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No historical evidence allowing dating
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Lives of Jinas 1 to 22 – Ṛṣabha to Nemi
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10th to 9th century BCE
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Life of Pārśva, the 23rd Jina (circa 950–850 BCE)
According to tradition, he lived 250 years before Mahāvīra
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599—527 BCE
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Śvetāmbara – traditional dating of Mahāvīra, the 24th Jina
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582—510 BCE
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Digambara – traditional dating of Mahāvīra, reformer of Jainism
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497—425 BCE
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Modern scholarly dates of Mahāvīra, based on the dating of Buddha’s death as either 411 or 400 CE. Buddha’s traditional dates are 563–483 BCE
It is known that:
- Mahāvīra and Buddha were contemporaries
- Mahāvīra died before Buddha
- Mahāvīra lived for 72 years.
Magadha – present-day Bihar – is the geographical heart of Jainism
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527 BCE
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515 BCE
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Mahāvīra’s first disciple, Indrabhūti Gautama reaches final emancipation, 12 years after Mahāvīra
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503 BCE
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Mahāvīra’s last chief-disciple – gaṇadhara – Sudharman attains liberation 24 years after Mahāvīra, according to tradition
All Śvetāmbara monastic orders trace their origin back to him
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463 BCE
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According to tradition, Sudharman’s disciple Jambū, first ‘elder’ in the lineage of Mahāvīra, reaches final emancipation 64 years after the death of Mahāvīra
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4th to 3rd century BCE
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Probable beginning of discussions, perhaps centring on clothing and nudity, which progressively led to the ‘hardening of boundaries’ (Dundas 2002: 49) between Śvetāmbara and Digambara sects
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367 BCE
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According to tradition, the Maurya emperor, Candragupta, accompanies the Jain teacher Bhadrabāhu in his migration south, to present-day Karnataka
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352 or 348 BCE
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- Śvetāmbara – first recitation of scriptures in Pāṭaliputra under the supervision of Sthūlabhadra, 160 years after the death of Mahāvīra
- Death of Bhadrabāhu:
- Śvetāmbara – 175 years after Mahāvīra
- Digambara – 162 years after Mahāvīra
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3rd to 2nd century BCE
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In Magadha, Emperor Aśoka converts to Buddhism. Jains start migrating from eastern India, centre of his power, to:
- north-west, Delhi and Mathurā regions
- south and west, Saurashtra and Gujarat
- east coast, Kalinga – present-day Orissa
- and south India.
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3rd century BCE to 6th century CE
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Inscriptions in Tamil language and Brāhmī script in caves and on rocks testify to the significant presence of Digambara Jain mendicants in the area corresponding to present Tamil Nadu.
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2rd century BCE to 3rd century CE
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Mathurā, in present-day Uttar Pradesh, emerges as a Jain centre, confirmed by inscriptions of mendicant lineages and images of Jinas wearing half-garments.
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1st century BCE to 1st century CE
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King Khāravela of Kalinga appears to have been a strong supporter of Jainism, judging from the famous Hāthīgumphā inscription at Udayagiri in Orissa.
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2nd century CE
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Digambara – the period when the main religious scriptures were written down
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4th century CE
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Śvetāmbara – collective recitation of scriptures took place in:
- Mathurā under the leadership of Skandilācārya
- Valabhī under the leadership of Nāgārjuna.
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4th to 5th century CE
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Possible dating for the Digambara thinker Kundakunda, although traditional dating puts him earlier, in the 2nd to 3rd centuries CE.
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5th century CE
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Śvetāmbara:
This marks the final split between the Śvetāmbara and Digambara sects.
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6th to 8th centuries
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Period of intense intellectual life and production of writings, both in Prakrit and Sanskrit.
In particular, period of philosophical debates between Digambara Jain thinkers such as Akalaṅka and Samantabhadra and Buddhist thought represented by Dharmakīrti
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7th to 8th century
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- Jainism in Tamil Nadu faces hard times confronted by resurgent Hinduism
- possible dating of the Śvetāmbara monk and writer Haribhadra
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9th to 10th century
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Digambara:
- Jainism revives in Tamil Nadu, demonstrated by epigraphy, carved rocks and temple complexes
- Jains become prominent in Karnataka society under the Ganga dynasty
- Jains erect the colossal statue of Bāhubali at Shravana Belgola in 981
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11th to 12th century
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- Śvetāmbara Jains become prominent in Gujarat under the Caulukya royal dynasty, represented by King Jayasiṃha Siddharāja and King Kumārapāla. Examples include:
- Jain monastic presence at the royal court through the Jain monk Hemacandra (1089–1172)
- expansion of religious architecture and Jain holy sites, such as Mount Abu, Mount Shatrunjaya and Taranga
- New Śvetāmbara monastic orders – gacchas – arise, such as Kharatara-gaccha and Tapā-gaccha.
- Earliest available Jain manuscripts date back to this period, written on palm leaves
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13th to 14th century
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- Complicated relations between Jains and the Muslim power in north India and Gujarat:
- despoliations and desecrations of Jain temples and images, or reconversions of sites
- Jain merchants and notables have influence at the Muslim courts
- Paper becomes the usual material for Jain manuscripts written in western and northern India, although palm leaf continues to be used in the south
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15th century
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- Digambara Jain communities play significant roles in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, especially Gwalior. The institution of the bhaṭṭārakas flourishes.
- Loṅkā Śāh leads critical questioning of temple- and image-worship, eventually leading to the rise of the Loṅkā-gaccha.
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16th century
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17th century
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- First traces of the monastic order known as Sthānaka-vāsin, founded by monks who broke away from the Loṅkā-gaccha
- Birth of the Digambara Terāpanthin monastic order in north India, which rejects the institution of the bhaṭṭārakas and certain temple rituals.
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18th to 19th century
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- The Śvetāmbara Terāpanthin monastic order is founded by Ācārya Bhikṣu after splitting from the Sthānakvāsin order.
- British officers in India, such as Colebrooke and Mackenzie, and other Westerners slowly discover the importance of Jains as a living faith and as one of the oldest Indian traditions
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19th century
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- Digambara – monastic orders decline sharply
- Jain mystic and reformer Śrīmad Rājacandra (1867–1901)
- Systematic search for manuscripts is undertaken in India and large numbers of Jain manuscripts from western India reach European libraries
- Jainism is established as a tradition distinct both from Buddhism and Hinduism by the German scholar Hermann Jacobi in 1879
- Jainism is first represented at World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 by Virchand Raghav Gandhi
- Jain merchant communities migrate to east and southern Africa in search of new economic opportunities
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20th century
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- Digambara – the tradition of naked monks slowly revives, but the institution of bhaṭṭārakas declines
- Śvetāmbara – monastic communities expand
- Both Digambaras and Śvetāmbaras establish organisations for lay communities as well as Jain educational institutions.
- Terāpanthin leader Ācārya Tulsī founds the non-sectarian Aṇuvrat movement in 1949
- In post-Independence India, Jainism is recognised as a distinct faith but has no special constitutional status
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1970s to 1980s
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- Celebration of the 2,500th anniversary of Mahāvīra’s nirvāṇa in 1974
- Restrictive racial policies in east Africa force Jain communities to emigrate to UK and USA, where they organise themselves:
- Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA) established in 1981
- Institute of Jainology (IoJ) established in London in 1983
- Jain Declaration on Nature, 1990
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21st century
2000 to 2010
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- Celebration of the 26th birth centenary year of Mahāvīra in 2001 to 2002
- Rising question of whether Jains should have the constitutional status of a religious minority in India:
- this decision given to the individual states in 2005
- New Delhi city government grants constitutional status in 2008
- Celebration of the Great Anointing festival of Bāhubali at Shravana Belgola in 2006 and 2018
- Catalogue of the Jain Manuscripts of The British Library launched in India on 27 May 2006 and in U.K on 15 May
2007
- one of the leading Jain Śvetāmbara mendicants, Muni Jambūvijaya, dies on 12 November 2009
- the tenth leader of the Terāpanthin monastic order, Ācārya Mahāprajña, dies on 9 May 2010
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21st century
2011 to 2021
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- Kaal Dharma (passing away) of one of the great Jain Acharyas of modern times, Acharya Param Pujya Shri Chandrashekhar Vijayji Maharaj Saheb on 8 August 2011 at Ahmedabad at the age of 79.
- June 2013 – JAINpedia website goes live
- Shantinatha Charitra – a text written in Sanskrit, that describes the life and times of Shantinatha, the 16th
Jain Tirthankara declared a Global Treasure by UNESCO in 2013
- In 2014. Palitana, a small city in the Bhavnagar district in Gujarat, India was declared a totally vegetarian city by the Gujarat Government. Palitana now dubbed as the World’s first ‘Vegetarian City’
- 2014 – All UK Jain organisations unite under ‘OneJAIN‘
- 14 March 2015 – A new statue of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled in London’s Parliament Square to mark the 100th anniversary of his return to India to start the struggle for independence from British rule.
- Muni Tarun Sagar – Digambara monk, dies on 1st September 2018
- 11 November 2018 – First ever Jain representative at the Cenotaph at the annual U.K Remembrance Day
Services
- 1 May 2019 – First Jain Speech in UK Parliament on the Jain community contribution to the UK.
- Shri Chandraprabh Sagarji Maharaj, more commonly known as Chitrabhanuji, dies on 19th April 2019, in Mumbai, India at the age of 97 years. He was the first ever Jain sadhu to travel overseas.
- 2021 – Jains Campaign for Identity in UK Census
- Eminent Indian born scholar of Jainism and Buddhism, Padmanabh Shrivarma Jaini dies on 25th May, 2021 at Berkley at the age of 97.
- 2021 – New version of JAINpedia launched.
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