DISAPPEARANCE OF BUDDlllSM AND TIlE SURVIVAL OF JAINISM 149

centre of the cult of the bodhisattva MaIijusri. At a later time, when this and other heavenly bodhisattvas had become identified with Saivite deities, Natha ascetics established a Siva-ling a in the temple and called it by the present name. Still later, disciples of Matsyendranatha, among whom should be included king Kundavarma, arranged for the placing of the extant LokeSvara image, an image representing what they must have regarded as the divine form of their master.

The worship of the Siva--linga and its associated bodhisattva no doubt continued for several centuries, until what had originally been a Buddhist centre was converted into a purely Saivite tem-ple.27 Although the Kadarik:l vihiira provides the only known ex-ample of solid inscriptional evidence for this sort of transforma-tion, it must nevertheless be the case that the process witnessed here was an extremely typical one. The Buddhist doctrine of the heavenly bodhisattvas allowed not only the kind of absorption-by-identification that we have seen, but also opened the door to the myriad Saivite gods, goddesses, mantras, dhiira1}is, and mystical tantric practices surrounding such other-worldy figures. Natha influence on the Jainas, by contrast, was kept to a minimum; although certain tantric elements do appear in conjunction with the ya~as, these are of an extremely superficial sort and cannot in any way be construed as a fundamental aspect ofJaina worship. It is true that the term "-natha" itself came to be attached to the names of certain Tlrthailkaras (e.g., Neminatha, ParSvanatha), this alteration, however, was purely a nominal one, representing no change whatsoever in the nature of the saints so designated.

It has been the aim of this paper to go beyond the various theories which Mitra has set forth by searching for more basic factors, factors that underlay or made possible whatever set of circumstances each of these theories describes. This same meth-odOlogy, then, should be applied to our own proposal, viz., that the doctrine of the heavenly bodhisattvas made Buddhism unique-ly vulnerable to the assimilating tendencies of the surrounding Hindu cults. The development of the heavenly bodhisattvas theory, and indeed that of the entire Mahayana in Buddhism, can per-haps be ultimately traced back to the celebrated "silence (avyiikrta) of the Buddha", his unwillingness to commit himself regarding

ce~tain fundamental philosophical issues. The inability of the Bud-dhiSts to agree upon the meaning of this silence led to a situation

150 BUDDHIST STUDIES

in which various contradictory absolutist doctrines could emerge, each one claiming to be the correct interpretation of the master's teachings. Of particular interest here was the doctrine of sunyatii, which implied, among other things, that there was no real distinc-tion between sa7flSara and nirvii1}a. In such a context it was a short step to postulate beings on the model of the heavenly bodhisattvas, beings who, unlike the Buddha, dwelt in both realms simulta-neously.

In Jainism, as is well-known, no counterpart of the Buddhist Mahayana ever appeared. Again, we can understand this fact on the basis of fundamental doctrine, viz., the Jaina assertion that nO absolute philosophical statement could be taken as valid. This view was expressed by the term anekiinta (non-absolutism), and led to the cardinalJaina tenet of syiidviida ("qualified assertion"). For Jainas, in other words, no synthesis of the human and the supramundane was ever possible; hence the Tirthailkaras remained the highest models of spiritual development, and such Tantric practices as identification of the self with the deity were simply out of the question.

By excluding absolutism in any form, the Jainas limited them-selves to a rather unexciting set of theories which probably exert-ed very little influence on Indian philosophical thoughts as a whole; certainly their texts cannot compare in beauty or interest with the spectacular flights of imagination and brilliant speculations found in the Prajnaparamitiis. Nevertheless, the tenacious adherence of Jaina aciiryas to the anekiinta doctrine did have one result )VDrth more to them than any praise for literary or philosophical merit; this was of course the survival of their religious community, an accomplishment which the Buddhists were ultimately unable to match.

NOTES

I. RG. Mitra, The Decline of Buddhism in India, Shantiniketan, 1954. 2. This view has found favour with certain Buddhologists, notably Conze: ... what

Buddhism in India died from was just old age, or sheer exhaustion". A Shoo Histury of Buddhism, 1960, p. 86.

3. Regarding the application of the term Srama!1a exclusively to Buddhists and Jainas, see P.S. Jaini Srama~: Their conflict with Brahmal)ical society", in Chapters in Indian Civiliuztion, Volume I (ed.J.W. Elder), Dubuque, 1970, pp. 39-81.

DISAPPEARANCE OF BUOpmSM AND THE SURVNAL OF JAINISM 151

4. P. S.Jaini "On the Sarvajilatva (Omniscience) of Mahavira and the Buddha". in Buddhist Studies in Honour of I. B. HllT'nI!r, Dorderecht, 1974, pp. 71-90.

5. For the Jaina account of Mahavira's life, see H.Jacobi,Jaina Sutras, Parts 1 and' 2, Sacred Books of the East, Volumes XXII and XLV.

6. The Hathigumpha Inscription of King Kharavela of Kalinga (ciTca 150 II.C.) is cited in this connection. The following line is most relevant: nandariijanitafTI kiilingaftnam samnivesam. .. [Tiija] gahamtanapariMre hi angama~um ca nagati. See N.K. Sahu, Utkal University His/ory of Orissa, Vol. 1. 1964, pp. 359 fr.

7. For a history of Jain a migration in the north. cf. C.J. Shah. Jainism in Nurth India. London, 1932, pp. 187-200.

8. For a political and cultural history of the Jainas in Karnataka, cf. B.A. Saletore, MediaevalJainism, Bombay. 1938.

9.(a) For an allusion to the Saivite persecution of the Jainas at Madurai, see PeriyapuTjj~afTI by Cekkilar (10th century), ed. T.M.K. PiIlai, Srivaikuntam, 1964, p. 533; TiruvilaytitaT PuTii~m by Parailcoti Munivar (16th century), ed. N.M.V. Nattar, Madras, 1965, pp. 441-479.

9.(b) On the destruction of Nalanda, see A.L Basham, TM Wonder Tha/ was India, New York, 1959, p. 266.

10. For Haribhadra's comments on corrupt Jain a practices, cf. Nathuram Premi, Jain Siihitya aUT Itihas, Bombay, 1965, pp. 480 If.

II. On the history of the Sthllnakavasi, cf. W. Schubring, TM Doctrine oj 1M Jainas, Delhi, 1962, pp. 65 If.

12. On the Digambara-Svetiimbara schism, see Ibid., p. 50 If. 13. For a complete bibliography, see R. Williams, Jaina Yogo-A Suroey oj 1M

Mediaeual SriiVaJujcaTas. London, 1963. 14. H. Saddhatissa (editor). Up;isakajantilafikiiTa of Ananda, Pali Text Society,

London, 1965 (a twelfth-centtJry Pali work written by a Singhalese monk in South India).

15. diinaooms/u vaie /qtvii punarlnuldhatvam iigatah/sargasya TaJqa~arthiiya tasmai

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

Buddha/mane namah. Mbh. XII, 47, 67; MatsyapuTii~a, 47. 247; Gitagovinda, I. 1,9. Bhagava/a Puriif.W, V, iii-viii. P. S. Jaini, "Jina ~bha as an avatiira of Vi~Qu", Bulli!tin oftM School oJ Oriental and Afriuzn Studies, Vol. XL. 2. 1977. This criticism appears in the iriiVakiicaTas (see note 13, above) under the description of "false gods, scripttJres and gurus"whose worship is forbidden to the Jaina laity. AtIeast sixteen Jaina Riimiiya~ are known to exist (ten in Sanskrit, five in Prakrit, one in ApabhTaJ!lSa). For a complete list, see V.M. Kulakami's Intro-duction (pp. 1-6) to the Paumacariu, Vol. I, Varanasi, 1962. Compare the extent of this collection with the fact that only one such story, vi:.., the DasaTalha-jiila/uz (Jiitaka No. 461) exists in the Buddhist tradition. cf. Kamil Bulche, Riimakathii: u/paUi aUT vikiis, Prayag, 1950, p. 56 If. For the Jaina versions of the life of Kr~Qa, see Jinasena's Hariva"ua PuTii~a (ed. PannalalJain, Varanasi, 1944) and Hemacandra's Tr#4f#SaliJkapuTU!a-cari/Ta, Book VIII (translated by Helen M.Johnson, G.O.S. No. 139), Baroda, 1962. No comparable Buddhist texts have come down to us. The AdiPUTii~ofJinasena (9th centtJry) (ed. PannalalJain, Varanasi. 1963) would appear to be the earliest text to mention these rituals for the Jaina laity. For further details, see V. A. Sangave.Jaina Community. Bombay, 1942. This development is perhaps symbolically shown by the typical iconographic

) 52 BUDDIllST STUDIES

representation of the Buddha as a small inset in the crown of the Bodhisattva; his position is "highest" (in accordance with doctrine) and yet relatively unimportant in the eyes of the worshipper.

22. This was accomplished through litigation initiated by the Mahabodhi Society of Calcutta, an international organization, mainly representing Buddhists of Sri Lanka and Burma. The shrines were awarded to this organization on the basis of its contention that Singhalese and Burmese kings had for many years provided funds for their maintenance.

23. M. Govinda Pai, "Dharmasthalada siva-lingakke Maiijunatha emba hesaru hege bantu?" in SamarpafJl! (Felicitation Volume in Honour of Shri Manjayya Heggade), Mangalore, 1950, pp. 65-77.

24. Concerning the origin of the Siva-linga, see note 27, below. 25. The inscription reads as follows:

Sri Kundavannii gu~van Alupendro mahipatihl piidiiravindabhramaro Balacandra-SikhiimafJl!h/61 LokeSvarasya devasya prat#lhiim aharat prabhuhl Srimat Kadarikaniimni Vlhare sumanahare;9 I Kalau va~asaha5Tii7Jiim alikrante calu!layel punar abdag(s)ate caiv~I~QflYii samanvite/lOI SamarpafJl!, p. 70.

26. In this connection Pai quotes the following verse from a Nepalese inscription: Sri LokeSvamya namah Matsyendram yaginGf{' mukhyiih iiikliih saklif{' vadanli yaml bauddhii Lokeivara1!' tasmai nama brahmasvarilpifJl!/1 Pandit Bhagavanlal Indraji and G. Buhler, "Inscriptions from Nepal", The Indian Antiquary, June, 1880, p. 192.

27. Local Kanna4a legend (Stha/a-purii~) concerning this shrine gives its tradi-tional name as SuvanJa-Kada!ivana-Sri Maiijunatha Devasthana (Golden-ba-nana-grove, the temple of Maiijunatha). This account (said to be based upon the Bhiiradviija-samhitii) can be briefly summarized as follows :

"In ancient times Lord ParaSuriima (one ofthe avataras ofVi~l)u), having (killed the kjatriyas and) given the entire earth to the bmhma1JllS, undertook severe penances. Siva, pleased with his performance thereof, said, "0 ParaSuriima, I have a permanent abode in the Well of Ambrosia (rasa-kupa), located in SUvaJ1)a-kada\ivana; go there and worship me". At that time, how-ever, SUvaJ1)a-kadalivana was temporarily covered by ocean water. Para.~riima wrested the land back from the sea, and then proceeded to carry out further penances there. At last the members of the divine Trinity, Brahma, Vi.~I)U and MaheSvara, came together and were spontaneously manifested in the form of themaiijunatha(i.e . theS;va..liliga) ". (Does this unusual coalescence of the three deities perhaps reflect a confused reference to the three-faced LokeSvara image?)

An alternate version, forming the latter part of the Sthafa-Pum~, suggests that Matsyendraniitha came to this place from the kingdom of Sari (probably Kerala, where matrilineal inheritence prevailed) and, like ParaSuriima, un-derwent severe penances to please Siva. The deity thus appeared as the present Sivaliilga. This latter story tends to confirm the association of Matsyendranatha with the temple in question, and even sugge~ts that he may have been personally responsible for the establishment of the Siva,.liliga found there.

DISAPPEARANCE OF BUDDI-fiSM AND 1HE SURVIVAL OF jAINISM 153

Kadri Imap of Lokemlra For the inscription on the pedestal of this image, see note no. 25.