Wednesday, November 25, 2009

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

The sixth century Be is seen as the beginning of the phase of the Northern Black Polished (NBP) ware. (The third century Be being associated with the mid-NBP phase when burnt bricks and ringwell began to be used). What is called as the 'second urbanisation in India' following the end of the Indus Valley Civilisation, is said to have begun in this period. Pataliputra was founded in the fifth century. Gties such as Banaras, Vaisali, Taxila, Ayodhya, Ujjain, Kausambi, Rajagriha and Mathura, mainly established along the banks of rivers, became well-connected trade routes. Important towns were fortified. Houses were constructed of wood or even brick. Trade was practised by using money as the names of coins, nishka and satamana, in the Vedic texts suggest.

The beginnings of the legal and judicial systems in India are traced to this period. The tribal community was replaced by the class-distinct society. The duties of the four varnas-brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaisyas and sudras-were prescribed in the Dharmasutras. The varna classification I provided the basis of civil and criminal law. The highest varna was considered the purest and hence was prescribed a higher order of moral conduct. The emergence and spread of Jainism and Buddhism could not improve the social status of the sudras though they were embraced by the new religious orders. The age of the Buddha is significant in that ancient Indian polity and social set-up actually originated at this time.

A food-producing economy emerged with the practice of agriculture on a wide scale by using iron implements. There was 'peasant proprietorship' in rural areas as there were no landlords. But a landowner could. not sell or mortgage his land without the permission of the village council. Of the agricultural products, rice was the staple food-crop in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. The king received the tithes and his share, which varied from one­sixth to a twelfth of the produce, from the headman. The village residents, endowed with a sturdy civic spirit, unit­edly undertook tasks such as laying irrigation channels, building mote-hills, rest houses, etc. The women extended their full cooperation in these works of public utility. On the whole, each village was self-sufficient, and life was simple and unsophisticated.

Considerable progress was also made in such crafts as wood-work, architecture, pottery, weaving, ivory-work, etc, H was the general practice of the people to follow the occupation of their ancestors. Castes did not always deter­mine crafts.
The guild system was becoming popular. People from the same profession normally organised themselves into guilds and often lived, or had their business centre, in one ward or street of the town. The Jatakas name at least eighteen such groups.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NEW RELIGIOUS MOVE­MENTS

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NEW RELIGIOUS MOVE­MENTS

The rise and growth of the new religions in the sixth century Be brought some important transformation in the society of the day. These changes may be summarised as follows:

(i) The period witnessed the popularisation of the idea of social equality. New religions accepted the entry of different castes in their religious order. It undermined the hitherto dominant position of brahmins. Equally significant was the equal status given to women.
(ii) Religious movements encouraged the trading community by sanctioning sea voyages, which were con. demned by brahmanical texts. Unlike Brahmanism, the new religious ideas did not assign an inferior position to traders. This provided a great morale boost up to trading commu­nity. Further, the new religions laid emphasis on karma for future .life. This indirectly favoured the activities of the trading community.
(iii) New religions paved the way for the development of vernacular literature. Prakrit, Pali and Ardha Magadhi were the languages used by religious philosophers in spreading their ideas. Religious books were written in these languages. The Jains, for the first time, gave a literary shape to Ardha-Magadhi, a mixed dialect, by using the dialect as the medium of their writings.

MATERIALISM

MATERIALISM

Buddha, Mahavira, Gosala, and many lesser teachers of the sixth century Be ignored the gods, but they were not thoroughgoing atheists and materialists. All admitted the existence of supernatural beings of strictly limited powers, and all accepted the fun<;iamental doctrine of transmigra­tion, though they interpreted its mechanics individually. Some thinkers, however, rejected all immaterial categories completely.
Important Materialistic Sects Some of the materialistic sects are given below.
Uchchedavada or Annihilationism The sect was estab­lished by Ajita Kesakambalin, a contemporary of Buddha. According to it, the concept of rebirth and life after death are false and as such there is no life after the present one. Annihilationism did not believe in the existence of soul.

Antinomianism Antinomianism was propagated by Purana Kassapa. According to Kassapa, there is nothing like bad consequences of bad works and good consequences of good works. Non-violence, sacrifices, rituals, meditation, helping others, etc., are not pious works; nor are lying, stealing and killing sins. According to this sect, no one does any type of work. So it preached inactivism (Akriyavad).
Atomism The Atomism sect was established by Pakuda Katyayana. The sect believed that just as earth, water, air and light are primary indestructible elements, so are sorrow, happiness and life. It is suggested that the later Vaisheshika school originated from this idea.

Lokayat The Lokayat, an important materialistic sect, was established by Charvaka. Charvaka did not believe in the existence of God and was opposed to the Vedas. He did not believe in rebirth and soul either. According to him, one should lead a lustful life even if it entail~ing in debt (Yawat jivet sukham jivet, Rinam kritwa ghritam pibet).

Scepticism The propounder of this sect was Sanjaya Bellathiputta. According to this sect, the existence of heaven, soul, god, virtues, sin, etc., cannot be determined with certainty.

Besides numerous quotations attributed to materialists in religious and philosophical works, one anti-religious philosophical text has survived. This is the Jattvopaplavasimha ("The Lion Destroying all Religious Truth") written by a certain Jayarasi in the eighth century AD.

THE AJIVlKAS

THE AJIVlKAS

Besides Jainism and Buddhism, there was another unorth(J dox sect:-that of the Ajivikas, who also practised mmpleli nudity. The doctrines of the founder of the sect, Gosal, ,Maskariputra, bear a generic likeness to those of hi contemporary and former friend, Mahavira. Like Mahavirc1 hI;! looked back to earlier teachers and ascetic groups, whOSI doctrines he refurbished and developed. According to.bot]
Buddhist and Jaina tradition, he was of humble birth, anc he died a year or so before the Buddha died, after a fierq altercation with Mahavira in the city of Sravasti. Hi followers s~m to have combined with those of othf:J teachers, such as Purana Kassapa, the antinomian, an! Pakudha Katyayana, the atomist, to form the Ajivika seq After a period of prosperity in Mauryan times, whenAsokA and his successor Dilsarathapresented caves to the Ajivik~ the sect rapidly declined. It retained some local importancJ in a SD1all region of Eastern Mysore and the adjacent parIJ of Madras, where it survived until the 14th century, afte which we hear no more of it.

No scriptures of the Ajivikas have come down to us and ~e little we know about them has to be reconstructeci from tile polemic literature of Buddhism artd Jainism. 'tiu
sec:;t was definitely atheistic, and its main feature was striCI determinism. The usual doctrine of karma taught thai tIwugh a man's present condition was determined bylili past actions he could influence his destiny, in this liie.~d in the future, by choosing the right course of conduct. Tbis the Ajivikas denied. They believed that the whole universe was conditioned and determined to the smallest. detail by an impersonal cosmic principle, Niyati or destiny. I~ ~as imlJossible to influence the course of transmigration in any way.

Though nothing that a man could do would in any way influence his future lot, Ajivika monks .practised severe asceticism, because the force of destiny compelled them to do so, although their religious opponents accused them of licentiousness and immorality.

The Dravidian Ajivikas developed their doctrines in a way resembling Mahayana Buddhism. Gosala became an ineffable divinity, like the Buddha in Mahayanism, while the doctrine of destiny evolved into a Parmenidean view that all change and movement were illusory, and that the world was, in reality, eternally and immovably at rest.

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST BETWEEN jAINISM AND BUDDHISM

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST BETWEEN jAINISM AND BUDDHISM

There is much that is common betWeen Jainism and Bud­dhism. Not only were there marked similarities. in the careers of the founders of these two schools of philosophy, but both of them were contemporary and originated in Magadha; Both possess a common background of' Arya cuIture, ' Certain' common points in their philosophic conte!: are also striking. Both of them reject the authority of tl1 Vedas and the Vedic. priest; both repudiate the efficacy' ( ceremonies and rituals; both bitterly condemn animal sa! rifices; and both ignore God. Jainism even emphaticall denies any supreme deity or creator,' as man is Jus OVtl architect. To both distinctions based on 'birth ,have n meaning; both subscribe to ahimsa ,(non-violence), bot believe in transmigration and both hold that karma exerl a definite impact on the future. Both str.ess ,.on serviq Strangely enough, despite their strong regional orientatio~ both have acconunodated many popular beliefs and supel stitions.

NotWithstanding these close affinities, Jainism and Buddhism differ, at times widely, on certain basic issu~ Jainism glorifies self-mortification whereas Buddhism q sists upon the pursuit of the Middle Path and the avoidan~ of extremes. If Buddhism maintains "that everything lack an ego", "Jainism exhorts that "every object or particle i this world is tenanted by a soul". The concept of deliveranG and nirvana in the two sects are also not identical. The~ are~lso significant differences regarding the importancl role and structure of their respective church organisatioru THE AjIVlKAS

Contributions of Buddhism

Contributions of Buddhism Buddhism exercisedlmn­siderable influence in shaping the cultural, social; religious and political aspects of Indian Jife. Its' major contributions are as. follows:

(i) Buddhism gave the country a P9puIar religion which was devoid of complicated, elaborate and incomprehensible rituaIsand sacrifices. It made an important impact. on Indian society by keeping its doors open to 'shudrasand women who had been placed in the same category by brahmanism. By taking liberal stances for the lower classes of the society, it inspired the other future reformist leaders to take a similar view on these sections.

(ii) The doctrine of ahimsa (non-violence) is one of1he chief contributions of Buddhism. With its imphasis on non­violence and the sanctity of animal life, Buddhism'provided a great boost to the cattle wealth of the country. The religious sanctity to the protection of cattle came at a time when both the Aryans and the non-Aryans slaughtered animals, albeit for different purposes (Aryans in the name of religion and the non-Aryans for food). The later brahmanical insistence on the sacredness of the cow and non-violence was derived from Buddhism.

(iii) Buddhism laid the foundation of image worship in India. The first human statues worshipped in the country were probably those of the Buddha. Worshipping persoruiI gods and erecting temples in their honour are some of :the important practices adopted by the Hindus in: imitation of
the Mahayana Buddhists. "

(iv) It was perhaps in the realm of art and architecture that Buddhism made the finest contribution, the' most striking examples being (a) the stupas and stone -pillars depicting the life of Buddha at Sanehi, Bharhut and Gaya;
(b) the cave an:hitecture in the Barahar hills at Gaya and in westemlndia; (c) the art pieces of Amravati and Nagarjuna Konda;and (d) development of Gandhara art on the north.west frontier of India by the combined effort of the Greek and Indian Sculptors.

(v) Buddhism is credited with developing anew awareness in the field of intellect and, culture. It taught the people to judge things. on merit rather than taking them for granted. This promoted.rationalism amongtthepeople.

(vi) J3uddhism enriched the Pali language enormously.

(vii) Buddhism led to the establishment of residential universities such as _Natand~ !!Ild Vikramashila in Bihar, Vallabhiin Gujarat and Taxila.1 in the, north-west frontier region.

(viii) It promoted trade and commerce.

(ix) Through its missionaries in different parts of the world, Buddhism broke the isolation o[!Indiaand estab­lished an intimate contact betWeen India and the rest of the world. In fact, Buddhism proved to be one of. the, greatest civilising forces which India gave to its :1}eighbouring. countries.

Spread and Decline : Buddhism

Spread and Decline Whatever its position in the Buddha's lifetime, 200 years later, Buddhism was a distinct religion. In becoming a religion, Buddhism borrowed a adapted much from the popular beliefs of the time.

simple ritual was in no way based on sacrificial Brahma ism, but on the cult of the chaityas, or sacred spots. ThE were often small groves of trees, or single sacred trees, I the outskirts of villages, and might have also includl tumuli, such as those in which the ashes of chiefs we buried. These chaityas were the abodes of earth-spirits ar genii who, to the simpler folk, were more accessible and less expensive to worship than the great gods of the Aryan Stupas or tumulis were built by the recipients over the divided ashes of the Buddha. Other stupas, containing the remains of locally revered monks and ascetics of other denominations, rose up all over India in succeeding cen­turies. Asoka unearthed the ashes of the Buddha from their original resting places and divided them still further, rearing stupas for them all over India. The original Bodhi tree of Gaya became an object of pilgrimage and cuttings of it were carried as far as Ceylon. Temples proper or shrine­rooms do not appear to have been erected until the beginning of the Christian era, when the Buddha began to be worshipped in the form of an image (perhaps the first human figure to be worshipped in India was that of the Buddha).

His simpler followers evidently raised the Buddha almost to divinity even in his lifetime, and after his death he was worshipped in his symbols-the stupa, recalling his parinirvana, and the tree, recalling his enlightenment. The worship consisted of circumambulation in the clockwise direction, and prostrations, with offerings of flowers.

With the support of Asoka, Buddhism greatly ex­panded, spreading throughout India and to Ceylon. Though there is a tradition testifying to cruel persecution of the Buddhists under Pushyamitra Shunga, the faith continued to grow. Of all the religious remains during 200 BC-200 AD so far discovered in India, those of Buddhism outnumber those of Brahmanism, Hinduism and Jainism together.
Probably much of the Pali canon of the Sthaviravadins emanates from the great monastery on a hilltop near Sanchi.

Another very important sect, the Sarvastivadins, was strong in the region of Mathura and in Kashmir. It was in Kashmir, according to a tradition preserved in China, that under the patronage of Kanishka (first-second century AD), a fourth great council was held, at which the Sarvastivadin doctrines were codified in a summary, the Mahavibhasa. It was chiefly among the Sarvastivadins, but also in the old schism of the Mahasanghikas, that new ideas developed, which were to form the basis of the division of Buddhism into the 'Great' and the 'Lesser' Vehicles-Mahayana and Hinayana respectively.

The Mahayanas ruled out self-abnegation but insisted on the dedication of one's life to the service of others. Thus altruism was the keynote of Mahayanism. Mahayana Bud­dhism believes in salvation through the Bodhisattava too. The concept of Bodhisattava-or incarnation' of the Bud­dha-came into vogue around the first century AD.

In the early Christian centuries the Mahayana sect became more popular. (The Sthaviravadin and kindred sects constituted Hinayana Buddhism.) In Ceylon, however, Hinayana Buddhism held ground and thence it was later taken to Burma, Thailand and other parts of South-East Asia, where it became the national religion. Mahayana Buddhism itself soon divided by various schisms, was carried by a succession of Indian monks to China and thence to Japan.

By the time of the Guptas Mahayanism predominated, and Hsuan Tsang, in the seventh century, found the Lesser Vehicle almost extinct in most of India, and only flourishing in a few parts of the west. The chief Buddhist monastery was at Nalanda, which, under the patronage of the Pala kings, remained a centre of Buddhist piety and learning until the Muslim invasion. From Nalanda, the missionary monk Padmasambhava went forth to convert Tibet to Buddhism in the eighth century.

At this time the general standards of culture in North India were decliiung. From the end of the Gupta period onwards, Indian religion became more and more permeated with primitive ideas of sympathetic magic and sexual mysticism, and Buddhism was much affected by these developments. A third vehicle, 'the Vehicle of the Thunder­bolt' (Vajrayana), appeared in Eastern India in the eighth century, and grew rapidly in Bengal and Bihar. It was this form of Buddhism, modified by primitive local cults and tantric practices, which was finally established in Tibet in. the eleventh century, as a result of missions sent from the great Vajray~na monastery of Vikramsila in Bihar.

In the sixth century, the Huna king, Mihirakula, de­stroyed many Buddhist monasteries and killed many monks. A fanatical Saivite king of Bengal, Sasanka, in the course of an attack on Kannauj at the very beginning of the seventh century, almost destroyed the Tree of WISdom at Gaya. There are other less reliable accounts of persecution, but persecution was not the main cause of the disappearance of Buddhism from India by the end of the 12th century AD. A more important factor was the revived and reformed Hinduism, which began to spread northwards from the Tamil country from the ninth century onwards, when Shankaracharya travelled throughout India disputing with
the Buddhists. Behind him he left an organised body of Hindu monks to carry on his work. The new form of devotional Hinduism made a very vigorous appeal to the ordinary man, and the persistent tendency of Hinduism to
assimilate was always at work.

The Buddhist monks also contributed , to the decline in their own way. For instance, they gave up Pali, the language of the people, and adopted Sanskrit. They began to practise idol worship. Lavish offerings from their devotees made their life easy. The monasteries thus began to acquire enormous wealth. Women were also allowed to reside in monasteries and this practice led to further degeneration.
. An illuminated Buddhist manuscript contains a colo­phon stating that it was prepared in Bihar in the 15th century. This is our last record of Indian Buddhism, until its revival in recent years.

Literature

Literature The Buddhist sacred texts written in Pal collectively known as the Tripitaka (Three Baskets). A ~ gathering of monks met at Rajagriha soon after the Budd death. At this council, Upali, one of the chief discil recited the first part, the Vinaya Patrika, or rules of the OJ as he recalled having heard the Buddha give them. Ano d~sciple, Anan:la, recited the Sutta Patrika, the great cO! tion 'of -ii\e Buddha's sermons on matters of doctrine ethics.

A second general council is said to have been 1 at Vaisali, 100 years after the Buddha's death. Here sch raised its head, ostensibly over small points of mona discipline, and the order broke into two sections, orthodox Sthaviravadins (Theravadi) or "Believers in leaching of the Elders", and the Mahasanghikas or "Meml of. the Great Community". Numerous such differell appeared at the third council, held at Pataliputra under patronage of Asoka, which resulted in the expulsion many heretics and the establishment of the Sthavirav school as orthodox. At this council, it is said that the tl1 and last section was added to the Pali scriptures, Kathavatthu of the Abhidhamma Patrika, dealing with phi sophical principles, psychology and metaphysics. Talking literature, one should not fail to mention the Jataka tales relating to different births of the Buddha.

Teachings : The Buddha

Teachings

The Buddha was a practical reformer. His primary aim was to secure deliverance from the grim reality of sorrow and suffering. So he enunciated the 'Four Noble Truths' (Arya Satya): (i) there is suffering; (ii) this suffering
must have a cause which is desire; (ill) suffering must be . got rid of; (iv) in order to get rid of suffering one must know the right way.

Suffering is caused by desire; therefore, the extinction of desire would lead to the cessation of suffering. Desire could be extinguished if one follows the 'Noble
Eightfold Path' (Astangika Marga)
: (i) right belief, (ii) right thought, (ill) right speech, (iv) right action, (v) right means of livelihood, (vi) right endeavour, (vii) right recollection, (vill) right meditation. 'fl.Us is the 'great Middle Path', for it avoids the extremes of gross luxury and severe austerity. This Middle Path leads finally to nirvana, which implies not only the extinction of desire, but also the attainment of a perfect state of tranquillity. Emphasis is laid on the obser­vance of the silas (moralities), samadhi (concentration) and prajan (insight).

The Buddha differed from Mahavira in his attitude towards asceticism. He laid great stress on non-injury to living creatures, but in this respect Jainism is far more strict than Buddhism. The Buddha repudiated the authority of the Vedas and denied the spiritual efficacy of Vedic rites and sacrifices, although he accepted the traditional belief in transmigration of the soul and the law of karma. He did not concern himself with the problem of the existence of God, for abstruse metaphysical speculations were, ac( ing to him, quite irrelevant for the development of n moral and spiritual worth. His simple faith was meaIl all, irrespective of sex, age or social position. He introdl the practice of holding religious discourses in the langl of the common-people, and refused to confine spir teachings to Sanskrit, the language of the learned- fe

Death

Death The Buddha told his disciples that when he was gone they were not to look for a new leader-the Dhamma would lead them. They must rely on themselves, be their own lamps, and look for no refuge outside themselves. On the outskirts of Kusinagara (identified with Kasia village in the Deoria district in Eastern Uttar Pradesh), the Buddha lay under a sal tree, and died at the age of 80 (about 487 Be). His last words were: "All composite things decay. Strive diligently." This was his final parinirvana. His sorrowing disciples cremated his body, and hi~ ashes were divided between the representatives of various tibal peoples and King Ajatasatru of Magadha.

Symbols for the events in his life The Buddha's birth is symbolised by the lotus and the bull; his great re­nunciation by the horse; his nirvana by the Bodhi tree; his first sermon by the Dhamma Chakra or Wheel of Law; hi_s parinirvana or death by the stupa.

Enlightenment

Enlightenment One day Siddhartha, now 35 years old, was seated beneath a large pipal tree on the outskirts of Gaya (now Bodh Gaya). He made a solemn vow that, though 'his bones may waste away and his blood dry up, he would not leave his seat until the riddle of suffering was Solved. He withstood fear and the temptations of desire, passion, pleasure, and material power (symbolised by Mara, the devil in Buddhist thought). At the dawn of the 49th day he knew the truth. He had found the secret of sorrow, and understood at last why the world is full of suffering, and what man must do to.overcome them. He was fully enlightened-a Buddha. For another seven weeks he re­mained under the Tree of Wisdom (Bodhivriksha), meditating on the great truth he had found.

For a time he doubted whether he should proclaim his wisdom to the world, as it was so recondite and difficult to express that few would understand it; ultimately, leaving the Tree of Wisdom, he journeyed to the Deer Park (the modern Sarnath) near Varanasi, where his five former disciples had settled to continue their penances, To these five ascetics the Buddha preached his first sermon, or "set in I]\otion the Whe~l qfth~ Law". Soon his nam~ was, well­known throllghout the Ganga plC!.in, al\d the greatest kings of the time favoured him .and his followers. He gathered together, a disciplined body of monks, called bhikshus ('beggar?'), knit together Py tre y~Uow robes of the order and a common discipline.

Buddha returned to Kapilavastu, and converted his- father, wife and son Raflul, and other members of the court, i[l<::luding his cousin IJevadatta, ,.wh.ose _heart, however, remained (ultof jealousy. At the request of his foster-mother and aunt, Krishna-Gautazni, he allowed with much misgiv­ing the formation of a community of nuns. According to legend, he averted a war between the Sakyas and the Koliyas, by walking between the assembled armies and convincing them of the uselessness and evil of bloodshed. He went alone to the camp of the notorious bandit, Angulimal, and converted him and his followers from their evil ways. There is no record, however, of his healing the sick by sup~rnatural means.

Buddhism : Life of Buddha

Life of Buddha About 566 BC, a son was born to Suddhodhana, a chief of the Sakyas (a small clan in the Nepal terai) and his chief queen, Mahamaya. The birth took place in a grove of sal trees at Lumbini (now in Nepal) near the capital of the Sakyas, Kapilavastu. The boy was named Siddhartha, his gotra being Gautama.

Four Signs One day, as he was driving around the royal park with his charioteer Channa, he saw an aged man, in the last stages of infirmity and decrepitude. When he learned that all men must grow old he was troubled in mind. The second sign that was to decide his career came in the form of a very sick man, covered with boils and shivering with fever. The third was even more terrible-­a corpse, being carried to the cremation ground, followed by weeping mourners; But the fourth sign brought hope and consolation-a wandering religious beggar, clad in a simple yellow robe, peaceful and calm.

Renunciation Yasodhara gave birth to his son Rahul, but it gave him no pleasure. That night there were great festivities, but when all were sleeping Siddhartha roused Channa, who saddled his favourite horse Kanthaka, and he rode off into the night. When far from the city he stripped
History of India. 35 ()ff his jewellery and fin~garments, and put on a hermit's robe. The horse Kanthaka is said to have dropped dead from grief. Thus Siddhartha performed his 'Great Going For$' (Mahabhinishkramana) and became a wandering as­cetic; ownil1g .nothing ,but the robe he wore.

At first he begged for his food. as a wanderer, but he soon gave up this life for that o£ a forest hermit. From a sage,.Alana Kalama, he learned the technique of meditation, ilnd ,the lore of Brahman as taught il1 the Upanishads; but he was not convinced that man could obtain liberation from sorrow Py. mental discipline and knowledge. So he joined forces with five ascetics who were .practising the most r~gorous self-mortification in the hope of wearing away their karma and obtaining final bliss. His penances became so severe that the five quickly recognised him as their leader. For si~ years he tortured himself until he was nothing but a walking skeleton. But he realised that his fasts and penances were useless. He again began to beg for~food, and his body regained its strength. The five disciples left him i!1 disgust at what they thought was a step backward.

Spread and, Decline

Spread and, Decline Jainism .spread fu Kalinga infu fourth century ac. Kharavelapatroni5ed.if"inthe ,firs century AD. In.the' period between the Maoryas and 'tht G\lptas, Jainism can be traced from Orissa ih the eastt< Mathura in the west, but in .later times jt was'chief9 ~opcentrated .in tworegions-.-(i} Gttjarat ;and Rajasthan; where ;the Svetambara sect prevailed,. and, (ii) Mysore, where the. Digambaras were dominant. The Ganga vallJainism surviVed in India, whereas Buddhism perished, because the former sect took better care of its layfolk In Jainis1I\, the laym~ was a definite member of the order, encpuragedjto und~rtaJ...Li~ Buddhism, J~.Q1 encouraged the commercial virt,.res of honesty and frugality. The splendid Jaina temples att40unt Abu and SrclVanabelagola are. testimoni~s of the great wealth cind piety of medieval Jaina laymen.
Jainism had np special social doctrines. The,90mestic rites of tl1e laymen, such as. birth, 1I1ilrriilge and de~~ were those of the Hind lIS. At one time, Jainism IIu\intained a cult of stupas like Buddhism, but this has not surviyed, i¥1d in th~ early Christian centuries the Tirthankaras were adored in temples in the form of icons. By the Middle Ages, this worship approximated to that of the Hindus, with offerings of flowers, incense, lamps etc. As with Buddhism, the chief gods of the Hindus found their way into Jaina temples in subordinate positions, and though there was no real com­promise with theism, the sect easily fitted into the Hindu order, its members forming distinct castes.

Various factors were responsible for the decline of Jainism in India, The Jains took the concept of ahimsa too far. They advised that one should not take medicine when one fell sick because the medicine killed germs. They believed that there was life in trees and vegetables and so refrained from harming them. Such practices could not become popular with the common man. There was ~more­over no patronage from later kings. Bimbisara and Ajatasatru helped this religion in many ways but after them nocking of the later dynasties extended help in.. its spread. The observance of extreme penance and austerity could not find favour with the common people. The Jains did not make' any efforts to spread their religion. They remained peaceful and did not compel anyone to embrace their religion.

Literature

'Literature According to tradition, an oralsacredJit tute hal-heeRpassed down from. the ,days. of Mahavirat Bhadrabahu . was the last person to know it perfectly,
his dea~,$thulabhadracalled it great council at Patalipu and the canon' was recoru;truded as best: possible in twE Angas or> sections, which replaced, the fourteen' former te (Purvas). This canonwasaccepted only by the Svetamba: the, Digainbaras claimed that the old canon was hopele:;

lost, and proceeded to devise new .scriptures for themseh some of which are still unpublished. The texts, of ' Svetambara canon were finally settled and reduced
writing at a,coQIldl at Valabhi in Gujarat in the fifth cenft Be. By this time the texts 'had become corrupt'anti one the Angas had been completely lost, while new material,h been added to the original canon in the form- oftwel Upangas, or minor sections, and' various Jesser' works. 'F literatufe is in Ardha-Magadhi.

In the Middle Ages, a great body of non-canonit literature. was written both : in Prakritand-8ansktit. ArnOl the Jain writers the most important! were Bhadrabah Siddhasena, Divakara, .Manibhadl'a, Siddha; Hemachandl Nayachandraand Mallinath. ,The Jainaswrote narratil lHerabIre, kavyas, novelsrdramasand hymns. Jain philoSo phers, elaborated the ,doctrine ofsyadvadaas against the Buddhistsunyavadaiand' attained:special excellence-inlogi Jainscontril>,uted much to grammar; lexicography; poetia mathematics, astranomy; astrology and politicalth6ugh They also contributed to the development. of SOIne.Iegioru languages lik~~Kannada, Tamil; Telugu;Gujarati, Hind Rajasthani . -and Marathi.

Teachings

Teachings The Jains repudiate the authority or infal,. libility of the Vedas, and do 'not attach any importance to the performance of sacrifices. They believe that every object, even the smallest paIticle, possesses a,soulaI1d i13 endowed with consciousness. A natural corollary, oLtl1isprinc~pl~ is their strict. (}pservance of ahimsa or non-injury to any sentient being.

Soul or a Supreme Power as the Creator and Sustamer 9f the universe. The Jain gqal of life is to a,ttain'deliverance from the fetters of earthly exjstence.The cause.of the s°'4's embodime~t being the presence oJ lazrmic matter, moksha could be achieved, if and' when a person gets rid of ~l1lazrma inherited from past lives, and acq~res no new one. the way to this is through the Triratna (Three Jewel§)-rlght (aitl1, right knowledge, and right conduct. The Jain emphasis the practice of pen~nces, such as yogic exer9ses ahd fasting, even to the point of death as it would give'strength fo tbe' soul and keep th.e lower matt,er subdued, Jairiism does not deny, th,e existeQceof gods but.refUse$ to give gods any important p~ut il} the universal.t>c))~we.

both classes being included in the 63 Great Men (Satalaz-purusas), who live at regular intervaISin the cycle. At the peak period men are.dfenormoUs size 'and reach a tremendous age. They have no ne~d of laws or property, for the wishing-tree (lazlpavriksha) gives them all they need for the asking. At present, the world is rapidly declining; The last ;Trithankara of this age has passed to final nirvana, and gradually true. religion will' be lost. Mahavira in his omniscience is said to have even given' his followers the name and address' of the last 'Jina ofthis'aeonr The process of decline willcontinue:for40,OOOyears, when men will be dwarfs in stature, with"a life of only 20 yeal'S, and will dwell in caves, having forgotten. all culture, even the' use of, fire. Then the tide 'will fum, and they will begin to improve again, only to' decline once more, and So' Off.

Full salvation is not, possible to"the layman:. In this Jainism differs from Buddhism and Hinduism;,which con.; cede jt in exceptional C9ses. To attain nirvana, a man must abandon all trammels"including his' clothes. Amonasticilife is essential for salvation. The life of .'the monk shotlId be governed by the five vows. JainisIrt does not condemn the vamasystem. Mahavira attribUted the birth of a person into a varna to the. sins and virtues of that individual in the previous birth. But all individuals, irrespective of caste, can strive for liberation through good deeds and gadd .living.;

This migration led to the gteahschism in Jab Bhadrabahu, who led ilie emigrants, insisted' on the I tion of the rule of nudity which Mahavira had 'estabw Sthulabhadra, theJeader of the monks 'rho;remained i; north, allowed' his followers to wear white garments, to,the hardships and confusions of the,famine. Hence'/ the two sects of the;Jainas, the Dignmbatas('sky-cladl naked), and the vetambaras'fwhite-clad:).The schism not become final until the first century ,AD; and there i1
neyerany fundamental doctrirtal differences.

liurther splits took place among both the Digaml and. the, $vetambaras in about sixth century AD. Swtambaras split into Terapanthis and Digambaras Samtliyas. The Terapanthis, .and Samaiyas renounced I worship altogether and devoted.themselves to the wor. of the scriptures.

JAINISM

JAINISM

According to the Jains, their religion originated in the remote antiquity. In the Rigveda there are references to Risabha, the first Tirthankara as claimed by the Jains. But there is no historical basis for the first 22 Tirthankaras. Only the last two Tirthankaras are historical personages. The twenty-third Tirthankara, Parsvanath, was the son of King Asvasena of Benares. He became an ascetic at the age of 30 and got enlightenment after 84 days of penance.

His main messages were: (i) non-injury, (ii) not to tell lies, (iii) non-stealing, and (iv) non-possession. He died on Mount Sammeta in Bengal at the age of 10(The twenty-fourth and last Tirthankara was Vardhamana Mahavira born in 540 BC in Kundagrama (now the place is Basarh) near Vaisali in north Bihar. His father, Siddhartha, was a chief of the Jnatrika clan, one of the confederates of the Lichchhavis of Vaisali. His mother, Trisala, was the sister of Chetaka, an eminent Lichchhavi prince of Vaisali. He was married to Yasoda and had a daughter called Priyadarsena, who later married Jamali, a disciple of Mahavira. At the age of 30, after the death of his parents, he became an ascetic. After 12 years of asceticism he attained full enlight­enment (kaivalya) at Jrimbhigrama and thus, conquered misery and happiness, So he became 'Mahavira'. He also got the title of Arhant, i.e. worthy, Jina (conqueror), and Tirthankara (fordmaker). In 468 Be, he died at the age of 72 at Pava, near Rajgir, east of Patna, by self-starvation.

Mahavira preached almost the same message as ParsvanathexcepUhat he.addedarfifth principle in Jainism­, vow of chastity. He. -also established the. chatur:oidTia by
formulating-rules and regulations for monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen.

RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS: CAUSES

RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS: CAUSES
In the sixth century Be, there appeared as many as 62 religious sects in India. Of these there were many heterodox sects, Jainism and Buddhism being the most important among them.

There were several causes for the origin of these sects. Tensions were generated by the division of the society on the varna basis; the kshatriyas, and sometimes vaisyas, disputed the brahmana supremacy. Significantly, the founders of the new religions were kshatriyas. The vedic practice of killing cattle indiscriminately in sacrifices was inimical to the emerging agricultural economy based on the iron ploughshare; significantly, the new religions were against slaughtering animals. The old brahmanical religion stood in the way of progressive trade and commerce because of its condemnation of many of the commercial practices like usury; this was resented by the vaisyas who were now growing rich and were probably ready to encourage a religion which would improve their position. The vaisyas certainly supported Buddhism and Jainism extensively. Also, there was a growing dislike amongst some people for the heightened materialism in life, and they hankered after simple, indeed ascetic life. The new religions responded to their urge.

MAGADHAN ASCENDANCY

MAGADHAN ASCENDANCY

Magadhan ascendancy began with Bimbisara (544-492 Be) of the Haryanka dynasty. He was a resolute and energetic organiser, ruthlessly dismissing inefficient officers, calling his village headmen together for conferences, building roads and causeways, and travelling around his kingdom on tours of inspection. He cultivated friendly relations with the prominent kings of his time. He himself married the princesses of Kosala, Vaishali and Madra which helped him in his expansionist policy. His one and only conquest was that of Anga, the capital city of which (Champa) was already of considerable commercial importance. He also gained a part of Kasi as the dowry in his marriage with the sister of Prasenajit of Kosala. The Magadhan capital was at this stage at Rajagriha.

Bimbisara was deposed, imprisoned and murdered by his own son, Ajatasatru (492-460 Be) who was engaged in a prolonged conflict with Prasenajit. He defeated Prasenajit, married his daughter, and annexed Kasi. Just after this Prasenajit, like Bimbisara, was deposed by his son and he died at the gate of Rajagriha. The new king, Virudhak, then attacked and virtually annihilated the little autonomous tribe of the Sakyas to which Buddha belonged.

Probably, Virudhak, like Ajatasatru, had ambitions of empire and wished to embark on a career of conquest after bringing the outlying peoples, who had paid loose homage to his father, more directly under the control of the centre; but his intentions were unfulfilled for we hear no more of him except for an unreliable legend that he was destroyed by a miracle soon after his massacre of the Sakyas. A little later his kingdom was incorporated in Magadha.

Although his mother (Chellana) was a Lichchhavi princess, Ajatasatru did not hesitate from waging wars against the Lichchhavis. His prime minister, Vrihadarayan, sowed dissensions in their ranks and Ajatasatru finally destroyed their independence, though it took about 16 years. He succeeded in the battle because of a war engine which was used to throw stones like catapults, and a chariot to which a mace was attached, thus facilitating mass killings.Probably, the rise of Magadha aroused the jealousy of Avanti and the relations between the two were strained.

Ajatasatru was succeeded by Udayin (460-444 Be) who founded the new capital at Pataliputra. Situated at the confluence of the Ganga and the Son, it was commercially and strategically important. The Haryanka dynasty was succeeded by the Sisunaga dynasty, which destroyed the power of Avanti with its capital at Ujjain and incorporated it in the Magadhan empire. The Sisunagas also temporarily shifted the capital to Vaisali.

The Sisunagas were succeeded by the Nandas who annexed Kalinga to the empire. Mahapadma Nanda was the most important king of this dynasty. He claimed to be the ekarat, the sole sovereign who destroyed all the other ruling princes. The Nanda army was very strong-said to com­prise 2,00,000 infantry, 60,000 cavalry, and 6,000 war el­ephants. This is said to have checked Alexander's army from advancing towards Magadha. The last Nandas turned out to be weaklings. Their rule in Magadha was supplanted by that of the Maurya dynasty-Chandragupta Maurya overthrew the last Nanda ruler, Dhanananda.

The ascendancy of Magadha was facilitated by enter­prising and ambitious monarchs like Bimbisara, Ajatasatru and Mahapadma Nanda; the rich iron deposits in its land: the strategically situated capitals; fertile alluvium; devel­oped trade and commerce; use of elephants in wars; and unorthodox character of the Magadhan society.

Important Republics

Important Republics

(i) Shakya of Kapilavastu This republic was situated on the northern boundary of the Nepal terai region. Its capital was Kapilavastu. Lord Buddha was born in this republic.
(ii) Bulli The Buill republic was situated in the modem day Shahabad and Muzaffarpur district of Bihar. The capital of the republic was Alkappa.
(iii) Kalam Its capital was Keshaputta. Alar Kalam, the famous preacher of the Lord Buddha, belonged to this republic.
(iv) Bhagga The capital of Bhagga or Bharga republic was Sunsumar Giri. The republic was spread in modem day Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh.
(v) Koliya Situated in the modem day Rampur-Deoric regions of Uttar Pradesh, the Koliya republic had its capitaJ at Ramgram. The Koliyas belonged to the Ikshwaku clan
(vi) Malla The republic of MalIa included regions 01 modem day Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh and Champaran and Saran districts of Bihar. Initially, Chandrakanta was the capital of the republic. Later, Kushinagar (famous for Mahaparinirvana of Buddha) and Pava (associated with the death of Lord Mahavira) were made the two capitals of Malla.
(vii) Moriya Pippalivan was the capital of the Moriya republic. Pipplivan has been identified as Updhauli in Uttar Pradesh. The Moriyas of Pippalivan are considered the ascendants of the Mauryas.
(viii) Videha The capital of Videha was Mithila. In the Buddhist era it was a part of Vajji Mahajanapada, but it gradually turned into a republic.
(ix) Lichchavi Vajji was a confederation of republics, which also included the Lichchavi republic. The capital of Lichchavis was Vaishali which had been founded by King Vishal.

THE REPUBLICS IN THE SIXTH CENTURY

THE REPUBLICS IN THE SIXTH CENTURY

Among and alongside the Mahajanapadas, there existed many republics in India in the sixth century Be. These republics were located either in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar or in the Indus basin. In the republics, real power lay in the hand of tribal oligarchies. The central fea­ture of the republican government was its seemingly corporate culture. The representa­tives of the tribes and the heads of families sat in the public assembly (santhagara). The assem­bly was presided over by one of the represen­tatives called the raja or the senapati. The elder - members of the elite classes (oligarchs) formed the core of the assemblies.

However, the absence of monarchy did not really mean the prevalence of democracy in the true sense of the term. Members of the ruling tribal assembly belonged mostly to the kshatriya caste. In many of the republics, most non­kshatriyas, slaves and wage labourers had no place in the assembly. There were many admin­istrative terms, such as mahamatta (mahamatya) and amachchha (amatya), that were common to republics and monarchies.

The republics differed from the monar­chies in several ways:
(i) In the monarchies, the king claimed to be the sole recipient of revenue from peasants, but in case of republics, every tribal oligarch, known as raja, claimed share in such revenues.
(ii) In a tribal oligarchy, each raja was free to maintain his own little army under his senapati, while in monarchy, the king main­tained his regular standing army and did not permit any group or groups of people to keep arms within his boundaries.
(iii) The brahamanas had great influence
in the monarchial administration, while in the republics they were relegated to the background.
(iv) The main difference between a monarchy and a republic was that the former functioned under the indi­vidual leadership of the king, while the latter under the leadership of oligarchic assemblies.

THE MAHAJANPADAS, THEIR LOCATIONS AND CAPITALS







1. Kashi: On the confluence of rivers Ganga and Gomati in and around the present day Varanasi district [Capital: Varanasi]

2. Kosala: The present day eastern Uttar Pradesh with River Gomati on the west, River Sadaniva on the east, Nepal hills on the north and River Syandika on the south
[Capital: Shravasti (identical with present day Sahet­Mahet)]

3. Anga: In the present day Bhagalpur and Munger districts of Bihar, with Magadh on the west and Rajrnahal hills in the east [Capital: Champa]

4. Magadh: Areas around the present day Patna and Gaya districts of Bihar; protected by the rivers Son and Ganga on its north and west respectively.
[Capital: Girivraja or Rajgriha]

5. Vajji: Centred around the present day Vaishali district of Bihar; separated from Kosala by River Gandak [Capital: Vaishali]

6. Malla: Located to the east and south-east territory of the Sakayas, and south of the Vajji state [Capital: Kushinagar (Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh) and Pava]

7. Chedi: Eastern parts of the mod,ern Bundelkhand [Capital: Sotthivati (Suktimati; probably located in the Banda district of UP)]

8. Vatsa: Around modem Allahabad [Capital: Kausambi]

9. Kuru: Around the modem day Delhi-Meerut region [Capital: Hastinapur, Indraprastha and Isukara]

10. Panchal: Present day Rohilkhand and part of Central Doab (UP) [Capital: Northeqt Panchals-Ahicchatra (Bareilly district of UP);Southern Panchal-Kampilya]

11. Matsya: Modem day ]aipur - Bharatpur - Alwar regions of Rajasthan [Capital: Viratnagar]

12. Surasena: Mathura region at the junction of two famous ancient Indian trade
routes-Uttarapatha and Daksinapatha [Capital: Mathura ]

13. Assaka: On the bariks of River Godavari near modem Paithan in Maharashtra [Capital: Pratisthana ]

14. Avanti: Modem day Ujjain district of Madhya Pradesh [Capital: Ujjain and Mahismati]

15. Gandhara: Between Kabul and Rawalpindi in North-Western Province [Capital: Taxila]

16. Kamboj: Around the present day Punch area in Kashmir; near the Gandhar state [Capital: Rajpur]

THE MAHAJANAPADAS

THE MAHAJANAPADAS

From the sixth century Be, iron tools and implements began to be widely used. This helped in the production of surplus foodgrains. The surplus could be collected by princes to meet their military and administrative needs. It could also be given to the new towns coming up. All this enabled the people to lead a settled life, to stick to their land, and also to expand at the cost of the neighbouring virgin areas. The rise of large states with towns as their capitals strengthened the territorial idea.

In the sixth century Be, there existed 16 large states or Mahajanapadas in India-Kashi, Kosala, Anga, Magadha, Vajji, MalIa, Chedi, Vatsa, Kuru, Pancha1a, Matsya, Surasena, Assaka, Avanti, Gandhara and Kamboja.

The focus of civilisation gradually shifted eastwards, and four great kingdoms, outside the earlier area of brahmanic culture, had eclipsed the old land of the Kurus in both political and economic importance; these were Kosala, Magadha, Vatsa and Avanti. In the beginning Kashi appears to have been a powerful state, but it was later absorbed by Kosala and Magadha.

The Age of the Buddha

The Age of the Buddha:

In the sixth century Be, Indian history emerges from legend and dubious tradition. We read of great kings, whose historicity is certain and some of whose achievements are known, and from now on the main lines of India's political development are clear. Our sources for this period-Bud­dhist and Jaina scriptures-are in many respects inadequate as historical documents. Their authors cared little for political affairs; like the Vedas, these texts were passed down from generation to generation orally for centuries, but, unlike the Vedas, they evidently grew and altered with time. Yet they contain authentic reminiscences of historical events, and though composed independently in different languages, they partially confirm one another.

This age was one of intellectual and spiritual ferment. Mystics and sophists of alI kinds roamed throughout the Ganga valley, all advocating some mental discipline and asceticism as a means to salvation. But it was also a time
of advance in commerce and politics. It produced not only philosophers and ascetics, but merchant-princes and men of action.