Contribution of Jainism to Indian Culture

By Dr. Vilas A. Sangave

It is evident that Jainism is an ancient religion of India and that right from hoary antiquity to the present day it has continued to flourish, along with other religions, in different parts of India. Jainas, the followers of Jainism, are, therefore, found all over India from ancient times. The Jainas are also known everywhere for the strict observance of their religious practices in their daily lives. That is why Jainism could survive in India for the last so many centuries. The Jainas, in this way, succeeded in continuing to exist as devout followers of a distinct religion in India.

But this is not the only distinguishing feature of Jainas in India. In fact the most outstanding characteristic of Jainas in India is their very impressive record of contribution to Indian culture. In comparison with the limited and small population Jainas, the achievements of Jainas in enriching the various aspects of Indian culture are really great.

1. Language & Literature : Perhaps the most credible contribution of Jainas is in the field of languages and literature. It is quite evident that right from the Vedic period two different currents of thought and ways of life known as (a) Brahmana culture and (b) Sramana culture are prevalent in India. The Sramana culture is mainly represented by the Jainas and the Buddhists and of them the Jainas were the first to propagate that culture. That is why from ancient times we have the Sramana literature besides the Brahmanic literature. The characteristic features of the Sramana literature are as follows: It disregards the system of castes and Asramas; its heroes are, as a rule, not Gods and Rsis, but kings or merchants or even Sudras. The subjects of poetry taken up it are not Brahmanic myths and legends, but popular tales, fairy stories, fables and parables. It likes to insist on the misery and sufferings of samsara and it teaches a morality of compassion and ahimsa, quite distinct from the ethics of Brahamanism with its ideals of the great sacrifices and generous supporters of the priests, and of strict adherence to the caste system.

The authors of this Sramana literature have contributed enormously to the religious, ethical, poetical, and scientific literature of ancient India. A close examination of the vast religious literature of the Jainas has been made by M. Winternitz in his 'History of Indian literature'. In this masterly survey of ancient Indian literature. M. Winterntiz has asserted that the Jainas were foremost in composing various kinds of narrative literature like puranas, charitras, kathas, prabandhas, etc. Besides a very extensive body of poetical narratives, the non-canonical literature of the Jainas consists of an immense number of commentaries and independent works on dogma, ethics, and monastic discipline. They also composed legends of saints and works on ecclesiastical history. As fond of story-telling, the Jainas were good story-tellers themselves, and have preserved for us numerous Indian tales that otherwise would have been lost. Kavyas and mahakavyas too, of renowned merit have been composed by Jaina poets. Lyrical and didactic poetry are also well represented in the literature of the Jainas.

Apart form these, the most valuable contributions have been made by the Jainas to the Indian scientific and technical literature on various subjects like logic, philosophy, poetics, grammar, lexicography, astrology, geography, mathematics and medicine. The Jainas have paid special attention to the arthasastra ( or politics) which is considered to be "a worldly science" par excellence. Thus there is hardly any branch of science that has not been ably treated by the Jainas.

The literature of the Jainas is also very important from the point of view of the history of Indian languages for the Jainas always took care that their writings were accessible even to the masses of the people. Hence the canonical writings and the earliest commentaries are written in Prakrit dialects and at a later period Sanskrit and various modern Indian languages were used by the Jainas. That is why it is not an exaggeration when the famous Indologist H. H. Wilson says that every province of Hindustan can produce Jaina compositions, either in Sanskrit or in its vernacular idioms. It is an established fact that the Jainas have enriched various regional languages and especially Hindi, Gujrati, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.

Regarding the Jaina contribution to Kannada literature, the great Kannada scholar R. Narasimhacharya has given his considered opinion in the following terms: "The earliest cultivators of the Kannada language were Jainas. The oldest works of any extent and value that have come down to us are all from the pen of the Jainas. The periods of the Jainas' predominance in the literary field may justly be called the 'Augustan Age of Kannada Literature'. Jaina authors in Kannada are far more numerous than in Tamil. To name only a few, we have Pampa, Pona, Ranna, Gunavaraman, Nagachandra, Nayasena, Nagavarman, Aggala, Nemichandra, Janna, Andayya, Bnadhuvama and Medhura, whose works are admired as excellent specimens of poetical composition. It is only in Kannada that we have a Ramayana and Bharata based on the Jaina tradition in addition to those based on Brahmanical tradition. Besides kavyas written by Jaina authors, we have numerous works by them dealing with subjects such as grammar, rhetoric, prosody, mathematics, astrology, medicine, veterinary science, cookery and so forth. In all the number of Jaina authors i Kannada is nearly two hundred."

As the Jainas have produced their vast literature in these languages from very ancient time, they have certainly played a very important part in the development of the different languages of India. The medium of sacred writings and preachings of the Brahmins has all along been Sanskrit and that of the Buddha's Pali. But the Jainas alone utilized the prevailing languages of the different places, besides Sanskrit, Prakrit and Apabhramsha, for their religious propagation as well as for the preservation of knowledge. It is thus quite evident that the Jainas occupy an important position in the history of the literature and civilization of India.

2. Arts and Architecture : Along with literature the Jainas have always contributed considerably to the development of the arts in the country. The Jainas have taxed their mite to enhance the glory of India in several branches of arts. Compared with their number their contributions appear to be very imposing and distinctive.

(1) Architecture : It must be remembered that Jainism did not create a special architecture of its own, for wherever the Jainas went they adopted the local building traditions. For example, while in northern India the Jainas followed the Vaisnava cult in building, in southern India they adhered to the Dravidian type. The stupas of the Jainas are indistinguishable in form from those of the Buddhists, and a Jaina curvilinear steeple is identical in outline with that of a Brahamancal temple.

Even though the Jainas have not evolved a distinct style of architecture, yet it must be said to their credit that they have produced numerous and finest specimens of architecture in different parts of the country. In this regard it is quite clear that more than any other religion in India the Jainas have displayed their intense love of the picturesque while selecting the sites for the construction of their sacred buildings like temples, temple cities, cave temples, stupas, pillars and towers. They erected their temples either on lonely hill-tops or in deep and secluded valleys.

(A) Temples : As the Jaina religion considers construction of temples as a meritorious act, the Jainas have constructed and usually larger number of temples throughout India. Nearly 90 percent of temples are the gifts of single wealthy individuals and as such the Jaina temples are distinguished for elaborate details and exquisite finish.

Of these innumerable Jaina temples, the two marble temples at Mount Abu in Rajasthan are considered as the most notable contributions of the Jainas in the domain of architecture. The two temples are famous as unsurpassed models of Western or Gujrati style of architecture which is characterised by a free use of columns carved with all imaginable richness, strut brackets, and exquisite marble ceilings with cusped pendants. The temples are known for the beauty and delicacy of the carving and for the richness of the design. As Cousens remarks:

"The amount of beautiful ornamental details spread over these temples in the minutely carved decoration of ceilings, pillars, door ways, panels and niches is simply marvelous; the crisp, thin, translucent, shell-like treatment of the marble surpasses anything seen elsewhere and some of the designs are veritable dreams of beauty. The work is so delicate that an ordinary chiselling would have been disastrous. It is said that much of it was produced by scrapping the marble away, and that the masons were paid by the amount of marble dust so removed."

Again, the Jaina temple at Ranakpur in Mewar, a part of Rajasthan (which was built in 1440 A. D.) is the most complex and extensive Jaina temple in India and the most complete for the ritual of the sect. The temple covers altogether about 48,000 sq. feet of ground and on the merits of its design, the notable art-historian Dr. Fergusson remarks that :

"The immense number of parts in the building, and their general smallness, prevents its laying claim to anything like architectural grandeur; but their variety, their beauty of detail - no two pillars in the whole building being exactly alike - the grace with which they are arranged, the tasteful admixture of domes of different heights with flat ceilings, and mode in which the light is introduced, combine to produce an excellent effect. Indeed I know of no other building in India, of the same class that leaves so pleasing an impression, or affords so many hints for the graceful arrangements of columns in an interior."

The other temples of such superb character are (i) the temple of Parsvanatha at Khajuraho in Bundelkhand in Madhya Pradesh, (ii) the temple at Lakkundi in North Karnataka, (iii) the temple known as Jinanathapura Basadi near Sravan-belagola in South Karnataka, (iv) Seth Hathisinghji's temple at Ahemdabad, and (v) the temple known as Hose Vasadi at Mudabidri in South Kanara District of Karnataka.

As regards the spread of beautiful Jaina temples in India it may be noted that the number of such temples in India was considerably reduced during the Muslim period because the structure of Jaina temple was such that it could easily be converted into a mosque. The light columnar style of the Jaina temples not only supplied materials more easily adopted to the purposes of Muslims, but furnished hints of which the Muslim architects were not slow to avail themselves. A mosque obtained in this way was, for convenience and beauty, unsurpassed by anything the Muslims afterwards erected from their own original designs. Thus the great mosques of Ajmer, Delhi, Kanauj and Ahemdabad are merely reconstruction on the temples of Hindus and Jainas.

(B) Temple-Cities : Further the grouping together of their temples into what may be called 'Cities of Temples' is a peculiarity which the Jainas have practiced to a greater extent than the followers of any other religion in India. Such notable temple cities are found, among other places, at (i) Shatrunjaya or Palitana in Gujarat, (ii) Grinar in Gujarat, (ii) Sammeda-Shikhara in Bihar, (iv) Sonagiri in Bundelakhand in Madhya Pradesh, (v) Muktagiri in Vidarbha, Maharashtra, (vi) Kunthalgiri in Marathwada, (vii) Sravna-belgola in Hassan District, Karnataka and (viii) Mudabidri in South Kanara District, Karnataka.

(C) Cave-Temples : Again, the Jainas also like the Buddhists, built several cave-temples cut in rocks from the early times. But in dimensions, the Jaina cave temples were smaller than the Buddhist ones because the Jaina religion gave prominence to individualistic and not to congregational ritual. The most numerous cave-temples are in Udayagiri and Khandagiri Hills in Orissa. The picture sequences of their forms, the character of their sculptures, and the architectural details combined with their great antiquity render them one of the most important groups of caves in India. These and those of Junagadh in Gujrat belong to the second century B. C. while the others are of a later date of which the important ones are found at (i) Aihole and Badami in Bijapur District (Karnataka), (ii) Ankai and Patna in Khandesh (District (Maharashtra), (iii) Ellora and Osmanabad in Marathwada (Maharashtra), (iv) Chamar Lena near Nasik City (Maharashtra), and (v) Kalugumalai in Tinnevelly District (Tamil Nadu).

(D) Stupas : Like the Buddhists, Jainas also erected stupas in honour of their saints, with their accessories of stone railings, decorated gateways, stone umbrellas, elaborate carved pillars and abundant statues. Early examples of these have been discovered in the Kankali mound near Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, and they are supposed to belong to the first century B.C.

(E) Mana-Stambhas or Pillars : Another remarkable contribution of the Jainas in the field of Architecture is creation of many stambhas or pillars of pleasing design and singular grace which are found attached to many of their temples. In connection with these manastambhas, as they are popularly called, the famous authority on Jaina architecture, Dr. James Fergusson, states that it may be owing to the iconoclastic propensities of the Muslims that these pillars are not found so frequently where they have held sway, as in the remoter parts of India; but, whether for this cause or not, they seem to be more frequent in south India than in any other part of India. Dr. James Fergusson further suggests that there may be some connection between these Jaina stambhas and the obelisks of the Egyptians. Regarding these Jaina pillars in the South Kanara District of Karnataka, the research scholar Mr. Walhouse has remarked that "the whole capital and canopy are a wonder of light, elegant, highly decorated stone work, and nothing can surpass the stately grace of these beautiful pillars whose proportions and adaptation to surrounding scenery are always perfect, and whose richness of decoration, never offends" According to another eminent authority on Indian architecture, Dr. Vincent Smith, in the whole range of Indian range of Indian Art there is nothing perhaps equal to these pillars in the Kanara District for good taste.

(F) Towers : There is evidence to show that apart from pillars the Jainas, especially from northern India, constructed a great number of beautiful towers dedicated to their Tirthankaras. There is such a tower which is still adorning Chittor in Mewar (Rajasthan) and it is considered as one of the best preserved monuments in India. This Jaina Tower at Chitor is a singularly elegant specimen of its class, about 75 feet in height and adorned with sculpture and moldings from the base to the summit. The Tower was constructed in the 12th century and was dedicated to Adinatha, the first of the Jaina Tirthankaras, and nude figures of them are repeated some hundreds of times on the face of the Tower.

(2) Sculpture : The innumerable specimens of Jaina sculpture found in practically all parts of India show that Jainas enlisted the services of sculptors from very ancient times. Their most common form of sculpture up to this day is modelling of images or statues of their Tirthankaras. But in giving shape to these figures no scope at all was given for the free play of imagination of individual sculptors as regular rules regarding the form and pose of statues of Tirthankara had been prescribed by the Jaina religion from the very beginning. Consequently practically all Jaina images pertain to one class and therefore Jaina images from any part of country cannot be distinguished from their style even though they belong to different ages altogether.

Further, it is significant to note that the Jaina images have been made of all sizes and substances and are almost always invariable in attitude, whether seated or standing. Small images are made of crystal, alabaster, soapstone, bloodstone, and various other precious and semiprecious materials, while larger ones are carved from whatever kind of stone happens to be locally available.

Undoubtedly the most remarkable of the Jaina statues are the celebrated colossi of southern India, the largest free standing statues in Asia which are three in number, situated in Karnataka State respectively at Sravanabelgola in Hassan District (constructed in 981 A. D. and 56.5 feet in height), at Karkala in South Kannada District (constructed 1432 A. D. and about 41 feet in height) and at Yenura or Venura in South Kanara District (constructed in 1604 A. D. and 35 feet in height). All these three images of Lord Bahubali, the son of first Tirthankara Adinatha, being set on the top of eminence, are visible for miles around, and in spite of their formulism they command respectful attention by their enormous mass and expression of dignified serenity. That is why these three images are considered by authorities like Dr. James Fergusson and Dr. Vincnet Smith as the most remarkable works of native art in south India.

(3) Decorative Sculpture : Regarding the unrivalled progressed of the Jainas in decorative sculpture, as distinguished from individual statuary, Dr. Vincent Smith remarks that "The Jainas encouraged the work of a high order of excellence and beauty, employed to adorn with the utmost possible magnificence and pillared chambers which were their favorite from of architecture. Nothing in the world can surpass for richness and delicacy of detail the marble columns and ceilings of the Mound Abu temples and it would be easy to fill to large volume with illustrations of more or less similar exquisite work in many locations.

(4) Paintings : Along with architecture and sculpture, the Jainas have contributed in a large measure to the development of art of painting in India. The tradition of Jaina painting is as old as Buddhist painting and innumerable Jaina paintings of exquisite quality could be found on walls, palm-leaves, paper, cloth, wood, etc. It is significant to note that the Jainas possess a very extensive treasure of manuscript paintings drawn in the early Western Indian Style, sometimes called the 'Gujarati Style' or specifically the 'Jaina Style'.

3. Philosophy : As Jainism is an original system, quite distinct and independent from all others, the Jainas have developed a separate philosophy which is regarded as a valuable contribution to Indian philosophy.

In philosophy the Jainas occupy a distinct position between the Brahamanic and Buddhist philosophical systems. This has been shown very clearly by Dr. Hermann Jacobi in his paper on 'The Metaphysics and Ethics of the Jainas'. Regarding the problem of Being the three hold different opinions. The Vadantins consider that underlying and upholding from within all things there is one absolute permanent 'Being' without change and with none other like it. On the contrary the Buddhists hold that all things are transitory. The Jainas, however, contend that 'Being" is joined to production, continuation and destruction and that they call their theory multiple view points (i.e. Anekantavada) in contradiction to the theory of permanency (i.e.Nityavada) of the Vedantins, and to the theory of transitoriness (i.e. Ksanikavada) of Buddhists.

The Jainas think that the existing things are permanent only as regards their substance, but their accidents or qualities originate and perish. To emphasize once again here the significance of this Jaina theory of 'Being' comes out more clearly when it is regarded in relation to the doctrines of Syadvada and of Nayavada. According to the doctrine of Syadvada any proposition about an existing thing must somehow reflect the many sidedness of 'Being', i.e. any metaphysical proposition is right from one point of view, and the contrary proposition is also right from another point of view. The Nayas are ways of expressing the nature of things; all these ways of judgment are, according to the Jainas, one-sided, and they contain but a part of truth. The doctrine of the Nayas is, thus, the logical complement to the Syadvada which is the outcome of the theory of the many-sidedness of 'Being'. From this Dr. H. Jacobi affirms that the Jaina theory of Being is an indication of the commonsense view.

4. Ethical Code : As the Jainas have evolved a philosophy of their own, they follow a distinct ethical code based on their philosophy. The Jaina ethics stands as a class by itself in the sense that it is the only system which is founded on the main principle of ahimsa. It has already been noted how the principle of ahimsa forms the basis of various rules of conduct prescribed for both the Jaina laymen and ascetics.

Thus one of the significant contributions of the Jainas is the ahimsa culture. If the Jainas are known for anything it is for the evolution of ahimsa culture and it must be said to the credit of the Jainas that they practiced and propagated that culture from ancient times. In fact the antiquity and continuity of ahimsa culture is mainly due to the incessant efforts of the Jaina ascetics and householders. Naturally wherever the Jainas were in great numbers and wielded some influence they tried to spread ahimsa culture among the masses. That is why we find that the States of Gujrat and Karnataka, which are the strongholds of Jainas from the beginning, are mainly vegetarian.

In fact it is admitted that as a result of the activities of the Jainas for the last so many centuries, ahimsa still forms the substratum to Indian character as a whole.

5. Political Progress : The Jainas also distinguished themselves in giving their unstinted support for the improvement of political and economic support for the country. The Jainas, especially in southern and western India, produced a large number of eminent and efficient monarchs, ministers, and generals and thereby contributed to maintain and improve the political importance of the people. Not only the ordinary Jainas but their acharyas, i.e. saints also aided materially to create the proper political environment based on ahimsa culture necessary for the resuscitation of the life in the country.

It is considered that due to the keen interest taken by the Jaina Acharyas, i.e., saints, in political affairs of the country, Jainism occupies an important place in the history of India. The Jaina ascetics were never indifferent towards the secular affairs in general. We know from the account of Megasthenes that, in the 4th century B. C. the Sramanas of Jaina ascetics who lived in the woods were frequently consulted by the kings through their messengers, regarding the cause of things. So far as Karnataka is concerned Jainism throughout its course of more than one thousand years, was an example of a religion which showed that religious tenets were practiced without sacrificing the political exigencies when the question of rejuvenating life in the country was at stake. That is why in Karnataka we find that the Jaina Acharyas ceased to be merely exponents of dogmas and turned themselves into creators of kingdoms. It has already been noted that the Jaina saints were virtually responsible for the founding of the Ganga kingdom in the 2nd century A. D. and the Hoyasala kingdom in the 11th century A. D.

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Source : From Aspects of Jaina Religion, By Dr. Vilas A. Sangave

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