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Jainism and the other new schools

मराठीत स्पष्टीकरण

The Mahajanapadas, Buddhism and Jainism · Part 3 / 3 · Fact-checked on · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

The twenty-four tirthankaras and Parshvanatha's four vows; the life of Mahavira; the Jain view of soul, karma and liberation; the five vows and the three jewels; strict ahimsa and its social effects; anekantavada and syadvada; the councils and the Agamas; the Shvetambara–Digambara split and the spread of Jainism; the Ajivikas, the materialists and other teachers; and Buddhism and Jainism compared.

Each idea is explained first in Marathi (मराठी), ending with the English and Hindi exam terms, followed by the same point in exam English. UPSC Prelims is in English or Hindi, so understand it in Marathi and revise it in English.

दुसऱ्या भागात बौद्ध धर्म पाहिला; आता त्याचा शेजारी धर्म जैन. दोन्ही श्रमण परंपरेतून आले, वेद आणि यज्ञबळी मानले नाहीत, स्वतःच्या प्रयत्नाने मुक्ती सांगितली — एकाच शाळेत शिकलेल्या दोन भावांनी वेगवेगळ्या वाटा धराव्यात तसे. पण जैन धर्म अहिंसा पाळण्यात फार कडक, आणि भारतातून कधीच नाहीसा झाला नाही. या भागात तीर्थंकर, महावीर, व्रते, इतर गुरू आणि दोन धर्मांची तुलना. (→ English: Jainism · shramana · हिन्दी: जैन धर्म · श्रमण)

In exam EnglishPart 2 traced Buddhism; this part turns to its close neighbour, Jainism, and to the other teachers who argued in the same towns. Both faiths grew from the shramana stream, rejected the authority of the Vedas and the value of sacrifice, and offered liberation through personal effort rather than ritual. Yet Jainism took a far stricter road, especially on non-violence, and unlike Buddhism it never left India but survived there unbroken to this day. We look at the line of teachers Jains revere, the life of Mahavira, the Jain view of soul and karma, the vows and the three jewels, the idea that truth has many sides, the councils and texts, the great split into two sects, and the Ajivikas and materialists. A comparison of Buddhism and Jainism closes the chapter.

जैनांच्या दृष्टीने महावीर नव्या धर्माचे संस्थापक नव्हेत, तर २४ तीर्थंकरांपैकी शेवटचे. तीर्थंकर म्हणजे 'घाट बांधणारा' — जन्माची नदी पार करण्यासाठी इतरांना घाट बांधून देणारा, गावच्या ओढ्यावर कुणी पूल बांधावा तसा. पहिले ऋषभनाथ (बैल चिन्ह). २३ वे पार्श्वनाथ (साप) — जीवांना इजा न करणे, सत्य, चोरी न करणे, मालमत्ता न ठेवणे हे चार व्रत. २४ वे महावीर (सिंह) यांनी ब्रह्मचर्य हे पाचवे जोडले. (→ English: tirthankara · Rishabhanatha · Parshvanatha · हिन्दी: तीर्थंकर · ऋषभनाथ · पार्श्वनाथ)

In exam EnglishJains do not see Mahavira as the founder of a new religion but as the last of twenty-four tirthankara teachers, 'ford-makers' who build a crossing over the river of rebirth for others to follow. The first is Rishabhanatha, also called Adinatha, whose symbol is the bull. Only the twenty-third, Parshvanatha, is widely accepted by historians as a real person; tradition makes him a prince of Varanasi who lived about 250 years before Mahavira, and his symbol is the snake. Parshvanatha taught four vows: not to injure living beings, not to lie, not to steal and not to own property. Mahavira, the twenty-fourth, whose symbol is the lion, added a fifth vow, celibacy.

वर्धमानाचा जन्म वैशालीजवळ कुंडग्रामला झाला; वडील सिद्धार्थ ज्ञातृक कुळाचे प्रमुख, आई त्रिशला लिच्छवी राजकन्या. ३० व्या वर्षी घर सोडून १२ वर्षे मौनात, काहीही न बाळगता कठोर तप केले. नंतर साल वृक्षाखाली कैवल्य (पूर्ण ज्ञान) मिळाले — सगळे ढग दूर होऊन सूर्य पूर्ण दिसावा तसे. इंद्रिये जिंकली म्हणून 'जिन'; अनुयायी जैन. ७२ व्या वर्षी पावापुरीत निधन. (→ English: Mahavira · kaivalya · Jina · हिन्दी: महावीर · कैवल्य · जिन)

In exam EnglishVardhamana, later called Mahavira, 'the great hero', was born at Kundagrama near Vaishali in the Vajji country. His father Siddhartha headed the Jnatrika clan, and his mother Trishala was a Lichchhavi princess, so he belonged to the same world of gana-sanghas as the Buddha. Jain tradition dates his death to 527 BCE, though historians debate the dates. At thirty he left home and spent twelve years in hard austerity and silence, wandering without possessions. In his thirteenth year of seeking, under a sal tree by the Rijupalika river, he attained kaivalya, perfect knowledge, and became a Jina, 'conqueror' of the senses and passions; his followers came to be called Jainas after this title, and Buddhist texts call him Nigantha Nataputta, 'the one free of bonds, of the Jnatrika clan'. He taught for about thirty years in Magadha, Videha and Anga, and died at seventy-two at Pava, now Pavapuri in Bihar.

जैनांच्या मते जगात दोनच गोष्टी: जीव (आत्मा) आणि अजीव (जड पदार्थ). माणसे, प्राणीच नव्हे तर वनस्पती, माती, पाणी, अग्नी, वाऱ्यातही आत्मे आहेत. आत्मा स्वभावतः शुद्ध; पण इच्छा, रागाने केलेल्या कर्मांमुळे कर्माचे सूक्ष्म कण चिकटतात — तेल लागलेल्या कापडाला धूळ चिकटते तसे. नवे कर्म येणे थांबवून जुने तपाने जाळले की मुक्ती. सृष्टिकर्ता देव नाही. (→ English: jiva · ajiva · karma · हिन्दी: जीव · अजीव · कर्म)

In exam EnglishJain thought rests on a simple but demanding picture of the world. Everything that exists is either jiva, living soul, or ajiva, non-living matter. Souls are countless and are found not only in people and animals but in plants, and even in earth, water, fire and air. Every soul is by nature pure, all-knowing and blissful, but it is weighed down by karma, which Jains imagine as fine particles of matter that stick to the soul whenever it acts with desire or anger, much as dust sticks to an oiled cloth. Liberation means first stopping new karma from flowing in, and then burning off the karma already gathered through austerity and self-control. A soul freed in this way rises to the top of the universe and dwells there in endless bliss. There is no creator god in this scheme; the tirthankaras are honoured as perfected souls who showed the way, not as gods who grant favours.

कर्म थांबवायचे ते आचरणाने. पाच व्रते: अहिंसा, सत्य, अस्तेय, अपरिग्रह, ब्रह्मचर्य. साधू पूर्णपणे (महाव्रते), गृहस्थ सौम्यपणे (अणुव्रते) पाळतात. त्रिरत्न — योग्य श्रद्धा, योग्य ज्ञान, योग्य आचरण — तीन पायांच्या स्टुलासारखे: एक पाय नसला तरी ते कोसळते. उपवास हा कर्म जाळणारा अग्नी; आयुष्याच्या शेवटी हळूहळू केलेला उपवास म्हणजे सल्लेखना. (→ English: ahimsa · triratna (three jewels) · mahavrata · anuvrata · sallekhana · हिन्दी: अहिंसा · त्रिरत्न · महाव्रत · अणुव्रत · सल्लेखना)

In exam EnglishHow does one stop karma? Through conduct. Mahavira's five vows are ahimsa (non-injury), satya (truthfulness), asteya (not stealing), aparigraha (non-possession) and brahmacharya (celibacy). Monks and nuns take them in their full form as the great vows, the mahavratas; lay followers take milder versions, the anuvratas, suited to family life. Alongside the vows stand the triratna (three jewels): right faith, right knowledge and right conduct, which together make up the path to liberation. One way to picture them is as the three legs of a stool: faith without knowledge, or knowledge without conduct, cannot hold a person up. Jainism prizes austerity, especially fasting, as the fire that burns away karma. Its strictest form is sallekhana, a slow and voluntary fast at the end of life undertaken by a monk or lay follower under guidance; Jain tradition holds that Chandragupta Maurya ended his life this way at Shravanabelagola in Karnataka.

जैनांची अहिंसा बौद्धांपेक्षा खूप पुढे जाते. लहान किड्यातही आत्मा असतो म्हणून साधू वाटेतले किडे मऊ झाडूने बाजूला करतात, पाणी गाळून पितात, अंधार पडल्यावर जेवत नाहीत. नांगरले तर मातीतले जीव मरतात — म्हणून जैन गृहस्थ शेतीऐवजी व्यापार, सावकारीकडे वळले; श्रीमंत व्यापाऱ्यांनी मंदिरे, विद्येला मदत केली. या कडकपणामुळे धर्म लहान राहिला, पण शिस्तबद्ध समाज मिळाला. (→ English: ahimsa · हिन्दी: अहिंसा)

In exam Englishahimsa in Jainism goes much further than in Buddhism. Because souls live even in the tiniest creatures, Jain monks carry a soft brush to sweep insects from their path, strain their drinking water, and some cover their mouths with cloth; they do not eat after dark, when small beings could be harmed unseen. These rules shaped Jain society. Farming means ploughing the soil and killing creatures in it, so Jain householders generally kept away from the plough and took up commerce, money-lending and crafts, and Jain merchant communities became wealthy patrons of temples and learning. Suppose two shopkeepers sit side by side, one Buddhist and one Jain: both refuse to kill, but the Buddhist may accept meat offered to him, while the Jain will avoid anything that involved taking a life. This strictness kept Jainism a smaller faith, but it also gave it a disciplined community that has endured.

अनेकांतवाद म्हणजे सत्याला अनेक बाजू असतात. आंधळे आणि हत्तीची गोष्ट: सोंड धरणारा 'सापासारखा', पाय धरणारा 'खांबासारखा', कान धरणारा 'सुपासारखा' म्हणतो — सगळे अंशतः खरे, कुणीच पूर्ण खरे नाही. म्हणून प्रत्येक विधानाला 'एका अर्थाने' (स्यात्) जोडण्याची पद्धत म्हणजे स्याद्वाद. धडा: वादात सहिष्णुता, विरोधकाच्या मतातही सत्याचा अंश असू शकतो. (→ English: anekantavada · syadvada · हिन्दी: अनेकांतवाद · स्याद्वाद)

In exam EnglishJainism's most original idea about knowledge is anekantavada, the doctrine that reality is many-sided. Any object has countless aspects, and an ordinary person can grasp only some of them at a time, so no single statement captures the whole truth. Jains illustrate this with the story of the blind men and the elephant: one touches the trunk and says it is like a snake, another a leg and says it is like a pillar, another an ear and says it is like a fan. Each is partly right and none is wholly right. From this follows syadvada, the method of qualifying every claim with 'in some respect' (syat), worked out as a sevenfold scheme of statements: a thing is, in some respect; is not, in some respect; both is and is not; and so on. The practical lesson is tolerance in argument, since a rival view may hold a part of the truth.

बौद्धांप्रमाणे महावीरांचे शब्दही आधी स्मृतीत होते. पहिली जैन परिषद पाटलिपुत्रात स्थूलभद्रांच्या अध्यक्षतेखाली — शिकवण १२ अंगांत मांडली. दुसरी गुजरातमधील वल्लभीला देवर्धी क्षमाश्रमणांच्या नेतृत्वाखाली — ग्रंथ लिहून काढले. हे आगम लोकभाषा अर्धमागधी प्राकृतात आहेत, संस्कृतात नाहीत — फक्त पंडितांना नव्हे, सामान्य श्रोत्यालाही समजावे म्हणून, गावच्या सभेत सगळ्यांच्या भाषेत बोलावे तसे. (→ English: Jain councils · Agamas · Ardhamagadhi Prakrit · हिन्दी: जैन संगीतियाँ · आगम · अर्धमागधी प्राकृत)

In exam EnglishLike Buddhist teaching, Mahavira's words were first kept in memory. Jain tradition records a first council at Pataliputra around 300 BCE, presided over by Sthulabhadra, which arranged the teachings into twelve Angas. A second council at Vallabhi in Gujarat in the fifth or early sixth century CE, under Devardhi Kshamashramana, finally wrote down the canon that the Shvetambaras accept. These texts, together called the Agamas, are in Ardhamagadhi, a Prakrit, the spoken language of the region, not in Sanskrit; later Jain scholars also wrote extensively in Sanskrit and in regional languages such as Kannada. The use of Prakrit is the Jain parallel to the Buddha's choice of the people's speech: both faiths wanted to reach ordinary listeners, not only the learned.

मगधात मोठा दुष्काळ पडला तेव्हा भद्रबाहू काहींना कर्नाटकात घेऊन गेले; स्थूलभद्रांसोबत राहिलेले पांढरे वस्त्र घालू लागले. परतलेले म्हणाले 'खऱ्या साधूला वस्त्रही नको.' अशा तऱ्हेने श्वेतांबर (पांढरे वस्त्रधारी) आणि दिगंबर (दिशा हेच वस्त्र) पंथ झाले — एकाच कुटुंबाची दोन घरे व्हावीत तसे. दिगंबर आगम मानत नाहीत; स्त्रीला थेट मुक्ती नाही असे म्हणतात. जैन धर्म कलिंग (खारवेल), कर्नाटक (श्रवणबेळगोळचा गोम्मटेश्वर), गुजरात, राजस्थानात पसरला. (→ English: Shvetambara · Digambara · Bhadrabahu · Shravanabelagola · हिन्दी: श्वेतांबर · दिगंबर · भद्रबाहु · श्रवणबेलगोला)

In exam EnglishThe great division in Jainism has a traditional origin story. Around 300 BCE a long famine struck Magadha, and the monk Bhadrabahu led a group south to Karnataka; Jain tradition says Chandragupta Maurya went with him. The monks who stayed behind under Sthulabhadra began to wear white garments. When the southern group returned, they held that true monks must give up even clothing. Over the following centuries the two groups became the Shvetambara ('white-clad') and the Digambara ('sky-clad', that is, naked) sects. Digambara monks remain unclothed, hold that a woman must be reborn as a man before she can reach liberation, and do not accept the Agamas fixed at Vallabhi, believing the original texts were lost; Shvetambaras wear white, accept that women can be liberated, and keep that canon. Jainism spread to Kalinga, where King Kharavela was a patron, to Karnataka, where the colossal Gommateshwara statue stands at Shravanabelagola, and to Gujarat and Rajasthan.

त्या काळात बौद्ध, जैनच नव्हे तर आणखी अनेक गुरू होते. मक्खली गोसाल आजीवकांचे नेते — 'सगळे नियतीने ठरलेले, आपला प्रयत्न काही बदलत नाही' (नियती) असे सांगत, रुळावरची रेल्वे दुसऱ्या वाटेने जाऊ शकत नाही तसे. अशोक आणि दशरथाने त्यांना बराबरच्या लेण्या दिल्या. अजित केसकंबली भौतिकवादी — माणूस चार महाभूतांचा बनलेला, मृत्यूनंतर काही उरत नाही; हेच पुढे लोकायत/चार्वाक. पूरण कस्सप, पकुध कच्चायन, संजय बेलट्ठिपुत्त हे इतर गुरू. (→ English: Ajivika · niyati · Charvaka (Lokayata) · हिन्दी: आजीवक · नियति · चार्वाक (लोकायत))

In exam EnglishBuddhists and Jains were not the only voices. The Buddhist Samannaphala Sutta names six rival teachers of the Buddha's day, one of whom is Mahavira himself as Nigantha Nataputta. Makkhali Gosala, who had once wandered with Mahavira, led the Ajivikas and taught niyati, the belief that every event is fixed by fate, so human effort cannot change one's course through rebirths. The Ajivikas lasted for centuries: Ashoka and his grandson Dasharatha gave them rock-cut caves in the Barabar and Nagarjuni hills in Bihar. Ajita Kesakambali, a materialist, taught that the body is only a mix of four elements and that death ends everything; this current of thought later became known as Lokayata or Charvaka, and it rejected rebirth, karma and the Vedas alike. Purana Kassapa denied that deeds bring merit or sin, Pakudha Kachchayana spoke of eternal elements that no act could destroy, and Sanjaya Belatthiputta refused to give a firm answer to any question.

दोन्ही धर्म शेजारी ठेवले तर: दोन्ही गुरू क्षत्रिय; वेद, यज्ञबळी, जन्मावरून मोठेपण — तिन्ही नाकारले; कर्म, पुनर्जन्म मानले; लोकभाषेत शिकवले. फरक चार: आत्मा (जैन — सर्वत्र आत्मे; बौद्ध — शाश्वत आत्मा नाही), पद्धत (कठोर तप की मध्यम मार्ग), अहिंसा (जैन फार कडक), इतिहास (बौद्ध आशियाभर, जैन भारतातच). दोन जुळे भाऊ, एक परदेशी गेला, दुसरा गावातच राहिला. (→ English: Buddhism and Jainism compared · हिन्दी: बौद्ध धर्म और जैन धर्म की तुलना)

In exam EnglishPutting Buddhism and Jainism side by side ties the chapter together. Both were led by Kshatriya teachers from the gana-sangha world of the middle Ganga plain; both rejected Vedic authority, sacrifice and the idea that birth decides worth; both accepted karma and rebirth and set no creator god at the centre; both used the people's languages and built orders of monks, nuns and lay followers. They differ in four ways that questions test. On the soul, Jainism sees countless eternal souls in all things, while Buddhism denies a permanent self. On method, Jainism demands severe austerity, while the Buddha chose a middle way. On non-violence, Jain rules are far stricter. On history, Buddhism spread across Asia and faded in India, while Jainism stayed in India and survived. Seen against the Mahajanapadas and Magadha of part 1, these movements were the religious answer of a new urban, trading society; the Mauryas, who come next, would give one of them an empire's support.
Buddhism and Jainism compared
PointBuddhismJainism
TeacherGautama Buddha, a ShakyaMahavira, 24th tirthankara, of the Jnatrika clan
SoulNo permanent self (anatta)Countless eternal souls, even in plants, earth and water
PathMiddle way; Eightfold PathSevere austerity; five vows and three jewels
Non-violenceImportant, but moderateExtremely strict
GoalNirvanaKaivalya and liberation of the soul
Texts and languageTripitaka in PaliAgamas in Ardhamagadhi Prakrit
Main sectsTheravada, Mahayana, VajrayanaShvetambara and Digambara
SpreadAcross Asia; declined in IndiaMainly within India; survived unbroken

Exam traps

Recap

Practice questions

Q1. Which tirthankara is credited with adding brahmacharya (celibacy) to the four vows taught earlier?

  1. Rishabhanatha
  2. Neminatha
  3. Parshvanatha
  4. Mahavira
Show answer

Answer: D. Mahavira

Answer (d). Mahavira, the 24th tirthankara, added celibacy as the fifth vow. Parshvanatha (c), the 23rd, taught the earlier four vows; Rishabhanatha (a) is the first tirthankara and Neminatha (b) the 22nd, and neither is linked with adding this vow.

Q2. Consider the following statements about Mahavira:
1. He was born at Kundagrama near Vaishali.
2. He died at Kushinagar.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Answer (a). Statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: Mahavira died at Pava (Pavapuri); Kushinagar is where the Buddha died. So (b) and (c) are wrong, and (d) is wrong because statement 1 is true.

Q3. The 'three jewels' (triratna) of Jainism are

  1. Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha
  2. right faith, right knowledge and right conduct
  3. truth, non-stealing and celibacy
  4. wisdom, ethical conduct and mental discipline
Show answer

Answer: B. right faith, right knowledge and right conduct

Answer (b). Jainism's three jewels are right faith, right knowledge and right conduct. Option (a) is the Buddhist three jewels; (c) lists three of the five Jain vows, not the jewels; (d) is the Buddhist grouping of the Eightfold Path.

Q4. Consider the following statements:
1. Anekantavada holds that reality has many aspects and no single view captures all of it.
2. Syadvada is the Buddhist doctrine of the middle way.
3. Niyati, the belief that all events are fixed by fate, was taught by Makkhali Gosala.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: C. 1 and 3 only

Answer (c). Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is wrong: syadvada is the Jain method of qualifying every claim with 'in some respect'; the middle way belongs to the Buddha. Options (a), (b) and (d) all include statement 2.

Q5. Match List I (person) with List II (association):
List I: A. Sthulabhadra B. Bhadrabahu C. Devardhi Kshamashramana D. Makkhali Gosala
List II: 1. Council at Vallabhi 2. Leader of the Ajivikas 3. Council at Pataliputra 4. Migration of monks to Karnataka
Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2
  2. A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2
  3. A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1
  4. A-1, B-4, C-3, D-2
Show answer

Answer: A. A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2

Answer (a). Sthulabhadra presided at Pataliputra, Bhadrabahu led monks to Karnataka, Devardhi Kshamashramana led the Vallabhi council, and Gosala led the Ajivikas. Option (b) swaps Sthulabhadra and Bhadrabahu; (c) swaps Devardhi and Gosala; (d) swaps the two councils.

Q6. Consider the following statements about the Jain sects:
1. Digambara monks remain unclothed.
2. Digambaras accept the canon written down at Vallabhi.
3. Shvetambaras accept that women can attain liberation.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: C. 1 and 3 only

Answer (c). Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is wrong: Digambaras hold that the original texts were lost and do not accept the Vallabhi canon, which is the Shvetambara canon. Options (a), (b) and (d) all include statement 2.

Q7. The rock-cut caves in the Barabar hills were donated by Ashoka to which sect?

  1. Jains
  2. Ajivikas
  3. Theravada Buddhists
  4. Charvakas
Show answer

Answer: B. Ajivikas

Answer (b). Ashoka gave the Barabar caves to the Ajivikas, and his grandson Dasharatha gave them caves in the Nagarjuni hills. Jains (a) and Buddhists (c) received many other gifts but not these caves, and the materialist Charvakas (d) did not form an ascetic order that received such grants.

Q8. Consider the following statements about Buddhism and Jainism:
1. Both accepted the doctrine of karma and rebirth.
2. Both held that a permanent soul exists in every living being.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Answer (a). Statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: Jainism sees eternal souls everywhere, but the Buddha taught anatta, that there is no permanent self. So (b) and (c) are wrong, and (d) is wrong because statement 1 is true.

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