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    [.A]  Letter with dot above
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    [.)]  Letter with candrabindu above

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                        ON
                  THE INDIAN SECT
                        OF
                    THE JAINAS

                        BY
       JOHANN GEORG BUEHLER C.I.E., LLD., PH.D.
 Member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, Vienna.

            TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN.

     EDITED with an OUTLINE of JAINA MYTHOLOGY

                        BY
       JAS. BURGESS, C.I.E., LL.D., F.R.S.E.

                       1903.



                     PREFACE.

       *       *       *       *       *

The late Dr. Georg Buehler's essay _Ueber die Indische Secte der
Jaina_, read at the anniversary meeting of the Imperial Academy of
Sciences of Vienna on the 26th May 1887, has been for some time out of
print in the separate form. Its value as a succinct account of the
['S]ravaka sect, by a scholar conversant with them and their religious
literature is well known to European scholars; but to nearly all educated
natives of India works published in German and other continental languages
are practically sealed books, and thus the fresh information which they
are well able to contribute is not elicited. It is hoped that the
translation of this small work may meet with their acceptance and that of
Europeans in India and elsewhere to whom the original is either unknown or
who do not find a foreign language so easy to read as their own.

The translation has been prepared under my supervision, and with a few
short footnotes. Professor Buehler's long note on the authenticity of the
Jaina tradition I have transferred to an appendix (p. 48) incorporating
with it a summary of what he subsequently expanded in proof of his thesis.

To Colebrooke's account of the Tirtha[.n]karas reverenced by the Jainas,
but little has been added since its publication in the ninth volume of the
_Asiatic Researches_; and as these are the centre of their worship,
always represented in their temples, and surrounded by attendant
figures,--I have ventured to add a somewhat fuller account of them and a
summary of the general mythology of the sect, which may be useful to the
archaeologist and the student of their iconography.

  Edinburgh, April 1903.  J. BURGESS.




CONTENTS.

THE INDIAN SECT OF THE JAINAS, by Dr. J. G. BUEHLER.

Appendix:--Epigraphic testimony to the continuity of the Jaina
tradition

SKETCH OF JAINA MYTHOLOGY, by J. BURGESS.




THE INDIAN SECT OF THE JAINAS.

The _Jaina_ sect is a religious society of modern India, at variance
to Brahmanism, and possesses undoubted claims on the interest of all
friends of Indian history. This claim is based partly on the peculiarities
of their doctrines and customs, which present several resemblances to
those of Buddhism, but, above all, on the fact that it was founded in the
same period as the latter.

Larger and smaller communities of _Jainas_ or _Arhata_,--that is
followers of the prophet, who is generally called simply the
_Jina_--'the conqueror of the world',--or the _Arhat_--'the holy
one',--are to be found in almost every important Indian town, particularly
among the merchant class. In some provinces of the West and North-west, in
Gujarat, Rajputana, and the Panjab, as also in the Dravidian districts in
the south,--especially in Kanara,--they are numerous; and, owing to the
influence of their wealth, they take a prominent place. They do not,
however, present a compact mass, but are divided into two rival
branches--the _Digambara_ and _['S]vetambara_ [Footnote: In notes
on the Jainas, one often finds the view expressed, that the _Digambaras_
belong only to the south, and the _['S]vetambaras_ to the north. This is
by no means the case. The former in the Panjab, in eastern Rajputana and
in the North West Provinces, are just as numerous, if not more so, than
the latter, and also appear here and there in western Rajputana and
Gujarat: see _Indian Antiquary_, vol. VII, p. 28.]--each of which is
split up into several subdivisions. The Digambara, that is, "those whose
robe is the atmosphere," owe their name to the circumstance that they
regard absolute nudity as the indispensable sign of holiness, [Footnote:
The ascetics of lower rank, now called Pa[n.][d.]it, now-a-days wear the
costume of the country. The Bha[t.][t.]araka, the heads of the sect,
usually wrap themselves in a large cloth (_chadr_). They lay it off
during meals. A disciple then rings a bell as a sign that entrance is
forbidden (_Ind. Ant._ loc. cit.). When the present custom first
arose cannot be ascertained. From the description of the Chinese pilgrim
Hiuen Tsiang (St. Julien, _Vie._ p. 224), who calls them Li-hi, it
appears that they were still faithful to their principles in the beginning
of the seventh century A.D. "The Li-hi (Nirgranthis) distinguish
themselves by leaving their bodies naked and pulling out their hair. Their
skin is all cracked, their feet are hard and chapped: like rotting trees
that one sees near rivers."]--though the advance of civilization has
compelled them to depart from the practice of their theory. The
['S]vetambara, that is, "they who are clothed in white"--do not claim this
doctrine, but hold it as possible that the holy ones, who clothe
themselves, may also attain the highest goal. They allow, however, that
the founder of the Jaina religion and his first disciples disdained to
wear clothes. They are divided, not only by this quarrel, but also by
differences about dogmas and by a different literature. The separation
must therefore be of old standing. Tradition, too, upholds this--though
the dates given do not coincide. From inscriptions it is certain that the
split occurred before the first century of our era. [Footnote: See below
p. 44.] Their opposing opinions are manifested in the fact that they do
not allow each other the right of intermarriage or of eating at the same
table,--the two chief marks of social equality. In spite of the age of the
schism, and the enmity that divides the two branches, they are at one as
regards the arrangement of their communities, doctrine, discipline, and
cult,--at least in the more important points; and, thus, one can always
speak of the Jaina religion as a whole.

The characteristic feature of this religion is its claim to universality,
which it holds in common with Buddhism, and in opposition to Brahmanism.
It also declares its object to be to lead all men to salvation, and to
open its arms--not only to the noble Aryan, but also to the low-born
['S]udra and even to the alien, deeply despised in India, the Mlechcha.
[Footnote: In the stereotyped introductions to the sermons of Jina it is
always pointed out that they are addressed to the Aryan and non-Aryan.
Thus in the _Aupapatika Sutra_ Sec. 56. (Leumann) it runs as follows:
_tesi[.m] savvesi[.m] a[r.]iyamanariyana[.m] agilae dhammat[.m]
aikkhai_ "to all these, Aryans and non-Aryans, he taught the law
untiringly". In accordance with this principle, conversions of people of
low caste, such as gardeners, dyers, etc., are not uncommon even at the
present day. Muhammadans too, regarded as Mlechcha, are still received
among the Jaina communities. Some cases of the kind were communicated to
me in A[h.]madabad in the year 1876, as great triumphs of the Jainas.
Tales of the conversion of the emperor Akbar, through the patriarch
Hiravijaya (_Ind. Antiq._ Vol. XI, p. 256), and of the spread of the
Digambara sect in an island Jainabhadri, in the Indian Ocean (_Ind.
Ant._ Vol. VII, p. 28) and in Arabia, shew that the Jainas are familiar
with the idea of the conversion of non-Indians. Hiuen Tsiang's note on the
appearance of the Nirgrantha or Digambara in Kiapishi (Beal,
_Si-yu-ki_, Vol. I, p. 55), points apparently to the fact that they
had, in the North West at least, spread their missionary activity beyond
the borders of India.] As their doctrine, like Buddha's, is originally a
philosophical ethical system intended for ascetics, the disciples, like
the Buddhists, are, divided into ecclesiastics and laity. At the head
stands an order of ascetics, originally Nirgrantha "they, who are freed
from all bands," now usually called Yatis--"Ascetics", or Sadhus--"Holy",
which, among the ['S]vetambara also admits women, [Footnote: Even the
canonical works of the ['S]vetambara, as for example, the _Achara[.n]ga
(Sacred Books of the East_, Vol. XXII, p. 88-186) contain directions
for nuns. It seems, however, that they have never played such an important
part as in Buddhism. At the present time, the few female orders among the
['S]vetambara consist entirely of virgin widows, whose husbands have died
in childhood, before the beginning of their life together. It is not
necessary to look upon the admission of nuns among the ['S]vetambara as an
imitation of Buddhist teaching, as women were received into some of the
old Brahmanical orders; see my note to _Manu_, VIII, 363, (_Sac.
Bks. of the East_, Vol. XXV, p. 317). Among the Digambaras, exclusion
of women was demanded from causes not far to seek. They give as their
reason for it, the doctrine that women are not capable of attaining
_Nirva[n.]a_; see Peterson, _Second Report_, in _Jour. Bom.
Br. R. As. Soc._ Vol. XVII, p. 84.] and under them the general
community of the Upasaka "the Worshippers", or the ['S]ravaka, "the
hearers".

The ascetics alone are able to penetrate into the truths which Jina
teaches, to follow his rules and to attain to the highest reward which he
promises. The laity, however, who do not dedicate themselves to the search
after truth, and cannot renounce the life of the world, still find a
refuge in Jainism. It is allowed to them as hearers to share its
principles, and to undertake duties, which are a faint copy of the demands
made on the ascetics. Their reward is naturally less. He who remains in
the world cannot reach the highest goal, but he can still tread the way
which leads to it. Like all religions of the Hindus founded on
philosophical speculation, Jainism sees this highest goal in
_Nirvana_ or _Moksha_, the setting free of the individual from
the _Sa[.m]sara_,--the revolution of birth and death. The means of
reaching it are to it, as to Buddhism, the three Jewels--the right Faith,
the right Knowledge, and the right Walk. By the right Faith it understands
the full surrender of himself to the teacher, the Jina, the firm
conviction that he alone has found the way of salvation, and only with him
is protection and refuge to be found. Ask who Jina is, and the Jaina will
give exactly the same answer as the Buddhist with respect to Buddha. He is
originally an erring man, bound with the bonds of the world, who,--not by
the help of a teacher, nor by the revelation of the Vedas--which, he
declares, are corrupt--but by his own power, has attained to omniscience
and freedom, and out of pity for suffering mankind preaches and declares
the way of salvation, which he has found. Because he has conquered the
world and the enemies in the human heart, he is called Jina "the Victor",
Mahavira, "the great hero"; because he possesses the highest knowledge, he
is called Sarvajna or Kevalin, the "omniscient", Buddha, the
"enlightened"; because he has freed himself from the world he receives the
names of Mukta "the delivered one", Siddha and Tathagata, "the perfected",
Arhat "the holy one"; and as the proclaimer of the doctrine, he is the
Tirthakara "the finder of the ford", through the ocean of the
_Sa[.m]sara_. In these epithets, applied to the founder of their
doctrine, the Jainas agree almost entirely with the Buddhists, as the
likeness of his character to that of Buddha would lead us to expect. They
prefer, however, to use the names Jina and Arhat, while the Buddhists
prefer to speak of Buddha as Tathagata or Sugata. The title Tirthakara is
peculiar to the Jainas. Among the Buddhists it is a designation for false
teachers. [Footnote: The titles Siddha, Buddha and Mukta are certainly
borrowed by both sects from the terminology of the Brahma[n.]s, which they
used, even in olden times, to describe those saved during their lifetimes
and used in the ['S]aivite doctrine to describe a consecrated one who is
on the way to redemption. An Arhat, among the Brahma[n.]s, is a man
distinguished for his knowledge and pious life (comp. for example
Apastamba, _Dharmasutra._ I, 13, 13; II, 10, I.) and this idea is so
near that of the Buddhists and the Jainas that it may well be looked upon
as the foundation of the latter. The meaning of Tirthakara "prophet,
founder of religion", is derived from the Brahmanic use of _tirtha_
in the sense of "doctrine". Comp. also H. Jacobi's Article on the Title of
Buddha and Jina, _Sac. Books of the East_. Vol. XXII, pp. xix, xx.]

The Jaina says further, however, that there was more than one Jina. Four
and twenty have, at long intervals, appeared and have again and again
restored to their original purity the doctrines darkened by evil
influences. They all spring from noble, warlike tribes. Only in such, not
among the low Brahma[n.]s, can a Jina see the light of the world. The
first Jina [R.][.)i]shabha,--more than 100 billion oceans of years
ago,--periods of unimaginable length, [Footnote: A Sagara or Sagaropama of
years is == 100,000,000,000,000 Palya or Palyopama. A Palya is a period in
which a well, of one or, according to some, a hundred _yojana_, i.e.
of one or a hundred geographical square miles, stuffed full of fine hairs,
can be emptied, if one hair is pulled out every hundred years: Wilson,
_Select. Works_, Vol. I, p. 309; Colebrooke, _Essays_, Vol. II,
p. 194. ed. Cowell.]--was born as the son of a king of Ayodhya and lived
eight million four hundred thousand years. The intervals between his
successors and the durations of their lives became shorter and shorter.
Between the twenty third, Par['s]va and the twenty fourth Vardhamana,
were only 250 years, and the age of the latter is given as only
seventy-two years. He appeared, according to some, in the last half of
the sixth century, according to others in the first half of the fifth
century B.C. He is of course the true, historical prophet of the Jainas
and it is in his doctrine, that the Jainas should believe. The dating
back of the origin of the Jaina religion again, agrees with the
pretensions of the Buddhists, who recognise twenty-five Buddhas who
taught the same system one after the other. Even with Brahmanism, it seems
to be in some distant manner connected, for the latter teaches in its
cosmogony, the successive appearance of Demiurges, and wise men--the
fourteen Manus, who, at various periods helped to complete the work of
creation and proclaimed the Brahmanical law. These Brahmanical ideas may
possibly have given rise to the doctrines of the twenty-five Buddhas and
twenty-four Jinas, [Footnote: For the list of these Jinas, see below.]
which, certainly, are later additions in both systems.

The undoubted and absolutely correct comprehension of the nine truths
which the Jina gives expression to, or of the philosophical system which
the Jina taught, represents the second Jewel--the true Knowledge. Its
principal features are shortly as follows. [Footnote: More complete
representations are to be found in Colebrooke's _Misc. Essays_. Vol.
I, pp. 404, 413, with Cowell's Appendix p. 444-452; Vol