Some meanderings on early medieval history from the view point of nAstika compositions

This epistle is a brief discussion on the socio-political developments in early medieval India emerging from philological comparisons between jaina sources, other nAstika material and Astika sources. To give some background we point to some jaina and other nAstika narratives, some of which were posted on these pages such as:
1) A tale from the samarAichcha kahA
2) Some anti-Astika tales of the jaina-s
3) dharmakIrti’s anti-Astika polemics
4) A narrative from the ma~njushrIya mUlakalpa
5) To the above we may also add the famous novel on the hero varA~Nga written by the naked jaina jaTAsiMhanandin (those unfamiliar with it can easily find the plot online)

These tales come from a time when the Astika deva-dharma was resurgent – it had evolved a strategy that no longer depended on royal patronage. Rather royalty needed to adopt some form of the Astika deva-dharma for its ultimate legitimacy. On the philosophical front despite the great ingenuity and sophistication of both the clothed and naked nAstika-s, they were again on the back-foot with respect the Astika counter-polemics. No longer were the Astika-s limited by the confines and pitfalls of the prAjApatya tradition of the veda – their deva-dharma had evolved new strategies that spanned a wide spectrum of thought suitable for a wide range of human proclivities in religiosity. These included the resurgent mImAMsaka-s, rising vedAntin-s and the great waves of sectarian traditions, starting with the newer versions of the shaiva, vaiShNava and kaumAra mata-s that had already swept across jaMbudvIpa and beyond, spawning the tantra-age. Under these circumstances the jaina-s and bauddha-s adapted differently. The former were simply unable to break the patronage model, which heavily depended on the third varNa. Yet they longed for royal patronage – occasionally they did get it (e.g. chAlukya emperor pulakeshIn-II’s wife) but they had to be content sharing it with the dominant Astika-s and evolving mantrayAna bauddha-s, that too typically receiving only the smaller share.

● A key motif running through a large body of the jaina texts is the merchant-hero – the shreShThin – a banker and merchant (the pan-Indian surname, Neo-Indo-Aryan: seTh, seThI, sheTTi[ar], is an attestation of their spread throughout the subcontinent). In the jaina lore he is typically a devote lay jaina on the path to jaina perfection that he would attain later in his life. He has come a long way from his precursor the 3rd varNa of the veda. In the older layers therein, the 3rd varNa was much more the general cattle/land-owning laity than specifically the merchant – cognates of the Iranian vAstryo-fshuyant. While having adhikAra to vaidika rituals and serving as yajamAna-s, they were not exactly part of the Indo-Aryan elite circles or aristocracy comprised of brAhmaNa-s and kShatriya-s. Only few among them contributed to vaidika compositions (albeit some important ones, e.g. vatsapri and bhAlandana). However, by the time the Indo-Aryans had settled in India they were probably socially dominant in urban localities, especially by way of channelizing production by the service castes (e.g. maNikAra, rajjusarja, takShaka, rajayitrI, etc., mentioned in the yajurveda; today often included in the OBC category of the Indian reservation system). Their trade systems appear to have been subservient to the protection and organization offered by the mobile and militarily dominant trans-regional 1st and 2nd varNa-s – a phenomenon that probably ensured the dominance of the Indo-Aryan languages in the sindhu-sarasvati-valley system of cities and towns. Whatever the case, by the so called second urbanization of the India the vaishya-s had expanded their role beyond the old pastoralist-agrarian economy and were now part of a booming trade system that not only spanned the subcontinent of jaMbudvipa but spread beyond via both the east and the west coasts. Thus, they were in possession of a new-found status as financial elites, in competition with the old Indo-Aryan elite. Indeed, their early active participation in the veda-virodhaka traditions such as jaina and bauddha might have represented their attempt at coopting alternative religious identities, specifically to rival the two old Indo-Aryan elite varNa-s.

However, given that the founders in both cases were kShatriya-s, and that both cults drew Brahminical participation, meant that, to a degree, there was still the remnant of the “old order” despite the occasional protestations within these heterodox traditions. Examination of the older sthaviravAda tradition s shows that the early bauddha did not extensively perform classical Indo-Aryan rituals. For instance, we do not find specific homa vidhAna-s or importance attached to homa-s. This perhaps represents the phase when, despite the presence of the first two varNa-s in high positions, the praxis of bauddha-mata was still catered primarily to groups not deeply embedded in the old ritual performance. But with the rise of bauddha brAhmaNa-s and the Sanskritization of the bauddha dharma, homa rites and mantra practice became increasingly important in the mahAyAna and subsequent phases of bauddha tradition. Thus, bauddha fell more in line with the Astika tradition. Consequently, it started competing for the same niches as the Astika traditions. However, in contrast, the jaina-s appear to have stuck with the vaishya patronage and increasingly coopted them as a vehicle for their alternative identity. Both the bauddha-s and Astika-s in their early medieval formulations also valued the vaNij vaishya-s and accorded them a respectable position. For example, in the case of Astika-s we see the respectable depictions of vaishya-s as early as the pa~nchatantra itself and this continues subsequently in the early medieval period like daNdin’s dashakumAra-charita. However, unlike in the jaina tradition, vaishya-s were rarely, if ever, cast as the primary heroes. Thus, the high incidence of vaishya heroes in their tradition is a departure from what is seen in the Astika or bauddha traditions of the same time. Not surprisingly, even today the jaina tradition is still primarily associated with the tradesmen caste.

● As a consequence of the above situation jaina lore tells us much more about the ways of the vaishya-s than any other Indian tradition. One theme that repeatedly emerges in the jaina tales is the attack by predatory forest tribesmen on traveling vaNij-s (merchants) on business trips as well as their settlements. For example, a central event in the varA~nga-charita is the conflict between the pulinda-s and the shreShTin-s. Here a band of 3-4000 pulinda-s attack the caravan of the merchant chief sAgaravR^iddhi and were close to completing the plunder of his goods, when the jaina hero of tale, varA~Nga enters the fray and kills the pulinda chief and his son. Similarly, other tales (see those linked above) mention attacks by shabara-s and in yet other places they are called dasyu-s. In the anti-astika tale of hariSheNa we hear of the attack and arson by predatory tribesmen on a town populated by vaishya-s in Gujarat. Thus, attacks on and arson of both mobile caravan and frontier towns by plundering tribesmen often organized in to fairly large groups appears to be an persistent feature of the jaina experience.

● The jaina tradition was already moving away from the absolute ahiMsa of tIrthaMkara mahAvIra and violent retribution towards rivals of the jina-mata or violent action towards enemies of the mata by jaina-s was becoming acceptable. From their own sources we hear that haribhadra sUri had his bauddha rivals jump into cauldrons of boiling oil and die as revenge to the bauddha killing nephews after defeat in debate. We also hear jaina sources themselves of the naked jaina akala~Nka physically thrashing his bauddha rival after defeating him in a debate. Likewise, we hear in the prabandha-koSha that the jaina tAntrika mahendra used his abhichAra to behead the brAhmaNa administrators of pATalIputra and force them to convert to the jina-mata. However, as is typical of the nAstika-s, when there is real danger they are quick to fall in line in collaborating with their Astika rivals: The 13th chapter of the bhadrabAhu-saMhitA attributed to the legendary bhadrabAhu a contemporary of chANakya but composed much later calls upon jaina ritualists to operate in conjunction with brAhmaNa-s to perform apotropaic and prognostic rites before military operations [Footnote 1]. Given this backdrop, it is not surprising that with much higher stakes at hand, the jaina vaNij were pragmatic in their response to the above-described depredations and formed private armies to protect their caravans. This is indeed the central theme in the story of varA~Nga where the vaNij private army is overwhelmed by the marauding force of pulinda-s before the jaina hero varA~Nga arrives to shore up the former and slaughter the pulinda-s. Some jaina-s have made the bold claim that certain local shrines of mailAra (i.e. khaNDobA) near the gigantic monolithic monument of the nagna in the karNATa country are actually vIrakal-s or commemorative shrines of a sword-wielding jaina fighter from such a private army who died while trying to save vaNij caravans from predators. Indeed, in the shvetAMbara polemical literature we hear of a temple ritualist jaina of the vaishya caste named padmaprabha in the court of pR^ithivirAja ChAhamAna. This jaina is said to have been a good wrestler and a warrior. Just on the eve the Islamic assault on the ChAhamAna-s another rival ascetic shvetAMbara jaina, who was opposed to the temple ritualist jaina-s, had padmaprabha excommunicated from the court. The loss of such merchant warriors could have contributed among other things to the outcome of the battle with the Mohammedans that followed.

But this tradition was not lost in the rAjput lands especially among the war-like haldiyA-s a guild of jaina banker-businessmen of the khaNDelvAl vaNij clan. Indeed, the jaina vaNij experience with private armies and warfare was to have a crucial role in Hindu history in the form of two figures from Mewar bhAmA sAH, friend of mahArANA pratApa during the Jihad of the tyrant Akbar and minister dayAl sAH during the Jihads of tyrant Awrangzeb.

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Footnote 1: This prolonged contact with jaina-s is evidenced in the ways of a group of degenerate atharvavedin-s from Rajasthan known as the dAdhIcha brAhmaNa-s. From their tradition they were originally followers of the paippalAda branch of the AV tradition. However, unlike their Gujarati cousins (who recite and follow the AV-vulgate) they appear to have entirely lost the saMhitA. They are supposed to have performed apotropaic rituals for the rAjpUt rulers in the Marwad region. They are strict vegetarians who are supposed to have instituted a completely animal-free ritual abjuring animal sacrifices of the shrauta type or those specific to AV tradition. This animal-free ritual is emphasized in their origin mythology rather in contrast to their paippalAda affiliation – the AV having several distinctive animal sacrifices.

Continued…