JAINISM

▪ JAINISM MEANS THE RELIGION OF THE JAINAS (CONQUERORS)

▪ IT IMPLIES A PERSON WHO HAS BEEN ABLE CONQUER ALL HIS VICES
AND WORLDLY DESIRES
▪ ACCORDING TO JAIN BELIEF, THERE HAVE BEEN 24 TIRTHANKARAS
(PATHFINDERS ACROSS THE STREAM OF EXISTENCE) WHO HAVE
SHAPED THE RELIGION
▪ THE FIRST TIRTHANKARA WAS RISHABHA NATHA OR ADI NATHA
▪ THE 22ND TIRTHANKARA WAS NEMI NATHA OR ARISHTANEMI
▪ THE 23RD TIRTHANKARA WAS PARSVA NATHA WHO DEVELOPED
SEVERAL IMPORTANT TEACHINGS IN JAINISM
▪ THE 24TH AND LAST TIRTHANKARA WAS VARDHAMANA MAHAVIRA
WHO GAVE THE FINAL SHAPE TO THE RELIGION
VARDHAMANA MAHAVIRA (540-468 B.C.)
• VARDHAMANA WAS BORN IN KUNDAGRAMA IN VAISHALI TO KSHATRIYA
PARENTS SIDDHARTHA AND TRISHALA
• HE MARRIED YASHODA AND HAD A DAUGHTER ANUJA
• AT THE AGE OF 30, HE RENOUNCED WORDLY LIFE AND WANDERED FOR 12 YEARS
• IN THE 13TH YEAR OF PENANCE, AT JRIMBIKAGRAMA ON THE BANKS OF THE
RIJUPALIKA RIVER, HE ATTAINED THE HIGHEST SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE CALLED
‘KEVALA JNANA’ OR ‘KAIVALYA’
• THEREAFTER, HE WAS CALLED `MAHAVIRA’ OR `JINA’ OR `KEVALIN’ (OMNISCIENT)
OR ‘ARHANT’ (THE WORTHY ONE)
• HIS FOLLOWERS WERE CALLED JAINS AND THE RELIGION JAINISM
• HE PREACHED HIS DOCTRINES FOR 30 YEARS AND DIED AT PAVAPURI AT THE AGE
OF 72
• HIS FOLLOWERS BECAME KNOWN AS JAINAS OR `NIRGRANTHAS’ (FREE FROM
BONDAGE)
TEACHINGS OF JAINISM-TRIRATNAS
• THE THREE PRINCIPLES OF JAINISM ARE KNOWN AS `TRIRATNA’ (THREE JEWELS).
THEY ARE,
• RIGHT FAITH – BELIEF IN THE TEACHINGS OF MAHAVIRA
• RIGHT KNOWLEDGE – THERE IS NO GOD AND THE WORLD HAS ALWAYS EXISTED
AND ALL THINGS, LIVING OR NON-LIVING, HAVE A SOUL
• RIGHT CONDUCT- THIS IS THE OBSERVANCE OF THE FIVE GREAT VOWS OF
MAHAVIRA OR THE ‘PANCHA MAHAVRATA’
THE FIVE GREAT VOWS-PANCHA MAHAVRATA
• AHIMSA – NOT TO INJURE LIFE
• SATYA – NOT TO LIE
• ASTEYA – NOT TO STEAL
• APARIGRAHA – NOT TO OWN PROPERTY
• BRAHMACHARYA – TO OBSERVE CELIBACY

• THE FIRST FOUR VOWS WERE GIVEN BY PARSVA NATHA

• MAHAVIRA MODIFIED THEM AND ADDED THE FIFTH VOW
• BOTH THE MONKS OF JAINISM AS WELL AS THE NUNS WOULD HAVE TO OBSERVE
THESE VOWS
TEACHINGS(CONTD.)
• MAHAVIRA REGARDED ALL OBJECTS, BOTH ANIMATE AND INANIMATE, HAVE
SOULS AND VARIOUS DEGREES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
• THEY POSSESS LIFE AND FEEL PAIN WHEN INJURED
• MAHAVIRA REJECTED THE AUTHORITY OF THE VEDAS AND OBJECTED TO VEDIC
RITUALS
• HE ADVOCATED A VERY HOLY AND ETHICAL WAY OF LIFE
• HE ALSO CONSIDERED FARMING SINFUL BECAUSE IT CAUSED INJURY TO THE
EARTH, WORMS AND OTHER ANIMALS
• IN ORDER TO ATTAIN KEVAL JNANA, A PERSON HAD TO UNDERGO EXTREME
ASCETICISM BY RENOUNCING THE WORLD AND ALL FORMS OF PROPERTY
INCLUDING CLOTHES, AND UNDERGOING RIGOROUS SELF-MORTIFICATION AND
FINALLY FASTING TO DEATH (SALLEKHANA)
SUMMATION OF THE TEACHINGS OF MAHAVIRA
• DENIAL OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
• EMPHASIS ON THE EXISTENCE OF THE SOUL (JIVA)
• THEORY OF KARMA AND REBIRTH
• ATTAINMENT OF SALVATION (MOKSHA)
• THE FIVE GREAT VOWS (PANCHA MAHAVRATAS)
• FASTING AND AUSTERITIES
• EQUALITY TOWARDS ALL
• EMANCIPATION OF WOMEN
SPREAD OF JAINISM
• THE TEACHINGS OF MAHAVIRA AND THE OTHER TIRTHANKARAS
WERE SPREAD ACROSS THE GANGA PLAINS BY JAIN MONKS (MUNIS)
AND NUNS (ARYIKAS)
• ONE IMPORTANT MUNI WAS BHADRABAHU WHO LIVED DURING THE
TIME OF CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA
• CHANDRAGUPTA BECAME A FOLLOWER OF BHADRABAHU AND
CONVERTED TO JAINISM WHICH GREATLY POPULARISED THE
RELIGION
• HE THEN WENT TO SRAVANA BELAGOLA IN KARNATAKA WHERE HE
COMMITTED SALLEKHANA
CONTD.
• THE DISCIPLES OF BHADRABAHU RETURNED TO MAGADHA AFTER HIS DEATH
• BUT THEY FOUND OUT THAT THE MONKS WHO HAD REMAINED THERE HAD
DEPARTED FROM THE TEACHINGS OF MAHAVIRA BY BEGGING FOR FOOD AND
WEARING A WHITE ROBE
• THIS LED TO THE FIRST SCHISM IN JAINISM
• THE FOLLOWERS OF THE TEACHINGS OF PARSVANATHA BECAME KNOWN AS
`SVETAMBARAS’ (CLAD IN WHITE)
• THE FOLLOWERS OF MAHAVIRA BECAME KNOWN AS ‘DIGAMBARAS’ (CLAD IN
THE SKY)
• THE SVETAMBARA SECT SPREAD THROUGHOUT GUJARAT AND RAJASTHAN
• THE DIGAMBARA SECT SPREAD IN EASTERN, CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN INDIA,
ESPECIALLY IN KARNATAKA
JAIN LITERATURE
• THE CANONICAL JAIN LITERATURE IS CALLED JAIN AGAMAS AND ARE WRITTEN IN
ARDHAMAGADHI AND ARE 46 IN NUMBER
• THEY CONSIST OF 12 ANGAS, 12 UPANGAS, 6 CHEDASUTRAS, 4 MULASUTRAS
AND 10 PRAKIRNAKA SUTRAS
• THE 12 ANGAS WERE COMPILED BY STHULABHADRA AT THE FIRST JAINA
COUNCIL HELD AT MAGADHA
• THE TEACHINGS OF THE FIRST 23 TIRTHANKARAS ARE CALLED THE 14 PURVAS
AND ARE PART OF THE 12TH ANGA
• THE 12 UPANGAS ARE THE EXPLANATIONS OF THE 12 ANGAS
• THE 6 CHEDASUTRAS ARE THE RULES FOR THE MONKS AND NUNS
• ANOTHER IMPORTANT WORK IS THE KALPASUTRA OF BHADRABAHU WHICH
CONTAINS THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE 24 TIRTHANKARAS, ESPECIALLY
PARSVANATHA AND MAHAVIRA
JAIN ART AND ARCHITECTURE
• THE JAINAS MADE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO ART AND ARCHITECTURE
• THE JAINAS HAD A PRACTICE OF SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATION OF THEIR SAINTS
• ADI NATHA IS REPRESENTED BY A BULL IN JAINA PAINTING AND SCULPTURE
• SIMILARLY ARISTHA NEMI IS REPRESENTED BY A CONCH SHELL, PARSVA NATHA BY
A HOODED SNAKE AND MAHAVIRA BY A LION
• THE JAINAS MADE SEVERAL SCULPTURES OF THEIR TIRTHANKARAS AND OTHER
SAINTS
• IMPORTANT EXAMPLES INCLUDE THE GOMMATESWARA STATUE AT SRAVANA
BELAGOLA IN KARNATAKA
• IMPORTANT EXAMPLES OF JAINA ARCHITECTURE INCLUDE THE UDAYAGIRI AND
KHANDAGIRI CAVE TEMPLES IN ORISSA
• SOME OF THE BEST EXAMPLES OF THE JAINA ARCHITECTURE ARE THE JAINA
TOWER AT CHITTOR AND THE TEMPLES AT MOUNT ABU IN RAJASTHAN