by two smaller ones, carrying Kø•æa’s
sister Subhädrä and his brother
Baladeva. After seven days Kø•æa
returns from his summer house in an
equally spectacular procession.jägarita sthäna (‘waking state’)
The first (and lowest) stage of CON-
SCIOUSNESSaccording to Vedänta.Jaimini (c. 600 BCE)
A celebrated sage, said to be VYÄSA’s
disciple. According to tradition he
received the Sämaveda from Vyäsa,
which he then taught. He is the author
of the Jaimini sütras, also called
Mïmäƒsä Sütras, the basic text of the
school of MÏMÄßSÄ.Jainism
While claiming prehistoric origins for
their first teacher Ø•abha (c.30,000
BCE) the Jains acknowledge the last of
the 24 Tirthäökäras, Mahävïra (sixth
century BCE) to be the historical founder
of the form of religion they are follow-
ing. Jainism does not accept a creator or
a saviour god. It holds the universe to be
eternal and the task of humans to
redeem themselves from entanglement
in the material world by strict ascetical
practices.
Originally an order of naked ascetics
who had no fixed abodes and who lived
by what was given to them freely.
Jainism developed into a mass religion
with lay followers, and became one of
the dominant religions of India from
the third century BCEonwards. There
were famous Jain kingdoms in South
India and the Jain leaders enjoyed high
prestige. In the first century CEthe Jain
order split into two groups: Digambara
(‘heaven-clad’, i.e. naked, following the
older, stricter tradition) and Ÿvetäm-
bara (‘white-clad’, whose followers
wore white dresses, and also made
other concessions with regard to asceti-cism). Jains produced many works of
art, were active as scholars in the fields
of grammar and lexicography, and
established schools and charitable insi-
tutions. By the 13th century the last
Jain kingdoms had disappeared and
Jains are today a small minority in
India, counting only about 2 million
followers. Since they are successful in
banking and business, they exert
considerable influence.Jamadagni
One of the SAPTARÆIS ,author of a Vedic
hymn and the subject of stories in epics
and Puräæas.Jambu-dvïpa
(‘rose-apple continent’)
One of the seven DVÏPAS. It consists of
nine parts: Bhärata, Kiƒpuru•a, Hari-
var•a, Ïlävøta (containing Mount Meru),
Ramyakä, Hiraæmaya, Uttara-Kuru,
Bhadräsva, Ketumäla.Jana Sangh
Also Bhäratïya Jana Sangh, founded in
Bengal in 1950 as ‘People’s Party of
India’, in the wake of alleged maltreat-
ment of Hindus in East Pakistan (now
Bangladesh), when millions of Hindus
fled to India. The founding members
were former high-ranking Congress
ministers such as Shyamprasad Mook-
erjea, John Matai and K. C. Neogy. It
had a clear anti-Muslim and pro-Hindu
orientation. It later merged with other
Hindu parties to form the JÄNATÄParty
in 1977.Janäbäï(14th century)
An orphan girl, adopted by a tailor fam-
ily, she became one of Mahärä•flra’s
most popular composers of abhaögas,
which are recited in kïrtans to this day.
One of the sons of the family she grew
up with was NÄMDEV, who later
became one of Mahärä•flra’s famousjägarita sthäna 88Encyclo - Letter J 10/2/03 9:44 am Page 88