SEPTEMBER, 1873.]

LASSEN ON THE JAINS.

261

such as are kept by the other Hindus, e. g. the V as a m t a y á tra, or vernal festival.” From the Buddhist priests, the pious among the Jainas, have taken to the custom of living quietly during the varsha or rainy season, of devoting them selves to the study of their sacred scriptures, and of practising fasting and meditationt during that time.: The Vaiśy as among the Jainas engage in trade only, and the names Brähmana,

century of our era.f. Of the next Jina, i. e. Vardham an a or Mahā vira, also Wira, we possess more extensive biographies than of any of his predecessors, since the Kalpasiltra deals specially with this subject, and since it has been treated with predilection also in other writings of the Jainas; that book is moreover the oldest among the Jainas, the date whereof can be accurately fixed, because its author

Kshatriya, and Sudra denote among them other

Bh a dra b a hu was a contemporary of the

occupations and ranks.S Before bringing this to a close, I have only to add an outline of the history of the sect, and to lay before my readers a condensed view of the present extension of the Jainas. Most probably Pārśva or Pâr Švan à tha, the 23rd Jina, may be considered as the real founder of this sect.|| He was the son of king A š was en a by his spouse V film fi or Bhā

Wallabhi king Dhruvas ena, and because the time of the Jina Suri Āch är a , the author of the most important Purúna, is not quite certain. One consequence of his great fame was that many miracles are related of him, and that supernatural power has been attributed

m a ni, and was born in V a râ na ši.

to him.

His father's name was Siddh ár tha, and his real mother's Tri š a lá; the statement that

The

his father was descended from the old epic

statement that he was a descendant of the old

monarch Ikshvā ku must in this case also be a

race of Ikshvā ku raises doubts, because

fictionS. The information that his wife was called

Buddha's family, the Šâ kya dynasty,

Jaš od ś must also be an invention, because, as is well known, one of the three spouses of the founder of the Buddhist religion bore a similar name, viz. Jaš od h aráſ. Mahā v i r a re nounced the world in his 28th year, devoted himself entirely to a pious and contemplative life, and after two years had advanced so far

which reigned in Kapil a vast u , is well known to have belonged to that ancient Som a v a ii śa or solar race, and the Jainas would easily be tempted to attribute the same origin to the founder of their sect, especially as it had been attributed also to R is habha, the first Jima."

He died aged 100 years, on Mount Sameta

that he attained the rank of a Jina.

Sikhara, in Southern Bihār, 250 years, it is said,

the next six years he laboured with great success in the propagation of his views, and then took up his habitation in the village N a land ā, "I in

before the demise of his successor, Vardha

m an a or Mahá vira. The opinion that this

During

Jina was a real person is specially supported

Magadha, which is often mentioned in the

by the circumstance that the duration of his life does not at all transgress the limits of

oldest history of the religion of Šá kya -

probability, as is the case with his predeces sors.” According to previous researches, that event took place during the first or second

• Wilson, As. Res. XVII. p. 272 and p. 277.

+ See Ind. Alt. II. p. 450 and p. 723.

it J. Stevenson's Preface to his edition of the Kalpa såtra, p. xxii., and p. 9 of the text. The expression for it is Paryūshana, . in the vernaculars Pajjūshan. This eriod of time is divided into two sections, i. e. one which

sii ha. Here he gained, among other per sons as disciples, also Go Šà l'a, and convinced Ward h an as ena, an adherent of Chan

dr à châry a, of his errors. This latter ob because, when he entered the priesthood, he cut off five handfuls of hair. Of him also the 5th chapter of the Kalpastıtra, p. 97, treats, and Hemachandra v. 28, p. 6, where also he is called Pär sv a.

• Colebrooke, Misc. Essays, II. p. 268.

• Thus, e. g. his predecessor lived 1000 years, accord

Misc. Essays, II. p. 212. [Wide ante,

gave

{. 50 days before, and another which commences

after the 5th day of the bright half of the month Bhādrapada,

ing to p. 139.

i. e. about the 26th July. During the first portion the Svetán, bara sect, characterized by its white dress, fasts,

+ See above, p. 197.

• See above, p. 198.

§ Kalpasatra, I. p. 221 seqq.; Colebrooke, Misc. Essays, II. p. 213 seqq., and Wilson, As. Res. XVII, p. 251 seqq. Ac cording to the last author, he was born in the unknown town Pavana, in B haratak she tra. The father

and during the second that of the Digambaras. § On the Srawacs or Jains, by Dr. Buchanan Ha milton in Trams. of the R. As. S. I. pp. 531 seqq. The Jainas of South Bihār are treated also in the following dissertation :-Om the Srowacs or Jaims, by Major James

of this Jina is also called Srey An éa and Yaşa svin, and

Delamaine, Bengal Army, ibid. I. pp. 418 seqq. | Colebrooke, Misc. Essays, vol. II. p. 312 and I. p.

his son S ram an a. | See Ind. Alt. II. p. 68. Prince Sarv a vira was the

381. According to this passage, he had also the name Lunch it a ke ša generally in use among the Jainas,

father of Jaśo dà.

• On this celebrated village see Ind. Alt. IV. 692.