3. Jaina
Tradition and Buddhism:
As
Mahavira was the senior contemporary of Gautama Buddha the founder of
Buddhism, if is natural that in the Buddhist literature there are several
references of a personal nature of Mahavira. But it is very significant to
note that in Buddhist books Mahavira is always described as Nigantha
Nataputta (Nirgrantha Jnatriputra, i.e., the naked ascetic of the Jnatr
clan) and never as the founder of Jainism. Further in the Buddhist
literature Jainism is not shown as a new religion but is referred to as an
ancient religion. There are ample references in Buddhist books to Jaina
naked ascetics, to worship af.Arhats
in Jaina Chaityas or temples and to the Chaturyama Dharma (i.e. fourfold
religion) of 23rd Tirthankara Parshvanatha.
Moreover it
is very pertinent to find that the Buddhist literature refers to the Jaina
tradition of Tirthankaras and specifically mentions the names of Jaina
Tirthankaras like Rishabhadeva, Padmaprabha, Chandprabha, Pushpadanta,
Vimala-natha, Dharma-natha and Nemi-natha. The �Dharmottarapradipa', the
well-known Buddhist book, mentions Rishabhadeva along with the name of
Mahavira or Vardhamana as an Apta or Tirthankara. The �Dhammikasutta' of
the �Anguttra Nikaya' speaks of Arishtanemi or nemi-natha as one of the
six Tirthankaras. The Buddhist book �Manoratha-Purani", mentions the names
of many lay men and women as followers of Parshvanatha tradition and among
them is the name of Vappa, the uncle of CTautama Buddha. In fact it is
mentioned that Gautama Buddha himself practised penance according to the
Jaina system before he propounded his new religion.
Further, it
is significant to note that the names and numbers of Buddhas,
Paccekabuddhas and Bodhisattvas in Buddhism appear to have been influenced
by those of the Jaina Tirthankaras. For instance, Ajita, the name of the
2nd Jaina Tirthankaras, has been given to one Paccekabuddha. Padma, the
6th Jaina Tirthankara, is the name of the 8th of the 24 Buddhas. Vimala, a
Paccekabuddha, has been named after Vimala-Natha, the 13th Jaina
Tirtliankara.
4. Jaina
Tradition and Hinduism:
The Jaina
tradition of 24 Tirthankaras seems to have been accepted by the Hindus,
like the Buddhists, as could be seen from their ancient scriptures. The
Hindus, indeed, never disputed the fact that Jainism was founded by
Rishabhadeva and placed his time almost at what they conceived to be the
commencement of the world.They acknowledged him as a divine person and
counted him amongst their Avataras i.e. various incarnations of Lord
Vishnu. They give the same parentage (-father Nabhiraja and mother
Marudevi) of Rishabhadeva as the Jainas do and they even agree that after
the name of Rishabhadeva's eldest son Bharata this country is known as
Bharata-Varsha.
So far as
the oldest Vedic literature is concerned we find that in the Rig-Veda
there are clear references to Rishabha, the lst Tirthankara, and to
Arishtanemi, the 22nd Tirthankara. The Yajur-Veda also mentions the names
of three Tirthankaras, viz. Rishabha, Ajitanatha and Arishtanemi. Further,
the AtharvaVeda specifically mentions the sect of Vratyas and this sect
signifies jainas on the ground that the term �Vratya� means the
observer of
vratas or vows as distinguished from the performer of sacrifices, which
applied to the Hindus at the times. Similarly in the Atharva-Veda the term
Maha-Vratya occurs and it is supposed that this term refers to
Rishabhadeva, who could be considered as the great leader of the Vratyas.
In the later
Puranic literature of the Hindus also there are ample references to
Rishabhadeva. The story of Rishabha occurs in the Vishnupurana and
Bhagavata-Purana, where he figures as an Avatara i.e. incarnation of
Narayana, in an age prior to that of ten avataras of Vishnu. The story is
exactly identical with the life-history of Rishabhadevaasgiven in the
Jaina sacred literature. In this way Rishabhadeva's life and significant
importance narrated in the Jaina literature get confirmed by the account
of Rishabha given in the Hindu Puranas.
Thus from
the fact that Hindu tradition regards Rishabha-devass-and not Mahavira-along
with Gautama Buddha as-an incarnion of God, it can be said that the Hindu
tradition also accepts Risiiabhadeva as the founder of Jainism.
5. Jaina
Tradition and Archaeological Evidence:
From some
historical references it can be regarded that Rishabhadeva, must be the
real founder of Jainism. In this connection Dr. Jacobi writes thus, "There
is nothing to prove that Parshva was the founder of Jainism. Jaina
tradition is unanimous in making Rishabla,a the first Tirthankara as its
founder and there may be something
historical in the tradition which makes him the first Tirthankara". There
is evidence to show that so far back as the first century B.C. there were
people who were worshipping Rishabh.adeva. It has been recorded that Kin
of Kalinga in his second invasion of Magadha in 161 B.C. brought back
treasures from Magadha and in these treasures there was the statue of the
first Jaina (Rishabhadeva) which had been carried away from Kalinga three
centuries earlier by King Nanda I.This means that in the 5th Century B.C.
Rishabhadeva was worshipped and his statue was highly valued by his
followers. From this it is argued that if Mahavira or Parshvanatha were
the founders of Jainism, then their statues would have been worshipped by
their followers in the 5th Century B.C, i.e. immediately after their time.
But as we get in ancient inscriptions authentic historical references to
the statues of Rishabhadeva it can be asserted that he must have been the
founder of Jainism.
Other
archaeological evidences belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization of the
Bronze Age in India also lend support to the hoary antiquity of the Jaina
tradition and suggest the prevalence of the practice of worship of
Rishabhadeva, the lst Tirthankara, along with the worship of other
deities. The recent excavations at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa have revealed
the real existence of a very well developed Pre-Vedic and non-Aryan
Civilization known as the Indus Valley Civilization. As a result, history
of India can now be traced back to the Indus Valley Period (i.e. about
3500 to E.C.) and not upto the Vedic period (i.e. about 1500 to 1000 B.C.)
only as was being done formerly . In fact the recent researches have shown
that there is an organic relationship between the Indus
Valley
Culture and the present day Indian Culture. It is very pertinent to note
that many relics from the Indus Valley excavations suggest the prevalence
of Jaina religion in that most ancient period .
(1)It is
observed that in the Indus Valley Civilization there is a great
preponderance of pottery figures of female deities over these of male
deities and that the figures of male deities are shown naked .In this
regard Dr. Earnest Mackay, the renowned Archaeologist intimately connected
with the Indus Valley excavations, mentions that "For some reason which it
is difficult to understand, figures of male deities in pottery are
distinctly rare: They are entirely nude, in contrast with the female
figures, which invariably wear a little clothing; necklaces and bangles,
may be worn, but this is by no means always the case" . `This fact clearly
reveals the traces of Jaina religion among the Indus Valley people as the
worship of nude male deities is a very well established practice in Jaina
religion .
(ii)
Further, the figures engraved on the seals found in the excavations also
suggest the same thing. For example, we find that the figures of six male
deities in nude form, are engraved on one seal (Vide Sir John Marshall:
Mohanjo-Daro and the Indus Civilization, Vol. I (I, Plate No. 118, Picture
No. B. 426) and that each figure is shown naked and standing erect in a
contemplating mood with both the hands keeping close to the body. Since
this `Kayotsarga' way (i.e. in standing posture) practising penance is
peculiar only to the Jainas and the figures are of naked ascetics, it can
be maintained that these figures represent the Jaina Tirthankaras .
(iii) Again,
the figures of male deities in contemplating mood and in sitting pasture
engraved on the seals (Vide Sir John Marshall: Mohanjo-Daro and the
Indus Civilization, Vol. III, (a), Plate No. 116, Picture No. 29 and (b)
Plate No. 118, Picture No. 11) resemble the figures of Jaina Tirthankaras
because in these, the male deities are depicted as having one face only
while the figures of male deities, supposed to be the prototypes of Lord
Shiva, are generally depicted as having three faces, three eyes and three
horns (vide Sir John Marshall: Mohanjo-Daro and the Indus Civilization,
Vol. I, Plate No. 12, Picture No. 17) .
