Jainism Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Ancient=== {{See also|Timeline of Jainism|Śramaṇa}} [[File:Photo of lord adinath bhagwan at kundalpur.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Rishabhanatha|Rishabhdev]], believed to have lived over 592.704×10<sup>18</sup> years ago, is considered the traditional founder of Jainism.]] [[File:Faxian's account about the priciple of Ahimsa being followed by the people of ancient India.png|thumb|275x275px|[[Faxian|Faxian's]] account gives us some glimpses of the social conditions in [[India]]. It appears the bulk of the people were vegetarian, and followed the principle of [[Ahimsa]], the most basic fundamental principle of Jainism. They had “no shambles or wine-shops in their market-places.” They do not keep pigs and fowls, nor do they eat onions and garlic, nor drank wine.]] {{Multiple images | image1 = Ashoka Pillar at Feroze Shah Kotla, Delhi 03.JPG | caption1 = Jain inscription of [[Ashoka]] ({{Circa|236 BCE}}) | image2 = Shrine with Four Jinas (Rishabhanatha (Adinatha)), Parshvanatha, Neminatha, and Mahavira) LACMA M.85.55 (1 of 4).jpg | caption2 = ''Chaumukha'' Sculpture with Four Jinas (Rishabhanatha (Adinatha), Parshvanatha, Neminatha, and Mahavira), [[LACMA]], sixth century | total_width = 330 | align = right }} Jainism is an ancient [[Indian religion]] of obscure origins.{{sfn|Sangave|2001|p=185}}{{sfn|Rankin|Mardia|2013|p=975}}{{sfn|von Glasenapp|1925|p=13}} Jains claim it to be eternal, and consider the first ''tirthankara'' [[Rishabhanatha]] as the reinforcer of Jain Dharma in the current time cycle.{{sfn|von Glasenapp|1925|p=16}} It is one of the ''[[Śramaṇa]]'' traditions of ancient India, those that rejected the [[Veda]]s,{{sfn|Lochtefeld|2002b|p=639}}{{sfn|Billimoria|1988|pp=1–30}} and according to the twentieth-century scholar of comparative religion [[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan]], Jainism was in existence before the Vedas were composed.{{sfn|Jambuvijaya|2002|p=114}}{{sfn|Pande|1957|p=353}}{{efn|Long notes that [[Ṛṣabha]], the first Tīrthaṅkara of Jainism, means "bull," and that images of bulls are found at seals from the [[Indus Valley civilization]], speculating that they may be related to Jainism.{{sfn|Long|2013|pp=53–54}}}} The historicity of first twenty two tirthankaras is not determined yet.{{sfn|Sangave|2001|pp=104, 129}}{{sfn|Saraswati|1908|p=444}} The 23rd Tirthankara, [[Parshvanatha]], was a historical being,{{sfn|Zimmer|1953|p=183}}{{sfn|Jaini|1998|p=10}} dated by the Jain tradition to the ninth century BCE;{{sfn|Barnett|1957|p=7}} historians date him to the eighth or seventh century BCE.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/rude-travel-down-the-sages/story-SYVGGDouZrOTgJogiul6IN.html|title=Rude Travel: Down The Sages Vir Sanghavi|date=13 September 2013}}</ref> Mahāvīra is considered a contemporary of the Buddha, in around the sixth century BCE.{{sfn|Dundas|2003a|p=383}}{{sfn|Keown|Prebish|2013|pp=127–130}} The interaction between the two religions began with the Buddha;{{sfn|Sangave|2001|p=105}} later, they competed for followers and the merchant trade networks that sustained them.{{sfn|Neelis|2010|pp=72–76}}{{sfn|Hirakawa|1993|pp=4–7}} Buddhist and Jain texts sometimes have the same or similar titles but present different doctrines.{{sfn|Qvarnström|2003|pp=ix–xi, 151–162}} Kings [[Bimbisara]] ({{Circa|558}}–491 BCE), [[Ajatashatru]] ({{Circa|492}}–460 BCE), and [[Udayin]] ({{Circa|460}}–440 BCE) of the [[Haryanka dynasty]] were patrons of Jainism.{{sfn|von Glasenapp|1925|p=41}} Jain tradition states that [[Chandragupta Maurya]] (322–298 BCE), the founder of the [[Mauryan Empire]] and grandfather of [[Ashoka]], became a monk and disciple of Jain ascetic [[Bhadrabahu]] in the later part of his life.{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|pp=63–65}}{{sfn|Boesche|2003|pp=7–18}} Jain texts state that he died intentionally at Shravanabelagola by fasting.{{sfn|Kulke|Rothermund|2004|pp=63–65}}{{sfn|Mookerji|1988|pp=39–46, 234–236}} {{Multiple image | image1 = Udayagiri Caves - Rani Gumpha 01.jpg | caption1 = [[Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves]] built by [[King Kharavela]] of [[Mahameghavahana dynasty]] in second century CE | image2 = La grotte Jain Indra Sabha Ellora Caves, India.jpg | caption2 = The Indra Sabha cave at the [[Ellora Caves]], are co-located with Hindu and Buddhist monuments. | align = | direction = | total_width = 330 | alt1 = | width = | Kalagumalai = https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kazhugumalai_Jain_beds_(8).jpg }} The third century BCE emperor Ashoka, in his pillar edicts, mentions the ''Niganthas'' (Jains).{{sfn|von Glasenapp|1925|p=43}} ''Tirthankara'' statues date back to the second century BCE.{{sfn|Upinder Singh|2016|p=444}} Archeological evidence suggests that Mathura was an important Jain center from the second century BCE. onwards.{{sfn|Jain|Fischer|1978|pp=9–10}} Inscriptions from as early as the first century CE already show the schism between Digambara and Śvētāmbara.{{sfn|von Glasenapp|1925|p=49}} There is inscriptional evidence for the presence of Jain monks in south India by the second or first centuries BCE, and archaeological evidence of Jain monks in Saurashtra in Gujarat by the second century CE.{{sfn|Cort|2010|p=202}} Royal patronage has been a key factor in the growth and decline of Jainism.{{sfn|Natubhai Shah|2004|pp=69–70}} In the second half of the first century CE, Hindu kings of the [[Rashtrakuta]] dynasty sponsored major Jain cave temples.{{sfn|Pereira|1977|pp=21–24}} King [[Harshavardhana]] of the seventh century championed Jainism, Buddhism and all traditions of Hinduism.{{sfn|von Glasenapp|1925|p=52}} The Pallava King [[Mahendravarman I]] (600–630 CE) converted from Jainism to Shaivism.{{sfn|Lochtefeld|2002a|p=409}} His work ''[[Mattavilasa Prahasana]]'' ridicules certain Shaiva sects and the Buddhists and expresses contempt for Jain ascetics.{{sfn|Arunachalam|1981|p=170}} The [[Seuna (Yadava) dynasty|Yadava dynasty]] built many temples at the [[Ellora Caves]] between 700 and 1000 CE.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_whs_ellora.asp |title=World Heritage Sites – Ellora Caves |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007002950/http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_whs_ellora.asp |archive-date=7 October 2015 |access-date=23 September 2021 |publisher=[[Archaeological Survey of India]], [[Government of India]]}}</ref>{{sfn|Gopal|1990|p=178}}{{sfn|Owen|2012b|pp=1–10}} King [[Āma]] of the eighth century converted to Jainism, and the Jain pilgrimage tradition was well established in his era.{{sfn|von Glasenapp|1925|pp=52–54}} [[Mularaja]] (10th century CE), the founder of the [[Chalukya dynasty]], constructed a Jain temple, even though he was not a Jain.{{sfn|von Glasenapp|1925|p=56}} During the 11th century, [[Basava]], a minister to the Jain [[Kalachuris of Kalyani|Kalachuri]] king [[Bijjala II|Bijjala]], converted many Jains to the [[Lingayatism|Lingayat]] Shaivite sect. The Lingayats destroyed Jain temples and adapted them to their use.{{sfn|von Glasenapp|1925|pp=75–77}} The [[Hoysala Dynasty|Hoysala]] King [[Vishnuvardhana]] ({{circa|1108}}–1152 CE) became a [[Vaishnava|Vaishnavite]] under the influence of [[Ramanuja]], and Vaishnavism then grew rapidly in what is now Karnataka.{{sfn|Das|2005|p=161}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page