Proceedings and papers of National Seminar on Jainology

Author(s): Yugalkishor Mishra
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

Page 48

Jainism in Bihar During
Gupta Pala Periods
Dr. B.S. Verma
It is very difficult to determine the antiquity of Jainism. 'The Yajurveda mentions the name of three Tirthankaras, Rishabha, Ajitanatha and Arishtnemi. According to the Bhagawata Purana, Rishabha was the founder of Jainism. Even the Jain believe that their system had previously been proclaimed through countless ages by each one of a succession of great teachers'. In the beginning of the historical period Jain had their stronghold in Bihar. Parsvanatha the twenty-third Tirthankara preached and got Nirvana at Parasnatha Hill (in Hazaribagh District) as is traditionally known. The last prophet of Jainism was Mahavira who was born in Vaishali and died in village Pawa in Patna District (now Nalanda District).
Mahavira first entered the order of Parsvanatha, but left it after a year perhaps because of differences on the question of renunciation and possession of personal articles. Mahavira stressed asceticism and complete abandonment of all possessions, including clothings, whereas Parsvanatha had stressed that some coverings was a necessity and he never was in favour of extreme renunciation. These differences widened at the time of Bhadrabahu and resulted in two broad divisions in Jainism known as Svetambara (white-clothed) and Digambara (atmosphere-clad, i.e., nude)?.
Digambaras had their hold in Bihar. The Chinese pilgrim, Yuan Chwang, has mentioned in his 'Records' that the Digambaras were flourishing when he visited the State. The Siddhas also refer to the naked Jain monks. This fact is attested to by the few images of Tirthankaras which have been found at different places in Bihar. However, excepting a few images, there is a great paucity of Jain records in Bihar belonging to this period. Judged from these scanty records, it appeared that Jainism did not enjoy the same extent of popularity as the contemporary religions, such as Buddhism, Saivism, Vaishnavism etc. Nevertheless, with the help of the few records available, we get an idea of the state of Jainism, as it existed during the period under review.
First, it is necessary to examine why there are so few records of the
available here. Jainism in the beginning might have obtained the support of some of the early kings of Magadha and Kalinga such as Nanda,