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History

Jainism History

Jainism, also called the Jain Dharma, is one of the oldest religions in the world. It began on the Indian subcontinent. The word "Jain" comes from the word "Jiva," which means "Soul" or "Life Force" but can also be described as "Spiritual Conqueror." As this religion believes that all living things have an immortal soul that has always been there and will always be there and that this soul can be freed from suffering by following Jain beliefs.

Origin

"Jainism started in Northern India and spread to the South, but nobody knows how it started."

Religion experts agree that Jainism began in the Ganges basin in Eastern India between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE when there was a lot of religious thought and activity there. It has ancient roots that go back to before 3000 BC before Indo-Aryan culture began.

24 Tirthankara make up the foundation of Jainism in the eyes of the Jains, who honor Rishabhanatha as the first Tirthankara and the true founder of the religion. In or around 500 B.C., Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara, established it.

The Jain religion is unique because, in its more than 5,000-year history, it has never given up on the idea of nonviolence, either in theory or in practice.

history

Division Of Sects

  • The Digambara sect and the Svetambara sect are the two major sects of Jainism. They probably began to split around the 3rd century BCE, and the partition was finished by the 5th century CE. Later, these sects split into smaller groups, like Sthānakavāsī and Terapanthis.
  • During the time of Chandragupta Maurya, Acharya Bhadrabahu moved to Karnataka to get through a famine that lasted for 12 years. Sthulabhadra, a disciple of Acharya Bhadrabahu, decided to stay in Magadha. When the people who followed Acharya Bhadrabahu came back, they argued about whether or not the Jain Agamas were real. Also, the people who stayed in Magadha started to wear white clothes, which the people who stayed naked didn't like. This is how the Digambara and Svetambara sects came into being, with the Digambara being naked and the Svetambara wearing white.
  • In the year 454 CE, the Vallabhi council was made. At this council, Svetambara approved their texts as Jain scriptures. The Digambara sect says that these scriptures are not real and rejects them completely. This event in the 5th century cemented the split between these two major Jain traditions.
  • Early Jain images from Mathura show images of the Digambara sect until the late 5th century A.D. when Svetambara images started to appear.

Political Background

Here is the knowledge of the political background of Jainism.

  • Jainism is seen by Jains as having been supported by the Haryanka Dynasty Monarchs Bimbisara, also known as Shrenik commonly (c. 558 - 491 BCE), Ajatashatru (c. 492 - 460 BCE), and Udayin (c. 460 - 440 BCE).
  • The grandson of Chandragupta, Ashoka (273 – 232 BCE), followed and was inspired by Jain Ideas.
  • The Mahameghavahana dynasty's emperor Kharavela was a supporter of Jainism.