Brill's Encyclopedia of Jainism Online

Get access Subject: Asian Studies

Edited by: John E. Cort, Denison University, Paul Dundas, University of Edinburgh, Knut A. Jacobsen, University of Bergen, Kristi L. Wiley, University of California, Berkeley

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Brill’s Encyclopedia of Jainism Online makes available up-to-date research on main aspects of the Jain traditions in original essays written by some of the world’s foremost scholars on Jainism. The encyclopedia is thematic and seeks to present a balanced and impartial view of Jainism with a focus on both historical and contemporary traditions and institutions. The articles address topics such as the human condition, pantheons, historical perspectives, regional cultures, renunciation, lay society, ritual, devotion, visual and material culture, time and space, literature, and philosophy and logic.

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Śvetāmbara Annual Festivals

(6,370 words)

Author(s): Cort, John E.
This article focuses on the annual festivals of the Śvetāmbara Mūrtipūjaka (“­Icon-Worshipping”) Jains of western India. It describes lay observances, both those that are independent of and those that intersect with mendicant observances, thus not focusing on the annual cycle of the mendicants.1 Only a few passing mentions are made of the festival calendar of the two ­non-image-worshipping Śvetāmbara sectarian traditions, the Sthānakavāsīs and the Terāpanthīs, for the simple reason that to date there has been no substantial fieldwork re…
Source: Brill's Encyclopedia of Jainism Online
Date: 2020-04-07

Śvetāmbara Jain Devotional Literature in Gujarati

(5,443 words)

Author(s): Kelting, M. Whitney | Cort, John E.
Jain authors were instrumental in the development of Gujarati bhakti literature. Bhakti refers to those religious practices that center on devotional and emotional responses to the central figures of a religious tradition. In the case of the Jains, these include the Jinas, other liberated and nonliberated Jain holy figures, nonliberated deities, and even the doctrines of Jainism. Jains have fully participated in bhakti devotionalism,1 and Jain authors have created a substantial corpus of devotional writings in Gujarati.2 Spanning the earliest writings in Gujarati to con…
Source: Brill's Encyclopedia of Jainism Online
Date: 2020-04-07

Symbols

(3,011 words)

Author(s): Jacobsen, Knut A.
The Jain traditions are rich in religious symbols. These symbols are linked to Jain teachings and salvific goals, art, rituals, and worship as well as to Jain religious identity. They symbolize the path to salvific liberation as well as auspiciousness and worldly prosperity, appear in rituals and in art, and communicate and represent the religious tradition and community. Some of the symbols present a synthesized summary of some of the teachings of Jainism.Symbols Representing the Religious Tradition and CommunityThe main emblem of the Jain religion is the one adopted in …
Source: Brill's Encyclopedia of Jainism Online
Date: 2020-04-07