Jainism and Hinduism

Throughout the centuries, Jainism has coexisted with Hinduism. The list of interesting and relevant points of contact between the two religious traditions is almost endless. Here we shall make note of just a few of them, in order to shed some light on the cultural interplay.

Jains commonly worship deities of the Hindu pantheon, and they tend to think of them in similar ways. There are, however, certain glaring exceptions. For example, Hindus would probably be surprised to learn from one popular Jain text that Rama and Krishna were both pious Jains. Also, the various Jain renditions of the Mahabharata, the great epic poem that, in its more standard form, is regarded with devotion by almost every Hindu, transform Krishna into a devious trickster. As for Hinduism’s part in this cultural interplay, devotees of the god Vishnu have at times adopted the tirthankara Rishabha as being an avatar of their god. These few examples suffice at least to indicate the extensive interaction between Jain and Hindu religious and other cultural aspects.

Cultural interaction and similarities notwithstanding, Jainism is very much its own tradition. Among its more distinctive features is the very special status assigned to the tirthankaras.

Jains believe them to be human—not gods or avatars of gods—but nevertheless to deserve the highest degree of veneration.

Jain reverence for twenty-four tirthankaras, as opposed to focusing on just one founding figure, is instructive with regard to some basic elements of the religion. Why, you might wonder, would more than one jina be needed? Human nature, Jainism would answer, is depraved to the point of needing repeated assistance from these spiritual masters. In a related manner, Mahavira is the last jina of the present world cycle because human nature has become continually more depraved. In the present state of affairs, kevala is no longer a possibility in this world, having been attained for the last time by Jambu, the disciple of Mahavira.

So, the next logical question is, what hope do human beings have if they are confined to this realm of samsara? What needs to happen before a tirthankara once again appears to show humanity how to cross the river from this shore to the beyond, the eternal realm of complete freedom and perfect bliss? Answers to such questions call for an analysis of Jain teachings.

We will now turn to a brief survey of Jain scriptures, the main source of Jain teachings. All Jains agree that, originally, there were fifty-eight books of scripture based on the preaching of Mahavira, who in turn based his views on the earlier tirthankaras. These books are divided into three categories: Purva, Anga, and Angabahya. But much is believed to have been lost. The Digambaras believe that only excerpts from one of the books of Purva survive; these excerpts, together with later commentaries written about them, constitute Digambara scripture. The Shvetambara sect, however, officially rejects the Digambara texts and follows instead eleven books of Anga and thirty-four books oiAngabahya.