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Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c12.s2.t1: The Brāhmaṇas

Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c12.s2.t1

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The Brāhmaṇas

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In Jain texts the Brāhmaṇas are held in contempt and are represented as the opponents of the Jain religion Frequently the term dhujāi (dhik jāti) “condemned caste” is used for them contemptuously In Jain Suttas as stated above, generally the primary position in society is assigned to the Khattiyas instead of the Bambhanas We have seen that no Tīrthaṅkara was born in a family other than the Kṣatriyas It is laid down that no great men are ever born in low, miserly, beggarly or in Brahmanical families A legend tells us that before his birth Mahāvīra was removed from the womb of Brāhmaṇī Devānandā to that of Kṣatriyānī Triśalā.⁹

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⁹ Kalpa 2 22 Cf a similar view expressed in the Nidānakathā (I, p 49) that the Buddhas are born in one or other of the two highest classes the Khattiya or the Brāhmaṇa castes and never in the low caste The Buddhist writers in enumeration of four castes invariably mention the Kṣatriyas before the Brāhmaṇas Cf also Vājasaneya saṃhitā (XXXVIII 19) and Kathaka (28 5) where Kṣatriyas are stated superior to the Brāhmaṇas (Majumdar, op cit, pp 367 369, Fick op cit, p 84 ff) For a controversy regarding the superiority of castes between Vasistha, a Brāhmaṇa and Viśvāmitra a Kṣatriya, see Dr. G. S, Ghurye, Caste and Race in India, p 63 f.

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But it should be noted that though the Jain stories seem to make the position of the Bambhanas inferior to that of the Khattiyas, the Brāhmaṇas enjoyed a high position in the society. It is stated in the Nisītha cūrṇi that the Brāhmaṇas were gods in heaven, the Prajāpati created them on earth as divine beings and so offering alms to them results in gain of spiritual merit¹⁰ Then the terms Samaṇa and Māhana frequently occur together in the Jain texts which shows that the homeless ascetics and the Brāhmaṇas were identical.¹¹ The pre-eminent position of the Brāhmaṇas is also evidenced by the fact that Mahāvīra was styled as Māhaṇa¹² or Mahāmāhaṇa.¹³

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¹⁰ 12, p. 865,

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¹¹ Cf. Ica cū. p. 93, cf. Samyutta, Samaṇa Brāhmaṇa Sutta (II p. 129 f, 236 f, IV, p. 231 f, V, p. 1).

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¹² Sūya 9.1.

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¹³ Uā 7.

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