Jain Mythology
Mahavira,
the great teacher of Jain-ism in the present age, lived at the same time as
Buddha and like him was of the Kshatriya caste. He differed from Buddha,
however, in that his parents were already Jams, worshipping the Lord Parshva, whose
enlightenment resembles that of Buddha, though its message was different for
its core was the resistance to the urge to kill. Mahavira's parents therefore
welcomed and encouraged his calling. His birth in Benares was heralded by
miraculous portents. His mother Trisala, also called Priyakarini, had a series
of sixteen dreams which foretold the birth of a son and his future greatness.
In these dreams she saw in turn a white elephant, a white bull, a white lion,
Sri or Lakshmi, fragrant Mandara flowers, the moon lighting the universe with
silvery beams, the radiant sun, a jumping fish symbolising happiness, a golden
pitcher, a lake filled with lotus flowers, the ocean of milk, a celestial
palace, a vase as high as Meru, filled with gems, a fire fed by sacrificial
butter, a ruby and diamond throne, and a celestial king ruling on earth. These
dreams were interpreted as portents of the coming birth of a great emperor or
of a Tirthankara, a being higher than a god, who spends some time as a teacher
on earth and whose soul is liberated by possession of the five kinds of
knowledge.
Shortly
thereafter the gods transferred the unborn child from the womb of Devananda, a
Brahmin's wife, to that of Trisala, and in due course Vardhamana was born. The
child was of exceptional beauty and developed great physical and spiritual
strength. When he was only a boy he overcame a mad elephant by grasping its
trunk, running up its head and riding on it. On another occasion, when a god,
to test his nerve, had lifted him up into the air, he tore the god's hair out
and beat him until he was released.
Vardhamana
obtained his enlightenment while sitting under an Asoka tree after two and a
half days of fasting. The gods had all gathered to watch the great event, and
at the moment of Vardhamana's enlightenment they bore him up and carried him in
a palanquin to a park, where they set him on a five-tiered throne and
acknowledged him as Mahavira. Here he stripped himself of all his clothes and
instead of shaving his head tore his hair out by the roots, for he was above
pain. As he cast off his clothes, they were caught by the god Vaisravana
(Kubera); one sect, the Digambaras (air-clad), believe that Mahavira wore no
clothes there-after, but the Svetambaras believe that Indra then presented him
with a white robe, for white robes, unlike all other personal possessions, do
not impede liberation of the soul by en-meshing it in the cycle of earthly
life.
Mahavira's
life was one of unexampled virtue and well illustrated his imperviousness to
physical pain and his detachment from worldly concerns. After his enlightenment
he gave away all his possessions and owned nothing beside the robe presented to
him by Indra. A Brahmin, Somadatta, reminded him that he had received nothing
when Mahavira distributed his wealth, and so the holy man gave him half the
robe. Somadatta could not wear the garment without the other half, but he
hesitated to ask for it and decided that he must steal it. The moment he chose
was when Mahavira was engaged in penances while sitting on a thorny shrub; but
Somadatta injured himself as he stealthily drew the robe away. Mahavira be-came
aware of the theft only when he had risen from his deep meditation but he
uttered no word of reproach, only making use of the incident as a lesson in his
teaching. On another occasion while he was meditating some herdsmen drove nails
into his ears and scorched his feet; but Mahavira maintained utter indifference
to such pain. Another time, when Mahavira was meditating in a field, a farmer
asked him to guard his bullocks. Mahavira took no notice of the farmer, who
returned some time later to find the bullocks had strayed away, and Mahavira
was still sitting there, answering nothing to his complaints. The farmer went
to search for his bullocks but returned empty-handed, only to find that the
bullocks were once again back in the field. The farmer immediately assumed that
Mahavira was trying to steal the animals, and began to twist his neck. But
Mahavira still made no sign, and would have been killed had Indra not
intervened and saved him. Ever after Indra assumed the role of Mahavira's
bodyguard, and so saved mankind from the effects of such sacrilege. 
When
Mahavira felt that he was about to die he spent seven days preaching to all the
rulers of the world, who had assembled to hear his holy words. They learnt of
the complicated metaphysics of Jainism and above all of the absolute
prohibition on killing, which led to the belief that the most virtuous life is
spent sitting still and fasting, as then a person runs no risk of injuring life
even in-voluntarily by swallowing or treading upon insects. On the seventh day
of his preaching Mahavira ascended a diamond throne bathed in super-natural
light. His death took place unseen by his assembled followers, for they all
fell asleep. All the lights of the universe went out as the great Mahavira
died, so his followers when they woke to darkness illuminated the city with
torches. Some believe that Mahavira died surrounded only by a few of the
faithful, but repeat that the moment of death was unseen.
With
his death Mahavira became a Siddha, a freed soul of the greatest perfection,
being both omniscient and detached from karma, deeds on earth determining
rebirth. In addition he was declared a Tirthankara ('ford-finder'), the very
highest kind of Siddha, who has acquired the five kinds of knowledge, and has
been a teacher on earth. Every Tirthankara has to have passed through the four stages
through which a soul becomes free. Sadhus, ascetics, are at the lowest of these
stages; above them come Upakhyayas, teachers; next come Acharyas, heads of
orders; then Arhats, which are one stage higher and are freed souls which,
though omniscient, are still attached to the mortal condition.
The Jain Universal Cycle
The
Jams imagine time as an eternally revolving wheel. Its upward course,
Utsarpini, is under the influence of a good serpent, while its downward course,
Avasarpini, is under the influence of an evil one. The Utsarpini consists of
six progressively improving ages, while the Avasarpini consists of six periods
of progressively greater degeneracy, rather like the Hindu Mahayugas. But the
Avasarpini leads not to destruction but to the beginning of another Utsarpini.
Each
Avasarpini and each Utsarpini produce twenty-four Tirthankaras, one of which
was Mahavira. Tirthankaras cannot intercede on be-half of the faithful, for
there is no ultimate god; their value to humans is as objects of meditation.
The world is at present near the end of an Avasarpini. Of the Tirthankaras
which it has produced, many seem to have some connection with Hindu mythology.
Thus the first, Rishabadeva, attained Nirvana on Mount Kailasa, the abode of
Shiva; the seventh, Candraprabha, was born after his mother drank the moon; the
eleventh was born of parents who were both called Vishnu, and he attained Nirvana
on Mount Kailasa; and the twenty-second, Neminatha, was born in Dwarka and was
a cousin of Krishna. The other holy figures of Jainism would also seem from
their names to be connected with Hindu belief. They are twelve Chakravartin,
nine Narayana or Vasudevas, nine Pratinarayanas or Prativasudevas, nine
Balabhadras and, below them, nine Naradas, eleven Rudras and twenty-four
Kamadevas. Jain gods and demons are largely of Hindu inspiration, but there is
one import-ant difference: while demons can eventually work out their
salvation, gods exist on a different plane and cannot attain liberation without
first becoming human beings.
The Jain Universe
The
universe is symbolised by a head-less man divided into three: trunk, waist and
legs. The right leg contains seven hells where lesser gods are torturers of
souls, each one specialising in a particular brand of physical torture. The
left leg, Patala, contains ten kinds of minor deities and two groups of demons,
each kind inhabiting a different sort of tree. The black Vyantara demons
include the Pisachas, the Bhutas, the Yakshas, the Gandharvas and the
Mahoragas. The white Vyantara demons include the Rakshasas and the Kimpurushas.
The more fear-some of the two groups of demons are the Vana Vyantaras, which
are subdivided into Anapanni, Anapanni, IsiVayi, Bhutavayi, Kandiye,
Mahakandiye, Kohanda and Pahanga.
The
middle region of the universe is our world, and consists of eight ring-shaped
continents separated by eight ring-shaped oceans. These surround Mount Meru.
The
upper region contains in its lower part Kalpa, which is subdivided into sixteen
heavens. Above these is the Kalpathitha, subdivided into four-teen regions.
Gods of varying rank inhabit all these heavens, and they are divided both
geographically and by caste, with lndra as their king. Some of the gods take
pleasure in listening to the sermons of the sages, but not all are religious.
Above the heavens of Kalpathitha is the home of the Siddhas, Siddha Sila.
Writer
- Veronica Ions
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