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Mahavira
24th Jain Tirthankara
MahāvīraThe idol of Mahavira at Shri Mahavirji, Rajasthan
Other namesVīr, Ativīr, Vardhamāna, Sanmati, Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta
PredecessorParshvanatha
SymbolLion
Height7 cubits (10.5 feet)
Age72 years
TreeShala
ColorGolden
Genealogy
Born6th-century BC (historical)
c. 599 BC (traditional)
Kundalpur
Died5th-century BC (historical)
c. 527 BC (traditional)
Pawapuri
Parents
Part of a series on
Jainism
Philosophy
EthicsEthics of Jainism
Mahavratas (major vows)
Anuvratas (further vows)
Jain prayers
Major figures
Major sectsSchools and Branches
Jain literature
Festivals
PilgrimagesTirth
Other

Mahavira (Mahāvīra), also known as Vardhamāna, was the twenty-fourth and last Jain Tirthankara (ford maker). In the Jain tradition, it is believed that Mahavira was born into a royal family in what is now Bihar, India, in 599 BC. At the age of 30, he left his home in pursuit of spiritual awakening, and abandoned worldly things, and became an ascetic. For the next twelve-and-a-half years, Mahavira practiced intense meditation and severe penance, after which he is believed to have attained Kevala Jnana (omniscience). In the Jain tradition, he died in the 6th-century BC. Outside the Jain tradition, scholars such as Karl Potter consider his biographical details as uncertain, with some suggesting he lived in the 5th-century BC contemporaneously with the Buddha.

After he gained Kevala Jnana, he travelled throughout the Indian subcontinent to teach Jain philosophy. Mahavira taught that the observance of the vows ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (chastity) and aparigraha (non-attachment) is necessary to spiritual liberation. He gave the principle of Anekantavada (pluralism), Syadvada and Nayavada. The teachings of Mahavira were compiled by Gautama Swami (his chief disciple) and were called Jain Agamas. These texts were transmitted by an oral tradition by Jain monks, but are believed to have been largely lost by about the 1st-century when they were first written down. The surviving versions of the Agamas taught by Mahavira are foundational texts of Jainism. Jains believe Mahavira attained moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death) at the age of 72.

Titles and names

According to Jain texts, Mahavira's childhood name was Vardhamāna ("the one who grows"), because of the increased prosperity in the kingdom at the time of his birth. He was called Mahavira ("the great hero") because of the acts of bravery he performed during his childhood. Mahavira was given the title Jīnā ("the victor"), which later became synonymous with Tirthankara.

Buddhist texts refer to Mahavira as Nigaṇṭha Jñātaputta. Nigaṇṭha means "without knot, tie, or string" and Jñātaputta (son or scion of Natas), refers to his clan of origin as Jñāta or Naya (Prakrit). He is also known as Sramana (seeker).

Historical Mahavira

According to the Kalpasutra, Mahavira was born at Kundagrama in the state of Bihar, India. This is assumed to be the modern town of Basu Kund, which is about 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of Patna, the capital of Bihar. However, it is unclear if the ancient Kundagrama is same as the current assumed location, and the birthplace remains a subject of dispute. Mahavira left his home to live as an ascetic when he was 28, did penance for 12 years, and thereafter preached Jainism for a period of 30 years. The location he preached has been a subject of historic disagreement between the two major sub-traditions of Jainism – the Svetambaras and the Digambaras.

Though it is universally accepted by scholars of Jainism that Mahavira was an actual person who lived in ancient India, the details of Mahavira's biography and the year of his birth are uncertain, and a subject of considerable debate among scholars. The Jain Śvētāmbara tradition believes he was born in 599 BC and he died in 527 BC, while the Digambara tradition believes 510 BC as the year he died. The scholarly controversy arises from efforts to date him and the Buddha, because both are believed to be contemporaries according to Buddhist and Jain texts, and because unlike Jain literature there is extensive ancient Buddhist literature that has survived. Indologists and historians almost universally, state Dundas and others, accordingly date Mahavira's birth to about 497 BC, and death to about 425 BC. However, the Vira era tradition that starts in 527 BC and places Mahavira in the 6th-century BC is firmly established part of the Jain community tradition.

The 12th century Jain scholar Hemachandra placed Mahavira in the 5th-century BC. According to Kailash Jain, Hemachandra made an incorrect analysis that, along with attempts to establish Buddha's nirvana date, has been a source of confusion and controversy about Mahavira's year of nirvana. Kailash Jain states the traditional date of 527 BC is accurate, adding that the Buddha was a junior contemporary of the Mahavira and that the Buddha "might have attained nirvana a few years later". The place of his death, Pavapuri (now in Bihar), is a pilgrimage for Jains.

Name

According to Paul Dundas, a professor of Sanskrit known for his publications on Jainism, the earliest layer of Jain literature such as the Acaranga Sutra makes no mention of the names Vardhamana or Mahavira, nor the equivalent of "fordmaker". The term Jina for him is rare in early Jain texts.

The first book of Sutrakritanga uses the name Mahavira. The early Jain and Buddhist literature that have survived into the modern era use other names or epithets for Mahavira. These include Nayaputta, Muni, Samana, Niggantha, Brahman and Bhagavan. In early Buddhist Suttas, he is also referred to by the names Araha (meaning "worthy"), and Veyavi (derived from the word "Vedas", but contextually it means "wise" because the Mahavira did not recognize the Vedas as a scripture).

Biography according to Jain texts

See also: Panch Kalyanaka

In Jainism, a Tirthankara (Maker of the River-Crossing, saviour, spiritual teacher) signifies the founder of a tirtha which means a fordable passage across the sea of interminable births and deaths (called saṃsāra). According to the Jain texts, twenty-four Tirthankaras lives on earth each half of the cosmic time cycle described in Jain cosmology. Mahavira was the last Tirthankara of Avasarpiṇī (present descending phase or half of the time cycle).

Mahavira is often called the founder of Jainism, but this was not the case because the Jain tradition recognizes his predecessors and he is considered the 24th and the last Tirthankara. In addition to that, Parshvanatha (23rd tirthankara) is accepted as a historical figure.

Sources

Folio from Kalpa Sūtra, 15th century

Birth

See also: Mahavir Jayanti
The Birth of Mahavira, from the Kalpa Sutra, c.1375–1400

Belonging to Kashyapa gotra, Mahavira was born into the royal Kshatriya family of King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala (sister of King Chetaka of Vaishali) of the Ikshvaku dynasty. According to the Jain texts and the traditional calendar, this day falls on the thirteenth day of the rising moon in the month of Chaitra in the Vira Nirvana Samvat calendar, in 599 BC. In the Gregorian calendar, this date falls in March or April and is celebrated as Mahavir Jayanti by Jains.

The Kalpasutra, a popular text in Jainism, states that Kundagrama to be the place he was born. This site is believed by the tradition to be near Vaishali, a great ancient town in Gangetic plains. The identity of this place in modern geography of Bihar is unclear, in part because people migrated out of ancient Bihar for economic and political reasons. According to the "Universal History" in the Jain mythology, states Dundas, Mahavira underwent many rebirths before his birth in the 6th century. These rebirths included being a hell-being, a lion, and a god (deva) in a heavenly realm in Jain cosmology just before his last birth as the 24th fordmaker. His embryo was first formed in a Brahman woman, but his embryo was then transferred by the divine commander of Indra's army Hari-Naigamesin to the womb of Trishala, the wife of Siddhartha. According to Jerome Bauer, the embryo transfer legend is accepted by the Svetambara tradition, but the Digambaras don't accept this theory of embryo transfer.

After Mahavira was born, Jain texts state that god Indra came from the heavens, anointed him and performed his abhisheka (consecration) on Mount Meru. These events associated with Mahavira's birth are illustrated in the artwork of numerous Jain temples, is a part of modern Jain temple rituals and is remembered during annual festivals such as Paryushana.

Early life

As the son of a king, Mahavira had all luxuries of life at his disposal. According to the second chapter of the Śvētāmbara text Acharanga Sutra, both his parents were followers of Parshvanatha and lay devotees of Jain ascetics. Jain traditions do not agree about his marital state; according to the Digambara tradition, Mahavira's parents wanted him to marry Yashoda but Mahavira refused to marry. According to the Śvētāmbara tradition, he was married to Yashoda at a young age and had one daughter, Priyadarshana. His height was seven cubits (10.5 feet) as per the description given in Aupapatika Sutra.

Renunciation

See also: Jain monasticism

At the age of thirty, Mahavira abandoned the comforts of royal life and left his home and family to live an ascetic life in the pursuit of spiritual awakening. He underwent severe penances, meditated under the Ashoka tree and discarded his clothes. There is a graphic description of his hardships and humiliation in the Acharanga Sutra. According to Kalpa Sūtra, Mahavira spent 42 monsoons of his ascetic life at Astikagrama, Champapuri, Prstichampa, Vaishali, Vanijagrama, Nalanda, Mithila, Bhadrika, Alabhika, Panitabhumi, Shravasti and Pawapuri. He is said to have lived in Rajagriha during the rainy-season of 41st year of his ascetic life. This is traditionally dated in 491 BC.

Omniscience

See also: Kevala Jnana and Samavasarana
File:Mahavira Enlightenment.jpg
Attainment of omniscience (kevalajñāna) by Mahavira

After twelve years of rigorous penance, at the age of 43, Mahavira achieved the state of Kevala Jnana (omniscience or infinite knowledge) under a Sāla tree according to traditional accounts. The details of this event are mentioned in Jain texts like Uttar-purāņa and Harivamśa-purāņa. The Acharanga Sutra describes Mahavira as all-seeing. The Sutrakritanga elaborates the concept as all-knowing and provides details of other qualities of Mahavira. Jains believe that Mahavira had the most auspicious body (paramaudārika śarīra) and was free from eighteen imperfections when he attained omniscience. Śvētāmbara believe that Mahavira traveled throughout in India to teach his philosophy for 30 years after gaining omniscience. Digambara however claim that after attaining omniscience, he sat fixed in his Samavasarana giving sermons to his followers.

Disciples

Mahavira is said to have 11 Ganadharas, Gautama being their chief. Others were Agnibhuti, Vayubhuti, Akampita, Arya Vyakta, Sudharman, Manditaputra, Mauryaputra, Acalabhraataa, Metraya and Prabhasa. Mahavira's disciples are said to be lead by Gautama after him, who later is said to have made Sudharman his successor. According to the Jain tradition, Mahavira had 14,000 muni (male ascetics), 36,000 aryika (nuns), 159,000 sravakas (laymen) and 318,000 sravikas (laywomen) as his followers. Some of the royal followers included King Srenika (popularly known as Bimbisara) of Magadha, Kunika of Anga and Chetaka of Videha. He delivered 55 pravachana and answered 36 unasked questions (Uttaraadhyayana-sutra).

Moksha (Nirvāṇa) and death

See also: Moksha (Jainism)
Jal Mandir marking Mahavira's nirvana at Pawapuri

Jains believe Mahavira attained moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death) and his soul is now resting in Siddhashila (abode of the liberated souls). The Jain Śvētāmbara tradition believes his nirvana and death occurred in 527 BC, while the Digambara Jain tradition believes this to be 510 BC.

According to Jain texts, Mahavira attained nirvana (final release) at the town of Pawapuri (now in Bihar). On the same day, his chief disciple Gautama is said to have attained omniscience. This day is celebrated by Jains as Diwali. According to the Jinasena's Mahapurana, after the nirvana of Tīrthankaras, heavenly beings perform the funeral rites. According to the Pravachanasara, only the nails and hair of Tirthankaras are left behind; the rest of the body is dissolved in the air like camphor. Today, a Jain temple called Jal Mandir stands at the place where Mahavira is believed to have attained moksha.

Previous births

Mahavira's previous births are discussed in Jain texts such as the Mahapurana and Tri-shashti-shalaka-purusha-charitra. While a soul undergoes countless reincarnations in the transmigratory cycle of saṃsāra (world), the births of a Tirthankara are reckoned from the time he determined the causes of karma and developed the Ratnatraya. Jain texts discuss twenty-six births of Mahavira before his incarnation as a Tirthankara. As per the texts, Mahavira was born as Marichi, the son of Bharata Chakravartin, in one of his previous births.

Teachings

Main article: Jain philosophy

Jain Agamas

Main article: Jain Agamas

Mahavira's teachings were compiled by his Ganadhara (chief disciple), Gautama Swami. The sacred canonical scriptures had twelve parts. According to the Digambaras, Āchārya Bhutabali was the last ascetic who had partial knowledge of the original canon. Later, some learned Āchāryas started to restore, compile and write down the teachings of Mahavira that were the subject matter of Agamas. Āchārya Dharasena, in 1st century CE, guided Āchārya Pushpadant and Āchārya Bhutabali, to write down these teachings. The two Āchāryas wrote on palm leaves, Ṣaṭkhaṅḍāgama—among the oldest known Digambara Jaina texts.

Five vows

Main article: Ethics of Jainism

Jain Agamas prescribe five major vratas (vows) that both ascetics and householders have to follow. These ethical principles were preached by Mahavira:

  1. Ahimsa (Non-violence or Non-injury). Mahavira taught that every living being has sanctity and dignity of its own and it should be respected just as one expects one's own sanctity and dignity to be respected. Ahimsa is formalised into Jain doctrine as the first and foremost vow. The concept applies to action, speech and thought.
  2. Satya (Truthfulness)—neither lie, nor speak what is not true, do not encourage others or approve anyone who speaks the untruth.
  3. Asteya — Non-stealing. Theft is explained as "taking anything that has not been given".
  4. Brahmacharya (Chastity), abstinence from sensual pleasures for Jain monks, faithfulness to one's partner for Jain householders.
  5. Aparigraha (Non-attachment)—non-attachment to both inner possessions (liking, disliking) and external possessions like property.

Mahavira's philosophy has eight cardinal (law of trust), three metaphysical (dravya, Jīva and ajiva), and five ethical principles. The goals of these principles is to achieve spiritual peace, better rebirth or liberation. According to Chakravarthi, these teachings help elevate the quality of life.

Of these precepts, Mahavira is most remembered in the Indian traditions for his teachings of ahimsa (non-injury) as the supreme ethical and moral virtue. Mahavira taught that the doctrine of non-injury must cover all living beings, and causing injury to any being in any form creates bad karma which affects one's rebirth, future well being and suffering. According to Mahatma Gandhi, Mahāvīra was the greatest authority on Ahimsa.

Soul

Main article: Jīva (Jainism)

Mahavira taught that soul exists, a premise that Jainism shares with Hinduism, but disagrees on with Buddhism. According to Buddhism, there is no soul or self, and it premises its teachings on the concept of anatta. In contrast, Mahavira taught that the soul is permanent and eternal with respect to dravya (substance). Mahavira additionally taught that the soul is also impermanent with respect to paryaya (modes that originate and vanish).

Anekantavada

Main article: Anekantavada

Mahavira taught the doctrine of "many sided reality". This doctrine is now known as Anekantavada, a term that does not appear in the Jain Agamas, but the doctrine is illustrated in the answers of Mahavira to questions his followers asked. According to Mahavira, truth and reality is complex and always has multiple aspects. Reality can be experienced, but it is not possible to totally express it with language. Human attempts to communicate is Naya, or "partial expression of the truth". Language is not Truth, but a means and attempt to express Truth. From Truth, according to Mahavira, language returns and not the other way around. One can experience the truth of a taste, but cannot fully express that taste through language. Any attempts to express the experience is syāt, or valid "in some respect" but it still remains a "perhaps, just one perspective, incomplete". In the same way, spiritual truths are complex, they have multiple aspects, language cannot express their plurality, yet through effort and appropriate karma they can be experienced.

The Anekantavada premises of the Mahavira are also summarized in Buddhist texts such as in Samaññaphala Sutta, where in he is called Nigantha Nataputta. The Anekantavada doctrine is another key difference between the teachings of the Mahavira and those of the Buddha. The Buddha taught the Middle Way, rejecting extremes of the answer "it is" or "it is not" to questions. The Mahavira, in contrast, accepted both "it is" and "it is not", with "perhaps" qualification and with reconciliation.

The Jain Agamas suggest that Mahavira's approach to answering all metaphysical philosophical questions was a "qualified yes" (syāt). A version of this doctrine is also found in the Ajivika tradition of ancient Indian philosophies.

Rebirth and realms of existence

Main article: Saṃsāra (Jainism)

Rebirth and realms of existence are foundational teachings of Mahavira. According to the Acaranga Sutra, Mahavira comprehended life to exist in myriad forms, such as animals, plants, insects, water bodies, fire bodies, wind bodies, elemental forms and others. He taught that a monk should avoid touching or disturbing any one of them including plants, never swim in water, nor light up fire or extinguish it, nor thrash arms in the air as such actions can torment or hurt other beings that live in those states of matter.

Mahavira preached that the nature of existence is cyclic, where the jiva (soul) of beings is reborn after death in one of the heavenly, hellish or earthly realms of existence and suffering. Human beings are reborn, according to Mahavira, depending on one's karma (actions) as a human, animal, element, microbe and other forms on earth, or in a heavenly or hellish state of existence. Nothing is permanent, everyone including gods, demons and beings on the earthly realms die and are reborn again based on their karma merits and demerits. It is the Jina who have reached Kevala Jnana who are not reborn again, and attain the Siddhaloka or the "Realm of the Perfected Ones".

Legacy

Festivals

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The two major annual festivals in Jainism associated with Mahavira are Mahavir-Jayanti and Diwali. In Mahavir Jayanti, the five auspicious life Mahavira's life are re-enacted by Jain.

Adoration

Mahavira adoration in a Manuscript, ca. 1825 CE
  • Svayambhustotra by Acharya Samantabhadra is the adoration of twenty-four Tirthankaras. Its eight shlokas (aphorisms) adore the qualities of Mahavira. One such shloka is:

    O Lord Jina! Your doctrine that expounds essential attributes required of a potential aspirant to cross over the ocean of worldly existence (Saṃsāra) reigns supreme even in this strife-ridden spoke of time (Pancham Kaal). Accomplished sages who have invalidated the so-called deities that are famous in the world, and have made ineffective the whip of all blemishes, adore your doctrine.

  • Yuktyanusasana by Acharya Samantabhadra is a poetic work consisting of sixty-four verses in praise of Mahavira.

Influence

Mahavira's teachings influenced many personalities. Rabindranath Tagore wrote:

Mahavira proclaimed in India, the message of salvation, that religion is a reality and not a mere social convention, that salvation comes from taking refuge in the true religion and not from observing the external ceremonies of the community, that religion cannot regard any barriers between man and man as an eternal variety. Wonderous to say, this teaching rapidly over topped the barriers of the race abiding instinct and conquered the whole county.

— Rabindranath Tagore

A major event is associated with the 2,500th anniversary of the Nirvana of Mahavira in 1974. According to Padmanabh Jaini:

Probably few people in the West are aware that during this Anniversary year for the first time in their long history, the mendicants of the Śvētāmbara, Digambara and Sthānakavāsī sects assembled on the same platform, agreed upon a common flag (Jaina dhvaja) and emblem (pratīka); and resolved to bring about the unity of the community. For the duration of the year four dharma cakras, a wheel mounted on a chariot as an ancient symbol of the samavasaraṇa (Holy Assembly) of Tīrthaṅkara Mahavira traversed to all the major cities of India, winning legal sanctions from various state governments against the slaughter of animals for sacrifice or other religious purposes, a campaign which has been a major preoccupation of the Jainas throughout their history.

— Padmanabh Jaini

Iconography

Mahavira is usually depicted in a sitting or standing meditative posture with the symbol of a lion beneath him. Every Tīrthankara has a distinguishing emblem that allows worshippers to distinguish similar-looking idols of the Tirthankaras. The lion emblem of Mahavira is usually carved below the legs of the Tirthankara. Like all Tirthankaras, Mahavira is depicted with Shrivatsa and downcast eyes.

An image of Mahavira at the State Museum Lucknow is dated in 1007 AD, while the one at Parshvanatha temple, Kumbharia, is dated in 1179 AD. Another image dated v.s. 1212 is installed at Vimala Vasahi, Mount Abu. An ancient sculpture of Mahavira was found in a cave at Sundarajapuram, Theni district, Tamil Nadu. K Ajithadoss, a Jain scholar based in Chennai dated the sculpture to be of 9th century AD.

Temples

According to John Cort, the Mahavira temple at Osian, Jodhpur, Rajasthan is the oldest Jain temple surviving in western India. It was constructed in the late eighth century CE. Other temples of Mahavira include:

In popular culture

Mahavira: The Hero of Nonviolence is an illustrated children’s story based upon the life of Mahavira.

See also

References

Notes

  1. Heinrich Zimmer: "The cycle of time continually revolves, according to the Jainas. The present "descending" (avasarpini) period was preceded and will be followed by an "ascending" (utsarpini). Sarpini suggests the creeping movement of a "serpent" ('sarpin'); ava- means "down" and ut- means up."
  2. This mythology has similarities with those found in the mythical texts of the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism.
  3. On this Champat Rai Jain wrote- "Of the two versions of Mahavira's life — the Swetambara and the Digambara— it is obvious that only one can be true: either Mahavira married, or he did not marry. If Mahavira married, why should the Digambaras deny it? There is absolutely no reason for such a denial. The Digambaras acknowledge that nineteen out of the twenty-four Tirthamkaras married and had children. If Mahavira also married it would make no difference. There is thus no reason whatsoever for the Digambaras to deny a simple incident like this. But there may be a reason for the Swetambaras making the assertion; the desire to ante-date their own origin. As a matter of fact their own books contain clear refutation of the statement that Mahavira had married. In the Samavayanga Sutra (Hyderabad edition) it is definitely stated that nineteen Tirthamkaras lived as householders, that is, all the twenty-four excepting Shri Mahavira, Parashva, Nemi, Mallinath and Vaspujya."
  4. Samaññaphala Sutta, D i.47: "Nigantha Nataputta answered with fourfold restraint. Just as if a person, when asked about a mango, were to answer with a breadfruit; or, when asked about a breadfruit, were to answer with a mango: In the same way, when asked about a fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, Nigantha Nataputta answered with fourfold restraint. The thought occurred to me: 'How can anyone like me think of disparaging a brahman or contemplative living in his realm?' Yet I neither delighted in Nigantha Nataputta's words nor did I protest against them. Neither delighting nor protesting, I was dissatisfied. Without expressing dissatisfaction, without accepting his teaching, without adopting it, I got up from my seat and left."
  5. a special symbol that mark the chest of a Tirthankara

Citations

  1. ^ Potter 2007, pp. 35–36.
  2. ^ Kailash Chand Jain 1991, p. 32.
  3. ^ Heehs 2002, p. 93.
  4. ^ von Glasenapp 1999, p. 30.
  5. von Dehsen 2013, p. 121.
  6. Shanti Lal Jain 1998, p. 50.
  7. ^ Zimmer 1953, p. 223.
  8. Winternitz 1993, p. 408.
  9. von Dehsen 2013, p. 29.
  10. Kailash Chand Jain 1991, p. 31.
  11. ^ Dundas 2002, p. 25.
  12. Doniger 1999, p. 682.
  13. ^ von Glasenapp 1999, p. 29.
  14. ^ Taliaferro & Marty 2010, p. 126.
  15. Chaudhary, Pranava K (14 October 2003), "Row over Mahavira's birthplace", The Times of India, Patna
  16. ^ Doniger 1999, p. 549.
  17. ^ Dundas 2002, pp. 24–25.
  18. ^ Dundas 2002, p. 24.
  19. Rapson 1955, pp. 155–156.
  20. Cort 2010, pp. 69–70, 587–588.
  21. Kailash Chand Jain 1991, pp. 74–85.
  22. Kailash Chand Jain 1991, pp. 84–88.
  23. Dundas 2002, pp. 25–26.
  24. Zimmer 1953, p. 181.
  25. Britannica Tirthankar Definition, Encyclopaedia Britannica
  26. ^ Zimmer 1953, p. 224.
  27. Jain & Upadhye 2000, p. 54.
  28. Wiley 2009, pp. 5–7.
  29. Zimmer 1953, p. 220.
  30. von Glasenapp 1999, pp. 16–17.
  31. Sangave 2001, p. 128.
  32. ^ Dundas 2002, p. 30.
  33. Jain & Upadhye 2000, p. 45.
  34. Jain & Upadhye 2000, p. 46.
  35. Kailash Chand Jain 1991, p. 59.
  36. Dundas 2002, p. 19.
  37. Jain & Upadhye 2000, p. 47.
  38. Sunavala 1934, p. 52.
  39. Dowling & Scarlett 2006, p. 225.
  40. Upinder Singh 2016, p. 313.
  41. Gupta & Gupta 2006, p. 1001.
  42. ^ Dundas 2002, p. 21.
  43. Dundas 2002, pp. 21, 26.
  44. ^ Mills, Claus & Diamond 2003, p. 320.
  45. Patrick Olivelle (2006). Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE. Oxford University Press. pp. 397 footnote 4. ISBN 978-0-19-977507-1.
  46. Jyotindra Jain; Eberhard Fischer. Jaina Iconography. BRILL Academic. pp. 5–9. ISBN 90-04-05259-3.
  47. Champat Rai Jain 1939, p. 97.
  48. Shanti Lal Jain 1998, p. 51.
  49. Umakant P. Shah 1987, p. 95.
  50. ^ George 2008, p. 319.
  51. Sen 1999, p. 74.
  52. Dundas 2002, p. 27.
  53. ^ von Glasenapp 1999, p. 327.
  54. Kailash Chand Jain 1991, p. 79.
  55. Jain & Upadhye 2000, p. 30.
  56. von Glasenapp 1999, p. 30, 327.
  57. Jain & Upadhye 2000, p. 31.
  58. Vijay K. Jain 2016b, p. 5.
  59. ^ Upinder Singh 2016, p. 314.
  60. George 2008, p. 326.
  61. Heehs 2002, p. 90.
  62. von Glasenapp 1999, p. 39.
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  64. ^ Doniger 1999, p. 549-550.
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