On the Indian Sect of the Jainas

In Short

This book is a foundational scholarly essay that examines the origins, doctrines, and historical independence of Jainism. It argues against the nineteenth-century assumption that the sect was merely a spin-off of Buddhism, instead placing it firmly in the same era as the Buddha. Through a close reading of early literature and ancient stone inscriptions, it clarifies the philosophical, ascetic, and mythological structures of the religion. It remains essential for students of Indian history because it reconstructs a crucial piece of the pluralistic religious landscape of ancient India.

The Story

The text begins by positioning Jainism as a major religious society of modern India, notable for its parallels to Buddhism yet distinct in its own right. It opens with the central challenge: the long-standing scholarly confusion that relegated Jainism to a secondary status under Buddhism. The narrative arc moves from this initial historiographical problem to a systematic analysis of the religion’s core tenets. It explains the concept of Nirvâṇa—the release from the cycle of birth and death—and the path to it, which includes the three jewels: right faith, right knowledge, and right walk.

As the argument progresses, the author explores the tension between the rigorous life of the ascetic and the practical needs of the laity. Because the pure ascetic life is so demanding—often involving starvation as a final, holy act—the faith evolved to include a cult of worship to sustain its followers. This explains the creation of magnificent temples, the veneration of the Jinas (or Tîrthakaras), and the shift of these figures from human teachers into divine entities. The analysis then deepens by comparing the historical accounts of the Jaina prophet, Vardhamâna, with those of the Buddha. Despite minor discrepancies in their respective traditions, the text concludes that the two were indeed contemporaries and rivals.

The climax of the historical argument relies on physical evidence: ancient inscriptions found in caves and temples in Orissa and Mathurâ. These stones act as silent witnesses to the sect’s early presence and political influence, dating back to the centuries following the Buddha’s death. By proving that the Jainas existed independently during this early period, the author effectively dismantles the theory of their dependence on Buddhism. The book ends by situating Jainism as a vital component of the broader, profound religious upheaval in India during the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. An expansive appendix follows, providing a detailed catalog of Jaina mythology, including the complex classification of gods, heavens, hells, and the specific iconography of the twenty-four Tîrthakaras, serving as a practical guide for the archaeologist and the student of iconography.

How It Unfolds

The problem of identity The narrative opens by identifying the widespread scholarly error of labeling Jainism a branch of Buddhism. It asserts that both religions emerged from the same period of intense opposition to Brahmanism, making their structural similarities expected rather than evidence of one descending from the other.

The path to salvation The middle sections detail the Jaina worldview, emphasizing the six substances that constitute the uncreated, eternal world. It explains the moral weight of Karman, which binds the soul to the body and dictates its migration through various forms of life, from organic structures to inanimate matter.

The rise of a cult The focus shifts to how the faith adapted to the needs of its non-ascetic followers. It describes how the demand for worship led to the transformation of the Jina into a god, sparking a rich architectural tradition that produced some of India’s most enduring monuments.

The historical evidence The author turns to epigraphic testimony, analyzing stone inscriptions from the Maurya era. These documents verify the sect's early independence and presence in eastern India, providing the hard proof necessary to resolve the long-standing debate.

The mythology of the saints The final movement, assisted by editorial notes, provides a rigorous breakdown of the Jaina pantheon. It lists the twenty-four Tîrthakaras, their specific emblems, and their celestial attendants, offering a technical map for understanding the religious art of the sect.

The People

Vardhamâna, known also as Mahâvîra, stands at the center of the narrative as the "great hero" and the primary prophet of the sect. He is depicted as a contemporary of the Buddha, a rival teacher who challenged the Brahmanical status quo and gathered a massive following in the kingdoms of Kosala and Magadha.

Opposing him in the historical record are the Buddhist chroniclers, whose sectarian biases led them to mischaracterize Vardhamâna. The author treats these accounts with caution, showing how the Buddhists often attributed "fatalism" to the Jaina prophet to discredit his teachings.

The lay-disciples emerge as a quiet but powerful force. Unlike the ascetics who seek to shed the world entirely, these followers bring the faith into the realm of daily life. Their desire for spiritual support prompted the development of temples and rituals, ultimately transforming the religion into a more visible and enduring institution.

Finally, the scholar Georg Bühler himself acts as the primary investigator, using his expertise in epigraphy to act as a detective of ancient history. He interacts with the work of his predecessors, such as Colebrooke and Jacobi, constantly weighing their theories against the evidence provided by the inscriptions, eventually arriving at his conclusion that the Jaina tradition is historically honest.

In Its Own Voice

Describing the primary goal of the Jaina practitioner:

Like all religions of the Hindûs founded on philosophical speculation, Jainism sees this highest goal in Nirvâṇa or Moksha, the setting free of the individual from the Saṁsâra,—the revolution of birth and death.

Reflecting on the historical competition between the two major religious movements of the time:

The conclusion shows that the religious history of India from the fifth century B.C. to the eighth or ninth A.D. was not made up of the fight between Brahmanism and Buddhism alone.

Regarding the physical proof of the faith’s early, independent existence:

The documents quoted suffice, however, to confirm the assertion that during the first five centuries after Buddha's death both the statements of Buddhist tradition and real historical sources give evidence to the existence of the Jainas as an important religious community independent of Buddhism.

What It's Really About

The central argument is that Jainism is an original, primary religious movement rather than a secondary offshoot of Buddhism. It seeks to rehabilitate the credibility of Jaina historical records, which were long dismissed by European scholars as late fabrications. Beneath this, the work grapples with the question of how a religion based on radical world-renunciation survives and prospers among common people. It explores the tension between the strict, atheistic philosophy of early Jainism and the necessary, later development of a vibrant, devotional cult. Ultimately, the book serves as a reclamation of the complexity of India’s ancient religious history, insisting that the intellectual landscape of the time was far more pluralistic than the traditional bipolar view of Brahmanism versus Buddhism allows.

Why Read It Today

This book is a fascinating artifact of nineteenth-century scholarship, offering a precise, dry, and immensely rewarding look at the intellectual detective work that defined early Indology. Readers interested in religious history, archaeology, or the evolution of Indian thought will appreciate the author’s meticulous, step-by-step destruction of a dominant academic myth. It feels like watching a scholar slowly clear away centuries of debris from a delicate, ancient structure.

However, the reader must be prepared for the specialized nature of the text. Because it was written in 1887 and translated in 1903, the prose carries the weight of a formal, academic era. The analysis of inscriptions involves a high level of linguistic detail—including discussions of Prakrit and ancient names—that may feel dense to a casual reader. There are also moments where the author’s period-specific attitudes toward "modern" and "ancient" religious evolution are visible. Despite these hurdles, the clarity of the argument remains striking. It stays with you not because of its narrative flair, but because of the sheer intellectual satisfaction of seeing a historical record corrected by the patient application of evidence. It is a work for anyone who values the slow, steady process of uncovering truth in the shadows of history.