History, Scripture and Controversy in a Medieval Jain Sect

by Paul Dundas

Examining the history and intellectual activity of the medieval Svetambara Jain renunciant order, the Tapa Gaccha, this book focuses on the consolidation by the Tapa Gaccha from the thirteenth century of its identity as the leading Svetambara order. The author argues that this was variously effected by negotiating the primacy of lineage, the posthumous divinity of one of its leaders, the validity of styles of scriptural exegesis and customary practice and the status of non-Jains through the medium of chronicles and poetry and polemical engagement with other Jain orders and dissident elements within its own ranks. Drawing on largely unstudied primary sources, the author demonstrates how Tapa Gaccha writers created a sophisticated intellectual culture which was a vehicle for the maintenance of sectarian identity in the early modern period. The book explores issues which have been central to our understanding of many of the questions currently being asked about the development not just of Jainism but of South Asian religions in general, such as the manner in which authority is established in relation to texts, the relationship between scripture, commentary and tradition and tensions both between and within sects.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published December 13, 2005

About the author

Paul Dundas (born in 1952) is a scholar and a senior lecturer in Sanskrit language and head of Asian Studies in the University of Edinburgh. His main areas of academic and research interest include Jainism, Buddhism, classical Sanskrit literature and Middle Indo-Aryan philology. He is regarded as one of the leading scholars of the world in Jain studies. [1] He is currently a member of the Council of the Pali Text Society.

Mr Paul Dundas is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh who began teaching in the former Sanskrit Department here in 1976 after a stint at Cambridge. His work on Jainism has made him one of the world’s most respected scholars on the religious and cultural history of India and his 1992 book The Jains remains an essential text in the study of the religious beliefs and practices of South Asia. Paul has extensive experience as a lecturer in Buddhism, Prakrit, Sanskrit and Indian cultural history and as a research supervisor.

Research Interests
Paul’s research interests focus mainly on the study of the doctrines and practices of the Jain community and Indian religious philosophy, although he also focusses on Middle Indo-Aryan philology, Sanskrit poetry and court epics.

Teaching
Postgraduate Teaching
MSc Asian Religions
The Origins of Buddhism in India
Undergraduate Teaching
Sanskrit at all undergraduate levels
Buddhism 3 and 4
Hinduism 4