History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c11.s6.43

c11.s6.43

Nevertheless it is of some value to the historian. The framework of the account of Mahāvīra’s peregrinations is based on a very ancient tradition, for otherwise Lāḍha would not be described as a non-Āryan country. The visit of Mahāvīra to this district is confirmed by the early *Ācārāṅga Sūtra*.¹ The *Kalpa Sūtra* confirms that Mahāvīra passed rainy seasons in the places specified by Jinadāsa,² with the exception of that spent in Lāḍha and Vajjabhūmi; this discrepancy is explained by the commentator Vinayavijaya, who states that Paṇiyabhūmi, where Mahāvīra is said by the *Kalpa Sūtra* to have spent a rainy season, is in Vajrabhūmi.³ Thus it is evident that Jinadāsa did not invent the whole of his story.