2. THE FORMATION OF CASTES AND SUB-CASTES
The caste-system among the Jainas is a social, and not a
religious, institution. Jainism does not recognise castes as much and at
the same time the Jaina books do not specifically obstruct the observance
of caste rules by the members of the Jaina community. The attitude of
Jainism towards caste is that it is one of the social practices,
unconnected with religion, observed by people; and it was none of its
business to regulate the working of the caste system. Naturally the Jainas
evolved a caste system of their own which is more or less similar to the
caste system found in the Hindu society. This was bound to occur sooner or
later because the Jainas were surrounded on all sides by the Hindus, and
at times they were recruited from the Hindus, and as such they
could not escape from copying the most important characteristic of the
Hindu society, viz. its caste system. Practically all noteworthy features
of the caste system among the Hindus found a place, to a more or less
extent, in the caste system among the Jainas. Among the Jainas the castes
were not arranged in a hierarchical order of respectability, no
restrictions were put on social intercourse between different caste
members and there was freedom of choice of occupation for its members. But
in the Hindu caste system the conditions opposite to these were present.
In all other respects we can perceive and gauge the influence of the
Hindus on the Jaina caste system. Hence the caste system is deeply rooted
in the social organization of the Jainas and in consequence
a
small Jaina community spread throughout the length and breadth of India
has been divided and sub-divided into water-tight compartments. It can be
stated that so long as the rules of endogamy are going to be observed by
the Jainas, these segmental divisions of castes and sub-castes will
perpetuate, a cultural
1. Law, B.C. : India as Depicted in Early Texts of Buddhism and
Jainism, page 143.
gulf will be created between them and caste and sub-caste, feeling,,
instead of community feeling will be prominent in the Jaina community.
To have a proper understanding of the Jaina caste system, we
should know some important things about Jaina castes. In the first place,
the exact number of Jaina castes is not available. Proverbially it is said
that there are 84 castes in the Jaina community. As regards the number 84
it is believed that once a rich Jaina of Padmavati town invited at his
place members of the Jaina community from all places to consider the
possibility of establishing one Vaishya Mahasabha (i.e., Central
Association of Traders) and in response to this invitation Jaina
representatives from 84 places participated, in the function. From that
time representatives of different paces were considered as belonging to
different castes and as the representatives came from 84 places these
become 84 castes in the Jaina community. Further, it is believed that
originally there were 84 castes in the Jaina community as a whole, other
groups of Jainas were admitted as separate castes according to
circumstances in different provinces, and in this way some provinces, came
to have their own 84 Jaina castes. All this shows that several castes
arose in the
Jaina
community in various parts of the country.
Secondly, apart front exclusive Jaina castes (i.e., castes in
which all members are Jainas) we find that there are Jaina sections or
divisions in several Hindu castes. These are mainly occupational castes
some Members of which happen to follow the Jaina religion and as such they
form into distinct groups or sub-castes in those castes. It cannot be
definitely said whether these small sections were converted to Jainism or
they continued to follow the Jaina religion while the rest of the caste
members changed their religion. In any case it appears that these sections
are of sufficiently long standing and they have a fixed mode ode of
behaviour with other sections of the same caste.
Thirdly, as a small Jaina community is divided into more than
100 castes, we find that each forms a very small group. Excepting a few
castes like Osavala, Shrimal, Agaravala, Khandelavala, Paravara, Saitavala,
Chaturtha and Panchama, the rest claim a meagre strength. Since all these
castes are endogamous, many members have necessarily to remain unmarried
and as such their population has been fastly declining. There are nearly
60 castes whose population is less than one hundred. The
population of �Disavala� caste according to 1901
Census Was 971, it fell to 355 in 1911 and by this time it might have
possibly ceased to exist. There was �Kukekari� caste in Berar but now
there is not even a single person belonging to that caste. The same is the
story of �Banjara� caste.� It seems that this is the reason why many
castes mentioned in the lists are not found at present. Fourthly, along
with the decline of population of Jaina castes we find the assimilation of
one caste into another. Various causes can be attributed to the
assimilation of one caste into another but the main reason seems to be to
save the persons of declining castes from joining another religion. The
present Athasaka, Paravara caste might be a combination of two castes,
viz., Ashta-Shakha and Paravara.
Fifthly, Jaina religion as such does not recognise the castes in
the Jaina community. They were not found in the Jaina community from the
very beginning. They are comparatively of a recent growth, If they were
existing, they would have been mentioned by the Jaina Acharyas in their
biographical or other works. But it is a fact that no mention has been
made of them by the Jaina Acharyas. The Jaina books do not give more
importance to them than to consider them as a social practice. The castes
in the Jaina community are, there fore, not ancient at all; and it is most
likely that they might have been formed during the last one thousand
years.
Sixthly,
it is interesting to note that only a few castes like Osavala, Poravada,
Humbada, Narasingpura and Nema are common to both the Digambaras and the
Shvetambaras.
Further, as many castes in the Jaina community are engaged in
commercial activities, they are spread over a wide area, especially in big
commercial towns and parts. That is why in Cities like Bombay, Calcutta,
Delhi, Nagpur, etc. nearly fifty Jaina castes can be easily found.
Even though the Jaina cages have spread over a very wide an, yet
there are different regions where different castes have been mainly
concentrated. Thug Shrimalis will be found mainly in Gujarat, Osavalas in
Gujarat and Rajasthan, Khandelawalas in Madhya Pradesh (especially Malva)
and Rajasthan, Agaravalas in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, Humbadas in
Rajasthan and Gujarat, Paravaras in Madhya Pradesh, (especially in
Bundelkhand), Saitavalas in Maha-
1. Jain, P.D. : vijatiya Vivaha Mimamsa, page 49.
rashtra (especially in Vidarbha and Marathwada), and Chaturthas and
Panchamas in Southern Maharashtra and Northern Karnataka. This is the
reason how these Jaina castes could keep up their identity up till now.
Many of these Jaina castes and in some cases even the sub-castes
have their National and/or State Associations and have their Panchayata
organizations in places where they are concentrated. These bodies try to
control various aspects of the marital and other kinds of behaviour of
their caste-members, to help them in times of their need and to maintain
their separate entity by forging the sense of unity among them and the
sense of distinctness from others. Further the major castes and at times
sub-castes also have their own temples, places of worship or places of
meditation and practically all religious ceremonies are held and conducted
for their caste-members at these places only. For the benefit of their own
students, these major castes arrange for boarding and lodging facilities,
scholarship funds, travel and other grants, training courses, guidance
centres, libraries, loans on easy terms and many other conveniences.
Moreover, these caste organizations conduct their caste-journals, even get
their caste-histories published and hold their Conferences at regular
intervals. Thus the caste sentiments and loyalties are strengthened and
preserved.
