, we
cannot attain to full devotion and consecration to it. The
Jaina liken the influence of these three classes of Mohaniya
karma to the results arising from taking the grain Kodaro.
If this grain be eaten without any preparation, it causes the
most intense giddiness such as quite to bewilder the eater.
Such is the effect of Mithyatva ; if the husk of the grain be
removed, the result is less stupefying and resembles that of
Misra ; whereas, if the grain be thoroughly cleansed, the
occasional slight uneasiness it may cause is comparable to
Samyaktva. Another karma, Darsanamohanlya karma,
arises from taking life in the name of religion (as Hindus
and Mohammedans do when they slay goats at their religious
festivals), or from misappropriating funds or falsifying true
religion. Again, taking part in state intrigues, acting im-
morally, administering evil medicines, spreading false super-
stitions and giving full play to all the passions give rise to
Caritramohaniya karma. Only when Mohaniya karma, the
greatest of them all, is extinguished, can the soul reach moksa.
The fifth great division, Ayu karma, determines the length
of time which a jlva must spend in the form with which
his karma has endowed him, for not only the prison but
also the term of imprisonment varies according to the
weight of karma acquired. There are four divisions of
this karma, one of which ( Deva ayu karma1) decides how
long a jlva who has become a god 2 shall remain one. The
Jaina believe in four classes of gods : those who inhabit the
1 Or Devayuhkarma.
2 It should be noticed that though the Jaina use the same names
for the gods as the Hindus employ, the words have often a different
connotation ; e. g. whereas the Hindus use the word Indra to denote
the rain-god, the Jaina believe in not one but sixty-four Indras, who
have nothing to do with rain, but who are the rulers of sixty-four
different kingdoms.
PATH TO LIBERATION
181
planets ( Jyotisi ), evil ghost-gods ( Vyantara ), gods who travel
in the celestial car ( V aimanika ), and lastly Bhavanapati, the
lords of the lower regions, who inhabit the space above hell.
Each of these gods has a different ayu or term to serve.
Another branch of Ayu karma determines how long a jiva
can wear a human form ( Manusya ayu karma1). There
are two classes of human beings on this earth, those who
live in the land where work is done ( Karmabhiimi 2) and
who exercise themselves in warfare (asf), in commerce,
religion, or writing ( masi ), or in agriculture [kasi) ; and
those who live in the land where no such work is done
( Akarmabhitmi ), but where all needs are supplied by the
ten kinds of desire-fulfilling trees ; both classes of men only
hold their position for the length of time their Manusya ayu
karma determines. Again Ayu karma decides how long a
jiva can be forced to inhabit the form of an insect, a bird,
or a lower animal ( Tiryahc ayu karma 3).
The fourth division of Ayu karma determines the period
for which a jiva must dwell in one of the seven hells ( Naraka
ayu karma1).
The comforting thing about all four divisions of Ayu
karma is that it can never be accumulated to last beyond
one re-incarnation, and that it can be acquired only once
in one’s life, generally at the period when about a third
of life remains. It is accumulated in the following ways :
a man wins Deva ayu karma, which will keep him in the
position of a god for a certain time, by straightforward
dealing, by avoiding anger, pride and greed, and by
practising celibacy. In the same way, by being always
gentle and honourable and checking all tendency to anger,
pride and greed, a jiva gains the privilege of being a
man for a period that varies according to his past virtue
1 Or Manusydyuhkarma.
2 Dr. Jacobi practically limits the activities of Karmabhiimi to
practising religious duties. This would ignore asi and kasi entirely.
Acarahga Sutra, S. B. E., xxii, p. 195.
3 Or Tiryagdyuhkarma. 1 Or Narakdyuhkarma.
i82
KARMA AND THE
vi. Nama
karma.
vii. Gotra
karma.
(Manusya ayu karma), and also enters a state in which he
understands which gurus and gods are true and which books
reliable, and in obedience to them he protects all life and
follows the dictates of the Jaina religion. But a man who
gives way to craftiness and intrigue will be sentenced to
pass some of his next life as a bird or beast (Tiryanc ayu
karma); another by indulging in any of the following sins:
gambling, drinking intoxicants, eating flesh, unchastity,
thieving, or hunting, is determining the time he will pass
in hell (Naraka ayu karma).
In studying Ayu karma we have seen that a jiva may
be sentenced to spend a certain time as a man, a god, an
insect, or a hell-being. Each of these four states or con-
ditions is called gati, and it is according to our past deeds
that we are born in the Manusya gati, Deva gati, Tiryanc
gati, or Naraka gati, the karma that decides which of
these four shall be our particular gati, i.e. in which prison
we shall dwell, being called Nama karma T There are one
hundred and three divisions of Nama karma, many of which
we have already discussed when we were studying the
categories of Papa and Punya.
An Indian’s whole life, his occupation, the locality in
which he may live, his marriage, his religious observances
and even his food and fellow diners are determined by the
caste into which he is born ; so that it is small wonder if
a Jaina attach the greatest importance to the accumula-
tion of Gotra karma, which, as he believes, determines his
caste in his next and subsequent lives. There are two
main divisions of this karma : it decides whether the jiva
shall be born in a high- or in a low-caste family. Pride
is one of the chief factors in determining a man’s future
caste : if he indulge in pride about his high caste, his
1 Dr. Bhandarkar quotes Govindananda’s saying: ‘ Namika, i.e.
the belief that I am a person bearing such and such a name ;
Gotrika, i. e. the knowledge that I now belong to the family of the
pupils of the worshipful Arhat.’ Loc. cit., p. 97. None of the Jaina
that the writer has consulted accept these translations as correct.
PATH TO LIBERATION
183
form, his learning, his family, his fame, his strength, his
success in commerce, or his austerities, he is laying up the
inauspicious Gotra karma which will surely cause him to be
born in a low-caste and despised family in the next life ; if
on the other hand he sternly curbs his conceit and that
constant criticizing and censuring of others which is the
surest proof of pride, and also in every possible way takes
care of animals, then birth into a high caste will be his
reward.
All of us have been bewildered by the ineffectiveness of viii.
some people ; they seem to have everything in their favour j^.t^iya
and yet they muddle away every opportunity that life offers
them. The Jaina find the answer to this puzzle in their
belief in Antaraya karma, the karma that always hinders.
If we are wealthy and so generous that we long to revel
in the keen joy of giving, and yet never do give, we know
that in a past life we accumulated the karma that prevents
giving ( Danantaraya karma). If we realize the profit that
is sure to follow a certain course of action, and yet we never
act on this realization, we must have accumulated Labhan-
taraya karma. If in spite of our wealth we never really
enjoy our possessions or our luxuries, either continuously
or even for an instant, the cause is either Bhogantaraya
or U pabhogantaraya karma. The last hindering karma
( Viryantaraya karma) prevents our using our will or our
bodily strength as we should like to do. The convenience
of this belief is obvious. Life in India is for Indians, as
it is for Europeans, a constant and unending fight against
slackness, in which Europeans have the advantage of
periodic visits to a cool climate to brace their moral as
well as their physical fibre, and have also a tonic belief
in the dignity of work and the gospel of exercise. Jaina
have none of these advantages, but recline on the ener-
vating doctrine of Antaraya karma, which provides those
of them who are lazy with an excuse for every sort of
inertia.
184
KARMA AND THE
The Arrangement of the Eight Karma.
The Jaina have a special reason for the way they arrange
the eight karma : they say that the first thing necessary is
knowledge ( jhana ) ; without this we cannot behold the true
faith ( darsana ) ; if we possess both knowledge and faith,
we are indifferent to pain or pleasure ( vedaniya ) ; mohaniya
follows, because through pleasure or fear of pain we may
become entangled in worldly attachments ; that is the chief
cause which determines the length of each imprisonment
(1 ayu ) ; when this has been determined, there still remains
to be decided the state in which we shall be imprisoned
{nama) ; on that again depends the caste and family (gotra) ;
and a man’s caste and family are after all either his greatest
help or his greatest hindrance (antaraya).
Ghatin and Aghatin Karma.
The eight karma are also classified into the Ghatin karma,
which can only be destroyed with great labour, and which
include Jnanavarapiya, Darsanavaraniya, Mohaniya and
Antaraya karma: and the Aghatin karma, namely Vedaniya,
Ayu, Nama and Gotra karma, which, important as their
results are, can yet be more easily destroyed. The Jaina
say that if the Ghatin are once burnt up in the burning
glow of austerities (tapa), the Aghatin can be snapped as
easily as a piece of burnt string.1
Three Tenses of Karma.
The Jaina also divide karma according to the period
when it was acquired, is being experienced, or will be experi-
enced. The karma which we accumulated in past lives
they call Satta ; that which we are even now in this present
life sowing, and of which we shall reap the harvest in a future
1 Here again will be noticed a difference from the interpretation
of Govindananda (who thinks four karma ‘ are of use to enable one
to know the truth; therefore they are Aghatins, i.e. not injurious,
favourable’); and from Dr. Bhandarkar, who considers the Ghatin
Karman to mean ‘ the disabling Karmans ’. Loc. cit., pp. 97 n. and 93.
PATH TO LIBERATION
185
life, is named Bandha\ and the karma whose fruits, good or
evil, are now ripening and being experienced is Udaya.1
The Jaina illustrate these three divisions of karma by the
three stages the water in a well passes through. When the
water is in the well, they liken it to Satta karma ; when it
is in the leathern bucket that draws it up from the depths
of the well, to Bandha karma, and as it flows along to the
plants, to Udaya karma.
The whole teaching of Jainism on karma would lead to Nikacita
fatalism of the most mischievous kind, were it not for the |^ila
belief that there are two great types of karma. One type, karma.
Nikacita karma , we have stored up for ourselves and we are
bound to experience ; but a ray of hope comes through
the existence of Sithila karma, or that destiny which we
may by extraordinary exertions evade. Only the Kevall
know to which class a mortal’s karma has been assigned,
so that every man is left free to hope that he may by present
exertion escape some of the suffering he has earned in his
past history. It was probably seeing the tragic effect of
absolute fatalism on Gosala which led Mahavira to incor-
porate this tenet into the body of his doctrine.
The Fourteen Steps to Liberation from Karma.
So long as the soul is bound by karma, it can never attain
deliverance, but the Jaina believe that there is a ladder of
fourteen steps ( Cauda Gunasthanaka 2) by which a jlva may
mount to mok§a.
The Jaina believe that the soul while on the first step i. Mi-
( Mithyatva gunasthanaka ) is completely under the influence thyatva
of karma, and knows nothing of the truth. There are two th^naka.
divisions of this step : when a soul is on the lower ( Vyakta -
mithyatva gunasthanaka), other people can see that it is
mistaking false religion for the true faith ; when one has
advanced to the slightly higher step ( Avyaktamithyatva
1 It is interesting to compare these three divisions with the Vedanta
Sancita, Kriyamana and Prarabdha karma.
2 Or Gunasthana.
i86
KARMA AND THE
ii. Sasva-
sadana
gunas-
thanaka.
iii. Misra
gunas-
thanaka.
iv. Avira-
tisamyag-
dristi
gunas-
thanaka.
gunasthanaka), though one may continue in this mistake,
one is not doing it so unhesitatingly as to be obvious to
others. Just as taking an intoxicating drug prevents one’s
distinguishing white from yellow, so a soul on this step
makes mistakes. A Jaina sloka says :
‘ As a man blind from birth is not able to say what is ugly and what
is beautiful, a man on the Mithyatva gunasthanaka cannot determine
what is real and what is false.’
The soul, whirled round and round in the cycle of rebirth,
loses some of its crudeness and ignorance, and attains to
the state (called Granthibheda) when it begins to distinguish
a little between what is false and what is true ; unfor-
tunately, it next moves into the state (named Upasama
sahkita ) when, though it knows there is a distinction, it
forgets it, and so is not able to put it into practice ; but
when some faint remembrance comes back, it has arrived
at the second step ( Sasvasadana 1 gunasthanaka ) of the stairs
to mok§a. The Jaina say that Upasama sahkita resembles
fire hidden under ashes, for though a man’s bad qualities
may be hidden and under control for a long time, they are
bound to blaze out at last.
A soul that mounts to the third step ( Misra gunastha-
naka) is in an uncertain condition, one moment knowing
the truth and the next doubting it. It is like the mixture
formed by stirring together curds and sugar to make the
sweetmeat called srikhanda, which is half sour and half
sweet. No one will die in this mixed condition, but will
either slip back to the second step or proceed onward to
the fourth.
The man at the fourth stage, Aviratisamyagdristi gunas-
thanaka, has either through the influence of his past good
karma, or by the teaching of his guru, obtained true faith.
A famous sloka runs :
‘Liking for principles preached by Jina is called true faith, it is
derived either from nature or from knowledge given by the guru.’
1 Or Sdsvdiiana.
PATH TO LIBERATION
187
The soul is still unable to take those vows which help
in the fight against karma (which we shall discuss in the
next chapter) and so the step is called Avirati. He can
now, if he likes, control anger, pride and greed and three
branches of Mohaniya karma (Mithyatva, Misra, and Sam-
yaktva), and it is a very dangerous thing not to destroy all
of them, for they may lead to a man’s falling back to the
second step. Whilst on this fourth step, the jiva gains five
good things: the power of .curbing anger ( Sama ); the
realization that the world is evil, and that since it is a place
in which one has to reap the fruits of one’s own karma, one
need have little affection for it ( Samavega x) ; he also realizes
that his wife and children do not belong to him ( Nirveda ) ;
and that he must try and relieve any one who is in trouble
( Anukampa ) ; and lastly he gains complete faith in all the
victorious Jina ( Astha ). We have seen that the distinguish-
ing mark of this stage is that a man does not yet take the
vows ; he may wish to do so, but though he has destroyed
excessive anger, pride and greed, he has not yet entirely
escaped from their influence.
The fifth step, Desavirati2 gunasthanaka, or the step of
merit, as it is often called, is specially interesting, for up
till now faith has been the chief point that has exercised
the thoughts of the climber, but now he realizes the great
importance of conduct, and so can take the twelve vows
which, as we shall see, deal largely with questions of be-
haviour. The step has three parts. First ( Jaghanya
desavirati), a man promises not to drink intoxicants or to
eat flesh, and he constantly repeats the Magadhi salutation
to the Five Great Ones (Panca Paramesvara) : ‘ A bow
to Arihanta, a bow to Siddha, a bow to Acarya, a bow to
Upadhyaya, a bow to all the Sadhus of this world.’ Then,
though still on the fifth step, he may advance a little higher
on it (Madhyama desavirati) and, keeping all the twelve vows,
take special care only to make money in righteous ways.
1 Or Samvega. 2 Otherwise Samyatasamyata.
v. Desa
virati, or
Saiiiyata-
sariiyata
gunas-
thanaka.
KARMA AND THE
vi. Pra-
matta
gunas-
thanaka,
vii. Apra-
matta
gunas-
thanaka.
viii.Niya-
tibadara
(or Apur-
vaka-
rana) gu-
nastha-
naka.
1 88 ’
Every day he should be very careful to keep the six rules
for daily life, which are described in a well-known sloka :
‘ One must worship God, serve the guru, study the scriptures, control
the senses, perform austerities and give alms.’
Thirdly, while still on this step, he may advance to Utkrista
desavirati, eating only once a day, maintaining absolute
chastity, resigning the society even of his own wife, eating
nothing that possesses even one life, and finally forming
the determination to become a sadhu. This is the highest
step that a layman can reach as such, for if it be successfully
surmounted, he will become a sadhu.
At this stage, too, moderate anger, deceit, pride and greed
are controlled and sometimes destroyed.
We now come to the sixth step on the ladder, Pramatta
gunasthanaka, which can only be ascended by the professed
ascetic. Even slight passions are now controlled or de-
stroyed, and only certain negligences ( Pramada ) remain.
‘ These five Pramada : Pride, Enjoyment of the senses, Kasaya,
Sleep and Gossip, torment the soul in this world ’
runs a MagadhI sloka, and the Jaina believe that if a soul
is to mount the next step, he must never indulge any of
these for more than forty-eight minutes at a time ; if he
does, he will not mount, but on the contrary will descend to
the lowest step of all.
At the seventh step, Apramatta gunasthanaka, anger is
either absolutely quiescent or actually destroyed, and only
in a slight degree do pride, deceit and greed remain. The
soul’s power of meditation increases, for the bad qualities
which lead to sleep are absent, and lastly one is freed from
all negligence.
Among the Digambara some say that women can only
mount as high as the fifth stage; others believe they can reach
the eighth step, which is called Niyatibadara gunasthanaka.
It is also called the Apiirvakarana, because the man who
has his foot on this stair experiences such joy as he has
never known before in all his life. As anger disappeared
PATH TO LIBERATION
189
on the seventh step, so does pride now, either temporarily
or for ever. A man at this stage increases his powers of
meditation by Yoga, and the fetters of karma are fast
becoming unloosed ; in fact so elevated is this step, and so
few attain to it, that it is also called ‘ the Unique
It is interesting to notice that the Jaina think it easier
to get rid of anger than of pride, and that deceit does not
disappear till the man has reached the ninth step ( Aniyati -
badara gunasthdnaka ), whilst greed persists longer than
any of the other Kasaya ; any one who has watched the
characters of Indians develop and improve would acknow-
ledge how extraordinarily true this psychological succession
is. Not only does the man attain freedom from deceit at
this stage, but he becomes practically sexless. One great
difficulty still persists, for he is haunted by the memories of
what he did and saw before he became an ascetic.
The description of the tenth step, Suksmasamparaya
gunasthdnaka, emphasizes the enormous difference between
the Jaina and the Christian notions of asceticism, for this
stage is only reached by the advanced ascetic, who there-
upon loses all sense of humour, all pleasure in beauty of
sound or form, and all perception of pain, fear, grief,
disgust and smells. One contrasts with this a certain
Cowley father’s saying about ‘ the sheer fun it was to be
a Christian ’ ; and many devout Christians tell us that,
having made the great renunciation, they have found
almost unexpectedly that the surrender of worldly ambition
and the wire-pulling it entails has endowed them with
an entirely new appreciation of the beauty of nature, the
treasures of art and the joy of living, besides giving them
a deeper power of suffering with others. In short, Christian
asceticism is a development of personality, whilst Jaina
asceticism amounts to self-stultification.
Some slight degree of greed still remains to the Jaina
ascetic who has reached this stage. It must be remembered
that the Jaina sadhu generally comes from the commercial
ix. Aniya-
tibadara
gunas-
thanaka.
x. Suks-
masam-
paraya
gunas-
thanaka.
190
KARMA AND THE
xi. Upa-
santa-
moha
gunas-
thanaka.
xii. KsT-
namoha
gunas-
thanaka.
xiii.Sayo-
gikevall
gunas-
thanaka.
class, and often from a money-lender’s family. This helps
us to understand how difficult some ascetics find it to get
rid of greed, and, whilst professing to give up everything,
contrive by hook or crook to retain their fortune, some-
times, as we have noted, even keeping it in paper money
hidden on their persons, to the great disgust of their fellow
Jaina. Those who manage absolutely to destroy every
trace of greed will pass straight to the twelfth stage, whilst
others have to pause at the eleventh.
When a man has attained to the eleventh stage, Upa-
santamoha gunasthanaka, he has reached a really critical
point, where everything depends on how he deals with the
sin of greed. If he destroys it, and it becomes quite extinct,
he is safe ; but if it only remains quiescent, he is in a perilous
state, for, like a flood, it may at any moment burst its dam,
and the force of its current may carry the soul far down
the slope he has been climbing, depositing him on either the
sixth or seventh step, or even on the lowest. On the other
hand, if he deal successfully with greed, he becomes an
AnuttaravasI Deva and knows that he will become a Siddha
after he has undergone one more rebirth as a man.
If a man be on the twelfth step, Kslnamoha gunasthanaka,
he has won freedom for ever not only from greed but from
all the ghatin karma,1 and though the aghatin karma2 still
persist, they have little power to bind the soul : in fact,
so limited is their power, that at death a soul passes at once
through the two remaining stages and enters moksa without
delay. The Digambara believe that at this stage the first two
parts of pure contemplation (Sukladhyana) are developed.
If a man who reaches the stage of Sayogikevali gunas-
thanaka preaches, and forms a community or tirtha, he
becomes a Tlrthankara. He first (according to the Digam-
1 i. e. those difficult to destroy, or according to another interpretation
those which destroy omniscience : Jnanavaranlya, Darsanavaranfya,
Mohanlya and Antaraya. Cp. p. 184.
2 i.e. those easy to destroy, or those which do not destroy omni-
science : Vedaniya, Ayu, Nama and Gotra.
PATH TO LIBERATION
I9I
bara) obtains ‘eternal wisdom, illimitable insight, everlasting
happiness and unbounded prowess When this absolute
knowledge is acquired, Indra, Kubera 1 and other heavenly-
beings, including the celestial engineer, Vaisramana, raise
the Samavasarana (or heavenly pavilion) where the twelve
conferences meet to hear eternal wisdom from the Kevall.
After prayers have been offered, the Kevall goes about
preaching truth, until, when the day of deliverance
approaches, he takes to the third part of pure contem-
plation (Sukladhyana). Here the soul reaches every part
of the universe and is yet contained within the body,
though its only connexion with it now is residence. The
last part of contemplation follows when the fourteenth step
is ascended, and the body disappears like burnt camphor.
This is Nirvana.2
Before proceeding, however, to discuss the fourteenth
step, we may quote the famous sloka that describes the
pomp of a Tirthankara :
‘ The tree of Asoka, the shower of celestial flowers, the singing of
heavenly songs, the waving of fly whisks, the lion-shaped throne, the
shining of the halo, the beating of celestial kettle-drums, the umbrella,
all these eight things attend the Tirthankara.’
As we have seen, it is the Tirthankara, the man at this
thirteenth stage, that the people worship ; for once he
passes to the next step, he loses all interest in people, besides
parting with his own body. The Siddha alone know exactly
where every one is on the heavenward road, but they have
lost all interest in the question.
The moment a man reaches the fourteenth stage, Ayogi- xiv. Ayo-
kevall gunasthanaka, all his karma is purged away, and he 2lkevalr
proceeds at once to moksa as a Siddha (for no one can fh^naka.
remain alive on this step). In moksa there is of course no
absorption into the infinite, but the freed soul dwells for ever
above the land called Siddhaslla, from whence it returns
no more, and this is moksa.
1 Or Kuvera.
2 A. B. Latthe, M.A., An Introduction to Jainism , p. 42.
192 KARMA AND THE PATH TO LIBERATION
There ‘ innumerable delivered souls exist and are to be
there for ages that never were begun and which never
close’. Asloka describes the qualities of the Siddha thus:
‘Omniscience, boundless vision, illimitable righteousness, infinite
strength, perfect bliss, indestructibility, existence without form, a body
that is neither light nor heavy, such are the characteristics of the
Siddha.’
As a soul passes from stage to stage, it gains the three
jewels,1 and the possession of these ensures the attainment
of moksa.
The writer was recently discussing these fourteen steps
with some Jaina friends, and it was most interesting to
notice the way they realized that Christians not only
believed in an upward, heavenly path, but also in the con-
stant companionship of a Guide who held their hands and
steadied their feet over the difficult places. The Jaina of
course, denying as they do a Creator, are deprived of the
belief in a heavenly Father, who watching over us ‘ neither
slumbers nor sleeps ’. The vital difference on this point
of the two faiths is well illustrated by the contrast between
Christian evening hymns such as :
‘ Abide with me : fast falls the eventide ;
The darkness deepens ; Lord, with me abide :
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.’
— and the following Magadhi sloka which many devout
Jaina repeat after their evening reading from the sacred
books :
‘ The soul is the maker and the non-maker, and itself makes happi-
ness and misery, is its own friend and its own foe, decides its own
condition good or evil, is its own river VeyaranT.2 My soul is my
KudasamalT.3 The soul is the cow from which all desires can be
milked, the soul is my heavenly garden.’
1 Right knowledge, right faith and right conduct. See p. 245.
2 Or VaitaranI : the river in which hell-beings are tormented and
drowned by Paramadhaml.
3 A tree under which souls are tormented by Paramadhaml.
CHAPTER IX
THE LIFE STORY OF A JAINA
The importance of being born a man is early emphasized Baby-
in Jainism; for the moment a child is born, if it be a boy, hood-
a brass tray is beaten by the proud father or other relatives
in order to announce the happy event, and also, they say, to
get the child used to noise from the first and to ensure that
it shall never be frightened.
Whether the child be a girl or a boy, the exact moment of
its birth is noted, that the astrologer may later on be able to
draw its horoscope, on which its future marriage will depend.
The baby is then bathed in water and its little mouth is
washed with wool dipped in a mixture of sugar-cane water
and melted butter.
If the child be the first-born son of the household, the
parents send presents of such things as sugar, sweets and
fruits to their friends, but of course no such extravagance
is indulged in if it be a girl.
When the little mite is five days old, its friends bind Fifth
white threads round its neck, its hands and its feet for day‘
luck, and send presents of cooked sweetmeats to their
friends.
The Jaina believe that a boy’s whole future is decided Sixth
the night that he is six days old, and on that night day‘
Mother ChatthI is worshipped. A little stool in the
sleeping-room is covered with a piece of white cloth, and
on it are placed a white sheet of paper and a white pen,
a lamp of melted butter is lighted, and then some
relative takes the baby on her lap, covers its head,
and worships both the stool and its contents before the
family retire to rest. When all is quiet they believe that
ChatthI or Vidartha will come and write secretly on the
paper a description of the sort of fortune that will meet the
o
Ninth
day.
Naming
cere-
mony.
Fifteenth
day.
Hair-
cutting.
194 THE LIFE STORY OF A JAINA
child during life, and the length of time it will live, but no
one is ever able to see, much less decipher, the mysticwriting.
On the ninth (or with some sects the eleventh) day after
the child’s birth the mother is bathed. After the bathing
she stands so as to face the sun and shakes from her finger
a drop of kanku (turmeric).
When the baby is twelve days old, it is named with
much ceremony. In a silk sari (the shawl-like overdress of
Indian women) are placed some grain, the leaf of a pipaja
tree, a copper coin and a sopari nut, and then four boys
(or, if the child be a girl, four girls) are called, and each
seizes a corner of the sari and begins to rock it. The baby
meanwhile is lying in the arms of the father’s sister, and
as the children rock the sari and sing
‘ Oli jholi pipaja pana
Phaie padyum [Ramji] nama,’
the aunt at the right moment declares the child’s name,
and of course also gives it a present ; for while all the world
over the profession of aunt is an expensive one, it is no-
where more so than in India.
Fifteen days after the child’s birth, the mother goes to the
river to fill the water-pots for the house. She takes with
her seven different kinds of grain and a cocoa-nut. Arrived
at the river, she lights a tiny earthenware saucer containing
ghl, splits open the cocoa-nut, and, after arranging the grain
in seven rows, she fills a water-pot from the river, and then,
picking up one of the seven rows of grain, she puts it in her
lap, and as she walks home carrying the filled water- vessel,
she scatters the grain.
The next thing of great importance is the cutting of the
child’s hair. This is done when he or she has attained
either the third, fifth, seventh, or ninth month of its first
year. (The particular month is not of great importance,
provided it be an uneven number.) The barber is called,
and after the operation is over, he is given a special present,
and a lucky mark is made on the child’s forehead.
THE LIFE STORY OF A JAINA
i95
On some auspicious day during the early months the feed- Feeding
ing ceremony ( Abotana ) takes place, at which the father’s cere*
sister again presides, but this time she gains, instead of giving,
a present. The aunt takes the baby on her lap and places
some dudhapaka 1 on a rupee, and seven times over takes
some of this and places it in the child’s mouth, whereupon
the father makes her a present.
In another ceremony, Gotrljhdranam , which takes place Gotri-
when the child is three (or sometimes five) months old, thejli^.ra‘
aunt is once more the gainer. This time all the women of the
household join in preparing specially dainty food in readi-
ness for a feast, and then place on a stool some grain, some
sopari nut, some small copper coins and a silver coin ; the
baby is made to bow to this collection, and then the father
presents the piece of silver to his sister and feasts all his
friends. Very much the same ceremony is repeated
when the child goes to school in either his fifth or
seventh year..
The whole thought of a household in India seems to an Betrothal,
outsider to centre round marriage and motherhood, and all
the steps that lead up to them are marked with ceremonials.
The age of betrothal ( Sagai ) is steadily rising, and though
it varies in different localities, a boy among the Jaina is
usually betrothed about fifteen or twenty and a girl some-
what earlier. The parents on both sides look out for a
suitable match, and when one has been discovered, the
girl’s father sends to the boy’s father as a token of his
intentions a cocoa-nut and a rupee, and a priest is called
in to mark the forehead of the boy and his relatives with
a candalo or auspicious mark. A lucky woman (i. e. one
whose husband is living and who has never lost a child) or
a virgin then takes the cocoa-nut and marks a candalo
on it and on the rupee, and the boy’s father summons
all his friends to a feast, to which each of the guests
brings a cocoa-nut. After two or three days a present,
1 A favourite Indian dainty resembling milk pudding.
196
THE LIFE STORY OF A JAINA
Jamana.
Samura-
ta.
Lagana-
patra.
Manda-
pakriya.
consisting of a cocoa-nut and ten rupees, is sent back to the
girl’s house as a sign that all goes well.
This, however, is only the beginning of the presentations,
and in a few days another gift from the boy’s house follows,
consisting of a complete costume in silk (sari, skirt and
bodice), five rupees in money, half a maund of crude and
half a maund of refined sugar ; hidden in the refined sugar
are two rupees. Not to be outdone, the father of the girl
sends something, though of less value : his gift consists of
half a seer of crude and half a seer of refined sugar and the
two rupees returned.
Then follow two children’s parties [Jamana). First the
boy’s father invites the little fiancee and some other
children to a feast and gives her three silken garments,
and afterwards the girl’s father invites the boy and
some children to a feast in his house and makes him
a present.
After a short interval the boy’s father sends two more
sets of silk clothes and some ornament worth perhaps Rs. 300,
and the girl’s father replies with a substantial tip to the
lucky servant who has brought the gift.
By this time the parties are beginning to think of the
actual wedding. An astrologer is called in who decides
when everything will be auspicious and fixes the day, and
this date is written in old ink and carried by some children
from the bride’s house to that of the boy’s parents.
When the bridegroom’s dwelling is reached, the child who
bears the paper is placed on a stool, and one of the ladies
of the house comes and takes the paper from him and
gives him sugar in return. All the children are feasted,
and that night auspicious songs are sung in both houses.
On either the fifth or the seventh day after this five
‘ lucky ’ women wreathe the future bride and bridegroom
with flowers and rub them with powder.
About three days before the actual wedding ceremony
a booth or mapdapa is erected, when appropriate songs are
THE LIFE STORY OF A JAINA
197
sung, and dates and sugar are divided amongst those who
are present. The carpenter who is to erect the booth brings
with him a special piece of wood, and on it is placed a green
stick and some fruit, all of which are carefully placed in
the hole dug for one of the poles that support the booth.
A Brahman next mixes together some curds, milk and
sopari nut, repeating as he does so appropriate mantras,
and the bridegroom takes this mixture in his right hand
and pours it over the pole of the booth. For a week from
the date of the erection of the booth all near relatives of
the bride and bridegroom are feasted.
One of the most popular of the Hindu gods is Ganesa, the Ganesa
remover of all hindrances, and at wedding times he is worship,
worshipped, not only by the idol-worshipping, but even by
the non-idolatrous, sects among the Jaina. Accordingly
the day after the erection of the booth even SthanakavasI
Jaina bring an idol of Ganesa to the mandapa. A heap
of grains, sopari, rice and wheat is arranged on a stool
covered with a white cloth, and Ganesa is placed on the pile.
Then around the stool they place twenty-five ladus in heaps
of five, and twenty-five dates, and when this is done, two
virgins carrying cooked rice in their hands come and wor-
ship the idol and mark it with auspicious marks. The
relatives have also been summoned to come and worship
Ganesa, and they obey, bringing both wheat and rupees with
them to offer to the idol. (After the wedding the paternal
aunts of both bride and bridegroom will have the right to
these rupees.) The bride and bridegroom are seated on
stools near the god, and now a ‘ lucky ’ woman takes four pieces
of wood, dips them in oil, and touches the bride and bride-
groom’s heads with them. The paternal aunt plays an
important role in the wedding, as she did in the other cere-
monies, and she now comes forward and ties an iron ring on
the bridegroom’s cotali 1 and gives him two rupees, and
then an uncle of each of the couple lifts them down from
1 The lock of hair that most Hindus leave uncut.
198
THE LIFE STORY OF A JAINA
Ukaradi
NotarT.
Caka.
Wedding
day.
their stool and gives them a few rupees. Sometimes seven
lucky women come to the pair whilst they are still standing
on the stool, and seven things are poured into their laps.
Occasionally on the night after the booth was erected girls
go outside the great gate of the house and, after singing
auspicious songs, dig a little hole in which they place small
copper coins and grains, carefully covering them afterwards
with earth, and then re-enter the house singing.
About this time also the girls of the family go to a potter’s
yard and mark his wheel with red powder and throw rice
on it. The potter gives them some pots, which they bring
back to the booth and place near the idol of Ganesa.
When the actual wedding day arrives, the family goddess
is worshipped, and fourteen girls are fed. The potter is again
visited, and in exchange for a present of some three pounds
of wheat, some dates and a cocoa-nut he provides four water-
pots. Either the bride or the bridegroom is now seated in
the booth, and ‘lucky’ women come and either bathe them
or else content themselves with at least bathing a toe.
The all-important aunt now comes forward and ties a
silver ring where the iron one had been in the boy’s hair,
and the maternal uncle gives some money to the lad and
lifts him down from the stool.
The bridegroom is then dressed in his most magnifi-
cent clothes, and, carrying a cocoa-nut in his hand, goes on
horseback in procession towards the bride’s house, but is
met half-way by a procession from thence.
The actual marriage ceremony takes place after sunset,
and is the occasion for some mild horse-play. The bride’s
sister, for instance, goes out to meet the bridegroom’s pro-
cession, bearing a water-pot and a cocoa-nut. She makes
the auspicious mark on the forehead of the bridegroom
and then pinches his nose, and the groom’s party put
some rupees in the water-pot. Some one then lifts the
bridegroom down from his horse, and the lad raises the
garlands from the doorway and passes in.
THE LIFE STORY OF A JAINA
199
The bridegroom and his friends feast at some house quite
close to the bride’s house, ladies present him with four
ladus, and the barber powders his toe and then washes
it. Sometimes the bride also goes and receives a sari
and some rupees whilst the bridegroom is feasting. When
the dinner is over, the groom mounts his horse and goes
to a temple to worship, and then returns to the bride’s
house.
The bride, who is now sitting behind a curtain, spits Tamboja
• • • chanta-
betel-nut juice at the bridegroom, whilst his mother-in-law
marks him with the auspicious candalo, and then throws
balls made of rice and ashes over him, and also waves
water in a vessel round his head.
The bridegroom next takes his seat in the booth, and his
friends bring his gift of clothing and ornaments, and after
showing them to the committee of leading J aina in the town
(Mahajana), give them to the bride’s friends. The bride and
bridegroom are now sitting side by side under the booth,
and, after they have shaken hands, her sari (shawl) is tied to
his scarf, and he gives her some rings and other jewellery.
The father and mother of the bride then offer some clothing
and jewellery, and the father washes the hand of the bride-
groom whilst the mother washes the bride’s hand, and
when this is finished, the mother places the hand of the
bride in that of the groom.
In the centre of the booth a special fire has been lit, Kanya-
round which the boy and girl walk four times from left to ^na'
right, the boy offering handfuls of sopari nut to any lucky
women he sees. The Brahman cooks who are present and
the mother-in-law offer sweetmeats to the couple, who,
however, must refuse to take them. The young pair next
go to the bride’s house and worship her gotrlja, and then
to the house where the bridegroom had been staying and
worship his gotrlja, after which the bride returns to her
house laden with ladus, dates, rupees, and the kernels of
four cocoa-nuts
200
THE LIFE STORY OF A JAINA
The first
child.
Rakhadl
ban-
dhana.
The feasting is kept up for three or four days, and then
the bride’s parents summon the Mahajana, and in their
presence give a suitable quantity of ornaments and
clothing to the bridegroom, who distributes money in
charity. After this is done, the bride’s parents give her
leave to go and live in the bridegroom’s house.
As the bride leaves her home, she marks its walls with
the imprint of her hands dipped in red powder; and when
the couple pass the marriage booth, they stop at the stool
and mark one of the groom’s party with the auspicious
mark, a sari being presented to the bride. The bride
gets into the carriage holding a cocoa-nut, and a cocoa-nut
is also placed under the wheel of the carriage in such a way
that it shall be crushed and broken when the carriage starts.
The moment this happens, the pieces are picked up and
offered to the bride with four ladus and two brass vessels,
and the wedding ceremonies are completed.
The whole position of the new daughter-in-law will
depend on her bearing children, and the young mother is
guarded in many ways from the supposed influence of evil
spirits before and after the child’s birth.
One of these protective ceremonies takes place during
the fifth month, when the husband’s sister binds a little
parcel done up in black silk by a white thread to the wrist
of the expectant mother. In the parcel are a cowrie shell,
a ring of iron, a piece of black silk, some earth from the
junction of three roads, some dust from Hanuman’s image
and seven pulse seeds. (Some Jaina prefer the parcel to
be done up in green or red or yellow silk rather than
black, which they regard as unlucky.) If the husband
had no sister living, a priest would be called in to tie
on the parcel, and in return would expect enough food
to last him for a day. Whilst tying on the parcel, he
would probably bless the woman in words that might be
translated : ‘ Auspicious time, auspicious junction of the
planets, happiness, welfare, freedom from disease, good :
THE LIFE STORY OF A JAINA
201
let all these be yours without hindrance.’ No man older
than the husband is allowed to be present at this cere-
mony, and it is considered better for the husband not to
be in the house at the time of any of these functions.
The father and mother of the girl feast all their relatives
at this time ; and from now on the expectant mother is
not allowed to do any drudgery or hard work about the
house.
A very important ceremony takes place on some auspici-
ous day in the seventh month. The bride’s mother sends
special clothes for the occasion, and the bridegroom’s
relatives also give presents, including three pounds of rice.
The expectant mother fetches seven water-pots, and
then goes and worships the gotrija. Then the auspicious
direction for that particular day being settled, she is taken
to a room facing that quarter and there bathed, whilst
she sings and is fed on sweetmeats. A little boy is
also brought into the room and seated beside her whilst
she bathes, and is afterwards presented with a rupee by
the bride’s parents. The girl’s own mother, or her repre-
sentative, comes into the room whilst she bathes, and parts
the young wife’s hair; she is then dressed in the special
clothes sent by her parents, her hands and feet being
coloured red. A rich piece of cloth is spread outside
the bathing-room, and on this the girl steps very slowly
and majestically, bearing a cocoa-nut in her hands. For
every step her father will have to give a present to the
ubiquitous husband’s sister, but the gifts progressively
decrease in value, for whereas the first step will cost
her father a rupee, the next will be valued at only
eight annas, the third at four, and so on. When the
edge of the carpet is reached, the husband’s relatives
offer the wife one rupee and throw over her balls of ashes
and rice.
She then sits on a stool near the family goddess, and some
milk is poured out on to a plate, which she drinks ; the two
Slmanta
or
Khojo
bharavo.
Death
cere-
monies.
202 THE LIFE STORY OF A JAINA
fathers give her two rupees, and she also asks her mother-
in-law for some money. Her husband’s youngest brother
then makes the auspicious red mark on her forehead and
slaps her seven times on her right cheek, for which kind
office the girl’s parents pay him handsomely in rupees !
The husband’s sister plays yet another part, for she now
ties a silver and gold thread on the young wife’s right
hand (which she will take off, however, the next day). A
lucky woman then presents rice, lotus seed and a pome-
granate to the girl, who gets up and bows to her mother-in-
law and other elders as a sign that the ceremony is complete.
The next day the young wife receives sweetmeats from
her father’s house and distributes them amongst her
husband’s relatives, and on the third day she goes to her
own old home and stays there till the child is born. She
does not usually return to her husband’s house till the
child is three months old, and then the maternal grand-
father makes a handsome present of jewellery.
When a Jaina seems to be dying, his relatives summon
a monk or nun to preach to the patient. As the ascetic
is not allowed to sit, he cannot preach for very long at a
time, so a devout layman or laywoman may be called in to
supplement his work. In a case the writer knew, where a
Jaina lady was dying of consumption, this religious instruc-
tion was given for three hours a day for twenty-two days.
As death approaches, the patient is urged to take the
vow 1 of giving up all attachment to worldly things and of
abstaining from all food. Enormous sums are given in charity
by the dying man or his relatives to ensure his happiness
in the next world. (Recently in the writer’s town, for in-
stance, one gentleman gave Rs. 70,000 on his death-bed, and
the sons of another, who was killed in a railway accident,
immediately gave Rs. 15,000 in their father’s name.) Then
the name of Mahavlra is repeatedly whispered in the dying
man’s ear, till all is over.
1 See Santharo, p. 163.
THE LIFE STORY OF A JAINA
203
As soon as death has taken place, the body is moved
from the bed and placed on the floor, which has been
previously covered with a preparation of cow-dung to make
it hallowed ground. The corpse is so arranged that the face
of the dead is turned towards the north, and a lamp filled
with ghi is lighted beside him. In memory of the deceased
even animals are made happy, for sweets are given to the
pariah dogs of the village and grass to the cows ; nor are
the poor forgotten, for grain is distributed amongst them.
Directly a Jaina dies, all his relatives weep as loudly as
possible, and so advertise the fact that death has taken
place. If it be a woman who has died, she is dressed in her
best, probably in a sari with a gold border, a silk bodice,
and a petticoat of silk. Formerly these things used to be
burnt with her, but nowadays they are removed before
the actual burning takes place, so the corpse is swathed
with green cloth from knees to waist underneath the silken
garments. If the corpse be that of an ordinary widow, she
is dressed not in silk but in black, but if the woman had
been what is known as a vesa widow (i. e. one under thirty
whose husband had died whilst she was still a little child),
her corpse is not dressed in black.
When a man dies and leaves a widow, her ivory bangles
are broken, one of them being tied to the bier and the other
taken to the river by some women. Even if the wife he
leaves behind be a virgin, she must take off her jewels and
wash off the red auspicious mark from her forehead, and
never use either again. She is not, however, always com-
pelled to wear black garments, abstain from sweetmeats,
or sleep on the floor, until she attains womanhood.
The corpse in the case of a man is dressed only in a loin-
cloth, a costly cloth being wrapped over all. Four cocoa-
nuts, a ball of flour and four small flags are placed on the
bier, and two annas are put in the dead man’s mouth, which
will later on be given to the sweepers as rent for the ground
on which the corpse is burnt.
F uneral
cere-
monies.
204
THE LIFE STORY OF A JAINA
The dead body is now lifted on to the bier and carried
by near relatives to the burning-ground, where a pyre has
been arranged, which is lit by the son of the dead man.
Women can follow the bier no further than the threshold
of their house.
The fire to light the funeral pyre is taken from the house,
and special attention is paid by the relatives and friends
to the manner in which the fire is carried from the dead
man’s home to the burning-ground. If it is carried in
a cup, it is an intimation that the feasting and funeral
expenses generally will be moderate, but if the fire is carried
on a plate, it is a sign that a great feast will be given.
Curiously enough, as the Jaina carry the corpse to the
burning-ground, they call aloud ‘Rama Rama’,1 just like
ordinary Hindus, but the writer has been assured that they
are not then thinking of the god Rama of the Ramayana,
but simply use the word as synonymous for Prabhu or Lord,
and in their own minds are thinking each of his own parti-
cular god.
When the body is burnt to ashes, most of the relatives
return, but one of the party goes to a potter and gets
a water-pot, and the next-of-kin fills it four times at the
river and pours it over the ashes four times, and after the
fourth time he leaves the pot lying there.
On the second day after the death the near relatives all
go to the Apasaro and listen to sermons.
1 They do not, however, use these words as an ordinary salutation.
Jaina, when they meet, greet each other with the words Juhara or
Juyajinendra ; Brahmans usually say Jayajaya\ other Hindus Rama
Rama ; Mohammedans Saldm ; while, in Gujarat at least, the
Christian greeting is Kusalata.
CHAPTER X
THE JAINA LAYMAN AND HIS RELIGIOUS LIFE
The Twelve Lay Vows.
The Jaina, though they do not know of any dynamic
power such as would give a man strength to keep his
promises, nevertheless firmly believe in the helpfulness of
taking vows.1 Through these, they say, a man is aided
towards keeping the third jewel, that of Right Conduct,
and by failing to take them he acquires karma from which
they might have saved him.
We have seen that it is only after he has made some
progress in the upward path that a man wishes to take
these vows,2 though after a certain time he is able to keep
the spirit of the vows without needing to renew the vows
themselves. Not only must the candidate have reached
the fifth step, but he must also have attained to firm faith
in a true Tirthankara, true guru, and true religion.
Further, he cannot take any vow unless he has first re- Panca
nounced five faults ( Panca Aticara) and so has no doubts Atl6ara-
( Sahka ) ; no desire to belong to another faith ( Kdhkhd ) ;
no questioning about the reality of the fruits of karma
(Vitigiccha) ; undertakes not to praise hypocrites ( Parapa -
khanda parasamsa) ; and not to associate with them ( Para -
pakhanda santhana).
If all these conditions be fulfilled, the man may take the The five
first vow ( Pranatipata viramana vrata ), promising never
intentionally to destroy a jiva that has more than one . pr-n-
sense. This vow would not prevent a king leading an army tipata '
vira-
1 Other Indians also believe strongly in the virtue of the Jaina vows. maI?a
It is said, for instance, that the mother of Mr. Gandhi, the South African vrata.
leader, though herself a Vaisnava, persuaded her son before he left
Rajkot for England to vow in front of Pujya BecarajI, a famous Jaina
sadhu, that he would abstain from wine, flesh and women.
2 See p. 187.
206
THE JAINA LAYMAN AND
in defence of his kingdom, but would prevent one’s fighting
with a lunatic, or a blind man who had hurt one uninten-
tionally. The vow also forbids the killing of weak creatures
like mosquitoes and any other troublesome insects, and
prohibits acting as ‘ agent provocateur
The man who takes this vow must avoid five faults in the
treatment of animals : he must never tie an animal up too
tightly; beat it unmercifully; cut its limbs; overload or
overwork it ; or neglect to feed it properly.1
The vow is infringed by planning to kill any one, even
if the evil purpose be never carried out. It also forbids
animal sacrifice, the Jaina arguing that, if moksa be attained
by sacrifice, we had better sacrifice our fathers and mothers !
If an animal is in pain, it is not permissible to kill it in
order to end its sufferings, for who knows that it will not
suffer worse things in the next life ?
The reason the Jaina give for their horror of killing
(hirhsa) is not, as some say, the fear of being haunted by
the dead animal’s ghost, but the realization that every jiva
has two bodies, Karmana and Taijasa, and also a third
which may be Audarika (i. e. human or animal) or Vai-
kreya (i.e. a demi-god or a hell-being). Every jiva (save
a Siddha) forms round it through its karma a body, which
is called its karmana body, and also another invisible body,
taijasa, which at its death will enable it to assume a new
form ; these two unseen bodies are indestructible and loathe
being separated from the third body, which is destructible,
be it audarika or vaikreya. If, therefore, we destroy a
living body, it is like destroying the beloved home of. the
taijasa and karmana bodies.
The actual words used in taking this first vow are, in the
case of SthanakavasI Jaina, mixed Gujarati and Magadhi,
and might be translated :
‘ I will desist from destroying all great lives such as Trasa jiva (i.e.
1 It would surely seem advisable to quote these five faults in the publi-
cations of the Indian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
HIS RELIGIOUS LIFE
207
lives of two, three, four and five senses), either knowingly or inten-
tionally, excepting offending lives living in my body which give pain ;
but I will not with evil intent destroy vermin or lunatics, and I also vow
not to destroy minute one-sensed lives. As long as I live I will not my-
self kill ; nor cause others to kill ; nor will I kill by mind, speech, or body.
Thus have I taken the first vow, so I must know the five Aticara
concerning it, but I must not commit them. I repeat them in their usual
order : binding, killing, mutilating, overloading, wrong feeding.’
Another thing forbidden by this vow is the burying of
people in a trance ; for, as the Jaina sagely remark, it is
very likely to kill them !
The Jaina prophesy that certain penalties will be accu-
mulated by acting contrary to this vow. For instance, if a
man commit murder ,he may die even in this life in an un-
timely fashion. (The British Government has a knack of
seeing that this prophecy is fulfilled !) He may also be
drowned, or become a leper, or lose his hands and his feet,
if not in this birth, at least in the next.
The second vow ( Mrisavada viramana vrata) of the Jaina ii. Mrisa-
layman is directed against falsehood or exaggeration. In a vframana
country where the women live in purdah, one can see how vrata.
easy a thing it would be to spread untrue or exaggerated
reports about them ; and so a man who has taken this vow
must never tell lies about any girl, including his own daughter,
never for example, in order to marry her well, saying that
she is younger or prettier than she is, or denying her bodily
defects; he must likewise be careful never to speak against
a prospective bridegroom. The vow is also concerned with
commercial honesty, and forbids a man, for instance, when
selling cows or buffaloes to say that they give more milk than
they actually do, or when selling land and houses to describe
the boundaries or the number of trees on the estate falsely.
If the man taking the vows is a banker, he must keep any
deposit honestly and give it back when demanded, even if
no receipt be producible. If he have to take part in the
courts or in the Paiica,1 he must never give false evidence.
1 Village Council.
208
THE JAINA LAYMAN AND
iii. Adat-
tadana
viramana
vrata.
Now this vow is notoriously difficult to keep, and so
Jaina laymen are advised always to guard against five
things: rash speech; revealing secrets; running down one’s
wife; giving false advice; and cooking accounts. (In this list
the Digambara substitute forgery for false advice.)
When one meets a dumb man, or a man with a bad
stutter, one knows that he has broken this vow of truth-
fulness in a previous life.
The actual words of the vow might be rendered :
‘ I take a vow not to utter great falsehoods, such as lies concerning
brides, cattle, estates, deposits, and [not to bear] false witness. I will
abstain from all such lies. As long as I live . . . [and then it goes on
as in the first vow down to] the five Aticara, which are rash speech,
revealing secrets, speaking ill of one’s spouse, giving bad advice, falsi-
fying accounts or forging documents.’
Stealing or taking what is not given is renounced in the
third vow ( Adattadana viramana vrata), which includes
stealing from a house, taking from bundles, highway rob-
bery, opening any one’s lock with one’s own key, or appro-
priating lost property. In especial, a man is warned never
to buy stolen property, never to encourage another in
thieving, never to act seditiously, to smuggle or to work in
any way against the Government, not to use false weights
or measures, to adulterate goods or to sell them false to
sample. The penalty for breach of this vow is either to
be born in a condition of poverty or (if the offence was very
rank) in a state of actual servitude.
A free translation of the actual words used in taking the
third vow might run :
‘ I take a vow not to thieve in any of the following ways : not to
steal from a house, not to steal from a bundle, not to steal on the high-
way, not to open another’s lock, not to appropriate lost property. I will
abstain from such forms of thieving. I take a vow not to steal, except
in things relating to trade and things belonging to my relatives which
will not give rise to suspicion. As long as I live [and then as in the
other vow to] the five Aticara, which are buying stolen property, encourag-
ing others to thieve, committing offences against Government, using
false weights and measures, adulterating or selling goods false to sample.’
HIS RELIGIOUS LIFE
209
The vow of chastity ( Maithuna viramana vrata) follows, iv. Mai-
by which a man promises to be absolutely faithful to his own ^U^a
wife at all times and never to allow any evil thoughts in his mana
own mind about goddesses. The vow may be broken in vrata-
five ways : consummating marriage with a young child,
or forming a temporary connexion with a widow or other
woman whom it is impossible truly to marry; unfaithfulness
before marriage; match-making and marriage brokerage;
excessive sexual indulgence ; and lastly, evil talk. The
breaking of this vow carries with it penalties too horrible
to put on paper. Many of the enlightened Jaina are
beginning to feel very strongly the evils of early marriage;
and here again one would venture to suggest to them that
their protest cannot be fairly termed an innovation when the
abuse of early marriage is expressly forbidden in this vow.
The Jaina have shrewdly realized that the true way of v. Pari-
increasing our wealth is by curbing our desires. The fewer
things we allow ourselves to use, the fewer our desires be- mana
come, and, safe within the circumscribing walls we ourselves vrata-
have built round our potential possessions, we find not only
peace of mind but also safety from many temptations.
Why should we steal when we already have all we desire,
or why cheat and defraud in the race for wealth, if we already
are as wealthy as we will ever allow ourselves to become?
After all, few people forge or gamble to gain money to give
in alms. When we remember that the Jaina creed has
forced its holders to become a commercial people, we see
the special value this vow of limitation, Parigraha vira-
mana vrata , might have, if it were really lived up to.
Unfortunately it has not been kept sufficiently to prevent
the name of Baniya being considered a synonym for a
money-grubber.
The vow may be translated :
* I take a vow not to possess more of the following things than
I have allowed myself ; a certain fixed quantity of houses and fields,
of silver and gold, of coins and grain, of two-footed or four-footed
P
no
THE JAINA LAYMAN AND
The three
Guna-
vrata.
creatures, furniture and plenishing. Beyond this limit I will regard
nothing as my own possession. As long as I live I will not myself
regard in body, mind, or speech things beyond these as my own. . . .
[The five Aticara are] transgressing the limit fixed in houses and fields,
silver and gold, coins and grain, two-footed or four-footed creatures,
furniture and plenishing.’
The man who takes this vow promises that he will never
allow himself to retain more than a certain fixed quantity
of houses and fields, gold and silver, cash and corn, servants
and cattle, furniture and plenishing. The vow is broken by
passing beyond the self-prescribed limits by means of such
devices as banking the superfluous money in a daughter’s
name, or substituting four big houses for the four small
houses originally agreed on. As a proof of how this vow is
observed the Jaina are fond of quoting the recent case of
a Mr. Popata Amaracanda of Cambay, who when quite a
poor man had promised that he would never possess more
than 95,000 rupees. He became a very successful man of
business, but as soon as he had made the prescribed number
of rupees, he gave to the building of temples or the founding
of animal hospitals all the extra money he made.
These five vows are called the five Anuvrata, and they
resemble in their content, as we shall see, the five great vows
a monk takes. If a layman keeps all five Anuvrata and has
also abandoned the use of intoxicants, animal food, and
honey,1 he possesses the eight primary qualities of a layman
and is rightly called a Sravaka.
The first five vows are followed by three Gunavrata ,
which ‘ help ’ the keeping of the first five vows.
1 Honey seems to the Jaina to resemble himsa, the depriving a jlva
of his house, and, moreover, by the brutal way in which honey is
gathered in India by burning a torch under the comb, the bees and
their eggs are destroyed. Jaina are therefore most interested to
learn that Europeans actually build houses for bees in which the
arrangements are so efficient that the eggs and bees are not injured
when the honey is removed, and also that sufficient food is left to the
bees. So strongly do the Indian villagers feel about their own destruc-
tive way of taking honey, that they have a proverb : ‘ The sin incurred in
destroying one honey-comb is as great as that accumulated by destroy-
ing twelve villages.’
HIS RELIGIOUS LIFE
21 1
We saw how the Jaina believe that the limitation of vi.
desire curtails sin by limiting the motives for sinning ; ^.lvr
they also believe that setting bounds to one’s travels (Disi- mana.
vrata parimana ) curtails sin by restricting the area in which
one can sin.
The vow taken runs :
‘ I fix a limit of height and depth and circumference. If I have to
pass this limit, willing and in my body, I vow not to indulge any of
the five asrava. . . . [The five Aticara are] transgression of the limit
above, below or around, altering the position of the bounds fixed by
increasing one and decreasing the other, and proceeding further when
a doubt arises as to the limits.’
It is only laymen who take this vow. A sadhu does not
vow that he will limit the possible places to which he may
wander, for the farther he wanders the fewer intimate
friends he can make; and friendship is forbidden to a
sadhu, lest it lead to love. But he does promise never
to make his wanderings an excuse for luxury by sitting in
a boat, a carriage, a cart, or a train, or riding on a horse.1
Breaking this vow leads to excommunication.2 A sadhu
of the Tapagaccha sect travelled constantly by train and
was therefore excommunicated. He still continues to go
by rail wearing sadhu dress ; but seeing him in a train
1 The writer had an opportunity not long ago of seeing how strictly
the ascetics keep this vow. An aged nun was very ill, and the
community was most anxious that she should go and see an English
lady doctor. She refused to be conveyed to the hospital by carriage
or in a litter, and at length in despair her friends asked the writer to
request the doctor to go and see her at the Apasaro.
2 Excommunication of sadhus is still fairly common ; for instance,
a Sthanakavasi sadhu in Rajkot bit his guru and was excommunicated
in consequence. The Sthanakavasi laymen ordered a coat and trousers
to be made for him and forced him to abandon his sadhu dress and don
these. They then gave him a railway ticket to Than (a station about
forty-four miles distant) and sent him away. They told the writer that
they could do this because this cannibal bonne boitche had been enjoyed
in a native state ; they would have been afraid to act so sternly in
British territory. This sadhu repented most deeply and implored
forgiveness in Rajkot, but the laymen refused it. In other towns he
was, however, acknowledged as a sadhu, and he died wearing sadhu
dress.
P 2
212
THE JAINA LAYMAN AND
vii. Upa
bhoga
pari-
bhoga
pari-
mana.
no Jaina layman of any sect will acknowledge him as a
religious person or salute him.
The layman vows not to go beyond set limits, such as Ceylon
in the south, the Himalayas in the north, England in the west,
and China in the east. The vow can be broken in five ways :
by climbing too high; descending too low; going obliquely ;
increasing the limits fixed ; and forgetting these limits.
The second of the assistant vows, Upabhoga paribhoga
parimana, is intended to help people to keep their vows
against lying, covetousness and stealing, for it limits the
number of things a man may use.
This vow is taken in words somewhat as follows :
‘ I take a vow of indulging only to a certain fixed extent in things to
be enjoyed once and in things to be enjoyed from time to time, such
as towels, things for cleaning teeth, the anointing of oneself with oil or
such like, washing oneself with soap, bathing, clothing, besmearing
oneself with saffron, sandalwood, &c. ; decorating, incense-burning,
drink, eating of sweetmeats, of rice, pulse, nutritious things (milk,
butter, ghl and the like), vegetables, indulging in sweet drinks (such
as grape-juice, sugar-cane juice), ordinary meals, drinking-water, sleep-
ing on beds, [eating] raw things containing lives, and other miscellaneous
things. I have fixed certain limits in respect of the above twenty-six
things. In transgression of these limits I will never indulge in things
to be enjoyed once or from time to time with a view to seeking pleasure
therefrom. I will observe this vow as long as I live ; and I will not go
beyond the limit for personal enjoyment, in mind, speech or body.
As a layman, I must have knowledge of the five following Aticara,
and avoid acting according to them, and I repeat them in their usual
order : Eating things containing life ; eating things partially animate
and partially inanimate ; eating things having some remnants of life in
them (such as partially ripe fruit, the unripe part having life but not
the ripe part) ; eating highly spiced things ; eating things in which the
greater part has to be wasted (such as sugar-cane).
I, a layman, must have knowledge of the fifteen Aticara concerning
means of livelihood, and must avoid putting them in practice. I repeat
these in their usual order : Burning a kiln ; cutting jungles or getting
them cut ; making carts and selling them ; receiving rent of houses ;
digging the earth ; trading in ivory ; in hair (such as fly-whisks) ; in
liquid things ; selling poison ; dealing in sealing-wax ; owning a mill or
working with a machine ; mutilating or cutting the limbs of animals ;
HIS RELIGIOUS LIFE
213
burning jungles ; wasting the water of a pond, spring or lake ; taming
(dogs, cats, and such) obnoxious animals and selling them.’
In practice a man frequently agrees only to use twenty-
six things, viz. : a towel ; tooth-brush ; fruit ; soap ; water
for washing ; wearing apparel ; tilaka (mark on forehead) ;
flowers ; ornaments ; incense ; drinking- vessels (nowadays
these include tea-things) ; sweetmeats ; wheat and grain ;
peas ; ghl ; oil and milk ; vegetables ; dried fruit ; dinner ;
drinking-water ; pana, sopari, &c. ; conveyances, railway
trains, and horses ; boots ; beds, tables, chairs, &c. ; any-
thing unmentioned that turns out to be really necessary ;
anything that has no life. The grouping of this list is very
curious, and under the last two items considerable latitude
is allowed to creep in; it is only through these, for instance,
that any books are permitted.
In trying to keep this vow one must be on one’s guard
about both food and commerce : for with regard to food, one
might sin through eating unripe vegetables, or eating ripe
and unripe together, or partaking of food that needs a lot
of fire to cook it, or food like sugar-cane of which only
a small portion is eaten and the greater part has to be
thrown away ; of course onions, potatoes, and all roots,
being inhabited by more than one jlva, must never be eaten.
In the same way one vows to be very careful, in choosing
a profession, to avoid any business which involves the
taking of any life, however low in the scale. One should
therefore never be a blacksmith, a limeburner, or a potter,
or follow any other trade in which a furnace is used, for
in a fire many insect lives are destroyed ; wood-cutting
also often involves the accidental death of many minute
lives, so a Jaina should never cut down a forest; in
the same way he must never make a railway carriage, or
even an ordinary cart, for railway trains sometimes run
over people 1 and often run over animals and insects.
1 Especially in India where railway employees will go to sleep with
their heads on the rails !
214
THE JAINA LAYMAN AND
viii.
Anartha
danda
vrata.
One must never sell artificial manure (as it is sometimes
made of the bones of dead animals), or take any contracts for
building houses or sinking wells that involve much digging
(for one might dig an insect in two). One has to be very
much on one’s guard if one thinks of selling anything : one
must never sell ivory (for that might be made of elephants’
tusks), or butter or honey (the latter involving the destruc-
tion of bee life), or fur or hair (lest any jiva should have been
pained), or sealing-wax (for insects might be killed by it).
A Jaina may not sell opium or any poison (lest the buyer
should use it to take life), neither may he sell mills (for
machinery causes many insect deaths). He is very ham-
pered with regard to agriculture : he may not dig, burn
weeds in a field, drain water from land, wells, or tanks (lest
fish should die), or even rent land that has been drained by
some one else. All of these restrictions on trade and
agriculture have had the very doubtful benefit of forcing
Jaina more and more into the profession of money-lenders ;
but the last clause of the vow has certainly proved bene-
ficial, for it forbids slave-owning and the keeping of any
animal or woman for any cruel purpose, and is considered
so important that it is rehearsed every day.
The eighth vow, the Anartha danda , is designed to guard
against unnecessary evils. It runs :
‘ I take the vow called Anartha Danda Viramana, which has four
divisions : not to do the two evil meditations, not to be careless about
keeping or using weapons, not to persuade people to do evil.’
The vow contains four divisions : first, one promises
(. Apadhyana ) never to hope that evil may befall some one
else, or to think evil of any one ; next ( Pramada carya),
to be as careful as possible not to take life through careless-
ness, but to cover all oil, milk, or water in which a fly might
be drowned ; again, remembering the injuries that are
often accidentally inflicted through weapons, one promises
(. Hii'nsadana ) not only to keep as few actual weapons as
possible but also as few knives or other things that could
HIS RELIGIOUS LIFE
215
be used as weapons ; finally one promises ( Papopadesa )
never to use one’s influence for evil or to persuade any one
else to do so. In keeping this vow five special faults must
be guarded against, the vow being broken if one writes an
immoral book, sells evil medicines, or indulges in evil con-
versation ; if one takes part in buffoonery; indulges in vile
abuse ; leaves one’s guns lying about when loaded or in
any way is careless about them ; or lastly, if one thinks
too much about things to eat or drink.
The remaining four of the' layman’s twelve vows are
called Siksavrata , and they are all intended to encourage
the laity in the performance of their religious duties.
The ninth vow is taken in the following words :
‘ I take the ninth, Samayika, Vow which teaches me to avoid all evil
actions. I will sit in meditation for forty-eight [minutes], ninety-six, or
whatever period I may have previously fixed upon. Whilst I am sitting
in meditation I will not commit, or cause any one to commit, any sin
in the space of the whole world by mind, speech, or body.’
A man hereby promises to perform Samayika, i. e. to
spend at least forty-eight minutes everyday in meditation,
thinking no evil of any one, but being at peace with all the
world, to meditate on what heights one’s soul may reach.
One may observe as many periods of forty-eight minutes as
possible (e. g. ninety-six minutes or one hundred and forty-
four), but forty-eight minutes is the least unbroken period
one may spend. A Jaina should engage in Samayika every
morning, afternoon and evening, but of these the morning
Samayika is considered the most important. Whilst doing
it, one must neither sin oneself, nor cause any one else to sin,
but, sitting with one’s legs crossed, one should fix one’s gaze
on the tip of one’s own nose. (Nowadays, however, Jaina
quite often just sit or stand comfortably whilst they are doing
it.) The usual place for Samayika is the temple or the
Apasaro (there used to be an Apasaro in every man’s house).
If an idol be there, they kneel in front of it, and if a guru be
present, kneel before him and ask his permission. Three
The four
Siksavra-
ta.
ix. Sama-
yika.
21 6
THE JAINA LAYMAN AND
x.
Desava-
kasika
vrata.
times they kneel ( pancanga ) in front of idol or guru, and
three times also they perform avartana, i. e. make a circle
before their faces from the right ear round to the left ear,
holding a mouth-cloth or other piece of material in front
of their mouths, and repeat the Tikkhutto, which may be
translated :
‘ Making avartana from the right ear to the left three times, I salute
and bow, and I worship and adore you ; you are a guru [or a god], you
are auspicious, you do good, you are full of knowledge, so I serve you.’
If no image and no guru be there, the Jaina kneel towards
the north-east (in which direction they believe the country
of Mahavideha, where certain Tirthankara live, to be
situated) and then ask permission of the first of these, the
Slmandhara,1 before repeating the Tikkhutto. During
the forty-eight minutes they not only meditate but also
read the scriptures, and at the end of the forty-eight minutes
they repeat the particular patha for closing Samayika which
refers to five special faults which may be committed during
meditation, namely; failing to control thoughts; mind;
actions ; failing to observe the fixed time ; and not repeat-
ing the patha correctly.
The tenth vow, Desavakasika vrata, which resembles two
that we have already discussed, is taken in the following
words :
‘ I take the tenth vow called Desavakasika. I will not go beyond
the limit fixed by me in any of the four directions in mind or body,
and will not open any of the five asrava [channels] for sin. In the
limit that I have fixed I will not enjoy any of the things which I have
vowed not to enjoy. I will not transgress nor cause others to transgress
it by mind, speech, or body; and I will not enjoy such things in mind,
speech, or body for one day and night.’
In taking this vow a man promises for one particular day
to still further contract the limits he has undertaken not
to transgress, and he may bind himself during that day
1 Slmandhara was the earliest Tfrthankara from the land of Maha-
videha, just as Risabhadeva was the first in Bharata ( India).
HIS RELIGIOUS LIFE 217
never to go outside the Apasaro or the village, and only to
have one meal, or to drink nothing but water. At the
same time he promises that he will spend longer in medita-
tion. He must guard against infringing the vow by extend-
ing the number of things used ; borrowing some one else’s
things ; sending a servant to fetch things or asking some
one he meets in the road to do so ; or by making signs
and so asking even without words ; or by throwing stones
to attract people’s attention and then getting them to
fetch it.
We have seen how Mahavira realized the importance of
connecting the laity closely with the ascetics, and how this
close connexion saved Jainism when Buddhism was swept
out of India. The eleventh vow, Posadha vrata, is one of
the links that bind the two sections of the Jaina com-
munity together, for the taking of it compels a layman to
spend some of his time as a monk. He promises that for
twenty-four hours he will touch neither food, water, fruit,
betel-nut, ornaments, scents, nor any sort of weapon, and
will commit no sort of sin, but observe celibacy. He
further promises that by day he will only wear three cloths
(a cloth over his legs, one over his body, and a mouth-cloth),
and that at night he will use two cloths only (one spread
above him and one below him).
Devout laymen usually perform Posadha four times a
month, but those who hope eventually to become sadhus
observe it six times a month at least.
The Digambara keep this vow more strictly than any
other Jaina, for they begin to observe it the night before
the twenty-four hours fixed (i. e. they keep it for two nights
and the intervening day), and during all that time they
never even touch water. Neither do they go to an Apasaro,
but choosing some lonely place they read the scriptures and
meditate there.
The other Jaina go to their Apasaro, read the scriptures,
sing the praises of the Tlrthaiikara, and ask questions of
xi.
Posadha
vrata.
xii. Atithi
samvi-
bhaga
vrata.
218 THE JAINA LAYMAN AND
their sadhus — in fact, as a Jaina friend said to the writer,
‘ We use the time to cram the points of our religion
In keeping this vow there are five faults which must
be avoided : neglecting to search the clothes for vermin ;
failing to remove it carefully out of harm’s way when
found ; any other carelessness which may result in injuring
insect life ; not fasting as one has vowed ; and allowing
oneself to sleep in the day instead of meditating. The
keeping of this Posadha vow is considered one of the highest
of religious duties, and at the solemn yearly fast of Pajju-
sana even careless people keep it most strictly. As a rule
it is more scrupulously observed by women than by men.
The following is a literal translation of the actual words
used when this vow is taken :
‘ I take the eleventh vow called Posadha, in which I promise to
abstain for twenty-four hours from food, drink, fruits, soparl, sex enjoy-
ment, from wearing ornaments (gold, silver, or diamond), from wear-
ing a garland or anointing my body. I will not use weapons, or a
heavy club, or any destructive missile. This I will observe for twenty-
four hours and will not infringe it myself, nor cause others to infringe
it, in mind, body, or speech.’
The twelfth vow, or Atithi samvibhaga vrata, which the
Digambara call the V aiya vrata, runs as follows :
‘ I take the twelfth vow, the Atithi samvibhaga vrata, by which
I promise to give to Sramana or Nirgrantha any of the fourteen things
which they can accept without blame, namely : food, drink, fruits,
soparl,1 clothes, pots, blankets, towels, and things which can be lent
and returned, such as seats, benches, beds, quilts, &c., and medicine.’
The purpose of this vow is to encourage the laity to
support the ascetic community, on whom they bestow in
alms food, water, clothing, pots, blankets, and towels for the
feet, and also lend them beds, tables and other furniture.
They must never give a sadhu unboiled water, bread hot
from the fire, bread on which green vegetables have rested,
or anything that has gone bad. Neither must they call
1 Monks may not take betel-nut whole, but may take it chopped.
HIS RELIGIOUS LIFE
219
a servant and tell him to give the alms to an ascetic, but
they must get up and give them themselves, and must give
without conceit.
The sadhu on his part must never send notice beforehand
of his coming, for a layman must alwaysbe prepared to give;
neither will most Jaina laymen (except members of the Tapa-
gaccha sect) invite an ascetic to their house, as this is thought
by them to be forbidden in their scriptures; but they will
invite a layman who has just completed Posadha to dine,1
since feeding such brings punya to the host if done with
that intention ; if, however, he gives the invitation simply
thinking it to be his duty to do so, he will obtain nirjara.
That some benefit is always obtained by giving alms, the
following legend shows. Once upon a time in the state of
Raj agriha there was a poor lad, so poor that he rarely
tasted rich food ; but once as a great treat his mother
prepared a dish magnificently formed of rice and milk
and sugar ! Just at that moment a sadhu came by, and
the model youth passed on the tempting dish to him. As
a reward the pleasing lad was born in his next incarnation
as the son of a rich merchant, and, determining to become
equal to a king, he became a sadhu, and in his next birth
will proceed to moksa.
When a Jaina, proceeding on the upward path, has reached How a
the fifth step2 in the Cauda Gunasthanaka, he necessarily J^'esThe
desires to take the twelve vows, and accordingly goes to twelve
the Apasaro and tells a guru of his wish. The guru reads vows>
out the vows and gives him an instruction on each one and
its infringement similar to the foregoing notes on the vows.
The layman assents to the instruction and fixes the limits of
the distance he will travel, the amount of money he will
1 A friend of the writer’s recently invited a Khoja who had become
a Jaina to dine with him, after he had performed his Posadha vow.
She was told that such a convert could be invited to dine with the
sahgha but not with the nata, i. e. he was asked to their religious feasts
(though even there he had to sit separately) but not to their caste dinners.
2 See p. 187.
220
THE JAINA LAYMAN AND
The ad-
vantage
of the
vows.
Santharo.
allow himself to use, &c. These limits he writes down in his
note-book, and at the great yearly confession, Samvatsari,
he goes to any guru who happens to be present, confesses
any infraction of the vows and accepts the penance given.
Besides this, every day of the year when he performs Padika-
manum he privately confesses his transgressions against
the vows. Every day also both morning and evening the
layman repeats the vows. The period for which they are
taken varies : some Jaina promise to observe them as long
as they live, others fix a certain period, consisting very
frequently of two years, and at the expiry of that time take
them afresh if they feel inclined.
The Jaina believe that great advantages flow from keep-
ing the vows : physically, since the moderation they enjoin
keeps the body in training and health; and morally, because
they free the soul from love or enmity, and ultimately lead
it to moksa. A layman who keeps all these twelve vows is
called a Desavratl, or one who keeps the vows in part ;
a sadhu, who as we shall see keeps them in a more stringent
form, is called a Sarvavratl , one who keeps all the vows.
When a layman realizes that he is growing old and that
his body is becoming very frail, he spends more and more
time in the Apasaro and tries to use fewer and fewer things,
and daily after Padikamanum repeats the old-age vow or
Santharo Patha, which contains the promise of dying by
voluntary starvation. He does not vow not to take food,
however, until he feels that death is approaching.
Before repeating the words, he should seat himself cross-
legged on a stool of darbha grass, with his face turned to the
north-east, and folding his hands he should encircle his face
with them ( avartana ) and say as follows : ‘ I bow to all the
adorable Arihanta who have attained to the highest state.’
He then repeats all the twelve vows, and determining to
keep himself free from all sin, particularly hirhsa (against
which he takes a special vow), he promises never to lie,
thieve, &c., as long as he lives.
HIS RELIGIOUS LIFE
221
‘ 1 will be from henceforth till death quite indifferent about this my
body which once was dear and beautiful to me. It was like a jewel-case
which I carefully protected from cold, heat, hunger, thirst, serpent-bite,
the attack of thieves, insects, diseases such as cough and high fever.’
Then he should meditate on the five Aticara which would
infringe the vow and should strive to avoid them : that is
to say, he should not wish to be a king or a rich merchant
or a deity in his next life ; he should not wish for long life ;
nor, being weary with the dreadful hardship of Santharo,
must he desire immediate death. He must then quietly
wait for death, longing for moksa, but not for any ameliora-
tion of his present state.
Every Jaina hopes to make a Samadhi death, i. e. to die
by self-immolation. It is true that near relatives, standing
by the death-bed of a younger man, will often not permit
him to give up all hope of life and decline to take food, but
if an old man is evidently dying, and if he wishes it, he
repeats the Santharo Patha, and, before promising indiffer-
ence to his body, he says :
‘ I take a vow to abstain from food and drink and fruits and sopari
as long as I live.’
The same words are also used when this terrible vow is
taken voluntarily in good health by ascetics who wish to
reach the highest point of holiness.1 After his death a man
who has done Santharo is called Samadhistha and held in the
highest honour, and while he is suffering the dreadful pangs
of thirst before his death, his relatives and friends encourage
him to carry out his resolve by every means in their power.
The Eleven Pratima.2
We have already noticed that the Jaina aim seems to be
to close as many as possible of the channels which love and
1 The Jaina consulted by the writer do not agree with those who
say that Santharo is only performed after twelve years of austerities,
declaring that there is no time fixed before which Santharo may not be
performed. 2 Or Padima.
222
THE JAINA LAYMAN AND
i. Dar-
sana
pratima.
ii. Vrata
pratima.
iii. Sama-
yika
pratima.
iv. Posa-
dhopa-
vasa
pratima.
v. Sacitta-
parihara
pratima.
affection open, and through which suffering might enter
our lives, and to abstain from action, lest karma should be
acquired with all its penalties.
The twelve vows were shaped in accordance with the fixed
idea of all who hold the doctrine of karma that, though it is
well to do good, it is better to do nothing ; their aim is also
to bridge over the gap between the lay and the ascetic
life. The eleven Pratima bring the approach still closer.
A layman who is desirous of reaching a higher stage
in the upward path, or Cauda Gunasthanaka, than that
attained by keeping the twelve vows will also keep the
eleven Pratima, which lead him gently on towards the
point when he will be able to take the five great vows of
the ascetic.
By the first, or Darsana pratima, a layman undertakes
to worship the true deva (i.e. a Tirthankara), to reverence
a true guru, and to believe in the true dharma (i. e. Jainism).
He also promises to avoid the seven bad deeds which are
mentioned in a well-known Sanskrit sloka that may be
translated thus :
‘ Gambling, eating meat, wine-bibbing, adultery, hunting, thieving,
debauchery — these seven things in this world lead to the worst of
hells.’
He next promises to keep each of the twelve vows {Vrata) ;
and when death comes, to receive it in absolute peace, and
that he will perform Santharo. (This, the perfect death,
is called Samadhi Marana.)
He goes on to vow that he will engage in Samayika
at least three times every day.
He also vows that he will observe Posadha at least six
times a month (i.e. on the two eighth and the two four-
teenth days of the moon, and also on the full-moon night
and one dark night).
Again, with the object of never even taking vegetable
life, the layman promises ( Sacittaparihara pratima) to avoid
all uncooked vegetables, or cooked vegetables mixed with
HIS RELIGIOUS LIFE 223
uncooked, never to break a mango from a tree, and only to
eat it if some one else has taken out the stone.
Lest in the darkness he might unwittingly devour some vi. Nisi-
insect he promises ( Nisibhojanatyaga pratima ) never to eat J^'ana~
between sunset and sunrise, or to sip water before daylight, pratima.
If a guest arrives during the night, the layman may prepare
a bed for him, but never offer him food, lest he cause his
guest to sin.
Getting nearer to the ascetic ideal, the layman next vii. Brah-
promises ( Brahmacarya pratima) to keep away from the
society of his own wife, and never in any way to scent or
adorn his body, lest he should cause his wife to love him.
As the layman is now steadily mounting the steps, he viii.
must be very careful never to begin anything that might ^atyicra
entangle him in such worldly pursuits as involve the de- pratimf.
struction of life. So he undertakes ( Arambhatydga pratima )
never even to begin to build a house or take up a trade
(like a blacksmith’s) which entails the taking of life.
He must also use his remaining days in the world as a ix. Pari-
sort of novitiate ; and first he must be careful not to have
tyaga
any attachment for his worldly possessions ( P arigrahatyaga pratima.
pratima), and to avoid it he should divide his property,
for instance money or grain, amongst his children, or give
it away in charity. He must also prepare for the hardships
he will have to face by never allowing his servants (if he
has any) to work for him, but should always wait on him-
self and only allow the servants to wait on his children.
Having made this resolution, he should endeavour in every
way to lead a quiet unambitious life.
The next resolution ( Anumatityaga pratima x) shows a x.
further step taken towards a sadhu’s life, for the erstwhile ^gg™at'*
layman promises to keep the sadhu rule of never allowing pratima.
any special cooking to be done for him, and only to take
what is over when others have dined, and, if none remains,
just to fast. He also vows that he will never give advice
1 Or, according to the Digambara Jaina, Anumodanavrata pratima.
224
THE JAINA LAYMAN
xi. Ud-
dhista
pratima.
The
twenty-
one quali-
ties of the
ideal
gentle-
man.
in any worldly or household matter, but will keep his mind
free from all thoughts about such things.
When he has taken the last ( Uddhista or Sramanabhuta )
pratima, he is practically a monk, for he has promised to
wear a sadhu’s dress, to remain apart in some religious
building (when the Digambara call him a Ksullaka Sra-
vaka) or in the jungle (when they name him an Ailaka
Sravaka), and to act according to the rules laid down in
the scriptures for sadhus to follow.
As a layman endeavours to attain to this exalted stage,
he will strive to develop those twenty-one qualities which
distinguish the Jaina gentleman. He will always be serious
in demeanour; clean as regards both his clothes and his
person ; good-tempered ; striving after popularity ; mer-
ciful ; afraid of sinning ; straightforward ; wise ; modest ;
kind ; moderate ; gentle ; careful in speech ; sociable ;
cautious ; studious ; reverent both to old age and old
customs ; humble ; grateful ; benevolent ; and, finally,
attentive to business.
Only the very best of men ever possess the full com-
plement of the whole twenty-one virtues, but ordinary
mortals strive to possess at least ten.
CHAPTER XI
THE JAINA ASCETIC
The layman has now reached the summit of his ambi-
tion, and is prepared to take those five celebrated vows
which Mahavira himself laid down as the only entrance
through which a man can pass to the ascetic state.
As one reads the biographies of the great Jaina saints,
or even studies the lengthy route we have just been follow-
ing, one can see that, though the Jaina did not insist on
their candidates taking a long training like that of the
Vedic schools, they nevertheless did not intend their
monks to be the ignorant, ill-prepared and undisciplined
men they often are at present. The Jaina openly wish
that they could insist on a thorough preparation for their
sadhus such as is customary for the Christian ministry.
The Life Story of an Ascetic.
The life story of an ascetic may be said to begin with
his initiation or Diksa, and the writer is indebted to a
Svetambara monk for the following account of a Jaina call
and ordination.
The man in question had heard a famous sadhu preach
on the transitoriness of life and happiness and the supe-
riority of the religious over the lay life, and had thereupon
followed the preacher for a year as his disciple, and at the
completion of twelve months received initiation.
A great procession was formed and he was led through
the town to a banyan tree (an asoka tree would also have
served). There a pujarl (officiating priest) had arranged
a small three-tiered platform with an image of one of
the Tirthaiikara at the top. A Jaina layman began the
Q
Initia-
tion.
226
THE JAINA ASCETIC
proceedings by performing the ordinary daily worship, and
then the candidate took off his jewels and his clothes, and
giving them away to his relatives, put on a sadhu’s dress.
An ascetic can only retain five garments (three upper and
two lower ones), the colours of which vary according to his
sect, a Svetambara wearing yellow, or white with yellow over
it, and a SthanakavasI white. ADigambara ascetic, however,
may wear no clothing at all, and such are accordingly to be
found only in jungles or desert places outside British states.
In Bhopal my informant met a man claiming to be a Digam-
bara sadhu, but because he wore a loin-cloth, the laymen
of his community refused to recognize him as such, and
drove him away.
The next step in the initiation is the removal of the hair.
A peculiarity of the Jaina cult is that they insist on ascetics
tearing the hair out by the roots at least once a year; but
when at his initiation a man’s hair is removed for the first
time, the merciful method of shaving is resorted to, and
only a few hairs are left to be pulled out ; these are plucked
off behind a curtain in private. After this a mixture
called Vasaksepa is applied to the man’s head, and this is
the crucial point in the initiation, for until this is applied
he is not a sadhu. Whilst the mixture is being put on,
a sadhu whispers a sacred mantra in his ear. The newly
made sadhu then performs the morning worship, and
devout laymen feast the ascetics who are present.
If the ascetic were a Digambara, he would take an entirely
new name ; if a Svetambara, he might either change his
name or add a new one to his old one ; but a SthanakavasI
retains his original name intact.
He is now to be a homeless wanderer, possessing nothing
and dependent for his very subsistence on the alms of the
charitable. He may possess no metal of any sort : even
a needle, if borrowed, must be returned at sunset, and his
spectacles, if he wear them, should be framed in wood. A
man was once pointed out tothewriter at Palitana as a sadhu
THE JAINA ASCETIC
227
who, however, was wearing gold-rimmed spectacles ; and
when she asked for an explanation, the bystanders all turned
and jeered at the discomfited ascetic, declaring, much to
his chagrin, that since he had infringed this law, he had no
claim to be accounted a monk at all. Constant evasions
of the rules against non-possession, however, do take place,
to the great indignation of the laity, some monks, as we
have seen, even retaining their property on their persons
in the shape of bank-notes, thus keeping the letter and
breaking the spirit of the law.
The ascetic may have some pieces of cloth to strain away
any insects from the water he will drink, and also some
wooden jugs or some gourds in which to keep his drinking-
water, but no brass vessels. All monks also possess a piece
of cloth to wear over their mouths, not, as has been usually
thought, to prevent them injuring the minute insects in
the air, but to guard against hurting the air itself.1 The
less strict Svetambara only keep this mouth-cloth in their
hands, but the SthanakavasI always wear it night and day ;
and the writer found that it always pleased ascetics if
she covered her lips with a handkerchief when speaking
with them or when in the presence of any of their sacred
objects.
Every Svetambara monk also carries with him five
shells ; these must be spiral and must turn to the right ;
shells turning to the left are useless. The shells are con-
secrated at the time of the Divall festival.
All ascetics have to guard most scrupulously against the
taking of any insect life, so all three sects furnish their
monks with something with which they may sweep insects
from their path. Amongst the SthanakavasI, who are the
most punctilious of all the Jaina, the monks have a long-
handled brush ; the Svetambara ascetics use a smaller
brush ; and the Digambara a peacock’s feather.
We shall later study the five great vows that guide an
1 See p. 100.
Q2
228
THE JAINA ASCETIC
Daily
duties.
ascetic, and we have already learnt something of his philo-
sophy and his belief in austerity, but it may be of interest
here to record the actual daily life of a Svetambara ascetic,
as one of their number described it to the writer.
They are supposed to rise about four o’clock, summer and
winter, and perform Rayasl Padikamanuih, in which in
a set form of Magadhi words each monk confesses the sins
of the past night, and especially the taking of any life
and any injury he may have inflicted on any sacred thing,
or any of the earth, water, fire, air, or vegetable bodies.
It is at this time that the laity perform their meditation
or samayika, but in many of the Svetambara sects a sadhu
performs samayika at the time of his initiation and never
again.
After padikamanum he engages in a search for any insect
life that may be sheltering in his clothing. This search,
which is called Palevana, is carried out as a religious duty,
and any insect found is carefully removed to a place of
safety.
The sadhu neither bathes nor cleanses his teeth ; he does
these things before his initiation for the last time in his
life, but now, without waiting for either, he leaves the
monastery and goes to the temple to perform Darsana.
Unlike a layman, he dons no special clothes at the temple
gates, but worships in his ordinary ones. When he enters
the temple, he stands in front of the idol and bows down to
it, and then performs a mental exercise known as Bhavapuja ,
during which he meditates on the undoing of karma, the
qualities of a Tirthankara, and similar subjects. He now
performs Pradaksina , circumambulating the shrine either
four or seven times. If he do it four times, he meditates
on the four gati, namely, whether he will be born as a god,
a man, an animal, or a denizen of hell; if he walks round
seven times, he thinks how he can best escape dwelling in
any of the seven hells.
An ascetic can neither cleanse the idol ( ja/a piijd ), nor
THE JAINA ASCETIC
229
mark it with saffron ( candana puja), nor offer flowers
( puspa puja), nor wave incense before it ( dhupa puja), nor
wave a lamp ( dlpa puja), nor offer rice (aksata puja), nor
sweetmeats ( naivedya puja), nor fruit (pha/a puja)] neither
can he mark his own forehead, as a layman would, with a
cdndalo (auspicious mark) ; but his worship seems to be
almost entirely mental and ‘interior’, and sometimes in-
cludes acts of worship known as Khamasamana , Caitya-
vandana and Javanticayanaih. He also usually sings
some hymn in praise of the qualities of the Arihanta, and
then joining his hands repeats a mantra. After meditating
in a particular posture ( Kausagga ), he tells his beads, mak-
ing salutations to ‘ the Five ’ ( Arihanta , Siddha, Acarya,
U padhyaya and Sadhu), and to Knowledge, Faith, Character
and Austerity. When he has done this and said the
Avasahi, which allows him to enter his worldly affairs again,
he feels that Bhava puja is complete ; with its different
parts and their variations it generally lasts about an hour.
After completing his Bhava puja the ascetic goes back
to the monastery and either preaches or reads one of the
scriptures.
About ten o’clock in the morning one of the monks goes Beg
out on a begging round ; as a rule one begs for the whole
monastery, whilst the other monks study. Curiously
enough the English fashion of tea-drinking has spread so
much in India that even monks now indulge in an early
cup of tea; and the writer’s informant told her that he used
not to wait till ten o’clock, but about an hour after sunrise
he always went on a preliminary round, and, begging tea
and milk for his guru and the other monks, took it back
to the monastery. According to their scriptures, ascetics
are only supposed to beg once a day, but as a matter of
fact they often do so three or four times a day. When
the monk goes out at ten, he expects to receive gifts of
rice and split peas, bread, vegetables, curry, sweets, and
dudhapaka (a kind of milk pudding).
230
THE JAINA ASCETIC
There are innumerable rules that should be observed
when begging, with regard to which all the sects and sub-
sects differ. A yellow-robed Svetambara sadhu will only
accept food from Jaina, and would refuse alms from Brah-
mans, Ksatriya, and even from Vaisnava and Mesarl Baniya;
on the other hand, the white-clad Svetambara sadhu will
take food from Brahmans and Ksatriya, and in Marwar
they will even accept it from a Hajama (barber), with whom
a high-caste Hindu will not eat.
My informant told me that he was most careful to go
only to houses in which the door was standing open, and
that he always repeated the formula : Dharma Labha.
He was not nearly as particular as the Sthanakavasi
about the boiled water he took : for whereas they would
only accept water which has beer, boiled not more than four
hours previously, lest new life should have been formed in
it, this Svetambara sadhu told the writer that he generally
begged enough boiled water in the morning to last the
whole day, and that it was only in the rainy season he was
particular to keep the water for a shorter time. They are
very particular, however, not to take vegetable life ; and if
on the steps of a house they see a green leaf or a vegetable
lying they refuse to pass over it, turn aside and go to
another house. In the same way, if they see the woman
of the house cleaning rice or wheat, they will not take it,
but will only accept rice or grain cleaned before they came
on the scene. If a mother is nursing her baby and offers
to leave it to go and get food for them, they refuse, lest
they should be guilty of making the child cry.
All sects agree in only taking what they may reasonably
consider to be food left over after the needs of the household
have been satisfied ; none will take things specially prepared
for them. They never sit in a layman’s house, but take
the gift back to the monastery, and after showing it to the
Head, divide it with the other monks. They will not
receive food if it is taken specially to the monastery for
231
THE JAINA ASCETIC
them ; but a Svetambara will accept an invitation to go
and fetch food from a layman’s house, a thing which a
SthanakavasI will never do.
With regard to clothes, the rule is the same : the monk
may not ask for clothes, may not accept them if taken to
the monastery specially for him, and may only receive
them if the householder, as he gives them, explains that
he has no longer any need of them.
These rules were clearly drawn up to prevent the order
becoming too great a tax on th-e charitable ; but, despite all
this care, the numberless ‘ holy men ’ in India are a most
unfair burden on the earnings of the industrious.
The begging round is finished about eleven, but before Confes-
breakfasting the ascetic makes auricular confession SIon'
(Aloyana) to his guru and has a penance appointed.
The monks breakfast as near eleven as possible, for they
may not warm up the food, and so eat it as quickly as
they can.
From twelve to one they may not study ; this hour is Kaja.
called Kala, and to study during it would be a sin.
From one to three they ought to study, and the laity are Study,
so anxious that they shall, that devout Jaina often pay a
pandit to instruct the monks in Sanskrit or MagadhI, but
they complain most bitterly of the monks’ aversion to
intellectual labour.
In the early afternoon, from about three to four, they
again perform palevana, searching their clothing for insects.
About half-past four they go out to beg, and after coming
in, make confession just as they did in the morning. They
dine from five to six on their gleanings from the charitable,
generally, as at breakfast, on rice and peas, bread, vege-
tables, curry and sweets ; this meal they must finish before
sunset, and during the night they may not even drink water.
They may not leave the monastery after dark, but they
perform their evening Padikamanurh there for about an
hour. As no light can be brought into the monastery,
232
THE JAINA ASCETIC
their day closes about nine o’clock, when they perform
Santhara Porasi, spending about an hour asking the pro-
tection of Arihanta, Siddha, Kevali, and Sadhu.
Nuns.
Female ascetics (sadhvi) are held in the greatest reverence
by the Jaina, and their lives follow much the same lines as
those of the male ascetics. They always wander about in
twos or threes and have of course their own Apasara. At
their initiation their hair is shaved and pulled out just like
a monk’s, and the mantra is whispered to them by a sadhvi
instead of a sadhu.
They choose the head of their Apasaro generally for
learning ; if she be strong enough, she wanders homeless
just like the other nuns, but if old and feeble, she is allowed
to continue to live in the same nunnery without change.
A nun’s day much resembles that of a monk. The
stricter ones will only beg once, eat once, and sleep for a few
hours in the twenty-four ; but these more rigid rules are
falling into abeyance, and the nuns the writer has met
confess that they do not now rise as they should after a
few hours sleep to meditate twice in the night.
The funeral of a nun 1 is carried out with the greatest
pomp, and during it childless women strive to tear a piece
from the dead sadhvi’s dress, believing it will ensure their
having children, whilst men anxiously endeavour to acquire
merit by carrying the palanquin in which the corpse,
covered with a rich cloth, is borne, boys from the Jaina
school acting as a guard of honour.
In all the neighbouring towns also, directly the telegram
announcing the nun’s death is received, a crier would be
sent out to tell the news and to ask the Jaina to observe
Amara, i. e. not to grind or pound grain or do anything
1 A full description of a nun’s funeral is given in the writer’s Notes
on Modern Jainism , Blackwell, 1910, pp. 28 ff.
THE JAINA ASCETIC
233
that might involve the destruction of life. All the Jaina
who know the Logassa, or praise of the twenty-four Tlrthaii-
kara, would repeat it four times, sitting in the Kausagga
position, either in their own houses or in the Apasara, and
all the Jaina schools would be closed.
A pathetic case recently occurred in Kathiawad, when
a wealthy old Jaina lady and her husband became ascetics.
Their initiation was celebrated with great pomp ; but of
course the lady suffered most severely by being suddenly
deprived of all luxury and comfort ; and even when she
was ill with fever, it was not possible for her husband to
see her, as the two might never meet.
Gorajl.
Amongst the sadhus we have not included the Gorajl or
Yati, because the orthodox Jaina do not hold them to be
sadhus at all. They are considered to be a fallen class of
monks, for they take money, go about in palanquins, and
keep watchmen and guards. They exact a tax from their
followers of five rupees and upwards, which they annually
go out to collect, returning again to their own monastery.
Their spiritual heads are called Sripujya, and are to be
found in Bombay, Baroda, Mandvl, Mangrol, Jaisalmer,
and many other towns. The Gorajl, in fact, much resemble
the Sankaracarya or Vaisnava Acarya ; and orthodox
Jaina say they prove the wisdom of Mahavlra’s insistence
on constant change of abode, for they have not a high
reputation for morality, and strict Jaina will not give them
any money or go to their Apasara, though ignorant Jaina
sometimes contribute through fear of their power to harm,
since the Gorajl claim to know many mantra.
234
THE JAINA ASCETIC
i. Ahim-
sa.
The Five Great Vows of Ascetics.
We may now examine the famous five vows taken by
all ascetics. They resemble the first five of the layman’s
twelve vows, and this accordance bears witness to the fact
that these are the five points in the Jaina religion which are
to be regarded as of supreme importance.
The first vow the Jaina monk takes is that he will never
destroy any living thing. This is also the first vow that
both Buddhist and Brahman monks take, and it was the
resemblance between the vows that led people for so long
to deny the early origin of Jainism.1
The Jaina ascetic takes a vow of Non-killing ( Ahimsa ),
which is described as follows :
‘Not to destroy life, either five-, four-, three-, or two-sensed, or im-
movable (i. e. one-sensed), even through carelessness, is considered as
keeping the vow of non-killing.’ 2
There are five buttressing clauses ( Paitca Bhavana ), the
remembrance of which assists a sadhu to keep this vow.
First ( Irya samiti or samai), a monk must be careful never
to run the risk of breaking the vow in walking : for instance
he must walk by trodden paths, in which the presence of any
insect could be detected. He must also ( Bhasa samiti or
Vatiih parijanai), be watchful in his speech and always speak
in gentle, kindly ways, such as could never give rise to
quarrels or murders. If he were not careful as to the alms
he received ( Esana samiti or Aloi pana bhoyana), he might
infringe some of the forty-two rules as to receiving alms,
e.g. by accepting food containing living insects. When
a monk receives or keeps anything that is necessary
for religious duties, he must see ( Adananiksepana samiti
1 The whole question has been authoritatively discussed by Dr. Jacobi,
N. B. E., xxii, pp. xix ff.
2 The words resemble those of the layman’s vows with the addition
of ‘ Ekendriya ’.
THE JAINA ASCETIC
235
or Aydnabhanda nikhevana) , that it has no insect life on it.
And at night, when putting away all that remains over
from the food he has begged, he must deposit it and any
other refuse so carefully, that no insect life is injured
(Pratisthapana samiti or Parithapanika samai).1
The following sloka sums up these five clauses :
‘ A man should respect the vow of Ahimsa by exercising self-control,
examining things taken, always maintaining the Five Samiti, and by
inspecting things before he eats or drinks, and before he receives
them.’
The Jaina monk further takes a vow against untruthful- ii. Asat-
ness ( Asatya tyaga ) which is defined in the following words : tyaga‘
‘Undertaking to speak what is pleasant, wholesome and true is
called the vow of truthfulness. Truth is untruth if it is not pleasant
and wholesome.’
The five bhavana, or strengthening clauses, to this vow
supply a remarkable psychological analysis of the causes
which lead to untruthfulness. The first [Anubimabhasi)
condemns speech without deliberation ; then, as wrath
often leads to falsehood, monks must never speak when
angry ( Kohain parijanai) ; nor for a similar reason when
moved by avarice (Lohath parijanai) ; nor by fear ( Bhayain
parijanai) ; finally, they promise never to tell a falsehood
for fun, or from the desire to return a smart repartee.
( Hasain parijanai).
A Sanskrit sloka which sums up these clauses may be
translated as follows :
‘ One should respect the vow of truthfulness by always avoiding
jesting, greed, cowardice and anger, and by thinking before speaking.’
The third vow, that of non-stealing ( Asteya vrata ), is iii.Asteya
defined as follows : vrata.
‘The vow of non-stealing consists in not taking what is not given ;
wealth is the outward life of man, and if that is taken away the man is
undone.’
1 Some Jaina substitute for this the duty of searching mind, thought
and intention (M anaparijanai) .
iv. Brah'
macarya
vrata.
236 THE JAINA ASCETIC
The five bhavana are as follows : First, a monk must ask
permission of the owner before he occupy any one’s house
[Miugaha jati). Then a junior monk must never use any
food without showing what he has received in alms to
his guru, and receiving his permission to eat it ( Anuna
vihapana bhoyane). Again, a monk must not be content
to ask permission only once from the owner to use a house,
but he must frequently ask if he may occupy it, and also
ask how much of it he may use, and for how long a time
( Uggaham siuggahitcuhsl) . He must not use any furniture,
such as beds or seats, that may be in the house, without the
owner’s permission ( Uggahani vauggahimsa abhlkhanani) .
Lastly, if a sadhu arrives after another sadhu has already
obtained permission to use the house, the second arrival
must ask the first sadhu to go again and get permission for
him also ; and if the second sadhu arrives ill, the first
must willingly give him all the room he needs ( Anuvii
mitoggaha jati).
The following sloka describes these clauses :
‘ One should ask for a place of residence after reflection, and renew
the request every day : “ I only need so much of it.” Thus speaking,
one should renew his petition. With people of one’s own rank one
should ask in the same way. One should gain permission before eating
or drinking. In these ways the vow of non-stealing is respected.’
The monks, as their fourth promise, take the vow of
chastity ( Brahmacarya ), and the Sthanakavasi monks in
Kathiawad every night and morning repeat the following
words :
‘ The vow of chastity is eighteen-fold. One should have no dealings
with gods, human beings or animals of the opposite sex, should not
encourage them, or cause others to do so, by speech, thought or deed.’
This vow also has its five strengthening or protective
clauses. To prevent any approach to transgressions of the
main vow, monks should not talk about a woman ( Abhi -
khanam itthinain kahain kaha itame) ; or look at the form of
a woman ( Manoharai indiyai aloetae ) ; or even recall the
THE JAINA ASCETIC
237
former amusement and pleasure women afforded them
when they lived in the world ( Itthlnam puvarayaim puva-
kiliyai sumaritae) ; they must not, for similar reasons, eat
or drink 1 to excess, or partake of too highly spiced dishes
(N atimapana bhoyana bhoi ) ; nor must they live in the
same building as a woman, a female animal, or a eunuch
(Itthi pasu pandaga samsatai say ana sanaii'11 sevitae).
All these rules mutatis mutandis apply to nuns.
The sloka that sums up the whole vow and its clauses
runs thus :
‘ The vow of chastity is maintained by not sitting on seats previously
occupied by women, female animals or eunuchs, and by not living in
their vicinity, not participating in exciting conversation about women,
not remembering former delights, not looking at a woman’s form, not
decorating one’s own person, not eating or drinking to excess, or par-
taking of too highly seasoned food.’
This Jaina vow seems limited to negative chastity, which
shudderingly avoids its fellow creatures, lest they should
prove occasions of stumbling, and it appears ignorant of the
sunlit purity that so delights in its walk with God on the
open road of life, that it cannot be bored with nastiness.
The last great vow ( Aparigraha vrata) consists in re-
nouncing all love for anything or any person. The defini-
tion of it may be translated as follows :
‘ Having no possessions consists in relinquishing greed for any-
thing ; if we think that a particular thing is our own, the mind is
agitated by greed.’
In the Jaina scriptures the vow is held to exclude all
likes and dislikes in regard to sounds, colours, or smells, as
well as people. In short, the way to maintain this vow is
to be indifferent to anything our senses can tell us.
This fifth vow of the monk foreshadows what the con-
dition of the Siddha will be, when all his powers are entirely
shrivelled up.
1 It will be remembered that no Jaina, lay or ascetic, may ever
drink wine.
v. Apar
graha
vrata.
238
THE JAINA ASCETIC
Ratribho
jana
tyaga.
The following sloka tells how the vow is kept;
‘ Renouncing liking for pleasant touch, taste, smell, form,1 or word,2
and for all the objects of the five senses, renouncing hatred for un-
pleasant objects, these are the ways to maintain the vow of Aparigraha.’
Certain Svetambara add a sixth vow, that of never dining
after it is dark ( Ratribhojana tyaga), lest they should in-
advertently take life, but most Jaina consider this included
under the other vows that protect insect life.
Twenty-seven Qualities of the Ideal Monk.
We have seen that the Jaina have a conception of the
ideal layman ; and in the same way they also show us the
picture of a perfect monk, summed up in a MagadhI sloka :
‘ The true ascetic should possess twenty-seven qualities, for he must
keep the five vows, never eat at night, protect all living things,3
control his five senses, renounce greed, practise forgiveness, possess
high ideals, and inspect everything he uses to make sure that no insect
life is injured. He must also be self-denying and carefully keep the
three gupti, he must endure hardships in the twenty-two ways, and
bear suffering till death.’
1 i.e. beauty. 2 i. e. literature and oratory.
3 Of the six classes.
CHAPTER XII
THE END OF THE ROAD
Panca Paramesvara.
We have traced the journey of a jiva along the upward
path that leads through the destruction of karma, by way
of the fourteen upward steps and the keeping of the twelve
vows and the eleven Pratima, to monkhood. It only re-
mains to us to note the different ranks a man may hold
as an ascetic before he finally attains moksa.
First, he is just an ordinary ascetic or sadhu ; if he be a Sadhu.
Digambara, he will wear no clothes and live in the forest,
lost to the world and immersed in meditation, eating only
once a day and tearing out his hair as it grows. Nowadays
one hears of only two or three Digambara ascetics. If he
be a Svetambara1 or a SthanakavasI,2 he will move from
Apasaro to Apasaro clad in white clothes.
The next step to which he can rise is that of Upadhaya or Upa-
instructor. An exceptionally clever monk may be chosen dhyaya.
from amongst the others as teacher, when he is expected to
study the scriptures and teach them to his fellow monks.
Amongst the Tapagaccha no monk can be chosen as an
Upadhyaya till he has been an ascetic for at least a year, but
this does not seem to be always the rule with other sects.
The scriptures he will most probably teach are the Uttara-
dhyayana Sutra, the Upasaka Dasaiiga Sutra, and the
Bhagavati Sutra. The last, the Bhagavatl Sutra, holds
almost the same position amongst many Jaina that Hindus
give to the Bhagavadglta or Christians to the Gospels.
1 Unless he be a follower of either AtmaramajI or Anandavija-
yajT, when he will wear yellow clothes.
2 The followers of Srllalajl, however, who are found mainly in Malwa,
never live in an Apasaro lest they should be held guilty of the lives
destroyed in building it.
240
THE END OF THE ROAD
These scriptures most Jaina laymen are familiar with,
but the instructor should, according to some Jaina, have
also studied the scriptures the laymen have not read, namely,
the eleven Anga and the twelve Upaiiga or the Caranasitarl 1
and the Karanasitari 2, or, according to others, the eleven
Ahga and the fourteen Purva. All teaching and studying
is a kind of austerity ; if a man studies intentionally to gain
merit, he will get merit ( puny a ) ; if, however, he studies
and teaches to gain and impart knowledge with no thought
of acquiring merit, he will destroy certain karma ( nirjara ).
Acarya. A still higher rank is attained when a monk becomes an
Acarya or Superior. In many sects the Acarya is chosen
simply by seniority (this is nearly always the case in
Kathiawad), but in others the Acarya is selected for ability,
or powers of leadership, as is generally done in Malwa.
The choosing of a new Superior or Acarya is made the
occasion of great rejoicing. Jaina laymen come to the
Apasaro, take the twelve vows or renew them, and sing
songs and make the greatest noise imaginable. In order
to permit of animals sharing in their rejoicing, they pay
butchers varying sums to cease killing for those days.
An Acarya is a man of very high dignity : he never travels
alone, but is always accompanied by at least two sadhus ;
and as his fame grows, the number of his disciples increases.
When the writer, for instance, had the pleasure in Rajkot
of meeting SivalalajI Maharaja (who is considered the
most learned Sthanakavasi acarya of the present time), he
had travelled thither with twenty-one attendant sadhus.
The power of excommunication for religious offences lies
with the Acarya3 acting with the Jaina community or
saiigha, and it is to the Acarya that, whenever possible, the
monks of his sangha should make confession. As a rule
the Acarya wears the same dress, eats the same food, and
1 Or Carananuyogi ?. 2 Or Karanamcyoga.
3 The Acarya, acting with the community, excommunicates for reli-
gious offences ; but for offences against society the Mahajana (committee
of leading Baniya) excommunicates.
THE END OF THE ROAD
241
follows the same rule as his fellow monks ; sometimes, how-
ever, his little sitting-board is raised slightly higher from the
ground than those of the other monks.
It must not be thought that the ordinary sadhu must
gain the rank of Instructor and Superior to go to moksa, a
simple ascetic can do that ; but it is generally easier for the
higher ranks of ascetics to attain deliverance than for the
lower, because their office helps them to develop the neces-
sary qualities. An Acarya should, of course, observe with
special attention all the usual ascetic discipline.
A Magadh! sloka describes the ideal Acarya as possessing
thirty-six qualities : he controls the five senses ; he is chaste
in the nine ways ; he keeps the three gupti ; he is free from
the four kasaya ; he keeps the five great vows ; he observes
the five rules of conduct ; and he maintains the five samiti :
such are the thirty-six qualities of an Acarya.
The goal of every monk is to become at last an Arihanta
or Tirthankara, the Being who has attained perfection of
knowledge, perfection of speech, perfection of worship, and
absolute security, for no danger or disease can ever come
where he is. Having become a Tirthankara, the jlva is at
length freed from the dread that overshadows every Jaina,
the fear in this life of suffering or sorrow, which has to be
borne with no Friend at hand to strengthen and comfort,
and the dreary expectation after death of the endless cycle
of rebirth.
A meaning often given to the word Tirthankara is that of
one who finds a ford ( tlrtha ) through this world ( samsara )
to moksa, or one who attains a landing on the other side.
But many Jaina say it denotes one who forms four com-
munities ( tlrtha ) of monks and nuns and male and female
lay-followers. When a new Tirthankara arises, the fol-
lowers of the preceding one follow him, as the followers of
Parsvanatha followed Mahavlra.
We have noticed 1 the eight glories which surround a
1 P- 191-
R
Tirthan-
kara or
Arihanta.
242
THE END OF THE ROAD
Tlrtharikara when he preaches ; besides these, the Jaina
assign to him an enormous list of attributes. A Tirthan-
kara, for example, is worshipped by the sixty-four Indra,
and has thirty-five special qualities of speech, and thirty-
four pertaining to his body, which is distinguished by one
thousand and eight specified marks. We shall probably,
however, gain a better idea of the Jaina’s real conception of
a Tirthankara, not by working through this long bare list of
qualities, but by studying one of their prayers of adoration
— that surest mirror of a man’s mental picture of his god.
The writer’s Sthanakavasi friends tell her that every
morning and evening during Padikamanum they worship
the Tirthankara in Gujarati words which maybe rendered
as follows :
‘ You I salute at various times, the Lord Arihanta. What kind of
a Lord is He ? He knows what is passing in your mind and my mind.
He knows what is passing in the mind of every man. He knows what
is going on at various times. He sees all the fourteen worlds as
though they were in his hands. He is endowed with these six quali-
ties : boundless knowledge, insight, righteousness, austerity, patience,
strength. He is endowed with thirty-four kinds of uncommon qualities.
He is endowed with speech. He is endowed with thirty-five kinds of
truthful speech. He has one thousand and eight auspicious marks.
He is free from the eighteen sins and endowed with the twelve good
qualities. He has destroyed four of the hardest karma, and the four
remaining karma are powerless. He is longing to get moksa. He
dispels the doubts of souls1 with yoga. He is endowed with body,
with omniscience, with perfect insight, and has the before-mentioned
righteousness. He has the highest kind of sankita, which is per-
manent ; he has Suklalesya, Sukladhyana, Suklayoga ; he is wor-
shipped, adored and saluted by the sixty-four Indra. He is the
most learned pandit. He is endowed with these and other endless
qualities.’
Siddha. We have seen that a Tirthankara has still four karma
left which bind him, and until these four do actually snap,
the jiva which began its upward journey, perhaps from a
clod of earth, has not yet reached its final goal. When by
1 i. e. Bhavya jiva, those souls who will eventually obtain moksa.
THE END OF THE ROAD
243
austerities these last karma are destroyed and break ‘ like
a piece of burnt-up string the soul loses its body and
becomes a Siddha.
The Siddha has the following characteristics : absolute
knowledge, faith, insight, righteousness, and prowess. He
also has the power of becoming minute and gigantic at will,
and of moving anywhere unhindered ; he is unaffected by
anything, so that neither death, disease, rebirth, nor sorrow
can any longer touch him. He is also without a body ; and
this is the reason why Jaina feel they can never pray to
a Siddha. A Siddha has, however, one hundred and eight
attributes, and these the Jaina recite, telling their rosary
of one hundred and eight beads. An ordinary Jaina tells
his beads five times a day, but a very devout Jaina might
tell the one hundred and eight beads one hundred and eight
times a day. The Jaina say they do not worship or salute
the Siddha when doing this, but tell their beads only with
the object of stirring up their spiritual ambition and in
order to remind themselves of the qualities a Siddha must
possess, in the hope that some day they too may reach their
desired goal, and rest in perfect bliss in the state of Nirvana,
doing nothing for ever and ever.
Thirty -five Rules of Conduct.
How even non-Jaina may reach Moksa.
One of the unique glories of Jainism is that it, unlike
most Indian-born religions, believes in the possibility of
aliens reaching its goal. Even Europeans and Americans,1
although they may never have heard of Jainism, if they
follow, though unconsciously, the thirty-five rules of
conduct, of necessity destroy their karma and so are sped
to moksa like an arrow from a bow.
It will therefore be well worth our while to study these
1 Quite uncivilized races might reach moksa, but it would be easier
for Europeans and other civilized people, provided they were vege-
tarians, to do so.
R 2
244
THE END OF THE ROAD
rules, for they contain the pith of the Jaina creed expressed
in terms of conduct. The thirty-five rules are contained
in ten Sanskrit sloka which describe the true Jaina, and
which might be rendered thus :
1. He who gains his livelihood by honesty, and admires and follows
excellence of conduct, and marries his sons and daughters to well-born
and well-behaved folk.
2. He] is known to be afraid of committing sins, he follows the
customs of his country, never speaks evil of any man and especially
not of his ruler.
3. He lives in neither too secluded nor too open a residence. It
must be situated in a good locality and have good neighbours. The
house must not have too many entrances.
4. He always associates with good men, worships his parents, and
abandons an unprotected place of evil reputation.
5. He regulates his expenditure according to his income,1 dresses
according to his position, and being endowed with eight kinds of
intelligence hears religious discourses every' day.
6. If he suffers from indigestion, he does not eat. He eats only at
fixed times. He should gain his three objects 2 in such a way that
one does not interfere with the other.
7. He gives alms to him who comes unexpectedly, to the sadhu and
to the poor, is free from obstinacy and has a partiality for good
qualities.
8. Knowing his own strength and weakness, he avoids such actions
as are not suited to the time and country [in which he lives]. He
worships persons who are rigid in keeping their vows and far advanced
in knowledge, and he feeds those who deserve feeding.
9. He is provident, has more than ordinary knowledge, is grateful
for what is done for him, is loved by people, is modest, merciful, of
a serene disposition and benevolent.
1 The old Jaina rule with regard to the regulation of income was to
divide it into four equal parts, of which they set one part aside as
savings, invested another part in trade, paid all their household ex-
penses with the third portion, and devoted the remaining quarter to
charity. The rule is not strictly followed now, but it is still usual to
divide the income up and apportion it, though not giving so largely
to charity as in the old days.
2 Every Indian, Jaina included, has four great objects in his life:
dharma, artha, kama, moksa (religion, wealth, pleasure and moksa).
A devout Jaina householder is only supposed to give attention to the
first three, for if he acquit himself well in gaining these, the last will
follow naturally.
THE END OF THE ROAD
245
10. He is always intent on defeating the six interior enemies1 and
controls all his five senses. Such are the suggestions of a house-
holder’s duties.
The Three Jewels ( Ratna Tray a).
The Jaina sum up all their belief, as expressed in the
Tattva, in their vows, and in their rules of conduct, under
the heading of the Three Jewels : Right Knowledge (Sam-
yak Jhana), Right Faith ( Samyak Darsana), Right Conduct
(Samyak Caritrya).
The Sanskrit sloka that defines Right Knowledge runs : Right
Know-
‘ Wise men call that knowledge Right Knowledge which one gets, ledge,
whether concisely or in detailed form, from the Tattva as they exist.’
Right Knowledge is in fact knowledge of the Jaina creed;
and this jewel must be gained before any other can be
obtained, for only when Right Knowledge is possessed can
a man know what virtue is, and what vows he ought to
keep. Mahavlra himself said : ‘ First knowledge and then
mercy’, for unless a man know what a jiva is, how can he
show mercy to it ?
Central among the Three Jewels is Right Faith ; for unless Right
one believes in what one knows, how will one follow it ? Faith-
Samyak Darsana stands for true faith and insight into the
great Jaina doctrines and scriptures. The Jaina say that
it is like the digit 1, which, standing before the ciphers that
follow it, gives them value, for without faith all conduct is
worthless.
‘ To hold the truth as truth, and untruth as untruth, this is true
faith.’
The Jaina say that there may be Right Knowledge and Right
Right Faith, but if these are not accompanied by Right Conduct-
Conduct all are worthless. To the monk Right Conduct
1 Both Hindus and Jaina believe that there are six interior enemies :
passion ( katna ), anger ( krodha ), greed ( lob ha ), pride (wan a), excessive
exultation (harsa) and envy ( matsara ).
246
THE END OF THE ROAD
Three
3alya
that in-
jure
Caritrya.
means the absolute keeping of the five great vows. His
conduct, as we have seen, should be perfect, or Sarva-
caritrya, for he must follow the conduct laid down for him
in every particular; but the layman is only expected to
possess Desacaritrya (partial conduct), for, so long as he
is not a professed monk, he cannot be absolutely perfect
in conduct.
Right Conduct, however, can be ruined by three evil
darts, or salya. The first of these is intrigue or fraud
[Maya salya), since no one can gain a good character whose
life, social or religious, is governed by deceit. Even in such
holy matters as fasting, intrigue can make itself felt.
A second poisonous dart is false belief or Mithyatva salya,
which consists in holding a false god to be a true one, a false
guru to be a true guru, and a false religion to be a true
religion ; by so doing one absolutely injures Right Know-
ledge and Right Faith which lead to Right Conduct ; this
is therefore a highly poisonous dart. The great evil wrong
belief does shows how supremely important it is for men
to know who is the true Tlrthankara, and the definition,
which the Jaina repeat every day at their devotions, runs
as follows:
‘ He who is omniscient, free from all love of the world and from all
failings ; he who is worshipped by the three worlds and who explains
the inner meaning [of religion] as it exists : this adorable deity is the
great god.’ 1
The Jaina similarly define a false god :
‘ Those gods who retain women, weapons and rosaries, who are
steeped in attachment and so stained, who are in the habit of giving
and accepting favours, these can give no help towards deliverance.’
In the same way it is of great importance to recognize
good gurus, especially in a land swarming with worthless
ascetics. This is the Jaina definition, which is also repeated
by them every day :
‘ They who keep the (five) great vows, are steadfast, live only on
1 i.e. Tlrthankara.
THE END OF THE ROAD 247
alms, an immersed in meditation, preach religion : these are to be
considered gurus.’
And in contrast the Jaina say :
1 They art not gurus who are slaves to all desires, eat everything,
have worldly possessions, are unchaste and preach falsely.’
Still more interesting is heir definition of true religion :
‘ That whicj holds beings from falling into an evil state [after death]
is called religion. Self-control is the foremost of its ten divisions. The
omniscient says that such a religion is the means of liberation.’
The Jaina definition of false religion runs :
‘ Religjon which is full of false precepts, which is stained by killing,
even if t is thoroughly known, is the cause of wandering through
rebirths
Covetousness ( Nidana salya) is the third poisonous dart
which destroys Right Conduct. If, for instance, when a man is
peiforming austerities, he admits some such worldly thought
in!o his mind as, ‘ Now after this austerity I may have
gained sufficient merit to become a king or a rich merchant’,
that very reflection, being stained with covetousness and
greed, has destroyed like a poisonous dart all the merit
that he might have gained through the act. In the same
way, if a man indulges vindictive or revengeful thoughts
when he is performing austerities, the fruit of his action is
lost, and no merit is acquired and no karma destroyed.
It is interesting to compare these Three Jewels with the Three
Buddhist Tri-Ratna : Buddha, the Law and the Order ; and Jewels
with the Mohammedan Triad : Happiness ( Khera ), Mercy pared.
( Mera ), Prayer ( Bandagl ) ; and again with the Pars! Trio :
Holy Mind, Holy Speech and Holy Deeds.
Perhaps also in no more concise fashion could Jainism be
compared with Christianity than through their three jewels;
for whilst the Jaina believe in Right Knowledge, Right
Faith and Right Conduct, referring to an impersonal
system, each of the Christian jewels, Faith, Hope and Love,
refers to a personal Redeemer.
248
THE END OF THE ROAD
Faith,
Hope
and Love.
The Jaina religion enshrines no Faith in a supreme Deity ;
but for the Christian the dark problems of sin and suffering
are lit up by his faith in the character and power of God,
which ensure the ultimate triumph of righteousness.
Hope to the Jaina is almost a meaningless word : he has
hope neither for his own future, overcast as it is by the
shadow of innumerable rebirths, nor for that of bis religion,
which will, he believes, in its due season perish from off the
earth. To the Christian, on the other hand, his present
circumstances and his future are alike bathed in the
golden sunshine of hope, so that hopefulness rr.ay be
said to be the very centre of the Christian creed aid the
foundation of its joy. No evil can befall the man n this
life who with Dante has learnt that in God’s will s our
peace; and even in the presence of death he is sustained
by the living hope1 of a glorious future assured to him by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
As to the future of his faith, he waits with unswerving
confidence the fulfilment of the magnificent sloka :
‘ The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the
Lord as the waters cover the sea.’ 2
But it is the third jewel, Love, that most clearly dis-
tinguishes the Christian from the Jaina ideal. To the
Jaina, love to a personal God would be an attachment that
could only bind him faster to the cycle of rebirth. It is
a thing that must be rooted out at all costs, even as Gau-
tama tore the love for his master Mahavlra out of his heart.
But to Christians love is the fulfilling of the law, and it is
in its light that they tread the upward path ; for it is through
love that they see the form of their guide, and ‘ with un-
veiled face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord are
transformed into the same image from glory to glory
Such is the greater Tri-ratna that Christ is holding in
His pierced hands and which He offers to the Jaina to-day.
1 Peter i. 3 ff.
2 Habakkuk ii. 14.
THE END OF THE ROAD
249
And the Jaina in their turn, when they are won to Him,
will pour into His treasury their trained capacity for self-
discipline and self-denial and their deliberate exaltation
of the spiritual and eternal over the comfortable and
material, which are so greatly needed in the Christian Church
in all ages.
Then all the jewels, set together and no longer separated,
shall adorn a glorious diadem for the thorn-crowned Man
of Sorrows.
Temple
worship.
Digam-
bara
worship.
Isvetam-
bara
worship.
CHAPTER XIII
JAINA WORSHIP AND RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS
The Jaina are most courteous in permitting outsiders
to witness the ritual of their temples, only asking that the
spectators should remove their shoes. In the Digambara
temples the idols are nude, and the eyes are cast down as a
sign that the saint represented is lost to all worldly thought.
The Svetambara, like the Digambara, have images of the
Tlrthankara sitting in meditation in the Kausagga position
with legs crossed and hands in the lap, but unlike the
Digambara their idols are given loin-cloths, have staring
glass eyes looking straight in front of them, and are adorned
with necklaces, girdles and bracelets of gold. The writer
has elsewhere fully described the worship in the temples : 1
here it may suffice to give only a short summary.
The officiant in a Digambara temple must himself be
a Jaina (though this is not the rule among the Svetambara),
and he will never eat any of the offering made to the idol.
In the course of the morning worship he washes the idol
[Jala puja ) and dries it, being most careful that no drop
of water falls to the ground, marks it with three auspicious
marks of yellow powder [Candana puja), and offers rice
[Aksata puja) and dried (not fresh) fruit ( Naivedya puja).
In the evening the worship consists of Aratl puja, when
a five-fold lamp is solemnly waved from left to right for
a few minutes in front of the idol.
Thestrangepartof Svetambaraworship is that, if no Jaina
be present, it can be performed by a non- Jaina, and the writer
has at various times seen paid officiants who were Brahmans,
gardeners, or farmers by caste performing the ritual.
If, however, a devout Jaina be present, he will, after bathing
and changing his clothes to the two pieces of cloth he keeps for
1 Notes on Modern Jainism , pp. 86 ff.
RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS
251
the purpose in the little dressing-room outside the temple,
often bid as much as five annas for the privilege of perform-
ing the Jala puja, when he will carefully wash the idol with
water, then with milk, and then again with water; the same
worshipper might also perform Ahgalunchana puja and dry
the idol with five or ten separate cloths, which are kept
in the temple, and whose number seems to vary according to
the wealth of the shrine. A worshipper may do the Can-
dana puja and mark the idol with fourteen auspicious
marks, but only the paid officiant is allowed to perform the
Anga puja, since this involves the handling of the valuable
jewellery belonging to the idol. If the worshipper for whose
benefit it is performed has paid a large sum, such as fifty
rupees, the best crown, necklace, ear-rings, bracelets, arm-
lets and girdle, all wrought in pure gold, will be brought out
and put on the idol; if he only offers, say, twenty-five rupees,
the idol will only wear its second-best silver-gilt ornaments.
Then flowers and garlands ( Puspa puja) 1 are offered, and this
completes that part of the ritual for which special dress must
be worn, and the performance of which is restricted to men.
The remaining acts of worship can be done by women, or by
men in their ordinary dress, since the inner shrine need not
be entered. They consist of Dhupa puja , the waving of a
stick of incense before the shrine ; Dlpa puja, the waving of
a lamp ; Aksata puja, the offering of rice ; Naivedyapuja, the
giving of sweetmeats; and Phala puja, the offering of fruit.
It is interesting to notice the way each different worshipper
arranges the rice in the Aksata puja ; it is usually placed
thus : (c)
•y (b)
’—pi ( a )
The Svastika sign (a) is intended to represent the Gati or
state in which a jlva may be born as either a denizen of hell,
1 The writer once saw flowers offered even in a Digambara temple
at Borsad (Kaira district).
2.52
JAINA WORSHIP AND
or of heaven, a man, or a beast. The three little heaps ( b )
symbolize the Three Jewels of right knowledge, right faith,
and right conduct, which enable a man to reach Moksa,
represented by the sign (c).
When fruit is offered it is noticeable that the Svetambara
have no scruple about including fresh fruit in their gift,
a thing which the Digambara — the stricter sect — will not
allow, considering that by so doing they take life. The
evening temple worship of the Svetambara, as of the
Digambara, practically consists in Arati piijd — waving
a lamp before the shrine.
Meritorious as it is to perform the worship in the temples
in one’s own town, far more merit is gained by doing so at
places of pilgrimage, particularly at special seasons of the
year. On great festival days at Abu, Girnar, and above all
Satrunjaya the temple court is thronged with would-be
worshippers, all out-bidding each other for the privilege
of performing the various ritual acts, whilst the temple
custodians, acting as auctioneers, employ the familiar
wiles of the auction room to run up the price. The
auctioning is carried on under the phraseology of bidding
for ghi (melted butter), and the man who offers the most
seers of ghi obtains the coveted privilege. No ghi of course
changes hands, the seers being only a conventional phrase for
a fixed number of annas.
The present writer saw a man at Satrunjaya perform
the cheapest service — the Sanatana puja — for which
privilege he had paid only two annas, though at Abu
he would have paid at least five-and-a-quarter. After
bathing and donning the two cloths, he marked the idol
in fourteen places and filled up time by playing on a
harmonium. He then took in one hand a tray containing
roses, almonds, rice, saffron and sugar, and in the other a jug
containing water and milk, and round the jug and round his
wrist he tied a red thread. After performing Dlpa puja and
Ak§ata puja, he did what is called Camari piijd, i. e. gently
RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS
253
waved a brush of cow’s hair in front of the shrine, whilst
the paid officiant was decking the big idol in its jewellery.
He then placed a little image of a Tirthankara in front of
the larger image in the inner shrine and bathed it and
marked it with the auspicious marks. It was interesting
to notice that whilst doing this he kept on showing the little
idol its own reflection in a pocket looking-glass, as a thought-
ful ladies’ maid might have done to her mistress as she
assisted at her toilette; he completed his service by offering
the articles on the tray to the Tirthankara.
The next cheapest service to this, the Pancakalyana
puja, costs the worshipper about five-and-a-quarter rupees.
The singing of the idol’s praises, Saitavarnana Stuti, can
be done at any time and without the worshipper requir-
ing to bathe or change. A man walks into the temple,
makes the signs we noticed before
^ (c)
... (b)
Lj-1 W
on a board and sings the idol’s praises out of a hymn-book.
At Satrunjaya behind one of the main temples are housed
several solid silver chariots, and for the sum of about thirty
shillings a pilgrim can seat himself in a tiny silver barouche
and be drawn round the temple accompanied by silver
elephants and other delights, and so feel that he is doing his
pilgrimage de luxe.
The pilgrimage of all others, however, to try and do
at Satrunjaya is the ‘ Ninety-nine ’. It takes about
three months to perform, for the pilgrim must toil up the
thousands of steps that lead from the bottom of the hill
to the summit, encircle the most famous temple, and tramp
down to the bottom again ninety-nine separate times, and
the last days he must observe as strict fasts from food and
drink. When the last toilsome ascent has been made, the
254
JAINA WORSHIP AND
Private
worship.
priests drag out a silver throne, and, placing it under a
canopy erected in the court of the main temple, set the image
of a Tlrthankara thereon. The pilgrim does the eight-fold
worship ( Jala puja , Candanapiija, Puspa puja, Dhupa puja,
Dlpa puja, Aksata puja , Naivedya piijd, and Pha/a puja )
eleven times over, and in the intervals hymns are sung to
the accompaniment of a harmonium ; and when the writer
witnessed it, boys dressed in shepherd-plaid trousers and
bright pink-frilled jackets danced to the jingling accompani-
ment of bells round their ankles. The pilgrim was in this
case a little girl, who seemed to be utterly exhausted by
fasting, thirst and fatigue.
The SthanakavasI Jaina, being non-idolatrous and having
no temple which they can attend, naturally pay more
attention to meditation and private worship than the other
sects, and if the reader would really learn to understand the
heart of Jainism, it will repay him to study their private
devotions with some minuteness, since after all a man’s
meditations are generally a true reflection of his creed.
The Digambara Jaina are said to use a good deal of
Sanskrit in their devotions ; the Svetambara employ both
Sanskrit and MagadhI ; but the SthanakavasI, who claim
to hold closest of all the sects to primitive practice, confine
themselves as far as possible to MagadhI. Sanskrit would
seem therefore to have come into use with idol worship under
Hindu influence, and where reverence is refused to images,
the sacred language of the Brahmans is also neglected.
Every devout SthanakavasI ought to rise two hours
before sunrise in winter and summer, and, taking in his
hands his rosary, consisting of 108 beads, recite the
Navakara mantra, saluting Arihanta, Siddha, Acarya, Upa-
dhyaya and Sadhu, and also Knowledge, Faith, Character
and Austerity, and, this done, should if possible repair to
the monastery. Every Apasaro, as also every temple, has
a little room where the Jaina keep their clothes for worship,
which usually consist of five articles : two long pieces of
RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS
255
cloth, one of which they wear round the loins and the other
over the shoulders, a little strip to cover the mouth, a piece
of cloth to sit on, and also a brush. The devout layman,
wearing only the two cloths, sits down on what is in fact his
prayer carpet, and, after asking permission from his guru,
begs forgiveness of any living thing he may have injured
on his way from his house to the monastery.
He is then in a position to perform Samayika, the most Sama-
essential portion of which, Karemi bhante, consists in the y'^a>
repetition in MagadhI of a .vow which might be thus
translated :
‘ I vow that I will not sin in regard to Dravya for the space of forty-
eight minutes anywhere in the whole world. In right earnest I vow
not to sin in any of the six ways. O adorable one, I take this vow,
and I will keep it in this manner : I promise to keep it in thought,
word and deed myself, and not to cause others to break it in thought,
word, or deed. Again, O adorable one, I thus free myself from all
sinful actions ; I condemn them in the presence of my spirit and
preceptor, and I vow to keep my spirit free from such actions.’
The worshipper then praises the twenty-four Tirthankara Cauvi-
of the present age in MagadhI verse (Cauvlsanttho1), santtho-
which might be rendered :
‘ I sing the praise of the twenty-four Tirthankara and other Kevall,
who have shed the light of religion on this world, who formed com-
munities and so became Tirthankara. I salute Risabhadeva, Ajitana-
tha [here follows the list of the twenty-four]. I praise these and all
others who have shaken off the dust of karma and have destroyed old
age and death. May these twenty-four Tirthankara show mercy to
me. May these Tirthankara, famed in this world, whose praises I
have sung, whom I have worshipped in mind, and who are excellent in
this world, grant me that religion in which meditation forms the chief
part and which protects from all diseases.
Ye are brighter than the moon, more brilliant than the sun, more
awe-inspiring than the ocean. Grant to me, O Siddha, to reach
Siddha-hood.’
Next follows Vandana , i.e. salutation and prayer for Vandana.
forgiveness to the guru, if he be present, or in his absence
to the north-east corner of the building, that being the direc-
1 Or Caiurvimsatistava.
JAINA WORSHIP AND
Padlka-
manurh.
Kau-
sagga.
256
tion in which Mahavideha, the abode of the Tirthankara, is
said to lie. All sects, even when they add special Vandana
referring to idol worship, seem to use a general form, which
could be freely translated as follows :
‘ O forgiving Sadhu ! I desire to bow to you and to salute you to
the best of my bodily powers, forsaking all evil actions. Permit me to
approach you, to touch your lotus-like feet. I touch them. Pardon
me if the touch annoys you. O adorable ! The day is passing away.
0 adorable, holy as a place of pilgrimage ! I crave forgiveness from
you for all the evil actions I may have done during the course of this
day. If I have committed any of the thirty-three errors ( asatana ), if
1 have done anything wrong through body, speech, or thought, or from
anger, pride, deceit, or greed, and if during this day I have in any way
or at any time violated any of the duties enjoined by religion, I would
be free, O forgiving Sadhu, from all such sins, which I condemn and con-
demn again in your presence. I will keep my spirit free from such sins.’
Padlkamanuih 1 proper then follows, in which the Twelve
Vows are repeated and any breach of them is confessed.
This part of the devotions is most lengthy, as sins are
confessed in all their subdivisions : for instance, if the wor-
shipper has sinned against knowledge in any of fourteen
ways, or against faith in five ways, or has uttered any of the
twenty-five kinds of falsehood ; the eighteen classes of sin
are also enumerated at this time, and the man confesses any
sins he may have committed in respect of any of them, or
against any of the Panca Paramesvara (or Five Great Ones).
Every sect and sub-sect practises Padlkamanurh, but of
course with infinite variation in the forms of confession
used. The Sthanakavasi make their confession in a form
in which MagadhI and vernacular words are mingled.
The worshipper then seats himself cross-legged and
repeats the salutation to the Five Great Ones (i. e. Navakara
mantra), says again the Karemi bhante, and then repeats
the very interesting Icchamithami Kausagga, which might
be translated as follows :
1 It should be noticed that the whole of their devotions is sometimes
loosely called Padlkamanuih.
RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS
257
‘ I now wish to arrest all the functions of my body. Before doing so,
however, I pray for forgiveness if I have committed any fault (Aticara)
in body, speech, or thought during this day, if I have acted contrary
to the scriptures, or gone astray from the path of moksa, or done
anything against the laws of religion, or unworthy of doing ; I ask
forgiveness if I have thought evil of others, entertained unworthy
thoughts, acted in ways undesirable, longed for undesirable things, or
if I have done anything unworthy of a Sravaka (devout Jaina layman)
in respect of the three Jewels, the three Gupti, the four Kasaya, the
five Anuvrata, the three Gunavrata, the four Siksavrata, or violated
any of the twelve duties of a Sravaka. May all such faults be
forgiven.’
Theworshipper then performs the fourth part of Kausagga
by reciting the Tassottari patha, in which he says :
‘ Sitting in one place I will now arrest all my bodily functions in
order to purify and sanctify my spirit and to remove all darts (3alya),
and other sins from it. My arresting of bodily functions (Kausagga)
must not be regarded as broken, however, by any of the thirteen actions
of inhaling, exhaling, coughing, sighing, sneezing, yawning, hiccoughing,
giddiness, sickness, swooning, slight external or internal involuntary
movement, or winking. I will also hold my spirit immovable in
Kausagga and in meditation and silence, until I recite Namo arihanta-
num ; until then I will keep it free from sin.’
The sixth and last part of Padlkamanum is called Paca-
Pacakhana and consists of vowing to abstain from four khai?a'
kinds of food, for an hour if it is said at the morning
Padlkamanum, or for the coming night when it is repeated
in the evening. The promise runs as follows :
‘ I take a vow to abstain from the four following kinds of food :
food, drink, fruits, spices, in thought, speech and deed. I promise to
keep my soul away from those four, provided that they are not forced
on me or given to me whilst I am in a state of unconsciousness or
meditation.’
There are at least ten variations of this vow : a man may
promise to eat only once a day, or not until three hours after
sunrise, or to take only one sort of food, or to fast altogether;
but every variation seems to show the stress the Jaina lay
on the duty of fasting, an emphasis that is easily understood
in a religion whose adherents hope eventually to die fasting,
S
258
J AINA WORSHIP AND
Evening
worship.
Scripture
reading.
and which teaches that the greatest crimes are those com-
mitted for the sake of eating.
Some Digambara Jaina, instead of taking a vow to fast,
apparently promise to abstain from their specially be-
setting sins. At the end of Padlkamanum and at the end
of Samayika the worshipper performs N amotthunam or
general praise.
The different parts of Padlkamanum need not be said in
any exact order, but it should generally last about forty-
eight minutes every morning, and, since it is a daily duty,
it is also called Avasyaka.
At the end of it a devout layman would go to the Apasaro
and if possible hear a guru preach, and on returning to his
house would give alms to a sadhu or to a poor man. He
breakfasts about ten or eleven, then goes to business, return-
ing in time to take his last meal about five o’clock in the
afternoon, so that he may have his meal over before sunset,
since no Jaina may eat after dark.
In the evening, and if possible in the monastery, he makes
confession of the sins of the day ( Devaslya Padlkamanum),
sings praises ( Sajhaya Stavana ), and vows not to eat till
sunrise, and before he sleeps he must tell his beads and do
salutation to the Five three times over. If he is a very
devout layman, he will repeat the Santharo patha, reflecting
that he may never wake again, and so be prepared to make
a meritorious death.
Some time during the day the layman should read one of
the scriptures, unless hindered by any of the thirty-two
reasons, such as having been near a dead body, or finding
a bloodstain on his clothes, or being in any other way cere-
monially impure. Again, he must not read the books if
there is a mist, or a thunderstorm, the fall of a meteor, an
eclipse, a full moon, no moon, or when a great king or even
a great man dies, or if the sky has been red at sunrise or
sunset, or if there has been a dust-storm. He must not read
them on any of the first three days of the bright half of the
RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS
259
moon, in a house where meat is eaten, near a funeral pyre,
on a battle-field, or in the twilight of the early morning or
late evening. In fact on any day that a SthanakavasI
Jaina feels too lazy to read the scriptures, he can find some
ceremonial reason to prevent his doing so, and hence the
scriptures are not in actual fact much studied by them.
Jaina Holy Days J
The ordinary routine of daily worship of course alters Pajju-
on the great days of Fasts of Festivals ; for instance, at 3a"a'
Pajjusana, the solemn season which closes the Jaina year,
many devout laymen fast for eight days or even longer and
attend special services at the Apasara. They also take this
opportunity of doing posadha,2 i.e. temporarily becoming
a monk. We have seen how the whole teaching of Jainism
tries to lead the laity along the path of asceticism towards
deliverance, and during the fast of Pajjusana householders
are urged to live a monk’s life for at least twenty-four hours.
During the twenty-four hours that he is performing posadha
a layman never leaves the monastery, but spends his time in
meditation and fasting. As a matter of fact every house-
holder is supposed to perform posadha twice a month, but
the generality of Jaina content themselves with doing it at
the end of the year. If posadha be too exacting, a layman
may observe the partial fast of daya or samvara, when,
though he sit in the monastery for some fixed period, he
may take food and boiled water at will.
The closing day of the Jaina year and of Pajjusana, Samvat-
Samvatsarl, is the most solemn fast of all. Every Jaina san>
fasts throughout the day from food and water, and the
Apasara are crowded with men and women making their
confessions. No outsider can visit these gatherings without
being deeply impressed with the determination of all present
1 For a full account of these see article ‘Festivals and Fasts (Jain) ’
by the present writer in E.R. E., vol. v, pp. 875 ff.
2 Or posaha.
26o
JAINA WORSHIP AND
to carry no grudge and no quarrel over into the next year.
At the close of the meeting every one present asks forgive-
ness from his neighbours for any offence he may even
unwittingly have given, and they all write letters to distant
friends asking their forgiveness also. This determination
to start the new year in love and charity with their neigh-
bours they do not confine to their own community ; for
example, the writer used to be bewildered by receiving
letters from Jaina friends and pandits who had never
offended her in any way asking her forgiveness in case they
had unwittingly vexed her. One cannot help feeling that
this beautiful custom of the Jaina is one of the many
precious things they will bring as their special tribute to
that City of God into which at last shall be gathered all
the glory and wealth of devotion of the nations.
Some time during the Pajjusana week the Svetambara
Jaina often arrange a special procession though the town
in honour of their Kalpa Sutra.
Another pageant the same sect arrange is a cradle pro-
cession on Mahavira’s birthday, which is now conventionally
fixed for the first day of Bhadrapada, the fourth day of
Pajjusana. SthanakavasI Jaina are not permitted to cele-
brate the day, lest it should lead to idolatry, but the other
sects decorate their temples with flags on this and on the
conventional birthdays of other Tlrthankara.
Curiously enough Divall, the next great holy day of the
Jaina, is really a Hindu festival in honour of LaksmI, the
goddess of wealth. All through our studies, however, we
have seen the great influence that Hinduism has exerted on
Jainism, and here it pressed a mercantile community at its
weakest point, its love of money ; naturally enough such
a community was not willing to omit anything that could
propitiate one who might conceivably have the bestowal of
wealth in her power. The festival has, however, been given
a Jaina sanction by calling it the day on which Mahavlra
passed to moksa, when all the eighteen confederate kings
RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS
261
made an illumination, saying : ‘ Since the light of intel-
ligence is gone, let us make an illumination of material
matter.’ How thin this excuse is, is shown by the fact that
the celebrations seem, despite the protests of the stricter
Jaina, to be more concerned with the worship of money than
with the passing of Mahavira. On the first day ( Dhanaterasa )
the Svetambara women polish their jewellery and ornaments
in honour of LaksmT, on the second ( Kalicaudasa ) they
propitiate evil spirits by placing sweetmeats at cross-roads,
and on the third ( Amasa ) all Jaina worship their account-
books — Sarada pujd. A Brahman is called who writes Sri
(i. e. Laksmi) on the account-books over and over again in
such a way as to form a pyramid. The priest then performs
Laksmi pujd, the oldest obtainable rupee and the leaf of
a creeper being placed on an account-book, and also a little
heap of rice, pan, betel-nut and turmeric, and in front of
it a small lamp filled with burning camphor is waved,
and the book is then marked with red powder. No
one closes the account-book for several hours, and when
they do so, they are careful to say : ‘ A hundred thousand
profits.’
Perhaps the full-moon fasts also bear witness to Hindu Full-
influence ; at any rate these days are carefully observed by |P°°n
the Jaina. The great religious excitement of the community
is found in going on pilgrimages, and on the full-moon days
that fall in October-November ( Karttiki punema ), or in
April-May ( Caitri punema ), they try if possible to visit
Satrunjaya. On the other full-moon days, which fall in the
spring and summer, they fast and hear special sermons,
but the summer full-moon day ( Asadhi punema) is one to
which the ascetics pay special attention, for wherever they
spend that day, there they must remain till the rainy season
is over.
In connexion with the antiquity of the Jaina scriptures Jnana
it is interesting to notice that once a year a fast is observed
called Jnana pancami, on which day all Jaina sacred books
262
JAINA WORSHIP AND
Mauna-
gyarasa.
Saint-
wheel
worship.
Days of
absti-
nence.
are not only worshipped but also dusted, freed from
insects and rearranged. If only this custom had prevailed
with regard to all English parish registers, how many of
our records might have been saved !
We have studied the road through which a jiva passes
by toilsome stages towards deliverance ; to recall these
steps to the popular mind, the Svetambara (and a few
Sthanakavasi) once a year keep a solemn fast called
Maunagyarasa on the eleventh day of some month, pre-
ferably the eleventh day of the bright half of Margaslr$a
(November-December). The worshipper fasts absolutely
from food and water and meditates, as he tells his beads, on
each of the five stages (Sadhu, Upadhyaya, Acarya, Tirthan-
kara and Siddha) of the upward path, and the next day
he worships eleven sets of eleven different kinds of things
connected with knowledge, such as eleven pens, eleven
pieces of paper, eleven ink-bottles, &c.
The worship of the Siddha cakra , or saint-wheel, which
is kept in every temple, serves also to remind the worshipper
of the stages he must pass, for on the little silver or brass
tray are five tiny figures representing the Five Great Ones
(Sadhu, Upadhyaya, Acarya, Arihanta, Siddha), but between
the figures are written the names of the three jewels (Right
Knowledge, Right Faith, Right Conduct) and also the word
tapa, austerity, which might almost be called the key-word
of the whole Jaina system. This little tray seems to bear
inscribed on it the Jaina Confession of Faith, and it is
regarded as of so much importance that no Svetambara
temple is complete without it, and twice a year in the spring
and autumn it is worshipped by having the eight-fold puja
done to it every day for eight days. Jalajatra , or the water
pilgrimage, is celebrated with much rejoicing once during
each of these eight days, when the little tray is taken to
some lake near the town and ceremonially bathed before
being offered the eight-fold worship.
Fasting is considered so important by the Jaina, that the
RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS
263
more devout observe twelve days in every month as days
of abstinence, but the less strict content themselves with
fasting more or less strictly on five days.
Besides the regularly recurring holy days of the year, there Conse-
are special occasions of rejoicing, such as Anjanasalaka (the ^n^idol °f
consecration of a new idol), which is celebrated with great
pomp, but which rarely occurs now owing to the enormous
expense it entails on the donor of the idol. In the case of a
Svetambara idol, mantras must be repeated, the glass eyes
inserted, and the statue anointed with saffron, before the idol
is regarded as sacred, but the expense lies in the payment,
not so much for this consecration, as for the feasting and
processions which accompany it.
Another rare act of Jaina worship is the bathing of The
colossal figures such as that of Gomatesvara at Sravana
Belgola, which takes place every twenty-five years. The tesvara.
actual bathing is not unlike the ordinary Jala puja, and
the privilege of pouring cups of curd, milk and melted
butter over the idol is put up to auction.
There is one day, Oli or Ambela, which is the fast par Oli.
excellence of Jaina women. It occurs eight days before
Caitrl punema, and all women who long for a happy
wedded life (and every woman in India marries) fast from
specially nice food for twenty-four hours, remembering that
a princess once won health for her royal husband who was a
leper by fasting and worshipping the saint wheel on this day.
The ever-present influence of Hinduism is perhaps felt Hindu
even more by Jaina women than by Jaina men, and it is they festivals-
who insist on keeping the Hindu festival of Sitalasatama,
the festival of the goddess of small-pax, and the two feasts
of Virapasali, when brothers give presents to their sisters
and the sisters bless them, and of Bhaibija , when the sisters
ask their brothers to their houses. Often also girls and
women fast on the Hindu holy days of Bolachotha and
Moldkata. It is much to be regretted that many Jaina
men and women, despite all the efforts of the reformers, still
264
JAINA WORSHIP AND
The evil
eye.
take part in the Holl celebrations — the detestably obscene
festival of spring ; thoughtful Jaina feel that it ill becomes
a community who boast of their purity to share an alien
festival of which all enlightened Hindus themselves are now
ashamed. At Dasera, the great Ksatriya festival, the Jaina
eat specially dainty food, and on Makar asahkranti they
fulfil the duty of charity by giving food to cows and cloth-
ing to the poor.
Jaina, of course, ought not to observe the Hindu death
ceremonies or Sraddha, and they have so far discontinued
the custom, that they no longer throw food to the crows ;
but they still observe them to the extent of eating specially
dainty food on those days.
Jaina Superstitions.
Neither in the regular routine of their daily worship nor
in the pleasurable excitement of their frequent holy days
do the Jaina (and especially the Jaina women) find all the
emotional outlet they need ; and so, besides these recognized
acts of ritual, they perform many others which are frowned
on by their leaders. The women believe in nearly all the
Hindu superstitions, so that they have as it were a second
cult, that of warding off evil spirits and demons, to whom
all their lifetime they are in bondage through fear.
The ordinary people amongst the Jaina believe most
strongly in the evil eye and are terrified of coming under its
influence ( Najarai javum ), though it is quite contrary to
the tenets of their creed. They fear perfect happiness, and
whenever they see it, they believe that some person who is
a favourite with some god or goddess, such as Meladi Mata,
Khodiyara Mata, Kalaka Mata, or Bhairava Deva, will harm
the happy one through jealousy. Anything dark or bitter
will avert this, and so, if new jewellery is worn, a black thread
is tied on to it ; if a new house is built, a black earthen vessel
is placed outside ; and the writer was herself entreated to
mark her only child with a black smear on the cheek-bone
RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS
265
or at least behind the ear. In the same way at a wedding
a lemon is tied in the turban of the bridegroom and in the
dress of the bride, that something sour may safeguard the
sweetness of their lot.
When illness occurs, it is put down to the influence of
the evil eye. If a child has fever, or is sick after eating,
the women at once say that its illness was caused by
some person possessing the wicked power of the evil eye,
and elaborate remedies are taken. A very usual method
is to take a little cup and put in it smokeless burning
embers, and over them mustard, salt and grain, till a fine
smoke is made, and then to turn it upside down on to a
brass plate, and, holding it firmly in position, to fix the two
together with manure and water. They call this Najara
bandhi and put it under the sick child’s bed. After three
or four days, when in the course of nature the fever has
abated, they pull out the cup and plate and throw the
contents away at a junction of three roads.
If a man is ill, one method of removing the influence of
the evil eye from him is to wave a loaf of millet bread round
his head and then give it to a black dog; if the animal eats
it, they believe the influence of the evil eye passes into him.
The more enlightened Jaina declare that they have no fear Evil
of evil spirits ( bhuta ), but the women are very much afraid sPints-
of them and, like all Indians, believe that Europeans share
this fear and have their elaborate freemasonry ritual as
a means of dealing with such spirits. Bhuta are specially
active at Divali time, and in order to prevent them coming
to visit their homes, the women before Divali go to some
cross-roads where three or four ways meet, carrying water-
pots. They make a circle in the dust with the water and
in the centre of this place a small cake of grain. Indeed at
any season when they are afraid of evil spirits visiting their
house, they put vermilion, grain and something black into
the bottom of a broken pot to guard against their coming.
Bhuta also live in pipal trees, and during the last days
Ances-
tors.
Plague.
Small-
pox.
266 JAINA WORSHIP AND
of the month Sravana one often sees women watering those
trees to keep the evil spirits that live there happy and so
prevent their coming out.
Sravana is in fact an anxious month, and on the fifth day
of it many Jaina women worship serpents, apparently to
propitiate the spirits of their ancestors. They draw a picture
of a snake on the walls of the room where the water- vessels
are kept, in order to pacify the spirit of any of their forefathers
who may have died suddenly in battle or been murdered
before he could fulfil some strong desire he might have
possessed ; for they fear that such ancestors may return to
carry out their interrupted purpose. To cool these desires,
they encircle the picture of the snake three times with water
(just as the lamp is waved before the idol at aratl) and offer
it little cakes to make it happy.
The spirits of ancestors are also appeased once a year
on either the eighth or twenty-ninth of Asvina, when an
offering of naivedya is made to them. A lamp is lighted
and placed in some corner facing the quarter in which the
ancestor once lived ; an offering of sweetmeats is then made
to the lamp and subsequently eaten by the offerers them-
selves.
When frightened by the prevalence of plague or cholera,
the Jaina have recourse to the Brahmans to ask how they
shall appease the mela deva (evil god) who is affecting them.
The priests instruct them to light a fire in their own houses
and circumambulate it. Near the flames they place an
offering of naivedya and then walk round the fire three
times carrying water. After this they themselves eat the
actual naivedya that has been offered and give dry
materials for naivedya and money to the Brahmans.
In the same way, if a child actually has small-pox, or if
there be an epidemic of it, a Jaina mother almost invariably
goes to the shrine of Sitala Mata, the goddess of small-pox.
whose shrine is to be found in almost every Indian village,
and vows to make an offering of artificial glass eyes or money
RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS 267
to the Mata if her child recover or escape infection
altogether.
It is pitiful to see Jaina women who are childless Children,
going to Hindu temples and promising to offer cradles
or money if only a little son may be born to them. They
even promise that for three or four years the child shall be
treated as a beggar, and no name given to him ; all they ask
is that their reproach may be taken away.
The orthodox Jaina declare that all these superstitions
which their women folk have copied from the Hindus are
contrary to their religion and indeed must even be accounted
Mithyatva Salya ; 1 but they do not see that they are born
of fear, and that they will only disappear when the timid
ones begin to trust a personal God and learn that the All-
Powerful is the All-Loving too.
1 See pp. i3off.
Gods i
Hell.
CHAPTER XIV
JAINA MYTHOLOGY
The Jaina declare that they do not worship their gods,
but that they regard them as instruments for working out
the fruits of karma. They say also that their gods differ
from the members of the Hindu pantheon in being graded :
indeed they might almost be considered as having caste
amongst themselves. In spite of being gods, they are
inferior to men, since before they can attain moksa they
must be born again as human beings ; yet, if they have
accumulated good karma in previous births, they may now
be enjoying greater bliss than men.
The lowest gods are in Hell, where their work is to tor-
ment jiva ; these deities are divided into fifteen classes
according to their different functions. Amongst them are
the Amba, whose special task it is to destroy the nerves of
their victims (as a mango is pinched and crushed in a man’s
hand to soften it, so do they wreck the nerves of the jiva
they torture) ; the Ambarasa, who separate bones and
flesh ; the Sama, who beat and belabour men ; the Sabala,
who tear the flesh ; the Rudra, engaged in striking men
with spears ; the Maharudra, occupied in chopping flesh
into mince-meat ; the Kala, who are roasting the flesh of
their victims ; the Mahakala, who are tearing it with
pincers ; the Asipata, engaged in cutting their victims
with swords ; the Dhanu, who are shooting them with
arrows ; the Kumbha , who are indulging in the pastime, so
often employed in Indian native states, of torturing with
chillies ; the Valu, who steep men in hot sand ; the V eta-
ram, who like devilish dhobis dash their victims against
stones in streams of boiling water ; the Kharasvara, who
force men to sit on thorny trees ; and last in the fearsome
list, the Mahdghosa , who shut men up in black holes.
JAINA MYTHOLOGY
269
On the same level as Hell, but in a different direction, is
Patala; there are, however, no human beings in Patala,
and so the gods who dwell there are not torturers as they
are in Hell. They are divided into two main classes,
Bhavanapati and Vyantara. These are again subdivided,
there being ten kinds of Bhavanapati : first, the dark
god Asura Kumara, whose body is all black, who loves
to wear red garments, and in whose crown is a great
crescent-shaped jewel ; then Naga Kumara , whose body
is white, whose favourite garments are green, and in
whose crown is a serpent’s hood for a symbol ; the body
of Suvarna Kumara is as yellow as gold, his clothes are
white, and his symbol is an eagle; Vidyut Kumara is red
in body, he wears green vestments, and has a thunderbolt
in his crown ; the body of Agni Kumara is also red, but
his dress is green, and his symbol is a jug; the next god,
Dvlpa Kumara, is red, with green clothes, but has a lion for
his sign ; Udadhi Kumara is a white god with green clothes,
whose symbol is a horse ; an elephant is the sign of the
red Disa Kumara, who is clad in white; the god V ayu
Kumara has a green body and wears clothes as red as the
sunset sky, and his token is the crocodile ; and the last of
the ten Bhavanapati is Sthanita Kumara, with a body as
yellow as gold, white clothes, and a shallow earthen pot as
his symbol.
The other denizens of Patala, the Vyantara, are demons
of various classes, and all have trees as their trade-marks.
Pisaca are black-bodied, and have a Kadamba tree as a
symbol ; Bhiita, whose sign is the Sulasa tree, are also black-
bodied ; so are Yaksa, who possess the Banyan tree as
their sign ; Raksasa are white and have the Khatamba
tree ; the green Kinnara have the Asoka tree ; the white
Kimpurusa the Campaka tree ; the Naga or snake tree is
the symbol of the black-bodied Mahoraga ; and the last
of the Vyantara demons, the black Gandharva, have the
Tlmbara tree for their sign.
Gods in
Patala.
JAINA MYTHOLOGY
Gods in
Svarga.
270
Besides these there are lower demons called Vdnavyantara,
who are named respectively Anapanni, Panapanni, Islvayi,
Bhutavayi, Kandiye, Mahakandiye, Kohanda and Pahaiiga.
All these live in the lower regions.
Then there are the gods of the upper regions. In Svarga
there are two classes of gods, Jyotisl and Vimanavasi.
Jyotisl gods inhabit Surya (the sun), Candra (the moon),
Graha (the planets), Tara (the stars) and Naksatra (the
constellations). The Jaina believe that there is a sun
that moves and another that stands still, and that the
same is the case with the moon, planets and stars, and
that each of these has its own gods.
The class of Vimanavasi has three divisions : first, the
gods of Devaloka (Sudharma, Isana, Sanatkumara, Mahendra,
Brahma, Lantaka, Mahasukra, Sahasara, Anata, Pranata,
Arapa and Acuya) ; then the gods in Graiveyika who rule
over Bhadde, Subhadde, Sujae, Sumanase, Priyadamsane,
Sudarhsane, Amohe, Supadlbhadde and Jasodhare ; and
lastly in Anuttaravimana there are five places, each with
a god called Indra to rule over it, viz. : Vijaya, Vijayanta,
Jayanta, Aparajita and Sarvarthasiddha.
As on earth (or rather as in India) there are sweepers
who act as scavengers for men and live apart from them,
so in the heavens there are gods who do menial service for
the other gods and live apart from them. The name of
these gods is Kilvisiya, and they are practically the out-
caste or sweeper gods. There are three divisions of them :
those who live beneath the first and second Devaloka,
those who live below the third, and those who dwell under
the seventh ; a little higher in the social scale come the
servant gods — the Tiryak jambrik — who each live in
a separate mountain in a different continent ; and above
these again are the Lokantika gods, who are higher ser-
vants, and who live in the fifth Devaloka. Altogether
there are in heaven and hell ninety-nine kinds of gods who
are regarded as menial because they serve.
JAIN A MYTHOLOGY
271
Could anything show more clearly the terrible way in
which caste has fettered not only the lives and customs of
the Jaina but even their imagination, than this fact that
the very gods who serve are regarded as polluted and con-
taminated by that service ? It is this belief that hinders
Jaina from taking their share in the social uplift of India;
and it is only the revelation of a Son of God who was
amongst us as one that serveth that can set them free.
Over all the Devaloka there is a place called Siddhasila,
in which the Siddha live.
All the gods are in a state of happiness, eating, drinking
and singing; the good gods ( Samakitl ) make a point of
being present and listening whenever the Tirthankara
preach, but the false gods ( Mithyatvl ) do not attend.
Even the Samakitl will have to be born as men before they
can attain moksa, but they will soon arrive there, whereas
the Mithyatvl will have to undergo numberless rebirths.
Indra is the supreme god, ruling over all the gods, and
his commands they must all obey.
The Jaina illustrate their ideas of heaven and hell by the
diagram of a man’s figure. The legs of the figure, they say,
represent Adholoka, wherein are situated the seven hells or
Naraka. Ratna Prabha, the first hell, is paved with sharp
stones ; Sarkara Prabha , the second, with pointed stones
of sugar-loaf shape; V alu Prabha with sand; Pahka Prabha
with mud; Dhumra Prabha is filled with smoke; Tama
Prabha is dark enough ; but Tamatama Prabha is filled with
thick darkness. The hideous torments inflicted in these
terrible hells by the evil gods we have already studied, but
in all these hells the jiva have the hope that they will
eventually escape from thence when their karma is ex-
hausted. A Svetambara sadhu, however, told the writer of
a still worse place, Nigoda , situated below the feet of the
figure in our diagram, in which are thrown evil jiva who
have committed specially heinous sins like murder, and who
have no hope of ever coming out. They suffer excruciat-
JAINA MYTHOLOGY
Avasar-
pini.
272
ing tortures, such as having millions of red-hot needles
thrust into them, and know that their pain is unending.
So many jiva are condemned to Nigoda that there is an
endless procession of them passing thither like a long, long
train of black ants, of which we can see neither the end
nor the beginning.
To return to our diagram, the waist of the figure is our
world, Tiryakloka, which is made up of two-and-a-half
islands, each containing a secret district called Mahavideha,
whose inhabitants alone can attain moksa ; above comes
Svarga or Urdhvaloka, where the gods of the upper world
live ; the breast of the figure represents Devaloka ; the
neck Graiveyika ; and the face Anuttaravimana, all of
whose gods we have studied ; while the crown of the figure
is Moksa, where dwell those jiva who, after being born as
men, have at length attained deliverance.
Jama Divisions of Time.
In common with so many oriental faiths the Jaina think
of time as a wheel which rotates ceaselessly downwards
and upwards — the falling of the wheel being known as
Avasarpini and the rising as Utsarpini. The former is
under the influence of a bad serpent, and the latter of
a good one.
Avasarpini, the era in which we are now living, began
with a period known as Susama Susama, the happiest time
of all, which lasted for four crores of crores of sagaropama,1
1 Jaina technical words for time :
Samaya, the smallest unit of time. Countless samaya pass whilst
one is winking an eye, tearing a rotten piece of cloth, snapping the
finger, or whilst the spear of a young man is piercing a lotus leaf.
Avalika, the next smallest division of time, is made up of innumerable
divisions of samaya.
Then comes Muhurta, which is composed of 16,777,216 avalika and
is equivalent to forty-eight minutes of English time.
Ahordtra consists of thirty muhurta, or a night and a day.
After Ahoratra the Jaina count like Hindus by fortnights, months,
and years, till they come to Palya, composed of countless years, and
Sagaropama , which consist of one hundred millions of palya multi-
plied by one hundred millions.
JAINA MYTHOLOGY
*73
and when every man’s height was six miles, and the number
of his ribs two hundred and fifty-six.
The children born in this happy period were always twins,
a boy and a girl, and ten Kalpavriksa (desire-fulfilling
trees) supplied all their need ; for one tree gave them sweet
fruits, another bore leaves that formed pots and pans, the
leaves of a third murmured sweet music, a fourth gave
bright light even at night, a fifth shed radiance like little
lamps, the flowers of a sixth were exquisite in form and
scent, the seventh bore food which was perfect both to sight
and taste, the leaves of the eighth served as jewellery, the
ninth was like a many-storied palace to live in, and the
bark of the tenth provided beautiful clothes. (In many
of the Jaina temples representations of the happy twins
are carved, standing beneath these desire-fulfilling trees.)
The parents of the children died as soon as the twins were
forty-nine days old, but that did not so much matter, since
the children on the fourth day after their birth had been
able to eat as much food as was equal to a grain of corn in
size, and they never increased the size of this meal, which
they only ate every fourth day. The children never com-
mitted the sin of killing, for during their whole lives they
never saw a cooking-vessel or touched cooked food, and
on their deaths they passed straight to Devaloka, without
ever having heard of religion.
In the next period, Susama, which, as its name indicates,
was only half as happy as the first, the twins born into the
world were only four miles high, had only one hundred and
twenty-eight ribs, and only lived for two palya of time, but
the ten desire-fulfilling trees still continued their kind offices.
The parents of the children lived longer now (the Jaina,
according to this, would seem not to consider the long life of
their parents essential to their own happiness !) and did
not die till the children were sixty-four days old ; and mean-
while human appetite had so far increased that twins ate
a meal equal to a jujube fruit three days after their birth,
274 JAINA MYTHOLOGY
and continued to do so every third day throughout their
lives.
In Susama Dusama the happiness has become mixed
with sorrow ; the twins are now only two miles in height,
have only sixty-four ribs, and live only for one palya, but
on their death they still go to Devaloka. It was during
this period that Risabhadeva, the first Tlrthankara, was
born. He taught the twins seventy-two useful arts, such as
cooking, sewing, &c. ; for he knew that the desire-fulfilling
trees would disappear, and that human beings would then
have only themselves to depend on. Ri$abhadeva is also
credited with having introduced politics and established
a kingdom, but his daughter Brahml, the Jaina patron of
learning, is even more interesting than her father. This
learned lady invented eighteen different alphabets (oh,
misdirected energy !) including Turkish, Nagarl, all the
Dravidian dialects, Canarese, Persian, and the character
used in Orissa. From these, the Jaina say, were derived
Gujarati and Marathi. It is strange that a people who
believe the patron of letters to have been a woman should
so long have refused to educate their own daughters : surely
in this particular they might safely follow the example of so
illustrious a being as their first Tlrthankara.
In the period of Dusama Susama , which lasted for one
crore of crores of sagaropama less forty-two thousand years,
the height of man was five hundred span, the number
of his ribs thirty-two, and his age one crore of purva.
The women born in this age ate twenty-eight morsels of
food, the men thirty-two, and they both dined once during
the day. During this time the Jaina religion was fully
developed, and there were born the remaining twenty-three
Tlrthankara, eleven Cakravarti, nine Bajadeva, nine
Vasudeva, and nine Prativasudeva. People born during
this epoch did not all pass to Devaloka, but might be reborn
in any of the four Gati (hell, heaven, man, or beast), or
might become Siddha.
JAINA MYTHOLOGY
275
Dusama, the period in which we are now living, is entirely
evil. No one can hope to live longer than one hundred and
twenty-five years, to have more than sixteen ribs or
a greater stature than seven cubits. The era began three
years after Mahavlra reached moksa, and will last for
twenty-one thousand years. No Tlrthankara can be born
during Dusama; nor can any one, lay or ascetic, however
good, reach moksa without undergoing at least one rebirth
(so that there would not seem to be much use in becoming
an ascetic nowadays !). Bad as things are now, they must
become yet worse, and Jainism itself is doomed to disappear
during our present era ; the last Jaina monk will be called
Duppasahasuri, the last nun PhalgusrI, the last layman
Nagila, and the last laywoman Satyasri.
It is this belief that Jainism must disappear that is
paralysing so much effort at the present time; for the
younger Jaina feel that anything they may do to spread
their faith, for instance, is only building castles in the sand
that must be swept away by the incoming tide of destruction .
It seems, in fact, impossible for any religion which is not
illuminated and irradiated by Hope to become a really
missionary faith.
Our present era, will be followed by a still more evil one,
Dusama Dusama, which will also endure for twenty-one
thousand years. A man’s life will then only last sixteen
or, according to some sects, twenty years at most, his height
will only be one cubit, and he will never possess more than
eight ribs. The days will be hot and the nights cold,
disease will be rampant, and chastity, even between brothers
and sisters, will be non-existent. At the end of the period
terrific tempests will sweep over the earth, and but for the
fact that the Jaina know their uncreated world can never
be destroyed, they would fear that the earth itself would
perish in the storms. Men and birds, beasts and seeds,
will seek everywhere for refuge, and find it in the river
Ganges, in caves and in the ocean.
U tsar-
pinl.
The
twenty-
four
coming
Tlrthah-
kara.
276 JAINA MYTHOLOGY
At last during Dusama Dusama, in some month of
Sravana, and in the dark half of it, the era of Utsarpini will
begin, and the wheel of time start its upward revolution.
It will rain for seven days seven different kinds of rain, and
this will so nourish the ground that the seeds will grow.
Dusama will bring slight improvement.
In Dusama Susama the first of the new twenty-four
Tirthankara will come.
The name of this first Tirthankara will be Padmanabha.
In Mahavira’s time this Padmanabha was a king in Maga-
dha, and at present he is expiating his bad karma in the
first hell. When in the upward revolution of the wheel
Susama has been reached, the other twenty-three coming
Tirthankara will be born.
Suparsva, the uncle of Mahavira, who at the present
moment is in the second Devaloka, will be the second
Tirthankara, and will be known as Suradeva.
The third will be Udaiji, who was the son of Kunika and
so grandson of King Srenika; he is at present in the third
Devaloka, but will be called the Tirthankara Suparsva.
The fourth, a certain Potila, now in the fourth Devaloka,
will rule as Svayamprabhu.
Dndhaketu, the uncle of the husband of Mallinatha (the
only woman Tirthankara), now in the second Devaloka,
will be the fifth Tirthankara, Sarvanubhuti.
Karttikasetha, the father of the most famous of all Jaina
laymen, Ananda, who is at present in the first Devaloka,
will be the sixth, Devasruta.
Saiikhasravaka, a man in the twelfth Devaloka, will be
reborn as the seventh coming Tirthankara, Udayaprabhu.
The eighth will be Anandasravaka, now in the first
Devaloka, who is to be called Pedhala.
Sunandasravika, in the first Devaloka, is to be reborn
as the ninth Tirthankara, Potila.
A man called Satakasravaka, in the third hell, is to be
re-incarnate as the tenth, Satakirti.
JAINA MYTHOLOGY
a 77
The eleventh is more interesting, for it is Devaki, the
mother of Krisna, at present working out her karma in the
eighth Devaloka, who will be incarnate as Munisuvrata.
The dark god Krisna himself, now in the third hell, is to
become the twelfth Tirthahkara, Amama.
HarasatyakI, the guru of Ravana of Hindu mythology,
when he leaves the fifth Devaloka, is to be incarnate as the
thirteenth Tirthahkara, Nikasaya.
Krisna’s brother Baladeva, now in the sixth Devaloka,
will become Nispulaka, the fourteenth Tirthahkara.
Sulasa, a man now in the fifth Devaloka, is to be the
fifteenth, Nirmcima.
We have not even yet come to the end of Hindu
influence, for the stepmother of Krisna, RohinI (the mother
of Baladeva), who is in the second Devaloka, will be
incarnate as Citragupta, the sixteenth Tirthahkara.
Revatl, a woman now in the twelfth Devaloka, who in her
past life was married to Mahasutaka, a famous Jaina lay-
man, will become Sumadhi, the seventeenth Tirthahkara.
The eighteenth was in her past life Subhala, and later a
very chaste woman (if not an actual satl), Magavatl, and
is at the present time in the eighth Devaloka, from whence
she will issue eventually as Samvarandtha.
The Hindu ascetic Dvaipayana, who set fire to Dvaraka,
and is now a god, Agni Kumara, will at last be incarnate as
the nineteenth Tirthahkara, Yasodhara.
The twentieth shows again the enormous popularity of
the Krisna cult and the influence it wields over Jaina as
well as Hindu thought, for it is that of Kunika, who in
his past life was Javakumara, a relative of Krisna’s. At
present he is in the twelfth Devaloka, but eventually he
will issue forth to be born as Vijaya.
Narada, who was a layman in the time of Ravana, and
who is in the fifth Devaloka, will be the twenty-first Tirthah-
kara, Mallinatha or Malyadeva.
Ambada, a former ascetic (or, according to other traditions,
JAINA MYTHOLOGY
278
a famous layman), now in the twelfth Devaloka, will become
the twenty-second Tlrthankara as Devajina.
The twenty-third is Amara, now in the ninth Graiveyaka,
and will be called Anantavirya.
The twenty-fourth and last of all the coming Tlrthankara
is Svayambuddha, now in the highest of all the Devaloka,
who is to be incarnate as Bhadrajina.
The first of the new series of Tlrthankara, Padmanabha,
will much resemble Mahavira, and will accomplish as much
as he did in spreading the faith. After him each succeed-
ing Tlrthankara will carry on the work, and the world will
grow steadily happier, passing through every stage till the
happiest of all is reached, when the decline of the wheel
must once more begin that leads at last to the destruction
of Jainism, and so on in endless succession.
CHAPTER XV
JAINA ARCHITECTURE AND LITERATURE
Jaina Architecture .
The earliest Jaina architects seem to have used wood as
their chief building material :• it was easily obtained and
very suitable for use in a tropical country ; but one quality
it conspicuously lacked, that of durability, and the earliest
Jaina buildings have all disappeared as completely as the
early wooden churches in Ireland.
The habit of using wood, however, left to subsequent
Jaina architecture some notable legacies, one of which
can be seen in the exquisite fineness of the carvings in
the interior of Jaina temples, tracery so delicate that it
seems almost incredible it can have been carried out in so
stubborn a medium as stone ; whilst another legacy is to
be found in the many-curved strut that sustains Jaina
arches and seems to have taken its origin from the wooden
support of a timber arch.
But if the hand of time robbed Jainism of its wooden Stupa,
treasures, the lack of knowledge on the part of early scholars,
which accredited all stupa and all cave-temples to Buddhists,
robbed Jainism for a time also of its earliest surviving
monuments. It is only recently, only in fact since students
of the past have realized how many symbols, such as the
wheel, the rail, the rosary, the Svastika, &c., the Jaina had
in common with the Buddhists and Brahmans, that its
early sites and shrines have been handed back to Jainism.
The importance of accuracy in this respect is enhanced
by the fact that in its architecture we have an almost
perfect record of Jaina history enshrined in loveliness.
Jaina and Buddhist art must have followed much the
28o
JAIN A ARCHITECTURE
Cave-
temples.
same course, and the former like the latter erected stupa
with railings round them in which to place the bones of
their saints. But such has been the avidity with which
everything possible has been claimed as Buddhist, that as
yet only two stupa1 are positively admitted to be of Jaina
origin. One of these was discovered by Dr. Fiihrer on the
Kankali mound near Mathura, that centre of Jaina influence,
and dates from the Satrap period, and another at Ramnagar
near Bareilly.
Dr. Burgess 2 gives the following account of the construc-
tion of a stupa built on the Asoka pattern about 200 b. c. :
‘ On a low circular drum, a hemispherical dome was constructed,
with a procession path round the latter, and over the dome a box-like
structure surmounted by an umbrella and surrounded by a stone
railing. Round the drum was an open passage for circumambulation,
and the whole was enclosed by a massive rail with gates on four sides.’
It is interesting to notice that even now after the passage
of tw’enty-one hundred years, circumambulation ( pradak -
sina) plays an important part in Jaina temple worship, and
to sit for ever under an umbrella is the highest privilege of
their Tlrthankara.
Of about the same date as the stupa were the Jaina cave
excavations containing caitya caves for worship and also
caves for the monks to live and sleep in. The Jaina caitya
were not as big as the Buddhist, for their religion did not
necessitate the calling of such large assemblies ; but in other
respects the resemblance between them was so strong that like
the stupa they were all placed to the credit of the Buddhists.
The wonderful caves in Junagadh, for instance, with their
traces of beautiful carving, are certainly Jaina, and now
that the State is for the time under British administration,
it is to be hoped that such thorough excavations may be
carried out as will throw light on many disputed points.
Dr. Fergusson 3 also numbers amongst Jaina caves of the
1 Imperial Gazetteer , ii. in. 2 Ibid., ii. 159.
3 J. Fergusson, History of Indian and Eastern Architecture ,
London, 1910, vol. ii, p. 9.
AND LITERATURE
281
second century b. c. those in Orissa, and as of later date
those at Badami, Patna, Elura and elsewhere.
If only we could trace the development from the earlier
wooden structures to the exquisite eleventh-century tem-
ples, we should have solved one of the great problems of
Jaina history; but we have as yet no material to do so.
The blossoming period of Jaina architecture is like the
sudden flowering of Flemish art under the Van Eycks : in
both cases all the intermediate stages have been swept away
by the ravages of time and the devastation of war, and we
are abruptly confronted with the perfection of loveliness,
whilst the toilsome steps that led up to it are hidden from us.
From this time the story of Jaina architecture is clear, 1. The
and it seems to fall into four main divisions, the first of ^°gden
which, the golden age, almost corresponds with the Gothic
movement on the continent of Europe.
The plan of the temples of this period is somewhat
similar : each has an open porch ( mandapa ), a closed hall
of assembly ( sabha mandapa), and an inner shrine or cell
( gabharo ) in which the idol is kept. The whole is surrounded
by a closed courtyard carrying on its inner wall numerous
separate cells, each with its own small image of a Tirthan-
kara. The temple is surmounted by a pyramidal roof, often
ending in the representation of a water-pot, and only the
carving on this pyramid (or Sikhara) as it appears over the
temple wall gives any hint of the rich beauty enclosed
within the courtyard. The inner shrine is usually guarded
by richly carved doorways ; the idol itself (nude and blind
in the case of Digambara and with loin-cloth and staring glass
eyes in the case of Svetambara temples) is of no artistic
merit ; the sabha mandapa has very little carving, and is
only too often defaced by vulgar decorations and hideous
glass globes, but the outer portico (the mandapa) is
a very fairyland of beauty, the fineness of whose carving
is only equalled by the white tracery of hoar-frost.
From the dome of this porch hang pendants of marble,
282
JAINA ARCHITECTURE
whose workmanship dims the memory of the stairway of
ChristChurch and the roof of the Divinity School in Oxford,
and gives the spectator a new standard of beauty. The
many pillars that support the dome are all so perfectly
carved, that the element of ‘ control ’ is never lost, and
the many curved struts between the pillars recall the days
when the Jaina wrought their dreams in wood. No de-
scription can give the reader any idea of the dainty elabora-
tion of the carving in white marble : indeed the learner
needs to pass many times from the blinding glare of a dusty
Indian day into the cool whiteness of these shrines and
surrender himself to the beauty and stillness of the place, ere
he can hope to unravel half their wealth of legends in stone.
We know that the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth cen-
turies saw the zenith of Jaina prosperity. Not only were
kings reckoned amongst the most ardent disciples of
this faith, but great wealth poured into the community ;
and as this acquisition of power and wealth coincided with
a time of real religious fervour, it is not surprising that
there followed a marvellous epoch of temple-building, in
spite of occasional outbursts of fierce persecution. Mount
Abu, bearing on its bosom shrines that are marvels of fretted
loveliness, the frowning rock of Girnar crowned with its
diadem of temples, and Satrunjaya in its surpassing holiness,
half fortress and half temple-city, bear witness to the fervour
of those days, when, for example, even the masons after
completing the work for which they were paid on Mount Abu
voluntarily erected another temple as a free-will offering,
which is called to this day the Temple of the Artificers.
It has already been pointed out that this the golden age
of Jaina temple-building in India is also the period of the
great Gothic cathedrals of Lincoln, Salisbury and Wells
in England, and of Amiens, Rheims and Chartres in France.
Both styles show a complete control of the principle of
vaulting and a marvellous inventiveness in the wealth of
detail with which the interiors are decorated.
AND LITERATURE
283
The Mohammedans found in the Jaina temples not only 2. Under
quarries from which to steal ready-made the pillars for ^dow
their mosques, but as it were garments for the expression of of Islam,
religion that could be * made over ’ for their use. As easily
as an elder sister’s clothes are cut up and altered for the use
of the younger, so conveniently were Jaina temples trans-
formed for the appropriation of this newest arrival on the
Indian scene. All that the victorious Mohammedans had
to do was to make slight structural alterations.
‘ By removing the principal cell and its porch from the centre of the
court, and building up the entrances of the cells that surround it, a court-
yard was at once obtained, surrounded by a double colonnade, which
always was the typical form of a mosque. Still one essential feature was
wanting — a more important side towards Mecca ; this they easily
obtained by removing the smaller pillars from that side, and re-erecting
in their place the larger pillars of the porch, with their dome in the
centre ; and, if there were two smaller domes, by placing one of them
at each end.’ 1
No original mosque the Mohammedans ever erected
rivalled these ‘ made-over ’ temples for beauty. In the
zenith of their prosperity Jaina architects had taught
Hindu builders much ; now in adversity they still influenced
their persecutors, and the still too-little-known mosques of
Ahmadabad owe more of their unrivalled beauty to Jaina
inspiration than to any other source.
But the Jaina did not only teach ; like true scholars,
they also learnt even from their opponents, and it is to the
blending of the pure Jaina style with Mughal features that
we owe modern Jaina architecture. The present writer was
shown both at Abu and Satrunjaya on the interior of the
roof of the temple courtyard miniature representations of
Mohammedan tombs, which she was assured had been
placed there to guard the shrines from the iconoclastic
zeal of the conquerors. This, however, was only a small
1 Fergusson, loc. cit., ii. 69.
284
JAINA ARCHITECTURE
3. Modern
Jaina
architec-
ture.
matter compared to the other modifications due to Moham-
medan influence that were to follow.
When the Mohammedan tyranny was overpast, the
natural outcome of Jaina belief in the merit of building
temples again showed itself in the erection of new shrines
on the old sites, in additions to the temple cities, and also
in the buildings that may still be seen in such places
as Sonagarh and Mukhtagiri. The peace and prosperity
that have followed the establishment of British rule in
India have led to an unprecedented outburst of temple-
building; and all these shrines, whether erected in the six-
teenth or in the nineteenth century, have so many character-
istics in common, that they may be grouped together as
modern. The pointed pyramidical roof is seldom seen,
and the true Jaina dome is superseded by the Mughal, and
the openings are now usually the foliated pointed arch which
the Mohammedans introduced. The style, too, though rich
and ornate, has lost much of its original eleventh-century
purity.
Perhaps one distinct gain may be chronicled that is seen
at its best in a Jaina temple in Delhi, namely, the filling
in of the space behind the strut with beautiful pierced work,
that makes the whole resemble a bracket supporting the
arch.
On the debit side, however, there must be recorded the
terrible vulgarity that often disfigures modern Jaina
temples and is seen at its worst in places like the temple
city of Palitana, where the older buildings throw the
modern craze for crude colour washing and paintings into
terrible relief. Perhaps the most famous of the modern
temples is that erected by Setha Hatthisimha in
Ahmadabad in 1848, where despite all the beauty of its
carving one still longs for the more austere loveliness
of the earlier fanes. The old ‘ Gothic ’ days seem to
have passed now into an over-elaborated period of mixed
styles.
AND LITERATURE
285
The Jaina architecture of the south forms a class apart ; 4. South-
it has three chief divisions. First, temples ( Basti ) that ern India-
possess shrine, assembly hall and porch, like similar buildings
in the north of India, but with more ornate outer walls.
Secondly, open-air courtyards ( Betta ) containing images not
of any of the orthodox Tlrthankara of the north, but of
Gbmata or Gomatesvara, a Digambara saint unknown in
northern India. (It is to this saint that the famous colossi
of the south are dedicated. The best known of these is that
at Sravana Belgola in Mysore, which, cut from a single block
of gneiss, stands some fifty-seven feet high; others are to be
found at Yenur and Karkala in South Kanara.) The third
class of temples is found in Kanara, and with their Venetian
blinds they curiously recall the house of some European
official, but their general style and especially their reversed
eaves resemble the buildings of Nepal.
Another feature of note in Southern Jaina architecture is
the stambha or pillar. In Abu the custodian of a temple
drew the writer’s attention to a stambha within the en-
closure and explained that no temple was complete without
one. But the Abu pillar was plain indeed compared to the
lavishly carved stambha that are to be found in the south.
At Mudabidri a most interesting question is raised by the
presence on the bottom of these pillars of the curious inter-
laced basket-work pattern familiar in Irish manuscripts
and on Irish crosses.
‘ It is equally common in Armenia, and can be traced up the valley
of the Danube into central Europe ; but how it got to the west coast
of India we do not know, nor have we, so far as I know, any indication
on which we can rely for its introduction. There was at all times for
the last fifteen centuries a large body of Christians established on this
coast who were in connection with Persia and Syria, and are so now.
It would be strange, indeed, if it were from them the Jains obtained
this device.’ 1
May not this symbol from the ancient crosses now so
1 Fergusson, ii. &z.
286
JAINA ARCHITECTURE
strangely found in the very centre of a Jaina temple be a
prophecy of the coming of the spring ?
Jaina Writers.
Jainism has produced so vast and varied a literature, that
we can mention here only the leading periods of activity
and the languages used.
All the books of the Canon are in Ardha-MagadhI, the
vernacular spoken by Mahavira and his monks, which
thus became the sacred language of Jainism.
All early commentaries on the Jaina Canon and a good
deal of the secular poetry composed by Jaina are in what is
known as Jaina-Maharastri, a vernacular closely allied to
early Marathi.
After the Christian era Sanskrit gradually won its way to
the place of lingua franca in North India. It was generally
used in inscriptions and in royal proclamations ; and lite-
rary men of all the religions employed it in preference to
other tongues, because it alone was understood by cultured
men everywhere. This explains the existence of a great
body of Buddhist literature in Sanskrit. The Jaina were
rather later than others in substituting Sanskrit for their
accustomed vernacular, but finally most of their sects also
yielded, though in varying degrees. A large part of Jaina
Sanskrit literature consists of scholastic and philosophic
works connected with the exposition and defence of the faith ;
but the Jaina also hold a notable place in ordinary literature.
They specially distinguished themselves in grammar, lexico-
graphy and moral tales. The two northern recensions of the
Pancatantra, for example, show considerable Jaina influence.
The work of this period culminates in the activity of
Hemacandra, with whose writings we deal briefly below.
In South India the earliest literary movement was pre-
dominately Jaina. In Tamil literature from the earliest
times for many centuries Jaina poets held a great place.
The Jivaka Cintamani , perhaps the finest of all Tamil
AND LITERATURE
287
poems, is a Jaina work. Eight thousand Jaina, it is said,
each wrote a couplet, and the whole when joined together
formed the famous Naladiyar. To-day this consists of only
four hundred verses, but the discrepancy is accounted for
by the action of a hostile monarch who flung the whole
multitude of poems into a stream and destroyed all but
four hundred particularly good ones ! Each of the verses
is quite unconnected with the other, but has a most unim-
peachable moral, and so they are taught in Tamil schools
to this day.
More famous still is the Kurral of Tiruvaljuvar, the
masterpiece of Tamil literature. Its author, an outcaste by
birth, is claimed by every sect as belonging to their faith,
but Bishop Caldwell ‘ considers its tone more Jaina than
anything else \1 In any case it must come from the earliest
period. Another name that adds lustre to these times is
that of a Jaina lady Avvaiyar ‘ the Venerable Matron ’,
one of the most admired amongst Tamil poets, who is said to
have been a sister of Tiruvaljuvar. Nor was it only amongst
the fields of poesy that the Jaina gained renown ; a famous
old dictionary and the great Tamil grammar are also
accredited to them.
Jaina writers also laid the foundations of Telugu litera-
ture, and classical Kanarese literature begins with a great
succession of Jaina poets and scholars. The period of their
greatest activity runs from the eighth to the twelfth century.
But the greatest of all Jaina writers was undoubtedly
Hemacandra. He was born in Dhanduka near Ahmadabad
in a. d. 1088 of Jaina parents, his real name being probably
Cangadeva. His mother dedicated him to the religious life
under the care of a monk named Devacandra, who took
him to Cambay, where he was eventually ordained, receiving
the new name of Somacandra. In Cambay he studied
logic, dialectics, grammar and poetry, and proved him-
self a past master in every branch of study he took up.
1 Imperial Gazetteer , ii. 435.
388 JAINA ARCHITECTURE AND LITERATURE
Hemacandra’s chance came when he was appointed spokes-
man of the Jaina community at Anhilvada Patana to
welcome the great Caulukya king, Jayasirhha Siddharaja,
on his return from a famous victory in Malwa. His poem
won the king’s heart, and he was appointed court pandit and
court annalist in the royal capital. There he compiled two
lexicons and wrote his famous Prakrit grammar, with which
the learned king was so delighted, that he engaged three
hundred copyists for three years to transcribe it, and sent
copies all over India. Hemacandra was just as popular
with Jayasirhha’s successor, Kumarapala, whom, if he did
not actually convert to Jainism, he at least persuaded to
follow the Jaina rule of non-killing, and to build many
temples. During this reign Hemacandra continued to
write a number of science hand-books, lives of Jaina
saints, and other works, including a History of Gujarat and
the famous Yoga Sastra and commentary thereon ; and he
also found time to instruct many scholars who carried on
the literary tradition. (In Anhilvada Patana one may still
see the ink-stained stone on which Hemacandra’s cushion
was placed, and where he dictated his works to his pupils.)
About a. d. 1172 Hemacandra died of self-starvation, in the
approved Jaina fashion, shortly before his friend and patron
Kumarapala.
It is astonishing that with such a magnificent record of
early writers the Jaina of to-day, despite their educational
advantages, should number so few authors of note amongst
them ; their literary activity seems at present to find its
chief outlet in journalism and pamphleteering.1
Modern Jaina literature is mostly in Gujarati, but books
in Hindi and in English are also numerous.
1 It is interesting and encouraging to notice that out of every
possible way of spreading their faith the Jaina have deliberately chosen
as the best adapted for Oriental use the now classic methods selected
by the great old Christian missionaries (true Tlrthankara) of the past.
Thus they have Jaina tracts, Jaina newspapers, Jaina schools and
Jaina hostels ; each sect has also its own Conference, with its Ladies’
Day, and there are even Jaina Young Men’s Associations.
CHAPTER XVI
THE EMPTY HEART OF JAINISM
The more one studies Jainism, the more one is struck
with the pathos of its empty heart. The Jaina believe
strongly in the duty of forgiving others, and yet have no
hope of forgiveness from a Higher Power for themselves.
They shrink from sin and take vows to guard against it,
but know of no dynamic force outside themselves that
could enable them to keep those vows. They see before
them an austere upward path of righteousness, but know
of no Guide to encourage and help them along that diffi-
cult way.
A scholar-saint once summed up the Christian faith by
saying that the personal friendship of Jesus Christ our Lord
was that gift which God became incarnate to bestow on
every man who sought it. It is this personal friendship
with the Incarnate Son of God which is the great gift that
Christianity has to offer to the Jaina. Already, with their
power of hero-worship and their intense love of all that is
gentle, long-suffering and loving, the Jaina cannot but be
attracted to Him. It is perhaps easier for a Jaina than it
is for us to appreciate the wonderful portrait of Himself
which Christ drew in those rules for happiness which we call
the Beatitudes ; for, while approving of the Ten Command-
ments, to which in many respects their own rules bear a
strong resemblance, it is to the Beatitudes that they are
specially attracted, since these meet their faith at its highest
and yet point out a still higher way.
The younger Jaina are worried by the old ascetic ideal
that is placed before them. They feel, even when they can
hardly express it, that the ideal needed for modern life is
the development, not the negation, of personality; they
U
$90 the empty heart of jainism
are also increasingly bewildered by the conflict between
modern science and their own faith. The appeal of Chris-
tianity may come to them through their realizing that the
true way to ensure the growth of one’s own character is by
gaining the noblest of friendships, that of the man Christ
Jesus.
But it is when talking to the older men and women that
one realizes most how restless and dissatisfied they are at
heart, since the ideal their religion offers them is a ritual
rather than a personal holiness. A Jaina magistrate once
said to the writer : ‘ I call Jainism a dummy religion. Even
if I took bribes and gave false judgements, I should still be
considered a holy man, so long as I was careful never to eat
after dark.’ And an older man made this pathetic con-
fession : ‘ It is a terrible thing to a Jaina to grow old : we
may have tried all our lives to keep our innumerable laws,
but we know the awful doom that awaits us if we have
broken even one of them, and for us there is no forgiveness.’
His pitiful fear seemed wonderfully to enhance the glory
of the old Evangel : ‘ I came not to call the righteous but
sinners to repentance ’ ; but the man could hardly grasp the
fact that, while the Redeemer of the World never uttered
one word of hope or forgiveness to strong, self-sufficient,
self-righteous folk, He freely offered the riches of His grace
to the sinful and fallen, to the weak and helpless, to women
and to little children.
A short time ago the writer was talking to a student, who
had himself left Jainism, but was explaining to her how many
beautiful things there were in the Jaina creed. At length
she asked him why he was no longer a Jaina. He turned
to her and said : ‘ Because in all our creed there is no such
word as “grace”.’
The In a book such as this one can only throw out a few
of suffer suggest^ons f°r a comparison between Jainism and Chris-
ing. tianity, and one of the chief points on which they differ is
in the value they give to sorrow. To Christian thought
THE EMPTY HEART OF JAINISM 291
sorrow is not necessarily an evil : to the Jaina it is either
a calamity to be avoided at all costs, or a punishment from
which there is no escape. One can easily understand how
Jainism arose : how sensitive souls, finding the pain of the
world intolerable, would resolve to free themselves from
every tie that might be the means of bringing sorrow upon
them, and to give no more hostages to fortune. But they
forgot that by shutting themselves off from pain they closed
the gates for ever against development, not realizing that,
as all advance in knowledge can be gained only at the price
of weary drudgery, and even the supreme joy of motherhood
is not won without danger and pain, so character can only
be completely developed by the discipline of sorrow : the
only result of shirking suffering is for scholars, ignorance;
for women, barrenness; and for all, even the highest, moral
atrophy.
The more one comes to know the Jaina, the more sure one
feels that they will not for ever remain satisfied with the
thought of a divinity which, by avoiding emotion, has
become a characterless being, taking no interest in the lives
of his followers and powerless to help them. Already many
are attracted by the idea of a God who, becoming incarnate
for us men and for our salvation, not only promulgated a
law of self-denial and of loving-kindness to every living being
more stringent and far-reaching than the Jaina rule, but also
Himself suffered in His life and death more loneliness, more
insults and more pain than ever Mahavira endured, and
whose suffering only increased His love and power to
help men in their sorrows. Alone amongst the religions
of the world the faith of Christ Jesus opens to its followers
conquest through pain and mystic joy in sorrow.
Despite the differences between Jainism and Chris-
tianity, the resemblance between them is striking.
Both religions arose in the East, and both are to this
day thoroughly Oriental in their character and spirit.
The founders of the two faiths were each the son of a
292 THE EMPTY HEART OF JAINISM
No
supreme
God.
Forgive-
ness.
Prayer.
king, and each left his high estate for a life of poverty
and insult. Each wandered homeless through sunny
lands, followed by a band of twelve disciples, proclaiming
the beauty of poverty of spirit, of meekness, of righteous-
ness, of mercy, of purity, of peace, and of patient suffering.
Alike they illustrated their teaching from the every-day
life of the countryside, showing how much greater a thing
it was ‘ to be ’ than ‘ to do ’, and how perilous ‘ to have ’ ;
but each teacher gave his followers a different motive to
rule their lives, for the command of the one was to love
and of the other to escape.
The Jaina do not believe in one supreme God. Innumer-
able men of like passions with themselves have, by steadily
eradicating all that belongs to personality, passed to take
their places amongst the Siddha in a still land of endless in-
activity ; but none of these are first and none second : all
are equal ; and none take any interest in the human toilers
who are climbing the steep ascent leading to the goal which
they themselves have reached.
The loss suffered by those who have relinquished their
belief in a supreme God it is impossible adequately to gauge.
For instance, the Jaina can have no conception of the for-
giveness of sin, for to them there is no God against whom
they have sinned, but whose property it is to show mercy,
and who, by pardoning past failure, can give an oppor-
tunity for future conquest. The Jaina, when they do
wrong, only feel that they sin against themselves, injure
their own characters, and so lose ground on the upward
way, and that such lost progress can only be made up after
countless ages of useless (because unremembered) suffering.
Again, a system without a God has no room for prayer,
for it knows of no almighty and most merciful Father to
whose love and wisdom His children can confide their secret
desires ; and to this day the Jaina count it a sin if a mother,
watching beside her suffering child, should appeal to some
higher power to save the little life.
THE EMPTY HEART OF JAINISM 293
There is no question that the Jaina feel to be more critical Caste,
than the intricate problem of caste in modern India. The
one solvent that can ever weaken the grip of those iron fetters
is the thought that, despite all barriers and all differences,
we have been created by the same Father and are therefore
all children of one family ; but a philosophy that denies the
Fatherhood of God is able to deny the brotherhood of man ;
and the notices on their temple gates show that there are
no people in India more caste-bound than the Jaina.1
The negation of a personal God affects also the Jaina idea Moksa.
of heaven. The Jaina, as we have seen, think of moksa as
a bare place of inaction reached by those who through
suffering and austerity have completely killed all their
individuality and character and have finally snapped the
fetters of rebirth. The Christian, like the Jaina, believes
in a state whose bliss we shall never leave, but to the
Christian heaven is also that sphere where the Lord God
Omnipotent reigneth, and over which His will has absolute
sway. There, in a golden atmosphere of happiness, the re-
deemed from all nations, with every power disciplined and
developed, move without let or hindrance to accomplish the
Divine will. There His servants serve Him, for they see
His face. It is a land full of joy and singing, from which
all sorrow has vanished, not because the character of its
citizens has become so stultified that they can no more feel
grief, but because the promise has been fulfilled that * God
Himself shall be with them, and be their God : and He shall
wipe away every tear from their eyes ; and death shall be
no more ; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor
pain, any more. . . . He that overcometh [the jina] shall
inherit these things ; and I will be his God, and he shall be
my son.’ 2
1 The notice on Hatthisimha’s temple in Ahmadabad runs: ‘ Low-
caste servants in attendance on visitors and dogs cannot be allowed to
enter the temple.’
2 Rev. xxi. 3-4 ; 7.
Karma
and
transmi-
gration.
Ahimsa.
294 THE EMPTY HEART OF JAINISM.
Instead nf a God delighting in mercy, who rules and
judges the fair world that He has made, the Jaina have
set in His place a hideous thing, the accumulated energy
of past actions, karma, which can no more be affected by
love or prayer than a runaway locomotive. On and on
it goes, remorselessly dealing out mutilation and suffering,
till the energy it has amassed is at last exhausted and a
merciful silence follows. The belief in karma and trans-
migration kills all sympathy and human kindness for
sufferers, since any pain a man endures is only the wages he
has earned in a previous birth. It is this belief that is
responsible amongst other things for the suffering of the
thousands of child widows in India, who are taught that they
are now reaping the fruit of their unchastity in a former life.
There is no conscious justice in this solution, for how can
a man possibly accept a sentence as righteous, when he
does not even know for what he is being tried and has no
recollection of ever committing the crime ?
Much, however, as the Jaina find to admire in Christianity,
one of their tenets, that of Ahimsa, casts for them a great
shadow across the Christian faith : they feel that the fol-
lowers of Christ are stained with the sin of animal murder,
and until this feeling is removed, they will never really
understand the beauty of our religion.
One would like to remind them first of the quite elemen-
tary fact that a great many Christians are actually vege-
tarians, and that no Christian is under any obligation to eat
meat ; in fact the great missionary apostle expressly said,
‘ If meat maketh my brother to stumble, I will eat no flesh
for evermore’.1 Not as though there were any sin in eat-
ing or in not eating meat. Jesus Christ, realizing that there
were enough real sins already in the world, created no arti-
ficial ones by laying down ritual regulations for His followers
to govern the details of their daily lives. But though He
gave them no narrow code of rules, as though they had been
1 1 Cor. viii. 13.
THE EMPTY HEART OF JAINISM 295
slaves, He did lay down for them certain great principles
on which they might fashion their lives in absolute freedom,
and one of these was the principle of self-sacrificing service.
Science has taught us that the physical world is governed
by the law of sacrifice : that all existence is maintained
through the death of others, and that every living organism
is built up through the silent and invisible work of the
minute bacteria of decay, which release from the dead
the material needed by the. living. It is this same law
of sacrifice, of life through another’s death, which governs
also the spiritual world. When animals and insects are
killed that a Jaina may have light to study, material
for clothing, shoes to wear, bread to eat, water with which
to wash, or air to breathe, it seems to him that the sin of
murder has been committed (for the Jaina have not yet
learnt clearly to distinguish between human and animal life) ;
but to the Christian it seems that he has accepted strength
from others, which he is therefore bound to expend in ser-
vice. And this is the reason that at every meal he thanks
God for the food given and asks that the strength gained
may be used in God’s service.1 For the follower of Christ
has realized that his very entrance into the world was pur-
chased by another’s pain (perhaps death), and that through-
out life his food, his clothing, and even his leisure for study or
for art is earned by the toil of others. He cannot therefore
count himself his own, but as a 1 debtor ’ he is bound to use
his life and his leisure in the service of others, that they in
their turn may by his work be helped to labour more happily.
Following this thought, we seem to catch a glimpse of
what is perhaps one great purpose of God, that all
His creatures should be linked to one another by golden
chains of self-sacrificing service. In the highest realm
1 Compare the old College grace : ‘ Benignissime Domine, benedic
nobis et hisce creaturis in usum nostrum ; ut illae sanctificatae sint et
nobis salutares, et nos inde corroborati magis apti reddamur ad omnia
opera bona, in laudem tui nominis aeternam per Iesum Christum
Dominum nostrum. Amen.’
296 THE EMPTY HEART OF JAINISM
of all the same law still holds : ‘ Surely He hath
borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. . . . He was
wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our
iniquities : the chastisement of our peace was upon Him ;
and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have
gone astray ; we have turned ’every one to his own way ;
and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.’ 1
But the golden chain that binds us all into one loving
whole is broken by cruelty, and it is here that the Jaina fail.
Their belief in the duty of not killing is not in practice com-
plemented by an equal fear of cruelty. It is surely happier
for instance, for an animal to be well tended, well fed, and well
cared for, and then to die swiftly and painlessly before old age
and suffering come upon it, than to linger on, as one so often
sees in India (even in a Jaina asylum for animals2), neglected,
suffering, and even starving, once it has passed its prime.
Moreover, the logical outcome of the doctrine of Ahimsa
is, as the Jaina themselves admit, a reductio ad absurdum.
They must not move for fear of treading on and killing
some minute insect; for the same reason they must not eat
and they must not breathe. So that in order not to com-
mit hirhsa Jaina sometimes commit suicide, yet suicide they
consider one of the wickedest of crimes.3 It is scientifically
impossible to take as a life’s motto Ahimsa parama dharma,
since it is contrary to the order of nature. To carry it out,
a man ought not to be born, lest his birth should cost his
mother her life ; he must not continue to live when he is
1 Isaiah liii. 4-6.
2 These asylums or Panjarapola are peculiar to Jainism, and all sects
of the Jaina unite in striving to acquire merit by supporting them. They
are to befound in many of the large towns and villages throughout India,
and house decrepit and suffering cattle, horses, donkeys, goats, &c. ;
even pariah dogs are collected in special dog-carts (i.e. wheeled cages)
by men armed with long iron pincers with which they can safely pick
up the most savage and filthy curs. But, as far as any real kindness
to animals is concerned, these institutions in their actual working leave
much to be desired, however meritorious the intention of their founders
may have been.
3 The whole Jaina position in relation to suicide is, however, most
puzzling. Apparently simple suicide is held to be a crime, but satitharo,
or religious suicide, is a meritorious act.
THE EMPTY HEART OF JAINISM 297
born, since every instant he breathes he takes life ; he
must not commit suicide, for that is taking life; he must
not even die a natural death, for in the burning of his
corpse after death some life would be destroyed.
But though our Lord gave to His followers the law of self-
sacrificing service, not that of Ahirhsa, He was nevertheless
careful to teach them how exceedingly precious in the sight
of the Creator was the life of even the smallest of His
creatures. ‘ Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? ’
said Christ, 1 and not one of them shall fall on the ground
without your Father.’ 1 And again in His great Sermon
on the Mount : ‘ Behold the birds of the heaven, that they
sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; and
your heavenly Father feedeth them.’2
And so through all the history of Christendom it has
been proved true that
‘ He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.
He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small ;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.’
Another great difference between Christianity and System of
Jainism lies in the fact that, while Jainism may fairly be etlllcs-
regarded as a system of ethics rather than a religion, yet the
intensely self-centred point of view of Jainism, in which all
actions are judged by the profit {puny a) that may accrue
from them, differentiates it also from altruistic ethical
systems ; and this self-centred attitude, perhaps, it is which
largely accounts for the failure of the Jaina as a whole to
take their share in social reform.
The supreme difference, however, between Jainism and Person-
Christianity we have already glanced at more than once ; ancl
it lies in their treatment of personality and life. The
object of Christianity is to educate every sense and to
train the whole personality, till the highest development is
reached, and we all attain ‘ unto a fullgrown man, unto the
1 St. Matt. x. 29. 2 St. Matt. vi. 26.
The un-
known
God of
Jainism.
298 THE EMPTY HEART OF JAINISM
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ h1 The
key-word of Jainism, on the other hand, is the elimination
of personality. So long as a man has to live in this world,
he should daily curtail his opportunities of development ;
and if he attains to the ascetic life, he should see to it that
his personality withers the faster, for atrophy is his goal.
It will be remembered that before Mahavira’s death nine
out of his twelve disciples carried their Master’s precepts to
their logical conclusion and gained the goal of death through
religious suicide by starvation ; and we have seen how,
through the long centuries right down to the present time,
this has been the practice of his most devoted followers.
What could be a greater contrast than the lives of the
twelve men who followed Christ, and whose work after
His death and resurrection turned the dead old world
upside down ; for the Master they served was one who had
come to give Life, and to give it more abundantly.
There is a strange mystery in Jainism ; for though it
acknowledges no personal God, knowing Him neither as
Creator, Father, or Friend, yet it will never allow itself to be
called an atheistic system. Indeed there is no more deadly
insult that one could level at a Jaina than to call him a
nastika or atheist.
It is as if, though their king were yet unknown to them,
they were nevertheless all unconsciously awaiting his advent
amongst them, and proudly called themselves royalists.
The marks which they will ask to see in one who claims to
be their king will be the proofs of Incarnation ( avatara ), of
Suffering ( tapa ), and of the Majesty of a Conqueror ( Jina ).
But when once they recognize Him, they will pour out at
His feet all the wealth of their trained powers of self-denial
and renunciation. Then shall He, the Desire of all nations,
whose right it is to reign, take His seat on the empty
throne of their hearts, and He shall reign King of Kings
and Lord of Lords for ever and ever.
1 Eph. iv. 13.
APPENDIX
I. ANALYSIS OF THE NINE CATEGORIES
First Category: JIVA.
It can be classified :
i. In two divisions : a. Siddha.
b. Sam sari.
ii. In three divisions : a. Male.
b. Female.
c. Neuter.
iii. In f our divisions •. a. NarakT.
b. Tiryanc.
c. Manusya.
d. Devata.
iv. In Jive divisions : a. Ekendriya. (Prithvikaya, Apakaya,
Teukaya, Vayukaya, Vanaspatikaya
[Pratyeka, Sadharana].)
b. Be-indriya (Dvlndriya).
c. Tri-indriya (Trlndriya).
d. Corendriya (Caturindriya).
e. Pancendriya [Samjnl and Asamjnl].
v. Ifi six divisions : a. Prithvikaya.
b. Apakaya.
c. Teukaya.
d. Vayukaya.
e. Vanaspatikaya.
/. Trasakaya.
vi. In seven somewhat artijicial divisions for symmetry.
vii. In eight divisions : a. Salesl.
b. Those swayed by Krisnalesya.
c.
V
99
99
Nllalesya.
d.
99
99
99
Kapotalesya.
e.
99
99
99
Tejolesya.
/•
99
99
99
Padmalesya.
g •
99
99
99
Suklalesya.
h.
99
99
99
Alesl.
viii. Artificial division into nine classes.
ix. In ten divisions : Ekendriya j
( Aparyapta.
3°°
APPENDIX
l Paryapta.
( Aparyapta.
I Paryapta.
( Aparyapta.
I Paryapta.
( Aparyapta.
Pancendriya ]
( Aparyapta.
Be-indriya
Tri-indriya
Corendriya
x. In eleven divisions : Ekendriya.
Be-indriya.
Tri-indriya.
Corendriya.
N arakl.
Tiryanc.
Manusya.
Bhavanapati deva.
Vyantara deva.
Jyotisi deva.
Vaimanika deva.
xi. Artificial division into twelve classes.
xii. Artificial division into thirteen classes.
xiii. Artificial division into fourteen classes , two being new , viz.
Suksma ekendriya.
Badara ekendriya.
Second Category: AJIVA.
A. Arupi Ajiva.
1. Dharmastikaya (Dravya, Ksetra, Kala, Bhava, Guna).
Skandha.
Desa.
Pradesa.
2. Adharmastikaya (Dravya, Ksetra, Kal.a, Bhava, Guna).
Skandha.
Desa.
Pradesa.
3. Akasastikaya (Dravya, Ksetra, Kala, Bhava, Guna).
Skandha.
Desa.
Pradesa.
4. Ka]a (Dravya, Ksetra, Ka]a, Bhava, Guna).
B. Riipi A jiva.
Pudga]astikaya.
APPENDIX
3QI
Third Category: PUNYA.
Nine Kinds of Puny a.
1. Anna punya.
2. Pana punya.
3. Vastra punya.
4. Layana punya.
5. Sayana punya.
6. Mana punya (Manas or Manasa punya).
7. Sarira or Kaya punya.
8. Vacana punya.
9. Namaskara punya.
Forty- tivo Fruits of Punya.
1. Satavedanlya.
2. Uncagotra.
3. Manusya gati.
4. Manusya anupurvl.
5. Devata gati.
6. Devata anupurvl.
7. Pancendriyapanum.
8. Audarikasarlra.
9. VaikreyasarTra.
10. Aharakasarira.
11. Audarika angopanga.
12. Vaikreya angopanga.
1 3. Aharaka angopanga.
14. Taijasasarlra.
15. Karmanasarira.
16. Vrajrarisabhanaraca sanghayana.
17. Samacaturastra santhana.
18. ^ubha varna.
19. ^ubha gandha.
20. Subha rasa.
21. Subha sparsa.
22. Agurulaghu namakarma.
23. Paraghata namakarma.
24. Ucchvasa namakarma.
25. Atapa namakarma.
26. Anusna namakarma.
27. Jsubhavihayogati.
28. Nirmana namakarma.
29. Trasa namakarma.
30. Badara namakarma.
302
APPENDIX
31. Paryapti namakarma.
32. Sthira namakarma.
33. Pratyeka namakarma.
34. Subha namakarma.
35. Subhaga namakarma.
36. Susvara namakarma.
37. Adeya namakarma.
38. Yasoklrtti namakarma.
39. Devata ayusya.
40. Manusya ayusya.
41. Tiryanc ayusya.
42. Tlrthankara namakarma.
Fourth Category : PAPA.
Eighteen Kinds of Sin.
1. Jlva himsa.
a. Bhava himsa.
b. Dravya himsa.
2. Asatya or Mrisavada.
3. Adattadana.
4. Abrahmacarya.
5. Parigraha.
( 6. Krodha. . , ( a. Aprasasta.
7. Mana. [ lU S \ b. Prasasta.
8. Maya. .Length of time indulged in : AnantanubandhI,
9. Lobha. J ApratyakhyanT, PratyakhyanT, Sanjvalana.
10. Raga or Asakti.
11. Dvesa or Irsya.
12. Klesa.
13. Abhyakhyana.
14. Paisunya.
15. Ninda.
16. Rati, Arati.
17. Mayamrisa.
18. Mithyadarsana ^alya.
Some of the twenty-five divisions of Mithyadarsana 3alya :
Kasaya
or Can-
dala
Cokadi.
Laukika mithyatva.
Lokottara mithyatva.
Abhigrahika mithyatva.
Ajnana mithyatva.
APPENDIX
3°3
Avinaya mithyatva.
Asatana mithyatva.
Anabhigrahika mithyatva.
Eighty-two Results of Sin :
Five Jhanavaraniya.
I.
1.
Matijnanavaranlya.
2.
2.
Srutajnanavaranly a.
3-
3-
Avadhijnanavaranlya.
4-
4-
ManahparyayajnanavaranTya.
5-
5-
Kevalajnanavaranlya.
Five Antardya.
6.
I.
Danantaraya.
7-
2.
Labhantaraya.
8.
3-
Bhogantaraya.
9-
4-
U pabhogantaraya.
10.
5. Vlryantaraya.
The Four Darsanavaraniyi
11.
I.
Caksudarsanavaranlya.
12.
2.
Acaksudarsanavaranlya.
13.
3-
Avadhidarsanavaranlya.
14.
4-
KevaladarsanavaranTya.
The Five Nidra.
15-
I.
Nidra.
16.
2.
Nidranidra.
1 7-
3-
Pracala.
18.
4-
Pracalapracala.
19-
5. Styanarddhi [or Thinarddhi).
Five Unclassified Results.
20. Nlcagotra.
21. Narakagati.
22. Asatavedanlya.
23. Narakanupurvl.
24. Narakayu.
Twenty-five Kasaya.
25-40. Sixteen already discussed (Anger, Pride, Deceit, Envy,
and their subdivisions)
and Nine Nokasaya, namely : —
41. Hasya.
42. Rati.
43. Arati.
3° 4
APPENDIX
44. Bhaya.
45. Soka.
46. Dugaricha.
47. Purusaveda.
48. Strlveda.
49. Napurhsakaveda.
Six Results affecting Class.
50. Tiryanc anupurvi.
51. Tiryanc gati.
52. Ekendriya nama.
53. Be-indriya nama.
54. Tri-indriya nama.
55. Corendriya nama.
Six Physical Blemishes.
56. Asubha vihayogati.
57. Upaghata nama.
58. Asubha varna.
59. Asubha gandha.
60. Asubha rasa.
61. Asubha sparsa.
Five Saitghena.
62. Risabhanaraca sanghena.
63. Naraca (or Naraya) sanghena.
64. Ardhanaraca (-naraya) sanghena.
65. Kilika sanghena.
66. Sevartta sanghena.
Five Samsthana.
67. Nyagrodhaparimandala samsthana.
68. Sadi sariisthana.
69. Kubjaka samsthana.
70. Vamana samsthana.
71. Hunda sariisthana.
Sthavara Dasaka.
72. Sthavara.
73. Suksma.
74. Aparyapti.
75. Sadharana.
76. Asthira.
77. Asubha.
78. Durbhaga.
79. Dusvara.
APPENDIX
80. Anadeya.
81. Ayasa.
82. Mithyatva mohanlya.
3°5
Fifth Category: ASRAVA.
Forty-two Chief Channels by which Karma may enter.
Seventeen Major Asrava.
1. Kana (Karna). \
2. Ankha (Aksa).
- Karma enters through the Five Senses.
Naka (Nas).
Jlbha (Jihva).
Sparsa.
Krodha.\
Mana.
Maya.
Lobha. )
10. Killing.
11. Lying.
12. Thieving.
13. Coveting.
14. Unchastity.
15. Mind.
16. Body.
17. Speech.
Karma enters through the Four Kasaya.
Karma enters through not taking the five
vows to avoid these sins.
Karma enters through not maintaining the Three
Yoga (control).
Twe?ity-five Minor Asrava.
1. KayikT.
2. AdhikaranikT.
3. Pradvesiki.
4. Paritapanikl.
5. Pranatipatikl.
6. Arambhikr.
7. ParigrahikT.
8. MayapratyayikT.
9. Mithyadarsanapratyayiki.
10. ApratyakhyanikT.
11. DristikT.
12. Spristikl.
13. Pratityakl.
14. Samantopanipatiki.
15. Naisastriki.
16. Svahastikl.
17. Ajnapanikl.
X
3°6
APPENDIX
1 8. Vaidaranikl.
19. Anabhogiki.
20. Anavakahksapratyayiki.
21. Prayogikl.
22. Samudayikl.
23. Premikl.
24. Dvesikl.
25. Iryapathiki.
Sixth Category : SAMVARA.
Fifty-seven Ways of Impeding Karma.
Five Samiti.
1. Irya samiti.
2. Bhasa samiti.
3. Esana samiti.
4. Adananiksepana samiti.
5. Parithapanika samiti ( or Utsarga samiti).
Three Gupti.
6. Manogupti.
a. Asatkalpanaviyogi.
b. Samatabhavinl.
c. Atmaramata.
7. Vacanagupti.
a. Maunavalambi.
b. Vakniyami.
8. Kayagupti.
a. Yathasutracestaniyami.
b. Cestanivritti.
Twenty-two Parisaha.
9. Ksudha parisaha.
10. Trisa „
11. Slta ,,
12. Usna „
13. Damsa „
14. Vastra „
15. Arati „
16. Stri „
17. Car>'a „
18. NaisidhikI (NaisedhikI) parisaha.
19. ^ayya parisaha.
20. Akrosa „
APPENDIX
3°7
21. Vadha parlsaha.
22. Yanca (Yacana) parlsaha.
23. Alabha „
24. Roga „
25. Trinasparsa „
26. Mela ,,
27. Satkara „
28. Prajna „
29. Ajnana „
30. Samyaktva
Ten Ditties of Monks (Dasa Yatidharma).
31. Ksama.
32. Mardava.
33. Arjava.
34. Nirlobhata.
35. Tapa (Tapas).
36. Sarhyama.
37. Satya.
38. Sauca.
39. Akirricinatva.
40. Brahmacarya.
Five Cdritra or Rules of Conduct.
41. Samayika caritra.
42. Chedopasthapanlya caritra.
43. Pariharavisuddha caritra.
44. Suksmasamparaya caritra.
45. Yathakhyata caritra.
r Nine first Reflections.
Twelve Bhavand (or Anupreksd).
46. Anitya bhavana.
47. Asarana
48. Sam sara
49. Ekatva
50. Anyatva
51. Asauca
52. Asrava
53. Samvara
54. Nirjara
55. Loka
56. Bodhiblja
57. Dharma
Three additional Reflections.
X 2
308 APPENDIX
Seventh Category: BANDHA.
Bondage to Karma is of four kinds :
1. Prakriti.
2. Sthiti.
3. Anubhaga.
4. Pradesa.
Eighth Category : NIRJARA.
Karma can be destroyed by : — Six Exterior (Bahya) Austerities.
1. Anasana.
a. It vara.
b. Yavatkathika.
2. UnodarT.
3. Vrittisanksepa.
a. Dravya.
b. Ksetra.
c. Kala.
d. Bhava.
4. Rasatyaga.
5. Kayaklesa.
6. Samllnata.
a. Indriya samllnata.
b. Kasaya samllnata.
c. Yoga samllnata.
d. Viviktacarya.
Six Interior (Abhyantara) Austerities.
1. Prayascitta.
2. Vinaya.
a. Jnana vinaya.
b. Darsana „
c. Caritra „
d. Mana „
e. Vacana „
/. Kay a „
g. Kalpa „
3. Vaiyavacca (Vaiyavritya).
4. Svadhyaya.
5. Dhyana.
Arta dhyana. | .j
Raudra dhyana.)
Dharma dhyana.) ,
r r crood.
Sukla dhyana. j
6. Utsarga.
APPENDIX
3°9
Ninth Category : MOKSA.
Inhabited by Fifteen Kinds of Siddha.
1. Jina Siddha.
2. Ajina Siddha.
3. Tlrtha Siddha.
4. Atirtha Siddha.
5. Grihalinga Siddha.
6. Anyalinga Siddha.
7. Svalinga Siddha.
8. Pullinga Siddha.
9. Strilinga Siddha.
10. Napumsakalinga Siddha.
11. Buddhabohl Siddha.
12. Pratyekabuddha Siddha.
13. Svayambuddha Siddha.
14. Eka Siddha.
15. Aneka Siddha.
End of the Nine Categories.
Analysis of Karma.
Four Sources of Karma.
Avirati.
Kasaya.
Yoga.
Mithyatva.
Eight Kinds of Karma.
A. Ghatin Karma.
I. Jnanavaranlya karma.
a. Matijnanavaranlya.
UtpatikT.
Vainayikl.
ParinamikT.
Kamiki.
b. Srutajnanavaranlya.
c. Manahparyayajnanavaranlya.
d. Avadhijnanavaranlya.
e. Kevalajnanavaranlya.
f. Mati ajnana.
g. Sruta ajnana.
h. Vibhanga jnana.
3i°
APPENDIX
2. DarsanavaranTya karma.
3. Mohamya karma.
Some of the twenty-eight divisions :
Mithyatvamohanlya karma.
Misramohanlya karma.
SamyaktvamohanTya karma.
DarsanamohanTya karma.
Caritramohaniya karma.
4. Antaraya karma.
B. Aghatin karma.
5. VedanTya karma.
Satavedanlya.
Asatavedanlya.
6. Ayu karma.
a. Deva ayu karma.
JyotisT ayu karma.
Vyantara ayu karma.
Vaimanika ayu karma.
Bhavanapati ayu karma.
b. Manusya ayu karma.
Karmabhtimi
Asi,
Masi,
Kasi.
Akarmabhumi.
c. Tiryanc ayu karma.
d. Naraka ayu karma.
7. Nama karma.
8. Gotra karma.
Three Tenses of Karma.
Satta karma.
Bandha karma.
U daya karma.
Two types of Karma.
Nikacita and Sithila karma.
Fourteen Steps of Liberation from Karma.
(Cauda Gunasthanaka.)
1. Mithyatva gunasthanaka.
Vyaktamithyatva gunasthanaka.
Avyaktamithyatva gunasthanaka.
2. Sasvasadana gunasthanaka.
APPENDIX
311
3. Misra gunasthanaka.
4. Aviratisamyagdristi gunasthanaka.
5. Desavirati (or Saihyatasarhyata) gunasthanaka.
a. Jaghanya desavirati.
b. Madhyama desavirati.
c. Utkrista desavirati.
6. Pramatta gunasthanaka.
7. Apramatta gunasthanaka.
8. Niyatibadara (or Apurvakarana) gunasthanaka.
9. Aniyatibadara gunasthanaka.
10. Suksmasamparaya gunasthanaka.
11. Upasantamoha gunasthanaka.
12. Kslnamoha gunasthanaka.
13. SayogikevalT gunasthanaka.
14. Ayogikevall gunasthanaka.
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According to Burgess, Antelope.
INDEX
Abhayadevasuri, 84.
Abhigrahika mithyatva, 131.
Abhikhanarh itthinam kaham
kaha itame, 236.
Abhinandana, 52, 312.
Abhyakhyana, 129.
Ablutions, 228.
Abotana, 195.
Abrahmacarya, 119.
Abstinence, 262 f.
Abu, 252, 282 ff.
Acaksudarsanavaraniya, 133.
Acaranga Sutra, 13, 16, 27n., 98 n.,
99 n., 128 n.
Acarya, 80 n., 229, 240 f., 254,
262.
Acarya, Thirty-six qualities of,
241.
Account books, worship of, 261.
Acela parlsaha, 149 n.
Acuya, 270.
Adananiksepana samiti, 146, 234.
Adattadana, 1 19.
Adattadana viramana vrata, 208.
Addhasamaya Kaja, 107.
Adeya namakarma, 115.
Adharma, 106 n.
Adharmastikaya, lo6ff.
Adhikaranikl asrava, 141.
Adhogati, 166.
Adholoka, 271.
Adinatha, see Risabhadeva.
Adoration, Prayer of, 242.
Adultery, see Chastity.
Affection, see Attachment.
Afghanistan, 74.
Agamikagaccha, 87.
Aghatin karma, 184, 190.
Agnibhuti, 65.
Agni Kumara, 269, 277.
Agriculture, 214.
Agurulaghu namakarma, 114.
Ahara, 104.
Aharaka angopanga, 113.
Aharakasarira, 113.
Ahiiiisa, 89, 100, 1 16, 234, 294 ff.
Ahirhsa dharma, 1 16.
Ahmadabad, 19, 87, 163, 164,
283 ff., 293 n.
Ahoratra, 272 n.
Ailaka Sravaka, 224.
Air, 100.
Ajayapala, 17.
Ajina Siddha, 170.
Ajitanatha, 51, 312.
Ajlva, 78, 96, 106, 300.
Ajlvika order, 58, 86.
Ajnana, 175.
Ajnana mithyatva, 1 3 1 .
Ajnana parlsaha, 151.
AjnapanikI asrava, 142.
Akampita, 65, 65 n.
Akarmabhumi, 18 1.
Akasastikaya, 106 ff.
Akiriicinatva, 154.
Akriyavada doctrine, 91.
Akrosa parlsaha, 150.
Aksa asrava, see Ankha asrava.
Aksata puja, 229, 250, 251, 252,
254.
Alabha parlsaha, 150.
Alabhika, 42.
Ala-ud-din, 17.
AlesT, 104.
Alms, 133.
Aloi pana bhoyana, 234.
Aloka, 108.
Alphabet, invention of, 274.
Amama, 277.
Amara, 232.
Amara, 278.
Amasa, 261.
Amba, 268.
Ambada, 277.
Ambarasa, 268.
Ambela, 263.
Amohe, 270.
Anabhigrahika mithyatva, 131.
AnabhogikI asrava, 143.
Anadeya, 138.
INDEX
315
Ananda, 276.
Anandasravaka, 276.
Anandavijayajl, 239 n.
Anantanatha, 55, 313.
Anantanubandhl, 123.
Anantavlrya, 278.
Anapana prana, 96.
Anapanm, 270.
Anartha danda vrata, 214.
Anasana, 163.
Anata, 270.
Anatomy, Jaina ideas of, 137.
AnavakanksapratyayikI asrava,
143*
Ancalagaccha, 760., 87.
Ancestors, 266.
Anekantavadin, 91.
Aneka Siddha, 17 1.
Anga, 40.
Anga puja, see Angalunchana
puja.
Anga, the eleven, 13, 64, 72, 80 n.,
84, 240.
Angalunchana puja, 251.
Anger, 103, 119 ff., 173, 181, i87fif.;
see also Krodha.
Anhilvada Patana, see Patana
(Anhilvada).
Animals, iol, 102.
Animals, asylums for, 296, 296 n.
Animals, kindness to, 61, 206,
294 ff. ; see also Ahimsa.
Animism, 89, 97.
Anitya bhavana, 1 56.
Aniyatibadaragunasthanaka, 189.
Anjanasalaka, 263.
Ankha asrava, 1 39.
Anna punya, 1 10.
Anojja, 29.
Antagada Dasanga, 13.
Antakritanga, 13.
Antaratyaga, 1 54 n.
Antaraya karma, 133, 183, 184,
190 n.
Antarmuhurtta, 98 n.
Anubhaga, 162.
AnubTmabhasI, 235.
Anuja, 29.
Anukampa, 187.
Anumatityaga pratima, 223.
Anumodanavrata pratima, 223 n.
Anuna vihapana bhoyane, 236.
Anupreksa, see Bhavana.
Anusna namakarma, 114.
AnuttaravasI Deva, 190.
Anuttaravimana, 270, 272.
Anuttaropapatika, 13.
Anuttarovavai Dasanga, 13.
Anuvli mitoggaha jati, 236.
Anuvrata, the five, 205, 210, 257.
Anuyogadvara, 14.
Anyalinga Siddha, 171.
Anyatva bhavana, 158.
Apacakhanavaranlya, see Apratya-
khyanl.
Apadhyana, 214.
Apakaya, 97, 98, 102, 104, 105.
Apapa, 61.
Aparajita, 80 n., 270.
Aparigraha vrata, 237.
Aparyapta, 104, 105, 106.
Aparyapti, 138.
Apasaro, Apasara, 81, 83, 146,
158,215,217,219, 232 ff., 239 ff,
254, 258, 259 ff.
Ape, 52.
Apramatta gunasthanaka, 188.
Aprasasta krodha, 120.
ApratyakhyanT, 123.
Apratyakhyaniki asrava, 142.
Apurvakarana, 188.
Araja, see Nuns.
Arambhatyaga pratima, 223.
Arambhikl asrava, 141.
Arana, 270.
Aranatha, 56, 313.
Aratl, 266.
Arati parisaha, 149.
Aratl puja, 250, 252.
Arati, Rati, 135.
Architecture, 279 ff.
Arcot, 18.
Ardha-Magadhl, 15, 286.
Ardhanaraca sanghena, 137.
Ardraka, 59.
Arhata, 39.
Arihanta, 39, 220, 229, 232, 241,
254-
Arista Neminatha, 57.
Arjava, 152.
Armenia, 285.
Arta dhyana, 168.
Artha, 244 n.
Artificers, Temple of the, 282.
Aruhanta, 39.
Arupl Ajlva, 106.
3j6
INDEX
Aryaraksita, 78 n.
Asadha Acarya, 73.
Asadhi punema, 261.
Asakti, 126.
Asamjni pancendriya, 101, 106.
Asarana bhavana, 157.
Asatana mithyatva, 13 1.
Asatavedanlya, 134, 179.
Asatkalpana viyogl, 147.
Asatkarya doctrine, 90.
Asatya, 118.
Asatya tyaga, 235.
Asauca bhavana, 159.
Ascetic, the ideal, 238.
Asceticism, Ascetics, 1 ff., 23, 30,
32, 34 ff., 40, 48, 73,88,112,131,
145 ff, 188 ff, 225 ff, 289 ff
Ascetics, five vows of, 234 ff
— ten duties of, 1 5 1 ff
Asi, 181.
Asipata, 268.
Asoka, King, 12, 70 n., 74, 74 n.,
85, 280.
Asoka tree, 31, 191, 225, 269.
Asrama, 3.
Asrava, 216.
Asrava, the forty-two, lion., 139,
_ 305 f-
Asrava bhavana, 159.
Assistant vows, see Gunavrata.
Astapada, i.e. Kailasa, 51.
Asteya vrata, 235.
Astha, 187.
Asthikagrama, 41.
Asthira, 138.
Astikaya, 61.
Astrologers, 193, 196.
Astronomy, 70.
Asubha, 138.
Asubha asrava, 141.
Asubha gandha, 136.
Asubha karma, 139.
Asubha rasa, 136.
Asubha sparsa, 136.
Asubha varna, 136.
Asubha vihayogati, 136.
Asura Kumara, 269.
Asvamitra, 73.
Asvasena, King, 48.
Asvina, 266.
Atapa namakarma, 1 1 4.
Aticara, five, 205 ff.
Atirtha Siddha, 1 70.
Atithi sarnvibhaga vrata, 2i8f.
Atma, 37, 91, 94, 95, 176.
Atmaramaji, 239 n.
Atmaramata, 147.
Attachment, 126, 130, 136.
Attraction, see Adharmastikaya.
Aturapratyakhyana, 15.
Auction of ghl, 252.
Audarika angopanga, 113.
Audarika body, see Audarika-
sarlra.
Audarikasarlra, 1 13, 206.
Aupapatika, 13.
Auspicious signs, 23 ff.
Austerity, 89, 153, 155, 160, 229,
254 ; see also Tapa.
Austerities, the six exterior, 163 ff.
— the six interior, 165 ff
AvadhidarsanavaranTya, 133.
Avadhi jnana, 33.
Avadhijnanavaranlya, 132, 177.
Avalika, 272 n.
AvantI Kumara, 75.
Avarice, 152 ff. ; see also Lobha.
Avartana, 216, 220.
AvasahT, 229.
AvasarpinT, 68 n, 272 ff.
Avasyaka, 14, 258.
Avatara, 298 ; see Incarnation.
Avidya, 91.
Avinaya mithyatva, 131.
Avirati karma, 173.
Aviratisamyagdristi gunastha-
naka, 186.
Avrata, the five, 140 ff., 162.
Avvaiyar, 287.
Avyakta, 73.
Avyaktamithyatva gunasthanaka,
_ 185.
Ayanabhanda nikhevana, 235.
Ayasa, 139.
Ayodhya, 48, 51, 55-
Ayogikevali gunasthanaka, 19 1.
Ayu karma, i8off, 184, 190 n.
Ayu prana, 96.
Ayuhpaccakhana, 15.
Ayusya, 116.
Babyhood, 193.
Badami, 281.
Badara, 106.
Badara namakarma, 1 15.
Bahubaja, 152.
INDEX
31?
Baladeva, 56 n., 58, 274, 277.
Bala prana, 96,
BandagI, 247.
Bandha, 161 ff., 185, 308.
Baniya, 21, 22, 240 n.
Banyan tree, 225, 269.
Bappabhattisuri, 83 ff.
Bareilly, 280.
Baroda, 233.
Barodia, U. D., 92.
Basti, 285.
Beads, telling of, 243, 254, 258.
Be-indriya jlva, 97, 99 ff, 104.
Be-indriya nama, 136.
Begging, 219, 229 ff
Benares, 48, 49, 78.
Benarsi Dass, Mr. Lala, 35, 50 n.,
Ii6n., n8n.
Bergson, 107 n.
Besarh, 21.
Betel nut, see Soparl.
Betrothal ceremonies, 195 ff.
Betta, 285.
Bhadaravo, month of, see Bhadra-
pada.
Bhadde, 270.
Bhaddila, 64.
Bhaddilapura, 53.
Bhadrabahu, 10, 18, 70 ff, 80 n.
Bhadrabahu Samhita, 70.
Bhadrajina, 278.
Bhadrapada, 76, 260.
Bhadrika, 42.
Bhagavadglta, H2n., 128, 239.
Bhagavatlji, 13, 239.
Bhaiblja, 263.
Bhairava, 264.
Bhaktamara stotra, 80 n.
Bhakti, 127 ff, 178.
Bhanaji, 88.
Bhandarkar, Dr., 81 n., 90 n., 92,
95 n., 106 n., 179m, 182m, i84n.
Bharata, i.e. India, 56, 216 n.
Bharata, King, 51, 121 n., 158,
170.
Bharataksetra, 170.
Bhasa, 104.
Bhasa samiti, 145, 234.
Bhava, 108, 164.
Bhava hiiiisa, 1 17.
Bhavana, Panca, 234.
Bhavana, the twelve, 1 56 ff
Bhavanapati, 105, 1 81, 269.
Bhava puja, 228 f.
Bhavnagar, 13.
Bhavyajlva, 242 n.
Bhaya, 135.
Bhayam parijanai, 235.
Bhogantaraya, 133, 183.
Bhopal, 226.
Bhuta, 265 f., 269.
Bhutavayl, 270.
Bihar, 8, 13, 17, 40, 41, 84, 86.
Bindusara, 10.
Birth ceremonies, 193 ff, 200 ff.
Black statues, 58.
Blemishes, physical, 136.
Boar, 54.
Bodhiblja bhavana, 160.
Bodhidurlabha bhavana, 160.
Bolachotha, 263.
Bombay, 233.
Bondage to karma, 162.
Borsad, 251 n.
Brahma, 31, 270.
Brahmacarya, 154.
Brahmacarya pratima, 223.
Brahmacarya vrata, 236 f.
Brahmans, 3 ff, 17, 18, 21, 26, 31,
34, 35 n., 39, 46, 48, 5°, 52, 61,
63,67, 70, 76, 78, 81 n.,86,89, 94,
197, 199, 204 n., 230, 234, 250,
279.
Brahml, 274.
Brihatkalpa, 14, 145.
Broach, 78.
Brush, see Whisk.
Buddha, 39, 40, 42, 43.
Buddha (name of Mahavlra), 27.
Buddhabohl Siddha, 171.
Buddha Klrti, 50.
Buddhimana, 80 n.
Buddhism, 3, 9, 12, 17, 18, 59, 67,
74,77, 81, 82,84, 86, 87, 89, 91,
94, 1 17, 172,217,234, 247,279b,
286.
Buffalo, 54.
Buffer, Dr., 28, 86 n., 106 n.
Burgess, Dr., 280.
Burma, 117.
Buttressing clauses to vows, 234 ff.
Caitanya, 95.
Caitrl punema, 261, 263.
Caitya, 280.
Caityavandana, 229.
INDEX
318
Caka, 198.
CakravartI, 25, 56, 274.
C aksudarsan a varanTya, 133.
Caksurindriya, 96.
Camari puja, 252.
Cambay, 287.
Campaka tree, 269.
Campapurl, 40, 41, 54.
Candala cokadi, 125.
Candalo, 195, 199, 229.
Candana, 61 n., 66, 66 n.
Candana puja, 229, 250, 251, 254.
Candapannati, 14.
Candavijaya, 15.
Candra, 270.
Candragaccha, 80 n.
Candragupta, 10, 70, 70 m
Candraprabhu, 53, 312.
Candraprajnapti, 14.
Candrasuri, 80 n.
Candravedhyaka, 15.
Cangadeva, 287.
Canon of Scriptures, 11, 1 3 fif.
— (Digambara), 16.
Carananuyoga, 16, 2400.
Caranasitari, 240.
Caritra, the five, 154 fif., 241.
Caritramohaniya karma, 180.
Caritra vinaya, 166.
Caritrya, 246.
Cary a parisaha, 149.
Caste, 9, 21, 168, 182, 270 f., 293.
Categories, the nine, 94 fif., App. I.
Catuhsarana, 14.
Caturindriya, see Corendriya.
CaturmasI, see Comas!.
Caturvimsatistava, see Cauvisant-
tho.
Cauda Gunasthanaka, 185 ff., 219,
222.
Caudasa, see Kallcaudasa.
Caulakya dynasty, 288.
Causarana, 14.
Cauvisanttho, 255.
Cavada dynasty, 82.
Cave-temples, 280.
Celibacy, 68, 70 : see also Bralv
macarya.
Cestanivritti, 148.
Cetaka, King, 40, 66 n.
Character, 162, 229, 254, 297 ff.
' Charity, 202, 203, 244 m, 258.
Chastity, 37, 59, 117, 118, 209,
236, 237, 241 ; see also Brah-
macarya.
ChatthT, Mother, see Sixth,
Mother.
Chedagrantha, 14, 16.
Chedopasthapanlya caritra, 155.
Childless Women, 267.
Children, 131, 193 ff., 267.
Cholera, 266.
Christ, see Jesus Christ.
Christianity, 122 n., 125 n., 127 n.,
144, 189, 192, 239, 247 ff., 288 n.,
289 ff.
Circumambulation, 280.
Citragupta, 277.
Classification, Jaina genius for, 109.
Cleanliness, 1 46 fif.
Climate, 2.
Clothing, 145, 149, 226, 231, 239,
239 n. ; see also Nudity.
Cocoa-nut, 194 ff, 203 ff.
Cold, enduring, see STta parisaha.
Colour of the soul, 102, 124 ff.
Colours, 108.
Comas!, 123, 166.
Commerce, 213 ff.
Committees, see Mahajana.
Compromise, 126.
Conceit, see Pride.
Conch shell, 58.
Conduct, the five rules of, see
Caritra.
— Right, 205, 245 ff, 262.
— Thirty-five rules of, 243 ff
Conferences, Jaina, 288 n.
I — the twelve, 191.
Confession, 50, 101, 120, 123, 166,
231, 256.
Consecration of an idol, 263.
Constellations, 270; Nak-
satra.
Contentment, 152 ff.
Converts to Jainism, 219 n.
Corendriya jlva, 97, 100, 104.
Corendriya nama, 136.
Cotali, 198.
Covetousness, 119, 247.
Crab, 53.
Creator, Creation, 109, 128, 192.
Cremation, see Funeral cere-
monies.
INDEX
Crocodile, 53.
Crooke, W., 100.
Cruelty, 296.
Cult, 18.
Customs, 193 ff., 254 ff.
Cuttack, 85.
Dadhivahana, King, 61 n.
Daily Duties of Ascetics, 228.
Dariisa Parlsaha, 149.
Danantaraya, 133, 183.
Danda, 46.
Darbha grass, 220.
Darsana, 1630., 228.
Darsanamohanlya karma, 180.
Darsana pratima, 222.
Darsanavaranlya karma, 133, 178,
184, i9on.
Darsana vinaya, 166.
DasapurvI, 72.
Dasarnabhadra, 74.
Dasasrutaskandha, 14.
Dasavaikalika, 14, 16.
Dasa Yatidharma, see Ascetics,
ten duties of.
Dasera, 264.
Day a, 259.
Death, Beliefs about, 44.
Death ceremonies, 202 ff.
Deceit, 152, 173 ; see also Maya.
Deer, 56.
Deliverance, see Moksa.
Demi-gods, iox, 105, 268 ff.
Demons, 41, 54, 97, 268 ff.
Desa, io6ff.
Desacaritrya, 246.
Desavakasika vrata, 216 ff.
Desavirati gunasthanaka, 187.
Desavrati, 220.
Deva, 105, 222.
Deva ayu karma, 180.
Devacandra, 287.
Deva gati, 182.
Devajina, 278.
Devakl, 26 n., 277.
Devaloka, 6on., 160, 164, 169, 270,
273, 274, 276, 277, 278.
— gods of, 270, 272.
Devananda, 26, 46, 47.
Devapala, King, 77.
DevarddhI, 13.
Devaslya Padlkamanurii, 258.
Devasruta, 276.
3l9
Devata, 97, 97 n., no, 1 14, 116.
Devata anupurvi, 113.
Devata gati, 1 13.
Devata ayusya, 1 16.
Devayuhkarma, see Deva ayu
karma.
Devendrastava, 15.
Devi, Queen, 56.
Devindathuo, 15.
Dhamila, 64.
Dhanaterasa, 261.
Dhanduka, 287.
Dhanu, 268.
Dhara, 52.
Dharanendra, 49.
Dharma,io6n.,i56,i57, 222,24411.
Dharma bhavana, 161.
DharmadasaganT, 82.
Dharmadhyana, 168.
Dharma Labha, 230.
Dharmanatha, 55, 313.
Dharmasena, 80 n.
Dharmasena II, 80 n.
Dharmastikaya, 106 ff.
DhatakT Khanda, 108, 132.
DhatakT tree, 49.
Dhritisena, 80 n.
Dhumra prabha, 271.
Dhundhla, 19, 88.
Dhupa puja, 229, 251, 254.
Dhyana, 168.
Diagram of heaven, hell, &c.,
271 f.
Digambara, 12, 18, 23, 24, 25, 28,
30,31 n., 33, 36,40,41,44, 53 ff.,
67 n., 72, 78, 79, 79 n., 80, 80 n.,
94, non., I22n., 155, 156, 169,
188, 190, 208, 217, 224, 226 f.,
239 ff, 250 ff, 258, 281.
— Canon, 16, 72.
— Worship, 250.
Dlksa, see Initiation.
Dilavara temples, see Abu.
Dinnasuri, 78 n.
Dipa puja, 229, 251, 252, 254.
Disa Kumara, 269.
Discipline, five rules of, see
Caritra.
Dishonesty, see Honesty.
Disivrata parimana, 211 ff.
DivalT, 44, 45, 227, 260, 265.
Dravida, 128.
Dravida, 128.
320
INDEX
Dravya, 61, 95, 108, 164, 255.
Dravya ahirhsa, 1 17.
Dravya himsa, 1 17.
Dravyanuyoga, 16.
Dreams, the fourteen, 22 ff.
Dridhaketu, 276.
DristikI asrava, 142.
Dristivada Anga, 15.
Dudhapaka, 195.
Dugancha, 136.
Duhsama, see Dusama.
Duppasahasuri, 275.
Durbhaga, 138.
Dusama, 163, 275, 276.
Dusama Dusama, 275, 276.
Dusama Susama, 26, 51, 274,
276.
Dusvara, 138.
Duties of monks and nuns, 1 5 1 ff.,
228 ff.
Dvaipayana, 277.
Dvaraka, 112, 277.
Dvesa, 128 ff.
Dvesiki asrava, 143.
Dvindriya, see Be-indriya.
Dvlpa Kumara, 269.
Eka Siddha, 171.
Ekantavadin, 91.
Ekatva bhavana, 158.
Ekendriya jlva, 97, 104, 105,
106.
Ekendriya nama, 136.
Elephant, 51.
Elephant of pride, the, 152.
Elura, 28 1 .
Emotion, 102.
Endurance, Ways of, see Parlsaha.
Enmity, see Dvesa.
Envy, 103, 128.
Epigraphy, 85.
Esana samiti, 145, 234.
Eschatology, 169 ff., 268 ff., 293.
Eternity of the world, 272 ff.
Ethics, Jaina, 122, 131, 297.
Evening Worship, 258.
Evil eye, 264.
Evil spirits, 265 f.
Excommunication, 21 1 n., 240.
Extension of Jainism, 9ff.
Faith, 229, 248, 254.
— false, see Mithyatva.
— Right, 245 ff., 262.
Famine, the great, 10, 70 ff.
Fasting, 31, 32 n., 39, 253, 259 ff.
Fasts, see Festivals.
Fatalism, 60, 73, 185.
Fatherhood of God, 128, 192.
Faultfinding, see Ninda.
Fear, see Bhaya.
Feeding ceremony, 195.
Female division of jlva, 96.
Female Tlrthankara, 56, 122.
Fergusson, Dr. J., 280.
Festivals, 259 ff.
Ficus religiosa, 53.
Fifth-day ceremonies, 193.
Fifteenth-day ceremonies, 194.
Fire, 98, 99.
Five faults. 205 ff.
Five Great Ones, the, see Panca
Paramesvara.
Five, Salutation to the, 187, 229,
258.
Flemish art, 281.
Flowers in Worship, Use of, see
Puspa puja.
Food, 138, 148, 213, 219, 258.
Forgiveness, I26n., 259 f., 290,
292.
Form, see Pudgal.astikaya.
Fruit, 99, 252.
— Offering of, see Phala puja.
Fuhrer, Dr., 280.
Full-moon fasts, 261.
Funeral ceremonies, 203 ff.
Gabharo (or shrine), 281 ; see also
Temple Worship.
Gacchacara, 15.
Gajapurl, 56.
Gana, 65.
Ganadeva, 80 n.
Ganadhara, 61, 65, 66.
Gandharva, 269.
Gandhi, Mr., 205 n.
Ganga, 73.
Ganges, river, 275.
Ganividya, 1 5.
Ganivijaya, 15.
Garanljl, see Nuns.
Gardabbila, 75, 76.
Gargarisi, 82.
Gati, 176, 182, 228, 251, 274.
Gautama Indrabhuti, 40, 44, 50,
61, 65, 68, 127, 248.
INDEX
321
Gentleman, the ideal, 224.
Germs, 102, 103.
Ghatin karma, 184, 190.
Ghranendriya, 96.
Gifts to Religious, 231.
Girnar, Mt., 17, 58, 168, 252, 282.
Goat, 56.
Goblins, 105.
God, 128, 192, 246, 248, 292 ff.
Gods, 97.
— false, 246.
Gomata, see Gomatesvara.
Gomatesvara, 263, 285.
Goose, Red, 52.
GorajT, 233.
Gosala, 36, 58 ff., 65, 68, 72, 97 n.,
102, hi, 130, 185.
Gossip, 188.
Gosta Mahal, 78.
Gothic Architecture, 281 f.
Gotra karma, 182, 184, 190 n.
GotrTja, 199, 201.
GotrTjharanam, 195.
Go vara, 61.
Govardhana, 80 n.
Govindananda, 179m, 182m, 184m
Grace, 290.
Graha, 270.
Graiveyika, 270, 272.
Granthibheda, 186.
Gravity, Laws of, 106.
Greed, I22ff., 140, 173, 181, l87ff. ;
see also Lobha.
Grief, see Soka.
Grierson, Dr., 21.
Grihalinga Siddha, 1 70.
Grihastha, 67 n.
Griswold, Dr., 107 n.
Gujarat, Gujarati, 17, 68, 690.,
84, 86, 162 n.
Guna, 108.
Gunasthanaka, 185 ff.
Gunavrata, the three, 210, 257.
Gupti, the three, 147, 238, 241,257.
Guru, 219, 246 f.
Guru, Reverence to, 1 12, 215,
255.
Habakkuk, 248 n.
Haigh, Rev. H., 172 n.
Hair, Removal of, 32, 165, 226.
Hair-cutting (of infant), 194.
Hajam, 230.
Harasa, 80.
Hand, mark of, 200.
Hanuman, 130.
HarasatyakI, 277.
Hari dynasty, 57.
Haribhadrasuri, 80, 82.
Harsa, 245 n.
Hasam parijanai, 235.
Hastinapura, 55, 56.
Hastipaia, King, 43.
Hasya, 135.
Hatred, see Dvesa.
Hatthisirhha’s temple, 284, 293 n.
Hawk, 55.
Heat, enduring, see Usna parlsaha.
Heaven, 60 n., 160, 164, 169,
171 ff, 270 ff., 293 ff.
Hegel, 92.
Height of mankind, 51 ff, 273 ff
Hell, 46, 60 n., 1 1 7, 125, 229,
268 ff. , 276.
Hell-beings, 101, 102, 158, 160,
268.
Hemacandra, 17, 84 ff. , 86, 95,
287 f.
Hemacarya, see Hemacandra.
Heroes, sixty-three great, 56 n.
Himalayas, 51.
Himavata, Mt., 23.
Hirhsa, 1 10, 1 16 ff , 130, 206,
210 n., 220.
Himsadana, 214.
Hindu, Derivation of the word,
1 18.
Hinduism, Relations with, 67 n.,
71, 127 ff, 13m., 174 ff, 180,
180 n., 254, 263 f., 264 ff, 268 ff
History, 7 ff., 65 ff, 68 n.
Hiuen Tsang, 18.
Hoernle, Dr., 22, 28, 43 n., 58, 59,
70 n., 72, 79, 85.
Holi, 264.
Holiness, 144.
Holy days, see Festivals.
Honesty, 1 19 ff , 208, 235.
Honey, 210 n.
Hope, 248.
Horoscope, 193.
Horse, 52.
Houselessness, see Wandering life.
Human beings, 101, 102.
Humility, 152 ; see also Pride.
Hunda samsthana, 138.
INDEX
322
Hunger, see Ksudha Parlsaha.
Hylozoism, 89.
Hymnbook, 253.
Hypocrisy, 130.
Icchamithami Kausagga, 256.
Ideal ascetic, the, 123, 238.
Ideal layman, the, 224.
Idolatry, 11, 19, 69, 81, 197.
Iksvaku family, 57.
Illness, 265.
Illusion, 121.
Images, 58, 250 ff. ; see also
Idolatry.
Immobile life, 102.
Impeding of Karma, 144 If.
Impurity, see Chastity.
Incarnation, 176, 291, 298.
Incense, see Dhupa puja.
Income, Apportionment of, 244 n.
Indra, 26, 26 n., 32, 32 n., 34, 38,
52, 54l 113, 180, 191,242,271.
Indrabhuti, see Gautama.
Indra Dhvaja, 24.
Indradinna, 75, 78.
Indriya, 95, 104, 136, 139.
Indriya prana, 95.
Indriya samllnata, 165.
Inertia, see Adharmastikaya.
Initiation, 38 ff., 82 n., 88, 155,
159, 225.
Insects, 100, 146 ff.
Institutions, Jaina, 288 n., 296 n.
Intoxicants, 146.
Intrigue, 103 ; see also Maya.
Irish ornament, 285 f.
Irsya, 128.
Irya samai, see Irya samiti.
Irya samiti, 144, 234.
Isaiah, 125 n., 296 n.
Isana, 270.
Isatpragbhara, 96.
Islvayi, 270.
Itthlnam puvarayairh puvakiliyai
sumaritae, 237.
ItthI pasu pandaga samsatai sa-
yana sanaim sevitae, 237.
Itvara, 163.
Jacobi, Dr., 28, 40, 91, 95, 97 n.,
99 m, 106 n., 165 n.
Jaghanya desavirati, 187.
Jaina-Maharastri, 286.
Jainism, antiquity of, 97.
— decline of, 17.
— history of, see History.
— zenith of, 17.
Jaipur, 87 n.
Jaisalmer, 233.
Jala jatra, 262.
Jala puja, 228, 250, 251, 254, 263.
Jamali, 29, 72.
Jamana, 196.
Jambudivapannati, 14.
Jambudvlpa, 108, 132.
Jambudvipaprajnapti, 14.
Jambu Svami, 44 n., 64, 68 ff, 72,
80.
Jasodhare, 270.
Jasomatl, no.
Javakumara, 277.
Javanticayanarii, 229.
Jayajinendra, 204 n.
Jayanta, 270.
Jayapala, 80 n.
Jayasena, 80 n.
Jayasikhara, 83.
Jayasimha, see Siddharaja.
Jesus Christ, 128, 144, 171, 248,
291 ff.
Jewels, the three, 160, 161, 192,
205, 245, 252, 257, 262.
Jibha asrava, 139.
Jihva asrava, see above.
Jina, 25, 27, 39, 187, 298.
Jina Siddha, 170.
JinakalpI, 79.
Jitakalpa, 14.
JIva, 45, 62,78, 89, 91, 93, 94 ff,
136, 176, 213, 214, 268, 299.
— Divisions of, 96.
Jlvabhigama, 13.
Jlva himsa, see Hiriisa.
Jlvaka Cintamani, 286.
Jnana, 32.
JiianajT, 87.
Jnana pancamT, 261.
Jnanavaranlya karma, 132, 177 f.,
184, 190 n.
Jnana vinaya, 166.
Jnatadharma Kathaiiga, 13.
Jnataputra, 27.
John, St., 127 n., 144 n., 17m.
— Revelation of, 172 n., 2940.
Jrimbhakagrama, 38.
Jrimbhikagrama, 38 n.
INDEX
323
Jrimbhila, 38 n.
Junagadh, 280.
Jyotikaranda, 15.
JyotisT, 105’, 1 14, 1 81, 270.
Jyotiskarandaka, 15.
Kadamba tree, 269.
Kadlpatana, 82.
Kailasa, see Astapada.
Kala, Kala, 6i, 106, 107 ff., 164,
231.
Kala (name of a god), 268.
Kalaka Mata, 264.
Kallcaudasa, 261.
Kalikacarya, 7 5 ff
Kalikagaccha, 75.
Kalinga, 48.
Kalodadhi Khanda, I32n.
Kalpa, division of Heaven, q.v.
Kalpa Sutra, 15, 16, 28 n., 32 n ,
37 n., 43 n., 44 n., 63, 86, 260.
Kalpavantasika, 14.
Kalpa vinaya, 166.
Kalpa vriksa, 273.
Kama, 244 n., 245 n.
Kamatha, 49.
KamikI, 177.
Katiisacarya, 80 n.
Kana asrava, 139.
Kanada, 78 n.
Kanara, 285.
Kanarese, 287.
Kanauj, 83.
Kandlye, 270.
Kankali, 280.
Kankanapura, 52.
Kankha, 205.
Kanku, 194.
Kanyadana, 199.
Kapila, 46, 153.
Kapotalesya, 103.
Kappavadlsayya, 14.
Kappla, 14.
Karananuyoga, 16, 240 n.
Karanasitarl, 240.
Karemi bhante, 255, 256.
Karlgara, Temple of the (Abu),
see Artificers, Temple of the.
Karkala, 285.
Karma, 5, 23, 30, 31, 39, 44, 45 ff.,
62, 89, 91,94, 95, 107, 109, 1 12,
139 ff., 161 ff., 173 ff., 228, 242,
268 ff., 294, 309 ff.
Y
Karma, arrangement of, 184.
— bondage to, see Bandha.
— destruction of, see Nirjara.
— differing views of, 174 ff.
— impeding of, 144 ff, 174.
— sources of, 173 ff.
— tenses of, 184.
— the eight kinds of, 39, 177 ff.
Karmabhumi, 181.
Karmaja, 177 n.
Karmana body, see Karmana-
sarira.
Karmanasarlra, 114, 206.
Karna asrava, see Kana asrava.
Karttikasetha, 276.
KarttikI punema, 129, 261.
Kasaya, 122, 135, 140, 162, 188,
241, 257.
Kasaya karma, 174.
Kasaya sarhlfnata, 165.
Kashmir, 12.
Kasi, 1 8 1.
Kathiawad, 13, 17, 58, 233, 236,
240.
Kattavira, 79.
Kaundinya, 79.
Kaundinya gotra, 29.
Kausagga, 229, 233, 250, 256 ff.
KausambT, 40, 52, 66.
Kautika sect, 86.
Kaya ba]a, 96.
Kayagupti, 147.
Kayaklesa, 165.
Kaya punya, see Sarlra punya.
Kaya vinaya, 166.
KayikI asrava, 1 4 1.
Kesara (saffron) paste, see Can-
dana puja.
KevaladarsanavaranTya, 134.
Kevala jnana, 33, 38 ff, 44, 48,
49, 62, 63, 65, 68, 80.
Kevalajnanavaranlya, 133, 178.
Kevall, 24, 33, 46, 63, 68, 97, 99,
143, 148, 170, 185, 190 ff, 232,
255.
Khamasamana, 229.
Khandagirj, 85.
Khaputa, Arya, 78.
Kharasvara, 268.
Kharataragaccha, 87.
Kharavela, 85.
Khatamba tree, 269.
Khera, 247.
2
324
INDEX
Khodiyara Mata, 264.
Kholo bharavo, 201.
Kilika sanghena, 137.
Killing, vow against, 205 fF., 234 fif.
Kilvisiya, 270.
Kimpurusa, 269.
Kinnara, 269.
Klesa, 129.
Knowledge, 132, 229, 254.
— five kinds of, 32.
— Right, 245 fif., 262.
Kodaro grain, 180.
KodTgaccha, 80 n.
Kohaiii parijanai, 235.
Kohanda, 270.
Kollaga, 64.
Krisna, 18, 26, 28, 58, 112, 1 1 3,
277.
Krisnalesya, 102.
Kriyamana, 185 n.
Kriyavada doctrine, 91.
Krodha, 1 19 fif, 140, 2450.
Ksama, 151.
KsanikavadT, 73.
Ksatriya, 4, 21, 26, 46, 230, 264.
Ksatriya Acarya, 80 n.
Ksetra, 108, 164.
Ksinamoha gunasthanaka, 190.
Ksudha parlsaha, 148.
Ksullaka Sravaka, 224.
Kubera, 191.
Kubjaka sarhsthana, 137.
KudasamalT, 192.
Kuladhipa, 33.
Kulapura, 33.
Kumaragrama, 37.
Kumarapala, 17, 84, 86, 288.
Kumarapura, 77.
Kumbera, King, 56.
Kumbha, 268.
Kuna, 18.
Kundagrama, 21, 31.
Kundarika, 160.
Kunika, 40, 276, 277.
Kunthunatha, 56, 313.
Kurral, 287.
Kuvera, see Kubera.
Labhantaraya, 133, 183.
Ladu, 162, 197 fif.
Laganapatra, 196.
LaksmI, 23, 24, 260, 261.
LaksmT puja, 261.
LalajI, ^ri, 88.
Lalitavistara, 82.
Lamps, 250, 252, 266.
Lantaka, 270.
Latthe, Mr. A. B., 161, 191.
Laughter, 135. _
Laukika mithyatva, 130.
Lay adherents, 66, 145 fif., 188,
205 fif.
— twelve vows of, 30, 187, 205 fif.
— twenty-one qualities of, 224.
Layana punya, m.
Leaders, the great, 68.
Legends, 25 n., 27, 28.
Lesa, 61 r.., 102 n.
Lesya, the six, 61, 102, 105.
Liberation, the fourteen steps to,
185 fif.
Life, 95.
— destruction of, 50,61,110, 147,
222, 223, 227, 230, 238, 239 n.,
273, 294 fif. ; see a/so Himsa.
— four objects in, 244 n.
Lightning, 99.
Lights in Worship, see Dlpa puja.
Limitation of Possessions, see
Parigraha viramana.
— of travel, see Disivrata pari-
mana.
— of use, see Upabhoga paribhoga
parimana.
Lion, 23.
Literacy, standard of, 20.
Literary influence of Jainism, 18,
84, 286 fif.
Literature, 81, 84, 286 fif.
Lobha, 122 fif., 140, 173, 245 n.
Loca, 165.
Lodging, 149.
; Logassa, 233.
Lohaih parijanai, 235.
Loka, 108.
Lokacarya, 80 n.
Loka bhavana, 160.
Lokantika, 270.
Lokottara mithyatva, 131.
Loneliness of Jaina, 158, 241.
Lonka 3a, 87.
Lonka sect, 19, 87 f.
Lotus, blue, 57.
— red, 52.
Love, 248.
Luck, good and bad, 195, 202.
INDEX
325
Luther, 87.
Lying, see Truth.
Madhyama desavirati, 187.
Magadha, 8, xo, 13, 40, 41, 126,
276.
Magadhi, 41, 165, 187, 188, 228,
231, 241, 254 ff.
Magadhi, Arddha, see Arddha
MagadhI.
Magasara, see Margaslrsa.
Magavati, 277. .
Magha, 81.
Mahaghosa, 268.
Mahagiri, 73 ff.
Mahajana, 199, 200, 240 n.
Mahakala, 268.
— Temple of, 75.
Mahakandiye, 270.
Mahanisltha, 14.
Mahapurusa, see Sadhu.
Maharastri, see Jaina-Maharastrl.
Maharudra, 268.
Mahasail, see Nuns.
Mahasukra, 270.
Mahasutaka, 277.
Mahavideha, 113, 170, 216, 256,
272.
Mahavlra, 8, 9, 11, 21 ff., 56 n.,
58 ff., 65, 66, 67,68, 72, 79,80, 85,
87, 101, hi, 120 n., 12m., 126,
127, 142, 143, 144, 148, 151,
170, 185, 202, 217, 225, 233,
241, 245, 248, 260, 275, 276,
278, 286, 291 ff., 298.
— birth of, 21 ff.
— childhood of, 28 ff.
— death of, 42 ff.
— disciples of, 40 ff., 58 ff.
— enlightenment of, 38 ff.
— initiation of, 31 ff.
— predecessors of, 48 ff.
— previous incarnations of, 45 ff.
— sermon by, 62 f.
Mahendra, 270.
Mahlyasa, 80 n.
Mahoraga, 269.
Maithuna viramana vrata, 209.
Makarasankranti, 264.
Mala, see Beads, telling of.
Male division of Jiva, 96, 170.
Mall (gardener), 250.
Mallinatha, 56, 121 ff., 276, 313.
Mallinatha II, 277.
Malwa, 240, 288.
Malyadeva, 277.
Mamatva, 127.
Mana, 104.
Mana, i2of., 140, 245 n.
Manabala, 96.
Manadeva, 80 n.
Manahparyaya jnana, 33, 68.
Manahparyaya jnanavaraniya
132,’ 177-
Manaka, 70.
Manaparijanai, 235 n.
Mana punya, hi.
Manas, see Mana.
| Manatunga, 80 n.
t Mana vinaya, 166.
Mandalika, King, 17.
Mandapa, 281.
Mandapakriya, 1 96.
Mandara, Mt., 37.
Mandara flowers, 23.
Mandvl, 233.
Mangrol, 233.
Mankhall Putra, 59.
Manogupti, 147.
Manoharai indiyai aloetae, 236.
Mantra, 233.
Manuscripts, 17.
Manusya, 97, 105.
Manusya anupurvl, 113.
Manusya ayu karma, 181.
Manusyayuhkarma, see above.
Manusya ayusya, 1 16.
Manusya gati, 113, 182.
Marathi, 286.
Mardava, 152.
Margaslrsa, 262.
MaricI, 45, 46, 121 n.
Marks on images, 250.
Marriage, 196 ff., 209.
! Marudeva, 43.
MarudevI, in.
Marwar, 230.
Masi, 181.
t Maso, 153.
Mata, 264, 266, 267.
Mathura, 57, 85, 86, 280.
Mati ajnana, 178.
Mati jnana, 32.
Mati jnanavaraniya, 132, 177.
Matsara, 245 n.
Matter, see Pudgala.
326
INDEX
Matthew, St., 297 n.
Maunagyarasa, 262.
Maunavalambi, 147.
Maurya dynasty, 10, 70, 85.
Maya, 91, 121, 130, 140, 172 n.,
175.
Mayamrisa, 130.
MayapratyayikI asrava, 141.
Maya salya, 246.
Meditation, 155, 168.
Megharatha, 52.
Mela deva, 266.
Mela parlsaha, 151.
MeladI Mata, 264.
Menial gods, 270.
Mera, 247.
Mercy, 296 f. ; see also Ahimsa.
Merit, see Punya.
Meru, Mt., 25.
Mesarl Baniya, 230.
Metal, prohibition of, 153, 226 f.
Misra gunasthanaka, x86.
Misramohanlya karma, 180, 187.
Mithila, 2n., 42, 56.
MithyadarsanapratyayikI asrava,
141.
Mithyadarsana Salya, i3off.
Mithyatva, 130 ff.
Mithyatva gunasthanaka, 185.
Mithyatva karma, 174.
Mithyatva mohanlya, 1 39,1 79,187.
Mithyatva salya, 246, 267.
Mithyatvl, 271.
Miugaha jati, 236.
Mobile life, 102.
Mohammedans, 17, 18, 19, 87,
180, 247.
Mohanlya karma, 179, 184, 1 87,
190 n.
Moksa, 35, 38, 51 ff., 62, 68 ff., 91,
94,' 104 fif., 1 1 o ff., 129, 131,139,
143, 160, 161, 163 fif., 169 fif.,
179, 185, 219, 220, 221. 239 fif.,
252, 260, 268, 272, 293 fif., 309.
Molakata, 263.
Money, 153 m, 227, 260.
Moneylending, 214.
Monks, see Ascetics.
— the duties of, 151 fif., 225 fif.
— the five vows of, 234 fif.
— the twenty-seven qualities of,
238.
Monthly fasts, 259 fif.
i Moon, 23 n., 53, 270.
Mosquitos, 149.
Mother Sixth, see Sixth, Mother.
Motion, 106, 108.
Mourning, 203, 204.
Mouth-cloth, 100, 147, 227.
Mrisavada, 1 18, 130.
Mrisavada viramana vrata, 207.
Mrityu Mahotsava, 43 n.
Mudabidri, 285.
Mughal architecture, 283 f.
Muhapati, see Mouth-cloth.
Muhurta, 272 n.
Mukhapattika, see Mouth-cloth,
j Mukhtagiri, 284.
Mujagrantha, the four, 14.
! MumatT, see Mouth-cloth.
Muni, 65.
Munisuvrata, 57, 277.
Mysore, 9, 10, 70 n., 285.
Mythology, 268 fif.
Naga Kumara, 269.
Naga tree, 269.
Nagasena, 80 n.
Nagila, 275.
NaisastrikI asrava, 142.
Naisedhik! parlsaha, see below.
NaisidhikT parlsaha, 149.
NaisristikI asrava, 142 n.
Naivedya puja, 229, 250, 251, 254,
266.
NajarabhandhI, 265.
| N ajarai javuth, 264.
Naka asrava, 139.
Naksatra, 80 n., 270.
Naladiyar, 287.
Kama karma, 1 14 fif., 182, 184,
1 90 fif.
Namaputra, 27.
Namaskara punya, 112.
Name, change of, 226.
— choice of, 27, 194.
Nami, King, 1 58.
Naminatha, 57, 213.
Naming ceremony, 194.
Namo arihantanum, 257.
Namotthunam, 258.
Nandavartta svastika, 56.
Nandimitra, 80 n.
Nandisena, 126.
Nandi Sutra, 14, 177.
Naputiisakalihga Siddha, 1 71.
INDEX
327
Naputhsakaveda, 136.
Naraca sanghena, 137.
Narada, 277.
Naraka, see Hell.
Naraka ayu karma, 181.
Narakayuh karma, see above.
Narakagati, 134, 182.
Narakayu, 134.
Narakl, 97, 105.
Nas asrava, see Naka asrava.
Nata, 219 n.
Nata clan, 22.
Nataputta, 27 n.
Natimapana bhoyana bhoi, 237.
Nature, see Prakriti.
Nature (of a thing), see Bhava.
Navakara mantra, 254, 256.
Nava Tattva, 169 ; see also Cate-
gories, the nine.
Nava Vada, the, 154.
Navi dlksa, 155.
Naya clan, 22, 31.
Nayaputra, 27 n.
Nayasara, 45.
Neminatha, 17, 56 n., 57, no,
112, 313-
Nepal, 72, 285.
Neuter division of jlva, 96, 170.
Nlcagotra, 134.
Nidana salya, 247.
Nidra, the five, 134.
Nidranidra, 134.
Nigantha, 86.
Nigoda, 271, 272.
Nigranthagaccha, see Nirgrantha.
Nikacita karma, 185.
Nikasaya, 277.
Nllalesya, 103.
Ninda, 130.
‘Ninety-nine’ Pilgrimage, the,
253-
Ninth-day ceremonies, 194.
Nira valla, 14.
Niray avail, 14.
Nirgrantha, 36, 75, 218.
Nirjara, 153, 163 ff., 219, 240, 308.
Nirjara bhavana, 160.
Nirlobhata, 152.
Nirmama, 277.
Nirmana namakarma, 115.
Nirvana, 36, 44, 55 ff., 63, 171 ff.,
1 91, 243.
Nirvega, 187.
Niryukti, 15, 70.
Nispulaka, 277.
Nisibhojanatyaga pratima, 222.
Nisltha, 14, 145.
Niyatibadara Gunasthanaka, 188.
Nojlva, 78.
Nojlva schism, 78.
Nokasaya, 135, 174.
Non-Jaina and moksa, 243 fif.
North-east comer, 216, 255.
Nudity, 11, 35 ff., 58, 71, 79, 80,
226.
Nun, funeral of a, 232 f.
Nuns, 66, 80, 21 in., 232 f., 237.
Nyagrodhaparimandala sams-
thana, 137.
Nyaya school, 91, 94.
Offering to idols, see Puja.
Officiants in temples, 250 ff.
Oghaniryuti, 14.
Oh, 263.
Omniscience, see Kevala jnana.
Organization, Jaina genius for,
18.
Orissa, 85, 281.
Orthodox Jaina, 25 n.
Osavala sect, 69.
Pacakhana, 257.
Padlkamanurh, 101, i2on., 165,
220, 231’, 265 ff.
Padima, 221 n.
Padmalesya, 104.
Padmanabha, 276, 278.
Padmaprabhu, 52.
Padopagamana santharo, 168.
Pahanga, 270.
Pain, problem of, see Suffering.
Paisunya, 129 ff.
Pajjusana, 76, 218, 259.
PakkhI, 166.
Palasa Nagara, 50.
Palevana, 228, 231.
Palitana, 78, 226, 284 ; see also
Satrunjaya-
Palmistry, 82.
Palya of time, 5, 102, 272 n.
Pampa, see Pavapurl.
PanapannI, 270.
Pana punya, no.
Panca, 207 n.
Panca Astikaya, 61.
328
INDEX
Panca Aticara, 205 ff.
Panca Avrata, 1 40 ff.
Panca Bhavana, 234.
Panca Indriya, see Indriya.
Pancakalyana puja, 253.
Panca mahavrata, see Vows, the
five Ascetic.
Pancanga, 216.
Panca Paramesvara, 141,239,256,
262.
Panca samiti, see Samiti.
Pancatantra, 286.
Pancasara Parasanatha, 83.
Pancendriya Jlva, 97, 101, 104,
105.
Pancendriyapanum, 113.
Pancindriya, see Pancendriya.
Pandu (Acarya), Son.
Pandusila, 32 n.
Panjarapola, 296 n.
Panka Prabha, 271.
Pannavana, 14, 73.
Papa, 1 16 ff., 302 ff.
Papa, the eighteen kinds of, 1 i6ff.,
256.
PapapurT, see PavapurT.
Paper money, 190.
Papopadesa, 215.
Paraghata namakarma, 114.
ParamadhamT, 192.
Paramaharnsa, 80.
Paramanu, 109.
Paramesvara, 174.
Paramesvara, Panca, see Panca
Paramesvara.
Paranurh, 33.
Parapakhanda parasamsa, 205.
Parapakhanda santhana, 205.
Parapravada ninda, see Ninda.
Parasnatha Hills, 38, 56, 168.
Parigraha, 119.
Parigrahatyaga pratima, 223.
Parigraha viramana vrata, 209.
ParigrahikI asrava, 14 1.
Pariharavisuddha caritra, 155.
ParinamikI, 177.
Parisaha, see Parisaha.
ParTsaha, the twenty-two, 1 48 f¥".
Paritapaniki asrava, 14 1.
Parithapanika samiti (samai), 146,
235*
Parliament of Religions, 145 n.
Parsls, 20, 247.
Parsvanatha, 8, 31, 33, 35, 41 , 48,
58, 59, 85, 241.
Parsvanatha, Mt., see Parasnatha.
Partridge, red, 52.
Paryapta, 104-6.
Paryapti namakarma, 1 1 5.
Paryapti, 104, 105.
Paryusana, see Pajjusana.
Pata, 68 n.
Patala, XI 2, 269.
Pataliputra, Council of, 11, 16,
72.
Patana (Anhilvada), 83, 287, 288.
Patha, 216.
Patna, II, 21, 281.
Pattavalls, 85.
Paul, St., 294 n.
Paustilacarya, 80 n.
PavapurT or Papa, 42, 43, 45.
Payanna, the ten, 14.
Pedhala, 276.
Penalties, 207 ff.
Penance, 155, 166.
Pentha, 76.
Persia, 285.
Personality, 297 ; see also Cha-
racter.
Pessimism of Jainism, 275.
Peter, St., 248 n.
Phala puja, 229, 251, 254.
PhalgusrI, 275.
Philosophy, 89 ff., 122, 131.
— six schools of, 90 ff.
Pilgrimage, 252 ff.
* Pillar ’ edict of Asoka, 85.
Pinjarapola, see Panjarapola.
Plpal tree, 265.
Pisaca, 269.
Place, see Ksetra.
Plague, 55, 266.
Planets, 105, 270.
Points of Compass, auspicious,
201, 203, 216, 255.
PonjanI, 146.
Popata Amaracanda, 210.
Popatlal K. Shah, n6n.
Population, Jaina, 20.
Posadha vrata, 217 ff., 219, 259.
Posadhopavasa pratima, 222.
Posaha, see Posadha vrata.
Possessions (of an ascetic), 145 ff.
— limitation of, see Parigraha
viramana vrata.
INDEX
329
Posture, see Kausagga, Sampar-
yahka, &c.
Potila, 276.
Potter, 198.
Prabha, 271.
Prabhava, 69 ff.
Prabhavatl (wife of Parsvanatha),
48.
— (mother of Mallinatha), 57.
Pracala, 134.
Pracalapracala, 134.
Pradaksina, 228, 280.
Pradesa, 106 ff., 162.
PradvesikI asrava, 1 41 .
Praise worship, 253 ff., 255.
Prajnapana, 14.
Prajna parlsaha, 151.
Prakirna, the ten, 14.
Prakrit, 15, 84, 288.
Prakriti, 91, 162.
Pramada, 162, 188.
Pramada carya, 214.
Pramatta Gunasthanaka, 188.
Prana, 95, 97, 99, 100, 101, 105.
Pranata, 270.
Pranatipata viramana vrata, 205.
PranatipatikI asrava, 141.
Prarabdha, 185 n.
Prasannajita, 48.
Prasasta krodha, 120.
Prasna Vyakarana, 13.
Pratha'manuyoga, 16.
Pratikramana, see Padlkamanurii.
Pratima, the eleven, 221 ff., 239.
Pratisthapana samiti, see Paritha-
panika samiti.
PratityakI asrava, 142.
Prativasudeva, 56 n., 274.
PratyakhyanI, 123.
Pratyeka, 99.
Pratyekabuddha Siddha, 171.
Pratyeka namakarma, 115.
Prayaga, 40.
Prayascitta, 120 n., 165.
Prayer, 131, 242, 292.
Prayogiki asrava, 143.
Preaching, 58, 62, 225.
Premiki asrava, 143.
Pride, 152, 173, 181, 187 ff; see
also Mana.
Pristicampa, 41.
Prithivlkaya, see Prithvlkaya.
Prithvlkaya, 97,98n., 102, 104, 105.
Priyadaihsane, 270.
Priyadarsana, 29.
Processions, 260.
Pudgaja (Pudgala), 91, 106, 108 ff.,
135, 161 ff.
Pudgalastikaya, 108 ff.
Puja, the eight-fold, 262 ; see also
Worship.
Pujarl, 225 ; see also Officiants.
Pujya BecarajI, 205 n.
Pullinga Siddha, 17 1.
Punamlyagaccha, 86.
Pundarika, 159.
Punema, 261.
Punishment of sin, 268, 271.
Punitabhumi, 42.
Punya, uoffi, 141, 301.
Punya, the fruit of, 1 1 3 ff.
Punya, the nine, uoffi, 301.
Puphaculia, see Puppaculia.
PuppaculTa, 14.
Pupphiya, 14.
Purl, 78.
Purity, 154; see also Brahma-
carya.
Purnima, see Punema.
Purusaveda, 136.
Purva (of time), 51.
Purva, the fourteen, IX, 15, 72,
80 n., 240.
Puskara, 108, 132.
Puspadanta, 53.
Puspaculika, 14.
Puspaka, 14.
Puspa puja, 229, 251, 254.
Pyre, funeral, 204.
Quality, see Guna.
Quarrelsomeness, see Klesa.
Raga, 126.
Rails, 279.
Rajagriha, 41, 57, 63, 65, 68,
219.
Rajaprasniya, 13.
Rajkot, 163, 164, 205 n., 2x1 n.,
240.
Rajono, see Whisk.
Rajput, 51 ff.
RakhadI bandhana, 200.
Raksasa, 269.
Rama, 18.
Ramnagar, 280.
33°
INDEX
Rasabhi, 75.
Rasatyaga, 164.
Rasendriya, 96.
Rathavlrapura, 79 fF.
Rati Arati, 130.
Ratna Prabha, 271.
Ratnapurl, 55.
Ratna Traya, see Jewels, the
three.
Ratribhojana tyaga, 238.
Raudradhyana, 168.
Ravana, 277.
RayapasenI, 13.
Rayas! padlkamanum, 228.
Rebirth, 36, 31, 94, 294.
Reflections, see Bhavana.
Reformation in Europe, 87.
Reincarnation, 1, 294.
Religion, true and false, 247.
Re-ordination, 155.
Repentance, 155.
Results of sin, the eighty-two,
1 32 AT.
Revati, 67, 277.
Reverence, 166, 178.
Rhinoceros, 54.
Right Conduct,^ Conduct, Right.
Right Faith, see Faith, Right.
Right Knowledge, see Knowledge,
Right.
Rijukula, 39 n.
Rijupalika river, 39.
Rijuvalika, 39 n.
Risabhadatta, 26, 56 n.
Risabhadeva, 22 n., 45, 51, 111,
152, 158, 170, 216 n., 274, 312.
Risabhanaraca saiighena, 137.
Roga parlsaha, 150.
Rohagupta, 78.
RohinI, 26 n., 277.
Rosary, 243, 254, 279.
Rudra, 33, 268.
Rules of conduct, the five, see
Caritra.
Rules for daily life, six, 188.
Rupl Ajlva, 106, 108 ff.
Sabala, 268.
Sabha mandapa, 281.
Sacittaparihara pratima, 222.
Sacred thread, 81 n.
Sacrifice, law of, 295 ff.
Sadharana, 99, 138.
Sadhu, 45, 51 ff, 65, 98, 100, 105,
1 12, 131,145 ff, 187 ff; see also
Ascetics.
SadhvI, see Nuns.
Sadi samsthana, 137.
Sagai, 195.
Sagara (of time), 51 ff
Sagaropama, 102, 272, 272 n.
Sahasara, 270.
Saint-wheel worship, 262.
Saitavarnana Stuti, 253.
Saiva temples, 7 5.
Sajhaya Stavana, 258.
Sakadala, 71, 111.
Sala tree, 39.
Sales!, 102 ff.
Salutation, 204 n. ; see also Five,
, Salutation to the.
Salya, 246, 257.
Sama, 187.
Sama, 268.
Samacaturastra santhana, 114.
Samadhi, 221, 222.
Samadhista, 221.
Samaga, 39.
Samaka or Samaka, 39 n.
Samakit!, 271.
Samantabhadrasuri, 80 n.
Samantopanipatiki asrava, 142.
Samatabhavini, 147.
Samavasarana, 1 91.
Samavayanga Sutra, 13.
Samavega, 187.
Samaya, 98 n., 272 n.
Samayika, 21 5 ff. , 228, 255.
Samayika caritra, 155.
Samayika pratima, 222.
Sambhavanatha, 51, 312.
Sambhutivijaya, 70.
Samedsikhara, see Sameta £i-
khara.
Sameta Sikhara, 49, 56 ff.
Samiti, the five, 144 ff, 234 ff, 241.
Sariijni pancendriya, Xoi, 106.
Samllnata, 165.
Samparyanka posture, 43.
Samprati, 73 ff.
Samsara, 241.
Sarhsara bhavana, 158.
Saitisar!, 96.
Saihskrit, see Sanskrit.
Samsthana, the five, 137.
Samudayiki, 143.
INDEX
331
Samudravijaya, 57.
Samuhiirtta, see Samurata.
Samurata, 196.
Samvara (King), 52.
Samvara, 144, 259, 306 f.
Samvara bhavana, 160.
Samvaranatha, 277.
Samvatsarl, 166, 220, 259.
Samvega, see Samavega.
Samyak Caritrya, 245.
Samyak Darsana, 245.
Samyak Jnana, 245.
Samyaktvamohanlya karma, 180,
187.
Samyaktva parlsaha, 15 1.
Samyama, 154.
Sariiyatasamyata Gunasthanaka,
187.
Sanatana puja, 252.
Sanatkumara, 159, 270.
Sancita, 185 n.
Sangha, 52, 219 n.
Sanghayana, 1 14.
Sanghena, the five, 137.
Sanjaya, 91.
Sanjvalana, 123.
Sanka, 205.
Sankara, no.
Jsankaracarya, 150, 233.
SankhajI, 67.
£ankhasravaka, 276.
Sankhya school, 4 n., 90, 91 , 94, 1 2 1.
Sankita, 242.
Sanskrit, 15, 231, 254, 286 fif.
Sanstaraka Payanna, 14.
Santhana, 114.
Santhara Payanna, 14.
Santhara PorasI, 232.
Santharo, 163, 168, 220, 221,
221 n., 222, 258.
Santinatha, 55, 213.
Santistotra, 80 n.
Saptabhangl Naya, 91.
Sarada puja, 261.
Sarathi Khanda, 3m.
Sarayu river, 50.
Sardhapunamlyagaccha, 87.
Sarira, 104.
Sarira punya, in.
Sarkara Prabha, 271.
Sarvanubhuti, 276.
Sarvacaritrya, 246.
Sarvarthasiddha, 270.
Sarvavratl, 220.
Sasananayaka, 27.
Sasvadana Gunasthanaka, i86n.
Sasvasadana Gunasthanaka, 186.
^atakajl, 6 7.
Satakasravaka, 276.
Sataklrti, 276.
Satanika, 40.
^atavedanlya, 113, 179.
Satkara doctrine, 90.
Satkara parlsaha, 151.
Satrap period, 280.
Satrunjaya, 78, 78 n., 87, 129, 168,
252, 253, 261, 282 ff.
Sana, 184.
Satya, 154.
SatyasrI, 275.
Sauca, 154.
Sauripura, 57/
SavathI, see SravastT.
Sayambhava, 70.
Sayana punya, III.
Sayogikevall Gunasthanaka, 190.
Sayya parlsaha, 1 50.
Schism, the great, 12, 72 ff., 78 ff.
Schisms, 12, 72 ff.
Scriptures, Jaina, n, 138".
— antiquity of, 16.
— preservation of, 261 f.
— reading and study of, 16, 240,
258.
Sea-voyages, 145.
Sects, rise of, 69, 72, 86 ff.
— differences between, 23, 28, 30,
31 n., 33, 36, 53 ff, 76 n., 80,
no, 112, 155, 167, 169, 188, 190,
197, 208, 217, 223, 226, 239 ff,
250 ff, 258, 260 ff, 281.
Self, 95.
Senses, the five, see Indriya.
Serpents, see Snakes.
Servant-gods, 270.
Sesavatl, 29.
Sevartta sanghena, 137.
Seven (the number), 194-6, 198.
Shaving, see Hair, removal of.
Shells, 227.
Siddha, 96, 104, 108, 109, 113 m,
125, 129, 132, 141, 159, 160,
169 ff, 176, 190 ff, 229, 232,
237, 242 ff, 254 ff, 262, 271,
274.
— different kinds of, 170.
332
INDEX
Siddha cakra puja, see Saint-
wheel worship.
Siddharaja Jayasimha, 1 7, 84, 288.
Siddhartha (Acarya), 80 n.
Siddhartha (Mahavlra’sfather), 22.
Siddhartha (Mahavlra’s cousin),
.38.
Siddhartha Rani, 52.
Siddhasena (Acarya), 83.
Siddhasena Divakara, 76.
Siddhasila, 1 91 , 271.
Siddhasuri, 81 ff.
Sikhara, 281.
Siksavrata, the four, 215, 257.
Sllagunasuri, 82 flf.
Sllangacarya, Silankacarya, 84.
Slmandhara, 216.
Slmanta, 201.
Simhagiri, 78 n.
Siriihapuri, 54.
Sin, see Papa.
— results of, 132.
Sltala Mata, 266.
Sltalanatha, 53, 312.
Sitalasatama, 263.
Slta parlsaha, 148.
Sithila karma, 185.
Siva, 31.
Sivabhuti, 79.
SivalalajI Maharaja, 240.
Sivaraja, 56.
Sixth-day ceremonies, 193.
Sixth, Mother, 27, 193.
Skandha, 106 ff.
Slander, 129.
Sleep, 134, 188.
Sloka, 222, 235, 236, 238, 244,
245, 248.
Sloth, 134.
Smallpox, 266.
Smell, 96, 169.
Smith, Vincent, 18 n., 85.
Snakes, 48, 49, 105.
Social service, 167, 209, 271, 288m
Soka, 135.
Somacandra, 287.
Somadatta, 34.
Sonagarh, 284.
Soparl, 194 ff., 212 ff.
Sorath, no.
Soul, see Jiva.
Southern India, architecture of,
285.
Southern India, literature of, 286 ff.
Space, see Akasastikaya.
Sparsa asrava, 140.
Sparsendriya, 96.
SpristikI asrava, 142.
Sraddha, 264.
Sramana, 218.
Sramanabhuta pratima, 224.
Sravaka, 67, 210, 257.
fjravana, 266, 276.
Sravana Belgola, 10, 70, 263, 285.
Sravanendriya, 96.
SravastI, 42, 51, 59.
Sravika, 67.
^renika, 41, 126, 276.
Sreyatiisanatha, 54, 312.
Sri, 23, 261.
SridevI, 56.
Srlkhanda, 186.
Srllalajl, 239 n.
SrlmMa (city), 81.
Srlmala (sect), 69.
fsrlpujya, 87 n., 233.
Srlvatsa svastika, 53.
Sruta ajnana, 178.
Sruta jnana, 32.
Sruta jnanavaranlya, 132, X 77.
fsrutakevall, 72.
Stambha, 285.
Stars, 270.
Stealing, see Honesty.
Steps to liberation, the fourteen,
156, 185 ff.
Stevenson, Rev. J., 169 n., 172 m
SthanakavasI, 12 ff., 19, 23, 62,
66, 76 m, 79, 87, 104 m, 1 1 2,
155, 167, 197,206,211 n., 226 ff.,
239 ff., 254 ff., 260 ff.
j Sthananga Sutra, 13.
' Sthanita Kumara, 269.
Sthavara, 138.
Sthavara Dasaka, the, 138.
Sthavira kalpa, 79.
Sthira namakarma, 1 1 5.
Sthiti, 162.
Sthulabhadra, 10, 1 1, 7 1 ff.
Stork, 130.
Strllinga Siddha, 171.
Strl parlsaha, 149.
Strlveda, 136.
Study, 167, 231.
Stupa, 279, 280.
Styanarddhi, 134.
INDEX
333
Subha asrava, 141.
Subhadde, 270.
Subhadeva, 80 n.
Subhaga namakarma, 115.
Subha gandha, 114.
Subha karma, 139.
Subhala, 277.
Subha namakarma, 115.
Subha rasa, 114.
Subha sparsa, x 14.
Subha varna, 114.
Subhavihayogati, 115.
Subhuma, 122.
Substance, see Dravya.
Sudamsane, 270.
Sudarsana, 56.
Sudharma, 9, 44 n., 63-9.
Sudharma (god), 270.
Sudharman, see Sudharma.
Suffering, problem of, 290 ff.
‘Suffragette’ movement, 166 n.
Suhastin, 12, 74 ff, 85.
Suicide, 30, 163, 168, 2960.; see
also Santharo.
Sujae, 270.
Sukladhyana, 43, 168, 190, 191,
242.
Suklalesya, 104, 242.
Suklayoga, 242.
Suksma, 105, 138.
Suksmasamparaya caritra, 156.
Suksmasamparaya Gunastha-
naka, 189.
Sulasa, 67.
Sulasa II, 277.
Sulasa tree, 269.
Sumadhi, 277.
Sumanase, 270.
Sumanga]a, 52.
Sumatinatha, 52, 312.
Sumitra, 57.
Sun, 270.
Sunandasravaka, 276.
Sundavana, 3m.
Supadlbhadde, 270.
Suparsva, 276.
Suparsvanatha, 52, 312.
Superstitions, 264 ff.
Supreme Being, 174, 292.
Suradeva, 276.
Surapannati, 14.
Surastra, see Kathiawad.
Surat, 88.
Surya, 270.
Suryaprajnapti, 14.
Susama, 273, 276.
Susama Dusama, 51, 274.
Susama Susama, 272.
SusTma, 52.
Susthitasuri, 75, 86.
Susvara namakarma, 115.
Sutra, 78.
Sutrakritanga Sutra, 13, 59 n.,
154, "161.
Suvarna Kumara, 269.
Suvidhinatha, 53, 312.
Suyagadanga Sutra, 13.
Svadhyaya, 167.
SvahastikI, 142.
Svalinga Siddha, 171.
Svarga, 270 ff.
Svasocchvasa, 96, 104.
Svastika, 53, 56, 97, 251, 279.
Svayambuddha, 278.
Svayambuddha Siddha, 171.
Svayamprabhu, 276.
Svetambara, 12 ff, 28, 29, 30,
31 n., 36, 40, 53 ff, 66, 70, 72,
74, 79, 86, 87, 155, 167, 169,
225 ff, 239 ff, 250 ff. , 260 ff,
281.
Sweeper-gods, 270.
Sweeping-brush, 146.
Syadvada, 92.
Syamacarya, 73.
Syria, 285.
Taijasa body, see Taijasasarira.
Taijasasarira, 114, 206.
Tama Prabha, 271.
Tamatama Prabha, 271.
Tambola chantanam, 199.
Tamil, 286 ff.
Tandulavaicarika, 15.
Tandulaveyalla, 15.
Tankurh, 121 n.
Tapa (Tapas), 153, 155, 184, 262,
298.
Tapagaccha, 24 n., 76 n., 87, 87 n.,
2 11, 219, 239.
Tara, 270.
Tassottarl, 257.
Taste, 96, 169.
Tattva, 61, 94, 106.
Tattvartha Sutra, 73.
Taxila, 80 n.
334
INDEX
Tejolesya, 103, 114.
Telugu, 287.
Temple worship, 250 fif.
Temples, 22, 281 ff.
Teukaya, 97, 98, 102, 104, 105.
Thananga Sutra, 13.
Theft, see Honesty.
Theosophy, 131.
Thlnarddhi, 134.
Thirst, endurance of, 148.
Three Jewels, see Jewels, the
three.
Thunderbolt, 55.
Tibet, 1 1 7.
Tikkhuto, 216.
Tlmbara tree, 269.
Time, see Kal.a.
Time, divisions of, 272.
Tlrtha, the four, 42, 65, 170.
Tirthankara, 22 n., 26 n., 32 n., 33,
42,48, 50 ff., 56 m, 79, 1 12, 1 13,
1 16, 121 n., 122, 130, l7off.,
178, 190 ff., 205, 216, 217, 222,
225,228, 233, 241 ff., 246, 253 ff,
262, 271, 274, 275, 280, 285,
288 n., 312, 313.
— list of, 51 ff, 312, 313.
— to come, the twenty-four, 276 ff
Tirthankara namakarma, 116.
Tlrtha Siddha, 170.
Tiruvalluvar, 287.
Tiryagayuhkarma, see Tiryanc
ayu karma.
Tiryak jambrik, 270.
Tiryak loka, 272.
Tiryanc, 97, 105.
Tiryanc anupurvi, 136.
Tiryanc ayu karma, 181.
Tiryanc ayusya, 116.
Tiryanc gati, 136, 182.
Tolerance, 178.
Tortoise, 57.
Touch, 95.
Trades, 2 13 ff.
Training of Sadhus, 225.
Trana Yoga, see Yoga, the three.
Transmigration, 89, 104, 294.
Trasakaya, 102, 105.
Trasa namakarma, 115.
Travel, 145, 21 1 ff.
Treason, x 1 9.
Treasure houses for books, 87,
261.
Trees, the desire-fulfilling, 181,
?73-
Tri-indriya, 97, 100, 104.
Tri-indriya nama, 136.
Trimurti, 31.
Trinasparsa parlsaha, 151.
Trindriya, see Tri-indriya.
Triprista, 46.
Triratna, see Jewels, the three.
Trisa parlsaha, 148.
Trisala, 22, 40, 47, 66 n.
Trivatur, 18.
Truth, 1 18 ff , 152, 154, 207, 235;
see also Satya.
Turmeric, see Kanku.
Twins, happy, 273 ff.
Tyaga, 154 m
Ucchvasa namakarma, 114.
Udadhi Kumara, 269.
Udai, 276.
Udaya, 185.
Udayaprabhu, 276.
Uddhista pratima, 224.
Uggahaih siuggahitamsi, 236.
Uggaham vauggahirhsa abhl-
khanam, 236.
Ujjainj 33, 74, 77 n.
UjjayinT, see Ujjain.
Ukaradi Notari, 198.
Umasvati, 73.
Unbelief, 139.
Uncagotra, 113.
Unique step, the, 189.
Unodari, 164.
Untruthfulness, see Asatya.
Upabhogantaraya, 133, 183.
Upabhoga paribhoga parimana,
212.
Upadesamala, 82.
Upadhyaya, 229, 239, 254, 262.
Upaghatanama, 136.
Upakesa Pattana, 69.
Upanga, the twelve, 13, 64, 73,
240.
Upasaka Dasanga, 13, 16, 239.
Upasama sankita, 186.
Upasantamoha Gunasthanaka,
190.
Upasarga Harastotra Kalpa
Sutra, 70.
U pasaro, see Apasaro.
Urdhvaloka, 272.
INDEX
335
Use, limitation of, see Upabhoga
paribhoga parimana.
Usna parisaha, 149.
Utkrista desavirati, 188.
UtpatikI, 177.
Utsarga, 168.
Utsarga samiti, 146.
UtsarpinI, 272, 276 ff.
Uttara, 79.
Uttaradhyayana, 14,43, 62, 63, 94,
147 n., 148 n., 149 n., 150^,239.
Uvavai, 13.
Vacana bala, 96.
Vacanagupti, 1 47 ff.
Vacana punya, 112.
Vacana vinaya, 166.
Vadha parisaha, 150.
VaidaranikI asrava, 142.
Vaikreya angopanga, 113.
Vaikreya body, see Vaikreya-
sarlra.
Vaikreyasarira, 113, 206.
Vaimanika, 105, 181.
Vainayiki, 177.
Vaisall, 21, 31 , 41, 66 n.
— government of, 22.
Vaisaliya, 27.
Vaisesika school, 78, 90, 91, 94.
Vaisnava, 230.
Vaisramana, 191.
VaitaranI, see Veyaranl.
Vaiyavacca, 167.
Vaiya vrata, 218.
Vaiyavritya, see Vaiyavacca.
Vajrarisabhanaraca sanghayana,
114’. '
Vajrasena, 78 ff.
VajrasvamI, 78.
Vakniyami, 147.
Vallabhi, 13, 17.
Valu, 268.
Valu Prabha, 271.
Varna, 48.
Vamana samsthana, 137.
Vanaraja, 83.
Vanaspatikaya, 9 7, 99, 102, 104,
105.
Vanavasigaccha, 80 n.
Vanavyantara, 270.
Vandana, 255.
Van Eycks, the, 281.
Vanhidasa, 14.
Vania, see Baniya.
Vanijyagrama, 21, 41.
Vanita, 52.
Varanlya, 132 ff.
Vardhamana, 27.
Vardhamana (village), 41.
Varikhilla, 128.
Vasaksepa, 226.
Vastra parisaha, 149.
Vastra punya, iioff.
Vasu, 54, 56 n.
Vasudeva, King, 46, 134.
Vasudeva, the nine, 274.
Vasumati, 61.
Vasupuja, 54.
Vasupujya, 54, 56 n.
Vatim parijanai, 234.
Vayubhuti, 65.
Vayukaya, 97, 99, 102, 104, 105.
Vayu Kumara, 269.
Veda, 16, 71.
Vedanlya karma, 178, 179, 184,
190 n.
Vedanta school, 90, 91, 95m, 98 n.,
121, 185 n.
Vedantists, see Vedanta school.
Vegetable life, 99.
Vegetarianism, 294.
Vesaliya, see Vaisaliya.
Vestments, 228, 251, 254 b
VetaranI, 268.
Veyaranl, 192.
Vibhanga jnana, 178.
Vidartha, 193.
Videha, 40.
Vidyadhara, 66.
Vidyut Kumara, 269.
Vijaya, 270.
Vijaya (Acarya), 80 n.
Vijaya (coming Tlrthankara), 277.
Vijayanta, 270.
Vijya, 57.
Vikramaditya, 77, 77 n.
Vimalanatha, 54, 213.
VimanavasI, 270.
Vinaya, 166.
Vindhya, 69.
Vipaka Sutra, 13.
Vipra, 57.
Vlraji, 88.
Virapasall, 263.
Vlrastava, 15.
Vlrathuo, 15.
33*5
INDEX
Viryantaraya karma, 133, 183.
Visakhacarya, 80 n.
Visnu, 31.
Visnu Acarya, 80 n.
Visnudeva, King, 54.
Vitigaccha, 205.
Vivihapannanti, 13.
Vivikta carya, 165.
Vows, 30, 140 ff., 186.
— the five ascetic, 39, 155, 234^,
241.
— of laymen, see Lay-adherents.
— advantage of keeping, 220.
— of Parsvanatha, the four, 49.
Vrata, 205.
Vrata pratima, 222.
VriddhavadI, 77.
Vrihatkalpa, 14.
Vrisabhasena, 66.
Vrittisanksepa, 164.
V yaktamithyatva Gunasthanaka,
185.
Vyantara, 105, 1 81, 269.
Vyavahara Sutra, 14, 145.
Vyavaharika Ka]a, 107 n.
Wadhwan, 41, 82, 120 n.
Wandering life, 28 ff., 36, 149 ff.
Water, 98, no, 218.
Water-jar, 57.
Waves, 98 n.
Wedding ceremonies, 198 ff.
Wheel, 279.
Whisk for insects, 227, 255.
Widows, child, 203.
I Williams, Sir M. Monier, 36.
! W.nd, 99-
Women, 56, 67, 121, 166 ff., 169,
188, 203, 263.
Wooden buildings, 279.
Worship, 250 ff.
— private, 254.
— temple, see Temple-worship.
Writers, Jaina, 286 ff.
Yacana parlsaha, see Yanca p.
YakanI, 80.
Yaksa, 269.
Yanca parlsaha, 150.
Yasobhadra, 70.
Yasobhadra II, 80 n.
Yasoda, 29.
Yasodhara, 277.
Yasoklrtti namakarma, 1 1 5.
Yasovatl, 29.
Yathakhyata caritra, 123, 156.
Yathasutracestaniyami, 148.
Yati, 233.
Yavatkathika, 163.
Yenur, 285.
Yoga, 141, 162, 165, 174, 188,
242.
— karma, 174.
— sarhllnata, 165.
— Sastra, 288.
— school, 91.
— the three, 14 1 , 162.
Young Men’s Associations, 288 n.
Zoroastrianism, see Parsis.
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