Epithets of Lord Mahavira in Early Jaina Canon

Summary

Epithets of Lord Mahavira in Early Jaina Canon collects and analyses the many appellations applied to Mahavira in the earliest strata of Jain literature. Dalsukh Malvania observes that in the early Śramaṇa milieu leaders of groups were known by general titles – Arhant, Arhat, Buddha, Jina, Vīra, Mahāvīra and Tathāgata – that were not tied to a particular sect. Drawing on sources such as the Ācāranga-sūtra, Sūtrakṛtāṅga and Uttarādhyayana, he traces how epithets like “Bhikkhu,” “Nayaputta,” “Nayasuyya,” “muni,” “mahana,” “Mahāyasa,” “Bhagavaṃ,” and “Jinesvara” arose. Mahāvīra is often called “Niṣṭha” (Brahmin) or “Mahānrha” to emphasise his character and knowledge, or “Mahāvīra” and “Jina” for his valorous asceticism. Over time these descriptive epithets became proper names: the clan name Vardhamāna receded while Vīra and Mahāvīra became dominant, and “Bhagavan” shifted from a common honorific to a title for the tīrthaṅkara. Malvania notes that some epithets in the Pāli canon were transferred to Jain usage, yet the Jain canon does not adopt all Pāli terms; this helps show that early Jain texts predate the Pāli Piṭakas. He analyses the chronological order of texts to show how clusters of epithets developed and became associated with particular group‑leaders. By comparing the semantic fields of terms across sects he argues that Mahāvīra’s epithets reflect both his universal role as a Śramaṇa teacher and the gradual crystallisation of Jain identity. The study demonstrates that titles like Tathāgata were once shared, but as Buddhism and Jainism diverged, Buddhists restricted “Buddha” and “Tathāgata” to Gautama while Jains adopted “Vīra,” “Mahāvīra” and “Jina” as names of their teacher. This development is traced through canonical passages that illustrate how descriptors evolved into honorifics and then to names. Malvania concludes that understanding the shifting use of epithets allows scholars to date texts and appreciate how sectarian identities formed from a common ascetic culture.