Jainism in Pakistan

Taxshila

Taxshila was closely associated with Jainism. According to the Jaina tradition, Rishabhanatha, the first Tirthankara, entrusted the region of Ayodhya to his son Bharata and the region of Takshashila to his son Bahubali.

As per canonical Śvetāmbara Jaina texts Āvaśyaka Cūrṇi and Āvaśyaka Niryukti, Tirthankara Rishabhanatha visited Takshashila while wandering after initiation as a monk millions of years ago. Upon learning of his arrival, Bahubali, who was not in the city at that moment, rushed to the city, but the Rishabhanatha had already departed before Bahubali arrived. His footprints were subsequently consecrated by Bahubali who erected a throne and a dharmachakra ('wheel of the law') over them several miles in height and circumference. The 14th century Vividha Tirtha Kalpa mentions this establishment, stating: "तक्षशिलायां बाहुबलीविनिर्मितं धर्मचक्रम्॥"

• Ācārya Jinaprabhāsūri in "Vividha Tirtha Kalpa" (p. 85) As per the canonical Jaina text Mahanishith Sutra, the Dharmachakra Tirtha established by Bahubali is recognized as the abode of Chandraprabha, and Takshashila is also referred to as "Dharmachakra Bhumi," marking its significance as a center of Jainism.

While there is limited information about the subsequent period, it is noted that during the medieval era, Takshashila faced challenges due to the proliferation of fraudulent ascetics and a lack of proper sustenance, leading to restrictions on Jaina ascetics' wandering in the region, as documented in six ancient Jaina texts known as the Chedasūtras.

Emperor Samprati built a Jaina temple known as "Kunala Stupa" in honor of his father Kunala. During Samprati's rule, the extent of the wandering of Jaina monks developed multifold times, and later also included this region.

According to the Prabhavakacharita, by the second or third century CE, Takshashila had approximately 500 Jaina temples and was home to a significant Jaina population. However, a devastating plague struck the city, leading to widespread death and chaos. The Jaina community sent a Sravaka named Virchand to Nadol, who conveyed their suffering to Acharya Manadevasuri. Suri gave "Laghu Shanti Stava," stating that reciting it would alleviate the plague. Following the recitation, the plague subsided within a few days. However, in the third year, the Turks devastated the city.

According to Acharya Dhaneswarasuri's "Shatrunjaya Mahatmya," Javad Shah, a merchant from Mahuva, renovated Palitana temples in Vikrama Samvat 108. He retrieved an image of Rishabhanatha from Takshashila and established it as the principal deity at the principal shrine amongst Shatrunjaya temples.

Excavations in Takshashila support these traditions. Dr. Sir John Marshall noted that Indo-Greek kings displaced the city from its fortified position and settled it in Sirkap during the early years of the second century BCE. The city remained inhabited through the Greek, Shaka, Pahlava, and Kushan periods. Numerous small and large temples have been discovered along the main road of Sirkap. Dr. Marshall concluded that the temples in blocks 'F' and 'G' of Sirkap are Jaina temples due to their architectural similarities with Kankali Tila, a Jaina stupa, found in Mathura. In block 'G,' located on the right side of the main road, numerous ruins of large buildings have been found, characterized by the presence of small temples alongside these structures, which were accessible to devotees. This evidence strongly supports claims by the Jaina tradition that Takshashila was a significant center for Jainism.

Demographics

Main article: Bhabra

The presence of Pakistani Jains in modern Pakistan is unclear. Prior to 1947, there were Punjabi, Marwadi and Gujarati communities of Jains in the Punjab and Sindh regions. All of them migrated to India during the partition in 1947, thus ending the thousands of years of presence of Jainism in the region.

Bhabra (or Bhabhra) is an ancient merchant community from Punjab which mainly follows Jainism.

The original home region of the Bhabras is now in Pakistan. While practically all the Bhabras have left Pakistan, many cities still have sections named after Bhabras.

• Sialkot: All the Jains here were Bhabra and mainly lived in Sialkot and Pasrur. The Serai Bhabrian and Bhabrian Wala localities are named after them. There were several Jain temples here before partition of India.
• Pasrur: Pasrur was developed by a Jain zamindar who was granted land by Raja Maan Singh. Baba Dharam Dass belonged to the zamindar family who was murdered on a trading visit.
• Gujranwala: Two old Jain libraries managed by Lala Karam Chand Bhabra were present here which were visited by Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar.
• Lahore: There were Jain temples at localities still called Thari Bhabrian and Gali Bhabrian.
• Rawalpindi: Bhabra Bazar is named after them.
• Mianwali: A well known cast still present in majority there nowadays. Some also lived in Sindh.

Geographical distribution

Colonial era

The total population of the region that composes contemporary Pakistan was approximately 29,643,600 according to the final census prior to partition in 1941. With the exception of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, all administrative divisions in the region that composes contemporary Pakistan collected religious data, with a combined total population of 27,266,001, for an overall response rate of 92.0 percent. Similar to the contemporary era, where censuses do not collect religious data in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan, the total number of responses for religion is slightly smaller than the total population, as detailed in the table breakdown below.

Punjab

|1881 | 4352 |1901 | 5562 |1911 | 5977 |1921 | 5930 |1931 | 6921 |1941 | 9520

Sindh

|1881 | 1191 |1891 | 923 |1901 | 921 |1911 | 1349 |1921 | 1534 |1931 | 1144 |1941 | 3687

Jain temples

Punjab

• Jain temple, Thari Bhabrian Lahore City.
• Jain Digambar Temple, Old Anarkali Jain Mandir Chawk: This temple was destroyed in the riots of 1992. an Islamic school was run from the former temple. . it was completely demolished in 2016, to make for construction of Lahore Metro and a Public Square.

Sindh

• Nagar Bazaar temple is present in the main bazar of the Nangar Parkar town. The structure of the temple, including the shikhar and the torana gateway is completely intact. It was apparently in use until the independence of Pakistan in 1947, and perhaps for some years even after that. There is also a ruined temple outside of the town.
• Bhodesar Jain mandir, 7.2 km from Nagar, was the region's capital during Sodha rule. Remains of three temples, are present. In 1897, two of them were being used as cattle stalls and the third had holes in the back. The oldest temple, was built in the classical style with stones without any mortar, built around 9th century. It is built on a high platform and reached by a series of steps carved into the rock. It has beautifully carved huge stone columns and other structural elements. The remaining walls are unstable and partially collapsed. Parts of the building had been dismantled by the locals who used the bricks to construct their homes. It is perhaps the most spectacular of the monuments in Sindh. The two other Jain temples are said to have been built in 1375 CE and 1449 CE built of kanjur and redstone, with fine carvings and corbelled domes.
• Karoonjar Jain mandir is at the base of the mountain.
• Virvah Jain mandir, are a number of ruins of Jain temples here. One of the temples had 27 devakulikas in it. The ruins of legendary Parinagar are nearby. One of the temples is in good preservation.
• Virvah Gori mandir is 14 miles from Viravah. The legendary temple with 52 subsidiary shrines was built in AD 1375–6. It is dedicated to Jain tirthankar Gori Parshvanatha.
• Jain Shwetamber Temple with Shikhar, Ranchore Line, Karachi
• Jain Shwetamber Temple, Hyderabad, Sindh

File:Jain Temple 1.jpg|Ancient Jain temple located at the foot of Karoonjhar Mountains File:Jain Temple 2.jpg|Jain Temple of Bhodesar File:Virawah Jain Temple.jpg|Virawah Jain Temple File:Jain_Stupa_-_Sirkap.JPG|A Jain Stupa.

Notable people

Prominent pre-partition Jains from Pakistan:

• Baba Dharam Dass
• Vijayanandsuri

Notes

References

Sources

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