Jain Journal -

The present article contains a translation of the Ratnakaraṇḍakaśrāvakācāra by Samantabhadra, a manual on ethics for Jain laity from the fifth or sixth century CE. This Sanskrit text presents a schematic framework for the vows and observances to be taken by a pious Jain layperson. Its structure set a standard followed by many later manuals in the same genre. Early on, therefore, it became an influential work, especially in the Digambara tradition, and it remains so to this day. The translation aspires to be clear and accessible on its own, but explanatory notes clarify key points of Jain doctrine to give a fuller understanding of the text.

Keywords: ethics, śrāvakācāra, Samantabhadra, Ratnakaraṇḍaka, translation

In his 1991 chapter, “Orthodoxy and Dissent,” Marcus Banks identifies three tendencies within Jain faith: orthodoxy, heterodoxy, and neo-orthodoxy, which presents itself as scientific. I discuss multiple ways in which the 1990 book The Scientific Foundations of Jainism, by the Indian-born British Jain statistician K. V. Mardia, represents neo-orthodoxy. Mardia’s approving mentions of the former ascetic Chitrabhanu reflect the neo-orthodox de-emphasis on ascetics in favour of lay teachers. Although himself a follower of the Śvetāmbara sect, Mardia adopts a typically neo-orthodox non-sectarian position. Through both text and figures, Mardia presents Jain doctrine in terms of scientific concepts and terminology, e.g., labelling the binding of karma by the soul karmic fusion, explained as the soul’s absorption of subatomic particles called karmons, and illustrating the process with a figure resembling a physics diagram. His construction of Jainism as scientific is supported by his use of quantification and analogies drawn from science and technology.

Keywords: diaspora, K. V. Mardia, neo-orthodoxy, science

The following report summarizes the papers and presentations given at three major academic conferences held in the USA in 2025. These include the Annual Conference on South Asia (ACSA) in Madison, Wisconsin, the June Online Annual Meeting and the in-person Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion (AAR).

Keywords: Amṛtacandra, Gaccha, Anupdās, Parasnath, Jinaprabhasūri, Rāy Dhanpatisiṅgh Bahādur, Śrīmad Rājcandra, Kānjī Svāmī, Śrāvakācāra, Digambara Monasticism, Muni Ratnacandra, Engaged Jainism, Jain Art, Orientalism, Jain Semi-Renouncers, Capitalism, Festivals, Cīvakacintāmaṇi, Yaśovijaya, Acharya Sushil Kumar, dhyāna, Pramāṇamīmāṃsā, Hemacandra, Ghaṇṭākarṇa, Haribhadra, yoga, Anoop Mandal, Śīlopadeśamālābālāvabodha

This is a translation of an eleven-verse hymn (stotra) to Mahāvīra that was composed by the tenth- to eleventh-century poet and scholar Dhanapāla of Dhārā and mixes lines of Sanskrit and Prakrit. The article includes a brief introductory note about Dhanapāla and his minor works.

Keywords: Dhanapāla, hymn, multilingualism, Prakrit, Stotra