Timeline of Jainism

This article describes a Timeline of Jainism, a religion practiced mainly by about five million people in India.

Origins

The views regarding Origins of Jainism are disputed among various scholars. Jains believe their religion to be ever-existing, having no origin and end. It is occasionally forgotten by humans and revived by a succession of tirthankara.

The existence of Parshvanatha (c. 877 – c. 777 BCE), the twenty-third tirthankara, is the earliest Jain leader now accepted as a historical figure.

The existence of Mahavira, the last tirthankara, is known because of his mention by Jaina and Buddhist scriptures. Mahavira was a reformer of Jain faith which was probably founded by Parshvanatha. Neminatha was the predecessor of Parshvanatha and 22nd Tirthankara of the Jain tradition. In 1890-91, Kankali Tila (a mound) at Mathura was excavated by Dr. Fuhrer. After studying the findings of this excavation, Dr. Fuhrer was of the view that Neminatha was a historical figure. The Bhagavata Purana, an ancient Hindu text, mentions Rishabha, the first Jain tirthankara. Various seals from Indus Valley Civilization bear resemblance to Rishabha and extensive use of the symbol of Bull might show the prevalence of Jainism in Indus Valley Civilization. The presence of Jainism in ancient India is supported by scholars like Dr. Radha Kumud Mookerji, Gustav Roth, Prof. A. Chakravarti, Prof. Ram Prasad Chanda, T. N. Ramchandran, I. Mahadevan and Kamta Prasad Jain. Recently, Acharya Vidyanaji claimed the prevalence of Jainism in ancient India c. 3000 BCE through detailed research on various artifacts, seals and other relics from Indus Valley Civilization. Another noted indologist, Hermann Jacobi writes:

There is nothing to prove that Parshva was the founder of Jainism. Jain tradition is unanimous in making Rishabha the first tirthankara as its founder and there may be something historical in the tradition which makes him the first tirthankara.

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, scholar and second President of India, was of the opinion that Jainism was in existence long before the Vedas were composed. Scholars like Dr. Radhakrishnan, Hiralal Jain, Zimmer, Jacobi, Vincent Smith and Major-General J.G.R. furlong have established that Jainism is, without doubt, an ancient religion of India which is not a sect or sub-sect of any other religion.

Scholars like Dr. Vilas A. Sangave, Champat Rai Jain, Prof. Buhler, H. Jacobi, Dr. Hornell, Pt. Sukhalalji, Prof. Vidyalankara, and others believe that Jainism is the earliest known religious systems prevailing in India and was widespread in the Indus Valley. The relics found in Harrapan excavations like the standing nude male figures in Kayotsarga, idols in Padmasana and images with serpent-heads, and the Bull symbol of Rishabha, represent Jain culture.

Regarding the antiquity of Jainism, Dr. Heinrich Zimmer noted:

There is truth in the Jaina idea that their religion goes back to a remote antiquity, the antiquity in question being that of the pre-Aryan so called Dravidian period, which has recently been dramatically illuminated by the discovery of a series of great late Stone Age cities in the Indus Valley, dating from the third and perhaps even fourth millennium B.C.

Literary Sources

Jain scriptures are filled with mythology along with the historical facts. The Jaina accounts of their history is therefore not accepted by most historians. Glasenapp notes that Jains know the names of these tirthankara and have many stories about them, however, their validity is in question. The depiction of nude male figures in standing meditative positions was prevalent in the Indus Valley Civilisation, showing connections with Jainism.

Archeological Sources

Figures of nude male deities excavated at Indus Valley civilization are interpreted as Jain yogi. The archeological evidences are, however, problematic. Shah writes that if one accepts these interpretations, then Jainism can be dated from c. 7th millennium BCE.

Jain doctrine teaches that Jainism has always existed and will always exist, although historians date the foundation of the organized or present form of Jainism to sometime between the 9th and the 6th century BC. Some scholars claim Jainism has its roots in the Indus Valley Civilization, reflecting native spirituality prior to the Indo-Aryan migration into India. Other scholars suggested the shramana traditions were separate and contemporaneous with Indo-Aryan religious practices of the historical Vedic religion.

Geographical spread and influence

It is generally accepted that Jainism started spreading in south India from the 3rd century BCE. i.e. since the time when Badrabahu, a preacher of this religion and the head of the monks' community, came to Karnataka from Bihar.

Kalinga (modern Orissa) was home to many Jains in the past. Rishabha, the first Tirthankar, was revered and worshiped in the ancient city Pithunda, capital of Kalinga. This was destroyed by Mahapadma Nanda when he conquered Kalinga and brought the statue of Rishabha to his capital in Magadh. Rishabha is revered as the Kalinga Jina. Ashoka's invasion and his Buddhist policy also subjugated Jains greatly in Kalinga. However, in the first century BCE Emperor Kharvela conquered Magadha and brought Rishabha's statue back and installed it in Udaygiri, near his capital, Shishupalgadh. The Khandagiri and Udaygiri caves near Bhubaneswar are the only surviving stone Jain monuments in Orissa. Earlier buildings were made of wood and were destroyed.

Deciphering of the Brahmi script by James Prinsep in 1788 enabled the reading of ancient inscriptions in India and established the antiquity of Jainism. The discovery of Jain manuscripts has added significantly to retracing Jain history. Archaeologists have encountered Jain remains and artifacts at Maurya, Shunga, Kishan, Gupta, Kalachuries, Rashtrakut, Chalukya, Chandel and Rajput as well as later sites. Several Western and Indian scholars have contributed to the reconstruction of Jain history. Western historians like Bühler, Jacobi, and Indian scholars like Iravatham Mahadevan, worked on Tamil Brahmi inscriptions.

Double-sided Leaf from a Chandana Malayaqiri Varta Series ascribed to the artists Karam and Mahata Chandji - 1745. This painting was made for a practitioner of the Jain religion. The image illustrates a Jain text and includes a small shrine with an icon of a Jain savior, known as a Jina or Tirthankara, on the right. The icon sits cross-legged in a meditative posture, and the temple has two white towers of the classic North Indian form. A small pool in front of the temple reflects the surrounding architecture.

Doorway detail of a Dilwara Temple.

Jain temple in Antwerp, Belgium

This pervasive influence of Jain culture and philosophy in ancient Bihar gave rise to Buddhism. The Buddhists have always maintained that during the time of Buddha and Mahavira (who, according to the Pali canon, were contemporaries), Jainism was already an ancient, deeply entrenched faith and culture there. Over several thousand years, Jain influence on Hindu rituals has been observed and similarly the concept of non-violence has been incorporated into Hinduism. Certain Vedic Hindu holy books contain narrations about various Jain Tirthankaras (e.g. Lord Rushabdev). In the history of mankind, there have been no wars fought in the name of Jainism.

With 5.5 million followers, Jainism is among the smallest of the major world religions, but in India its influence is much greater than these numbers would suggest. Jains live throughout India. Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat have the largest Jain populations among Indian states. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Bundelkhand and Madhya Pradesh have relatively large Jain populations. There is a large following in Punjab, especially in Ludhiana and Patiala, and there used to be many Jains in Lahore (Punjab's historic capital) and other cities before the Partition of 1947, after which many fled to India. There are many Jain communities in different parts of India and around the world. They may speak local languages or follow different rituals but essentially they follow the same principles.

Outside India, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda) have large Jain communities. The first Jain temple to be built outside India was constructed and consecrated in the 1960s in Mombasa, Kenya by the local Gujarati Jain community, although Jainism in the West mostly came about after the Oswal and Jain diaspora spread to the West in the late 1970s and 1980s. Jainism is presently a strong faith in the United States, and several dozen Jain temples have been built there, primarily by the Gujarati community. American Jainism accommodates all the sects. Smaller Jain communities exist in Nepal, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Fiji, and Suriname. In Belgium, the very successful Indian diamond community in Antwerp, almost all of whom are Jain, opened the largest Jain temple outside India in 2010, to strengthen Jain values in and across Western Europe.

Timeline

Before common era (BCE)

• 584,979-574,979 BCE: Naminatha, 21st Tirthankara
• Neminatha, 22nd Tirthankara: According to Jain beliefs, he lived 84,650 years before the 23rd Tirthankara, Parshvanatha. He existed in the Mahabharata era and was the cousin brother of Krishna.
• 877–777 BCE: Parshva, 23rd Tirthankar of Jainism. He is the earliest Jain leader who can be reliably dated.
• 599–527 BCE: Mahavira, 24th and last Tirthankar of this era.
• 5th century BCE: Siddhasen Diwakar
• d. 507 BCE: Ganahar Sudharma Swami
• d. 357 BCE: Acharya Bhadrabahu
• d. 162 BCE: Hathigumpha inscription mentions the Navkar Mantra and Jain monarch Kharvela.
• 2nd century BCE: Navakar Mantra epigraphically attested in Maharashtra

Common era (CE)

File:Acharya KundaKunda.jpg

Sculpture depicting Acharya Kundkund

• 1st century CE: Acharya Kundkund
• 87 CE: Pushpadanta starts to write Shatkhandagam
• 156 CE: Acharya Bhutbali completes writing of Shatkhandagam
• 454 CE: Devardhigani compiles Jain Agamas
• 5th century CE: first mention of the Mula Sangh order

Middle Ages

• 9th century
  • Life of Nemichandra, a famous Jain author.
  • The Tirumalai complex in Tamil Nadu is established.
• 10th century
  • Ancient Jain temple of Gurjiwada, Cudnem, Bicholim, Goa was constructed.
  • 982: Monolithic statue of Bahubali erected at Shravana belagola
• 12th century
  • Kashtha Sangh
  • 1172: Acharya Hemachandra
  • 1194: Tristutik
• 13th century
  • 1229: Tapa Gachchha
• 15th century
  • Ancient Jain temple of Gurjiwada, Cudnem, Bicholim, Goa was in ruins.
• 17th century
  • 1664: Digambar Terapanth
  • 1658: Digambara Jain Lal Mandir temple in Delhi built.
• 18th century
  • 1760: Swetembar Terapanth
  • 1780: Sthanakvasi and Terapanthi orders

British India

• 1868: Jain temple in Mumbai
• 1880s: reform movement of Acharya Rajendrasuri
• 1893: Virachand Gandhi participates in Chicago's World Parliament of Religions& Won Silver Medal.
• 1904: Jain temple at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition
• 1927: Madras High Court in Gateppa v. Eramma and others recognizes "Jainism as a distinct religion"

Post-Partition

• 1970s: significant presence of Jainism in the United States
• 1975: Monolithic statue of Bahubali is installed at Dharmasthala, Karnataka, India under the auspices of D. Rathnavarma Heggade and Mathrushree D. Rathnamma Heggade, members of Dharmasthala's Jaina lineage who also manage the local Shivaite temple. Carving work began in 1966 under the sculptor Rejala Gopalkrishna Shenoy of Karkala.
• 1976: In Arya Samaj Education Trust, Delhi & Others v. The Director of Education, Delhi Administration, Delhi & Others (AIR 1976 Delhi 207), the Court referred to Heinrich Zimmer's Philosophies of India describing Jainism as "a heterodox Indian religion" and J. N. Farquhar's Modern Religious Movements in India describing Jainism as "a rival of Hinduism."
• 1981: First Jain convention in Los Angeles
• 1983: Formal organization of JAINA (Jain Associations in North America)
• 1990: Temple Pratishtha, The Jain Sangh Cherry Hill, New Jersey
• 1990: Temple Pratishtha, Jain Society of Metropolitan Washington
• 1991: Founding of Siddhachalam, the Jain tirtha
• 1991: Death of Jain Acharya Shri Ramchandra Surishwarji
• 1993: Temple Pratishtha, Jain Society of Metropolitan Chicago
• 1995: Temple Pratishtha, Jain Center of Cincinnati and Dayton
• 1998: Temple Pratishtha, Jain Society of Greater Detroit
• 2000: Temple Pratishtha, Jain Center of Northern California (JCNC)
• 2000: Jain Vishwa Bharati Orlando
• 2005: the Supreme Court of India declined to grant Jains the status of a religious minority throughout India, leaving it to the respective states to decide on the minority status of Jainis.
• 2006: the Supreme Court opined that "Jain Religion is indisputably not a part of the Hindu religion" (Para 25, Committee of Management Kanya Junior High School Bal Vidya Mandir, Etah, U.P. v. Sachiv, U.P. Basic Shiksha Parishad, Allahabad, U.P. and Ors., Per Dalveer Bhandari J., Civil Appeal No. 9595 of 2003, decided On: 21.08.2006, Supreme Court of India.)
• 2008: Delhi city government declares Jain community as a minority as per the Supreme Court Orders.
• 2014: Jain community is notified as minority at national level.

See also

• History of Jainism
• Jain philosophy
• Shramana
• Buddhism and Jainism
• Timeline of Buddhism

External links

• History & Evolution of Sramanic Jain Culture- Bal Patil
• Antiquity of Jainism - Jain, Dr. Mahavir Saran