This claim is based partly on the peculiarities
of their doctrines and customs, which present several resemblances to
those of Buddhism, but, above all, on the fact that it was founded in the
same period as the latter.
Larger and smaller communities of _Jainas_ or _Arhata_,--that is
followers of the prophet, who is generally called simply the
_Jina_--'the conqueror of the world',--or the _Arhat_--'the holy
one',--are to be found in almost every important Indian town, particularly
among the merchant class. In some provinces of the West and North-west, in
Gujarat, Rajputana, and the Panjab, as also in the Dravidian districts in
the south,--especially in Kanara,--they are numerous; and, owing to the
influence of their wealth, they take a prominent place. They do not,
however, present a compact mass, but are divided into two rival
branches--the _Digambara_ and _['S]vetambara_ [Footnote: In notes
on the Jainas, one often finds the view expressed, that the _Digambaras_
belong only to the south, and the _['S]vetambaras_ to the north. This is
by no means the case. The former in the Panjab, in eastern Rajputana and
in the North West Provinces, are just as numerous, if not more so, than
the latter, and also appear here and there in western Rajputana and
Gujarat: see _Indian Antiquary_, vol. VII, p. 28.]--each of which is
split up into several subdivisions.
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