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JAIN CULTURE
PART V:7
........ Umasvati's classification of animals...is a good instance of classification by series, the number of senses possessed by the animal taken to determine its place in the series.
And as regards the Jaina contribution to the atomic theory, the same authority writes : “The most remarkable contribution of the Jainas to the atomic theory relates to their analysis of atomic linking, or the mutual attraction (or repulsion) of atoms, in the formation of molecules.”
For an assessment of Jaina contribution to mathematics, we may refer to the valuable paper of Dr. Bibhuti bhuysan Datta, published in the Bulletin of the Calcutta Mathematical Society. A correct appreciation of the Jaina achivements in science requires patient research by scholars trained in different sciences.
The Jainas were also great patrons of art. Indian art, both Northern and Southern, owes to them a number of remarkable monuments. And in architecture their achievements are greater still. Elliot in his Hinduism and Buddhism gives a comprehensive idea of the Jaina art and architecture of Northern India when, referring to the Satrunjaya Hill, he says :
On every side sculptured chapels gorgeous in gold and colour stand silent and open; within are saints grave and passionless behind the lights that burn on their altars. The multitude of calm stone faces, the strange silence and emptiness, unaccompanied by any sign of neglect or decay, the bewildering repetition of shrines and deities in this aerial castle suggest nothing built with human purpose but some petrified spirit world.
As single edifices illustrating the beauty of Jaina art, both in design and patient elaboration of workmanship, the temples of Mount Abu may be mentioned.
In South India, too, idol worship and temple building on a grand scale have to be attributed to Jaina influence. There the vast Jaina remains of mutilated statues, deserted caves and ruined temples at once recall to our mind the greatness of the religion in the days gone by. Moreover the colossal monolithic Jaina Statues of the South, such as that of Gomateshvara at Sravana Belgola, are among the wonders of the world,
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