Abstract:
Jainism is one of the major religions of the world. The 24thTeerthankara of 6th century B.C. VardhamanaMahaveera advocated it. In due course of time Jainism became very popular in India. It could spread rapidly to all parts of the country and wielded deep impression on various aspects of human life.
Jainism is not merely a set of principles and code of conduct, but a way of life. As a religion, it is a protest against the ritualistic practices culminating in pseudo spiritualism. It demises the authority of the Vedas and orthodox traditions of Hinduism. As a philosophy, it is realistic and pluralistic. It is empiricist in outlook. It bases its structure of philosophy on the analyses of experiences.
When Jainism originated is difficult to say, Jaina tradition says Jaina religion is eternal and it is perennial, though preached successively by the Teerthankaras, in different cycle of time (Altekar p.313).
