Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c11.s1.1

c11.s1.1

According to the *Ācārāṅga Sūtra*, Mahāvīra’s parents were worshippers of Pārśva,² and in Hoernle’s opinion, “with them probably the whole clan of Nāya-Kshattriyas were followers of the tenets of Pārshwanātha.”³ The *Kalpa Sūtra* also gives an account of Pārśva who is often referred to in the text as *Purisānīya* or the “favourite of the people.”⁴ The Jaina tradition puts the date of Mahāvīra’s predecessor Pārśva, whose cult Mahāvīra reformed, about 250 years before the latter.⁵ The Nāyas being the followers of Pārśva and later of Mahāvīra kept up a religious establishment (*ceïya*) for their accomodation on periodical visits with their disciples to Kuṇḍapura or Vesāli.¹ We may doubt the accuracy of the tradition with regard to Pārśva's early date, but it seems fairly certain that the Nāyas, before Mahāvīra, had been followers of Pārśva² and that he was a historical figure. This inevitably shows that despite the absence of any mention of the Nāyas in the Vedic literature, they existed well before the time of Mahāvīra.