Jainism

Published on 11th February, 2023, in Times of India. Jainism follows the path revealed by 24 sages known as Tirthankara, who appear in every era of the human age. In the Shwetambar school of Jainism, popular in western India, Parsvanatha and Mahavira, the 23rd and 24th Tirthankaras were married before they became monks. But in Digambara tradition, popular in Gangetic plains and South India, neither was married. Both traditions agree that on his wedding day, Neminath, the 22nd Tirthankara, refused to marry, and chose to become a monk, after he heard the cry of animals that had been brought to the royal kitchen to be ..

Published on 11th January, 2023, in The Times of India. We are inclined to see religion from a historical point of view, through the lens of time. But we rarely see religion from the perspective of geography. We are told Jainism is an Indian religion but which part of India did it originate from, where all did it spread, and why? These are important questions to ask especially in times when pilgrim routes are being controversially seen as tourist routes. Many Hindus wrongly assume that Jainism is simply an offshoot of Hinduism, and not a religion where mercantilism is clearly separated from monasticism, the former ..

Published on 3rd December, 2023, in The Times of India. Until its revival in the 20th century by Babasaheb Ambedkar — as part of the Navayana movement for Dalit upliftment — Buddhism had all but been forgotten in the land of its birth. By contrast, Jainism maintained a tenacious hold in mainland India. This despite attempts in some Puranas to show that Tirthankara was a form of Vishnu, just like the Buddha, thereby seeking to assimilate Jainism within the Hindu fold. So, how did Jainism resist this appropriation? Mythologically, Jainism is an eternal religion based on rebirth, a sanatan dharma, just like Buddhism and Hinduism. ..

Published on 31st July, 2022, in Mid-day. Jainism is a monastic order. Historically, it emerged 2,500 years ago, with most scriptures written 1,500 years ago. However, as per mythology, Jainism is an eternal religion (sanatan dharma), with 24 Tirthankaras appearing on earth in each of the infinite cycles of time, along with 12 Chakravarthys and 9 Vasudevas, to transmit the message of Jainism. What is often overlooked in conversations about Jainism is the idea of the Yakshas and Yakshis. The female Yakshi is also known as Yakshini. These are male and female attendants linked to each Tirthankara. There are 24 Tirthankaras and each one is ..

Published on 25th March, 2022, in The Hindu About two thousand years ago incidents took place which involved the Jain community that inspired an epic ballad that was put down in writing a thousand years later in Prakrit and local languages. This was the Kalak Acharya Katha that became the standard appendix of the main Jain text, the Kalpasutra, that described Jain cosmogony. Then five centuries ago, illustrated Jain manuscripts appeared telling this story. These manuscripts were dedicated by Jain merchants and bankers to their patrons, the Muslim Sultans of newly emerging kingdoms of Ahmedabad, Jaunpur and Malwa. These peripheral kingdoms arose following the invasion ..

Published on 20th November, 2021, in Times of India. Nearly 2,000 years ago, there were Buddhist stupas across India. Nearly 1,500 years ago, there were Buddhist caves in the Deccan. But 1,000 years ago, Buddhist structures were overshadowed by Hindu temples. Jain art, which was as popular as Buddhist art, became a relatively minor force. Today, Jainism still maintains a tenacious hold in mainland India. Buddhism, however, survives only along the rim of India, in the Himalayan regions, and beyond, in East and Southeast Asia. Buddhist revival in India happened only in the mid-20th century as part of the anti-caste movement spearheaded by Babasaheb Ambedkar. ..

Published on 22nd December, 2019, in Mid-day Hindu mythology is full of symbols associated with water which link all the gods to water. The oldest symbol of these are serpents. During the rainy season, water fills the holes where the serpents reside, forcing them to leave their abode. This makes them visible during the rainy season. Therefore, the snake has been associated with rain for a very long time in India. It is told that a long time ago, a king of Nepal told all the serpents to leave his kingdom, as a result of which there was a drought in his kingdom. He had ..

Published on 10th November, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror. Hinduism is called Sanatan Dharma in popular understanding. It is based on the line from the Bhagavad Gita where Sri Krishna describes the wisdom he is sharing assanatan, which means timeless. Any attempt to ask when this idea was articulated in history is seen by Hindutva politicians as a challenge to Hinduism, and a Hindu-phobic attack. They yell: the Mahabharata war took place 5,000 years ago, and so this idea is at least 5,000 years old. This puts historians in a fix as there is no archaeological evidence of any great war that took place in India ..

Published on 18th September, 2019, in The Hindu A study has shown that there is no evidence of Steppe genes in Harappa according to analysis of DNA found in Rakhigarhi. This has led to the claim that Harappan civilisation was indigenous, 100% Indian, not shaped by any foreign influence whatsoever. Since many Puranic historians are convinced Rakhigarhi was Vedic, it could follow that the Vedas had no foreign influence either. Puranic historians have dated the Vedas, based on internal astronomical evidence, to 7,000 BCE (9,000 years ago), the events of the Ramayana to 5,000 BCE (7,000 years ago) and the Mahabharata war at Kurukshetra to ..