Chapter outline and page reference:
Introduction 207
A Dispute between the Mahayana Buddhists and Digambar Jains over Mt Girnar 208
A Dispute between the Svetambar and Digambar Jains over Mt Girnar 210
A Dispute between the Svetambar Jains and the Muslim Darbar of Junagadh State over Sites on the Central Peaks of Mt Girnar 216
A Dispute between the Jains and Hindus over some Peaks at Mt Girnar 217
Firmans of Muslim Rulers Protecting Jain Ownership of Girnar 221
A Firman of Sultan Muhammad Tughlak guarding the safety of the Jain holy place of Girnar 221
A Firman of Mogul Emperor Akbar Protecting the Svetambar Jain Ownership of Girnar 222
A Firman of Mogul Emperor Aurangzeb Granting Possession of Girnar Hill and its Temples to Shantidas 223
Chapter preview (first three pages only):
Introduction
In this chapter, mention is made of various sectarian disputes over control of sacred sites at Mount Girnar. The first section presents information about a dispute between the Mahayana Buddhists and Digambar Jains, which occurred somewhere around 725–735 AD. The next section deals with two separate disputes between the Svetambar and Digambar Jains, one occurring around 780–790 AD and the other around the year 1264 AD. The following section covers a long standing argument between the Svetambar Jains and the Muslim Darbar of Junagadh State during the latter part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century. The final section discusses a recent dispute between the Jains and Hindus.
It is worthy of note that at the base of this hill, over which these religious disputes and even battles have occurred, is a rock bearing an edict of Ashoka (Edict VII), nearly 23 centuries old, that proclaims ‘that everywhere the ascetics of all persuasions should remain (in peace)’ and that they should exhibit ‘self-control and purity of soul’. This rock, and presumably the content and intent of Ashoka’s Inscriptions, was known at least up to the time of Skandagupta’s Inscription of 457 AD, on the same rock. Unfortunately, maybe after this time the rock inscription faded from importance and memory. About this message in Ashoka’s edicts, Nawrath (1956) suggested that: ‘Mankind would have been spared much suffering if their rulers had adopted the high political morals which Chandragupta’s famous grandson Asoka entrusted to stone as a pattern for his own dealings and as a legacy to his successors here…’ and that: ‘…there is evidence of an ethical feeling which we have completely lost or which we never possessed.’ About this squabbling over Mount Girnar, Hemvallabhvijay (2013b) commented that: ‘Amidst the storm of fights, among many castes to attain the ownership of this holy place, Girnar yet stands unmoved and composed, gifting peace and purity to all its devotees.’
Lahiri (2006) pointed out that in the past: ‘Junagarh and Girnar hill have had a special place in the region’s sacred geography, because religious sites and religious groups coexisted while maintaining their separate identities.’ She also commented that ‘Girnar appears…as a palimpsest of religious interests where pilgrims performed worship in accordance with their own faiths’, and that ‘…the area has a history of positive tolerance and sharing. It is in its vicinity that the Mauryan emperor Asoka’s message of non-violence with its Buddhist overtones and its simultaneous exhortation to show liberality to Brahmins and Sramanas is inscribed.’ Referring to the ‘multi-religious character of Girnar in general and the worship of common symbols in particular’ Lahiri further commented that ‘symbols like ‘charan padukas’…were commonly worshipped at Girnar…by both Jains and Hindus as symbols of separate deities’, as well as that ‘here, as at all summits except the first, people of all sects were allowed to worship at any time of the day.’ On the other hand, Lahiri noted that in more recent times: ‘…the exacerbation of tensions in Girnar seems to be connected with special privileges being given to a Hindu trust there to build a small shrine of Dattatreya. Generally, worship proceeds without rancour at multi-religious sites when no sect enjoys ‘superior’ rights. However, such religious coexistence can as easily get threatened when State authorities intervene and contribute to a situation where one group is granted greater representation in relation to the other. This seems to have happened at Girnar.’
A Dispute between the Mahayana Buddhists and Digambar Jains over Mt Girnar
Laughlin (2003a,b) suggested that possession of Mt Girnar was hotly contested by not only the Svetambars and Digambars, who fought for control of the mount, but that the Jains as a whole fought for the site, especially against the Buddhists. Dhaky (1980) listed a number of 13th to 15th century Jain Svetambar literary works that attest to the earlier Buddhist occupation of Girnar. These include the Girnara-kalpa (1264 AD), the Prabandhacintamani (1304 AD), the Prabandhakosa (1349 AD), the Ujjayanta-tirtha (= atmakarana-prakarana or atmiya-karana-prabandha) (1420 AD), and the Upadesatarangini (1462 AD). Dhaky (1980) placed the Mahayana Buddhist-Digambar Jain disputation over Girnar to the date somewhere around 725–735 AD. The Girnara-kalpa of Dharmaghosa indicates that the Buddhists were cleared from the place by Jayacandra, apparently after winning in a doctrinal contest. Dhaky (1980) proposed the possibility that this Jayacandra is the same as Jayasena of the Punnata Gana, a gana which in the 8th century had its headquarters at Vardhamanapura (modern Wadhwan), about 190 km north-east of Girnar. Jayasena is mentioned in the Harivamsa Puran (784 AD), written by Acharya Jinasena of the Punnata Gana, as the author’s grand-preceptor, which would place him in the early years of the 8th century. Given this date, Dhaky (1980) chose to adopt the variant Svetambar tradition which allots fifty years to the period of Digambar control of Girnar, between the time they defeated the Buddhists, and their defeat by the Svetambars.
Dhaky (1980) suggested that before the Digambars took control of Girnar the Buddhists occupied it for about 50 years, and that they began this occupation some time in the latter half of the 7th century. But it seems more likely that Buddhists had a very significant presence at Girnar continuously from very early times, probably pre-Mauryan, through to the 8th century AD. In fact, the region was ruled by Buddhist kings during this long period, until the Buddhist Maitraka dynasty came to an end in 788 AD when their capital Valabhi was completely destroyed by the Arab Tajjika invaders. With this began the rapid decline of Buddhism in Gujarat, as royal patronage to Buddhists almost came to an end (Moray 1985). The Maitrakas were replaced by the Hindu Chalukyas, who owed allegiance to the Pratihara kings of Kanauj. This is about the same time that Buddhism started to lose ground in India, probably significantly as a result of its defeat by the forceful arguments of Shankaracharya, as well as the great revival of Brahmanism.
Shah (2008, page 341) noted that: ‘Another factor, which may have played a role in the rise of Jainism by 9th–10th century CE, appears to be the decline of Buddhism, which, though very popular in the region in the early centuries of the Common era, started declining by 7th–8th century CE… It has been argued that Buddhism lost ground mainly because of lack or loss of grass-root support. While the Buddhist monks did almost nothing to get support of laity and to define their role in the religion, the Jainas produced vast literature on the duties and role of laity and thus the laity felt the sense of participation. Again, Buddhists did nothing against ‘Brahmanisation’ of their sect and so Buddha came to be incorporated as one of the avataras of Visnu. On the other hand, the Jainas strongly resisted such attempts when Rsabhanatha was claimed to have been an avatara of Visnu and on the contrary tried to incorporate popular Brahmanic deities by producing ‘Jaina’ Ramayana and Mahabharata. In Buddhism, bodhisttavas reached such a stage of significance that they almost replaced Buddha and thus could easily be incorporated by Brahmanism, especially deities like Avalokitesvara due to its iconographic similarities with Siva. On the other hand, in Jainism, Jina retained its supreme position even though a large number of other deities were incorporated for popular support. Jainism also introduced a set of rituals and festivals, prevalent in Brahmanism’.