Jainism is an eastern religion with origins in the indus river valley dating back to 3000 b. Labelling the jain sacred texts the canon is often considered unsatisfactory. Agam jain literature jaina agamas and indian culture the place of the agamas in cultural history of india language and literature apart from art and architecture constitute the most important records of the cultural history of a country. These texts are the holy scriptures of the jain religion. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa. The svetambaras believe that the collection of 32 or 45, the number is disputed agamas holy scriptures are the first and foremost of all holy texts.
After the 12thcentury, the temples, pilgrimage and naked ascetic tradition of jainism suffered persecution during the muslim rule. Samayasara or nature of self downlaod the free pdf here. Hindus are in a similar position, even though they have the vedas, which can be considered the ultimate source of teaching. The main difference is that catholics and christians in general have a holy book called the bible which was deitygiven. Instead they have a body of holy writings or scriptures. The holy book of jains the kalpa sutra is the holy book of the of jainism religion. The texts had to be memorised since jain monks and nuns were not allowed to possess religious books as part of their vow of nonacquisition. Sruti literally means that what is revealed and smriti means that what is remembered. Almost every school of religious thought and belief has its own central texts to guide its followers.
The holy books in hinduism are there only for guidance. Religion and culture of the jains by jyoti prasad jain 1983, bharatiya jnanpith will provide an orderly and clear exposition of jainism as a philosophy and way of life, jain history, and the jains as. Jains see these texts, which are the transcriptions of lord mahavirs sermons, as sacred documents. What is the holy book of buddhism and jainism answers. A prathmanuyoga which involves mythological characters and stories of jainism the shastras holy books. The puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. This book is the first comprehensive study of jainism to be published in the west. Jainism is an indian religion which is traditionally believed to be propagated by twentyfour spiritual teachers known as tirthankara. The agam sutras show great reverence for all forms of life and strict codes of vegetarianism, asceticism, nonviolence, and opposition to war. An important acarya named dharasena initiated his two most, able.
The reason is very simple, this book consists of a biography of lord mahavira in detail, and the lives of the other prophets tirthankaras. Background unlike most common monotheistic religions, jainism does not have one holy book that characterizes their faith. Agam literature consists of many texts, which are the sacred books of the jain religion. Jains are a small but influential religious minority with at least 4. It is written by a practicing jain, drawing on his rich experience of jainism in all its aspects. Hence, sruti is what ancient hindu saints heard during deep meditation. The following are the most sacred holy books in hinduism. Following the decline of the gupta empire, maitraka dynasty was founded by senapati general bhatarka, who was a military governor of saurashtra under gupta empire, who had established himself as the independent around 475 ce.
Acharya dharasena, in first century ce, guided two acharyas, acharya. Hindu sacred literature is the most ancient of the living literatures of the world. Acharya dharasena was a digambara monk of first century ce. He was born into a royal family in what is now bihar, india. Around 2000 years ago, in the first century, acharya dharasena, worried at the dwindling importance of the jain teachings and beliefs, decided to compile all of the teachings in a written form. Jaina canon, the sacred texts of jainism, a religion of india, whose authenticity is disputed between sects. Part 1 topics include shree simandhar bhagwan, saat tattva sambandhi bhul, lakshan ane lakshanabash, panchma gunustanvarti shravak ni 11 pratimao, sukh shu che, panch bhavo, char abhav, panch pandavo, bhavna batrisi. This festival honors the 15th century reformer lonka.
Samayasara or nature of self is a classic jain discussion about the nature of the self and its relation to karma and moksha, meaning ultimate liberation or enlightenment. Drawing from jainisms copious and influential narrative tradition, the author explores the innerlogic of how renouncers and laypeoples values and practices depend on an intricate jain. Instead they have a collection of holy writings and scriptures. Jains are very caring over the environment, they wear masks over their faces to prevent inhaling of. The holy book of jainism is a collection of texts known as agam literature or the agam sutras. Finding books about african religion and spiritual beliefs in the public domain was not difficult. Agamas are texts of digambara jainism based on the discourses of the tirthankara.
Jains are very caring over the environment, they wear masks over their faces to prevent inhaling of any small insects and they carry. The svetambara canon consists principally of 45 works divided as follows. Religion 1002 sikhism and jainism flashcards quizlet. Shruti panchami is the day when jainism texts got compiled. In india, they share this feature with the buddhists. The religious scriptures are not followed word to word. Hence, the jain religion does not have one sacred book like the bible or koran, but it has many books compiled by several gandharas and srutkevalis. These are further divided into different subsects and traditions. As society changed, the jews found that the torah needed to be updated from its original agricultural emphasis. Gautamasvami is said to have compiled the most sacred canonical scriptures. Goats and soda a member of the ancient religion of jainism who is very sick or very old may opt.
Hindu scriptures and holy books are divided mainly into two categories viz sruti and smriti. Ultimate goal of life is eternal release from karma. Jnan panchami takes place five days after diwali and is celebrated in reverence for jain scriptures, the agamas. Sanskrit verse from shivpuran lord rishabhdev jineshwar first tirthankar the omniscient and the all pervasive incarnated himself on the magnificent kailas ashtapad mountain. Fundamental beliefs of jainism the soul is bounded by karma from the beginning of time the principles governing the successions of life cycles birth, life, and death is karma. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva. Dharasena, tasked two of his monastic disciples, the. The following list of books incorporates a number of salient points of view, and they would be especially good for those not raised as jains.
Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Achary a dharasen a, in first century ce, guided two acharyas, acharya pushpadant and acharya bhutabali, to put the teachings of mahavira in the written form. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation etc. Mahavira 540 bce468 bce, also known as vardhamana, was the twentyfourth and last tirthankara of jainism. On this day, fasting, meditation, atonement, worship of the holy books, and holy recitation take place. A guide for the perplexed is a clear and thorough account of this fascinating tradition, explaining many basic jain values, beliefs and practices in the same way they are taught to jains themselves, through the medium of sacred narratives.
Good books can change your thinking and thinking can change your life. Ahimsa is one of the cardinal virtues and an important tenet of jainism, where it is first of the pancha mahavrata and hinduism, and in buddhism where it is the first of the five precepts. Its purpose is to give an over view with as few technical terms as possible and without too much detail. Refers to a hymn or paragraph or sections of the holy text that appears in their several holy books. The holy book of jainism is known as the kalpa sutra or sutras. These texts are collectively known as agams, the sacred books of the jain religion. Ideal way of doing swadhyay or listening to jain scripture pravachan wear clean clothes, wash your hands and feet and if you have eaten something make sure to gargle and clean your mouth. Jainism, traditionally known as jain dharma, is one of the oldest. The american people spend thousands of dollars to propagate the doctrines of the fall of man, the creation of the world out of nothing in six days by a personal god, vicarious atonement, absolution from sin by the shedding of innocent blood. Unlike monotheistic traditions, the jains do not have a unique holy book that characterises their faith. Jain texts the texts containing the teachings of mahavira are called the agamas, and are the canonical literature the scriptures of svetambara jainism. It is read in the eight day long festival called paryushan posted by chris, emily, and kelly at. While the majority of pilgrimage places in india are sacred to the followers of hinduism, there are numerous holy sites of other religions such as jainism, buddhism and islam. A holy man reading the guru granth sahib, the holy book of sikhism.
However, the digambaras have different views, due to the fact that they believe the agamas are skewed due to poor memorization etc. They are written in the ardhamagadhi prakrit language. However, in buddhism there is what is known as the three baskets in sanskrit tripitika which consists of the vinayabasket the monastic precepts, regulations, and stories related to the establishment of the sangha and these rules and regulations, the sutrabasket containing the buddhas discourses, and the abhidharmabasket the. Holy fellowship where all felt that they belonged to one large spiritual fraternity. Jainism coexisted with buddhism and hinduism in ancient and medieval india. However, the holy books in hinduism are the basis on which we have evolved our culture and way of living. Jain books, jain literature, jain shastras in english. They are humans who achieve enlightenment via asceticism. Sruti belongs to the vedic period while smriti belongs to. Ahimsa is a multidimensional concept, 8 inspired by the premise that all living beings have the spark of the divine spiritual energy. The five worships the panch parmeshthi first steps to jainism part2 preface.
Hence, the jain religion does not have one sacred book like the bible or koran. This biography of an indian religious figure is a stub. At the time of his birth, the whole town marked prosperity in term of agriculture, health, wealth and wisdom. The first two maitraka rulers bhatarka and dharasena i used only the title of senapati general.
List of holy books in hinduism the galaxy of hindu literature is very vast and voluminous. Thus the original sacred books of both the jainas and the buddhist were. This book is written by a westerner who is a practicing hindu, to give non. In digamber jainism the original form there are more than thousands of jain literature books translated and described by numerous saints and people. Many of its historic temples were built near the buddhist and hindu temples in 1st millennium ce. Our intention behind our actions of body, mind, and speech bind us with karma. The primary holy book of the jewish faith is known as the torah, which comprises the books of genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers and deuteronomy. These books have a great amount of useful information on this topic, some of it written before colonialism destroyed or greatly modified aspects of traditional culture. Hindus as well as hindus who are living in the west, an introduction to the faith.
The other holy book for the jewish religion is the talmud which includes the mishnah, which means repetition or study and the gemara, which means addition or completion. This point is proved by what is said in the following quotes from oldest hindu holy books that jainism existed before vedas were composed. Broadly, jainism is divided into two major schools of thought, digambara and svetambara. They had only religious books written by their holy men such as kundakunda.
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