INFLUENCE OF JAINISM IN VILLAGES OF BENGAL

 Once Mahavira said, “A non-religious person when awakens would make others sleep. Therefore his sleeping is good. A religious person when awakens will awaken others. Therefore his awakening is good.” 

Such were the ideas of religion that Mahavira and other Jainā monks and nuns propagated throughout their lives. The spread of Jainism amid a well-developed Hindu regime was made possible with the adoption of a simple language and an equally simple, but appealing doctrine. Mahavira and his captivating personality, generous patronage from rulers, and efforts of several hundreds of Jaina monks, writers, etc. also contributed to Jainism gaining its ground. Bengal witnessed the advent of Jainism during the lifetime of Mahavira, who had visited Radh (southern part of present West Bengal) to preach his tenets. There is a prevalent legend that says, 22 out of the 24 Tirthankaras had attained their spiritual power in a mountainous region called Parexnath Pahad near West Bengal. The then leader of the Jaina temple was Bhadrabahu (4th-century B. C. E), a native of Pundravardhana (northern Bengal), who is credited with the compilation of several canons of Kalpasutra. According to Kalpasutra, Mahavira spent a year of his missionary in Puniyabhumic(in Ladha or Radha). By the 4th-3rd century B. C., the whole of Bengal had come under the influence of the Jainas. Although there is an absence of literary remains to support such developments, presumably because of the unstable polity that existed before the 9th century, the archeological evidence from 9th-century C. E. onwards has been able to weave quite a story. The material evidence corroborates the fact despite its presence in Bengal from a very early age, it took its final shape in much later times under the protection and support of rulers and support of the masses. 

  

Many parts of Bengal like Bankura, Purulia (Telkupi, Banda, Raghunathpur, etc.), Murshidabad(Kathgola, Azimganj, Bheruji, etc.), Hooghly(Chinsurah), Burdwan had, and some still have facades of the remaining Jaina temples and idols. 

The numerous Jain relics that lie scattered in the Bankura district tells us that it was once under the influence of Jainism. The villages of Sonatapal, Bahulara, Dharapat, Harmasra, and Paresnath (near Ambiknagar) confirm that many of the relics that are considered Hindu or worshipped as Hindu deities have a Jaina past to it.

The Siddheshwara Shiva temple was probably built as a Jain/Buddhist shrine and later on got reconsecrated as a Shaivite monument by the Malla monarchs of Bishnupur. We can further corroborate the account with the help of the garbhagriha. The garbhagrihas have figurines of Ganesha, Jain tirthankar Parshvsanatha, and one that of the Mahisasurmardini other than the central Shiva linga. 

  

BAHULARA TEMPLE

The "Nangta Thakur" (naked deities) at temples of Dharapat and Bahulara villages have naked Jain images along with the Hindu deities. The idol here is believed to be of Shyama Chand Thakur, who was commonly known as Nangta Thakur. Women who could not conceive prayed here in the hope of getting blessed with a child. The old building of the temple was made of plastered laterite had collapsed. The new one has three exquisite stone idols in the temple, out of which two are Jain deities, and one is that of Vishnu, apart from the small sculptures of flying lions on each of its four sides. The stone relics in Dharapat also narrate to us amusing tales of its time e. g. one of them is a statue of Parasnath that was converted into a Vishnu idol by adding two hands to the cast. 

  

DHARAPAT TEMPLE

All of these have a direct correlation to the re-emergence of overpowering-Hindu influence in the area. The material-remains point that Jainism flourished and boomed from the late millenniums BCE until roughly the cusp of the 7th and 8th centuries C.E. with the establishment of the kingdom of Mallabhum. 

However, the most extensive hoards of Jaina reliquiae have been found in Purulia. One such site is Raksatpura (Raghunāthpur), which has a solitary well-carved specimen of a Jaina Tīrthaṅkara Pārśvanāth in front of the modern Brāhmaṇical Temple, now worshipped as a Hindu deity. The nude Jina is shown to be seated in padmāsana posture on a double-petalled lotus, with his hands in the dhyāna-mudrā gesture supported by a back stela. Stylistically, the image belongs to c. 11th -12th century C.E. This image of Pārśvanātha is unique and rare, and most probably represents an installed deity. A noteworthy feature of the existing image is the presence of eight planetary deities (jyotiṣka-deva) on the edges of the back stela. 

Another important site is Śaṅkā (Cheliyama). The scattered structural fragments, as well as sculptural remains associated with Jainism, indicate the earlier Jaina affiliation of the site. The images of Jaina Tīrthaṅkara Ṛṣabhanātha have been found on the left and right of a tank here with their lower part buried under the earth. It is also well executed in kāyotsarga(meditation) pose. This image is quite important, as it differs from the other statues and religious figurines of the area. The presence of these statuettes leads us to the assertion that they formed part of an abandoned Jaina temple complex, either situated at the site or at someplace in its vicinity.

   

Therefore it is quite evident how Jainism had influenced the villages of Bengal and how the Jaina deities were resurrected into the Hindu ones. The decline in Jainism can be justified with the extreme ways of penance, loss of patronage beyond a phase, resurgence of Vedic traditions amidst many other things. Although this change was mostly political in other regions, Bengal adopted a method of peaceful cultural and social transition rather than a show of violence and military power. And, such is the rich heritage of Bengal, that these Jaina/Hindu temples have never refused anyone at their doorsteps, be they from any religion, caste, or creed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Majumdar, Shubha. " Understanding the archaeological contexts and iconic details of Jaina antiquities from raksatpura and śankā, district Puruliā, West Bengal" In International Journal of Jaina Studies (Online) Vol. 10, No. 1 (2014) 1-32.         

2. Ram Bachan Singh, Spread of Jainism in Ancient India: A geographical analysis.