History
Jainism, Buddhism and Religious Movements
Jainism, Buddhism and Religious Movements — Quick Revision
One-page CGPSC quick revision for Jainism, Buddhism and Religious Movements: every date, place, person, council and doctrine in tables.
The heterodox sects, Mahavira, the Buddha, the councils and the sects on one page. For explanations, go back to the chapter.
How to use this sheet
Scan it top to bottom in the week before Prelims. Bold entries are the facts examiners return to most often.
Background and Other Sects
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Period | 6th–5th century BCE, middle Gangetic plain |
| Causes | Costly ritual; varna rigidity; Kshatriya and Vaishya aspirations; iron-plough agriculture (cattle needed); towns, trade, coins; Mahajanapadas; Prakrit preaching |
| Six teachers (Samannaphala Sutta) | Purana Kassapa (no merit or sin), Makkhali Gosala (niyati), Ajita Kesakambali (materialism), Pakudha Kachchayana (seven elements), Sanjaya Belatthiputta (agnosticism), Nigantha Nataputta (= Mahavira) |
| Ajivikas | Gosala; fatalism; Barabar caves (Ashoka), Nagarjuni caves (Dasharatha) |
| Charvaka / Lokayata | Brihaspati (legendary); only perception; no soul, no rebirth |
| Bhagavatism | Vasudeva-Krishna; Heliodorus pillar, Besnagar (Vidisha), c. 2nd century BCE |
Jainism
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tirthankaras | 24; 1st Rishabha (bull), 22nd Nemi (conch), 23rd Parshva (serpent; Kashi), 24th Mahavira (lion) |
| Parshva’s vows | 4 (chaturyama); Mahavira added brahmacharya |
| Mahavira’s dates | Traditional 599–527 BCE; older textbooks 540–468 BCE |
| Birth | Kundagrama near Vaishali; father Siddhartha (Jnatrika); mother Trishala (Lichchhavi, sister of Chetaka) |
| Family | Wife Yashoda, daughter Anojja (Svetambara view; Digambaras say he never married) |
| Renunciation / kaivalya / nirvana | 30 / 42 / 72 |
| Kaivalya | Sal tree, Rijupalika river, Jrimbhikagrama |
| Nirvana | Pavapuri (Bihar); Deepavali |
| Buddhist name | Nigantha Nataputta |
| Triratna | Right faith, right knowledge, right conduct |
| Five vows | Ahimsa, satya, asteya, aparigraha, brahmacharya (mahavrata for monks, anuvrata for laity) |
| Philosophy | No creator god; jiva–ajiva; karma as matter; anekantavada, syadvada, saptabhangi; sallekhana |
| 1st council | Pataliputra, c. 300 BCE, Sthulabhadra — 12 Angas |
| Final council | Valabhi, 453/466 CE (exam books 512 CE), Devardhi Kshamashramana — canon written down |
| Canon language | Ardhamagadhi Prakrit |
| Digambara / Svetambara | Bhadrabahu / Sthulabhadra; naked / white-clad; Malli male / female |
| Patrons | Chandragupta Maurya, Kharavela (Hathigumpha), Gangas, Rashtrakutas, Kumarapala (Hemachandra) |
| Monuments | Udayagiri–Khandagiri, Ellora 30–34, Gommateshwara (Chavundaraya, c. 981–983 CE), Dilwara, Ranakpur |
Buddhism: Life and Teaching
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dates | Traditional 563–483 BCE |
| Birth | Lumbini near Kapilavastu; Shakya; Suddhodana and Mahamaya (Koliya) |
| Family | Foster mother Mahaprajapati Gautami (first nun); wife Yashodhara; son Rahula |
| Renunciation / enlightenment / death | 29 / 35 / 80 |
| Renunciation | Mahabhinishkramana; horse Kanthaka; charioteer Channa |
| Enlightenment | Bodh Gaya (Uruvela), pipal tree, Niranjana river |
| First sermon | Sarnath — Dharmachakrapravartana — five ascetics |
| Death | Kushinagar (Mallas) — Mahaparinirvana |
| Symbols | Birth lotus/bull, renunciation horse, enlightenment Bodhi tree, sermon wheel, death stupa |
| Four Noble Truths | Dukkha, samudaya (craving), nirodha, magga |
| Eightfold Path | Prajna (view, resolve) · Shila (speech, action, livelihood) · Samadhi (effort, mindfulness, concentration) |
| Concepts | Middle Path; anicca, dukkha, anatta; pratityasamutpada; nirvana |
| Triratna | Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha |
| Patrons | Bimbisara (Venuvana), Anathapindika (Jetavana, Shravasti), Prasenajit, Amrapali |
Buddhist Councils
| Council | Place | Date | King | President |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Rajagriha | c. 483 BCE | Ajatashatru | Mahakassapa (Sutta: Ananda; Vinaya: Upali) |
| 2nd | Vaishali | c. 383 BCE | Kalashoka | Sabakami — Sthaviravada vs Mahasanghika |
| 3rd | Pataliputra | c. 250 BCE | Ashoka | Moggaliputta Tissa — Abhidhamma, missions |
| 4th | Kundalvana, Kashmir | 1st–2nd c. CE | Kanishka | Vasumitra (deputy Ashvaghosha) — Mahavibhasha, Mahayana |
Sects, Texts and Spread
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tripitaka | Sutta, Vinaya, Abhidhamma (Pali) |
| Theravada / Hinayana | Arhat; Pali; Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand |
| Mahayana | Bodhisattva; Sanskrit; images; China, Japan, Korea |
| Madhyamika | Nagarjuna — shunyata |
| Yogachara | Asanga, Vasubandhu — vijnana |
| Vajrayana | 7th–8th c. on; eastern India; Tara; Padmasambhava, Atisha → Tibet |
| Navayana | Ambedkar, Deekshabhoomi Nagpur, 14 October 1956 |
| Texts | Milindapanha (Menander–Nagasena); Buddhacharita (Ashvaghosha); Visuddhimagga (Buddhaghosa); Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa (Sri Lanka) |
| Universities | Nalanda (Kumaragupta I), Vikramashila (Dharmapala); sacked c. 1200 |
| Pilgrims | Faxian (Chandragupta II), Xuanzang (Harsha), Yijing |
Chhattisgarh
| Site | Fact |
|---|---|
| Sirpur | Buddhist viharas (Anand Prabhu Kuti Vihar — monk Anandaprabha, Balarjuna’s reign; Swastik Vihar); bronzes; Jain viharas too |
| Xuanzang’s Kosala | About 100 monasteries, some 10,000 Mahayana monks; Nagarjuna’s monastery (site unidentified) |
| Bhongapal (Kondagaon) | Brick Buddhist chaitya, 5th–6th c. CE; excavated 1990–91 |
| Bhand Deval, Arang | Late-11th-century Jain temple; star plan; three black-stone Digambara Tirthankara images |
| Nagpura (Durg) | Uvasaggaharam Parshva Tirth on the Shivnath |
Don’t Confuse
| This | vs | That |
|---|---|---|
| Mahavira: Kundagrama – Jrimbhikagrama – Pavapuri | vs | Buddha: Lumbini – Bodh Gaya – Sarnath – Kushinagar |
| Mahavira: sal tree, kaivalya | vs | Buddha: pipal tree, bodhi |
| Jain Triratna: faith, knowledge, conduct | vs | Buddhist Triratna: Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha |
| Jain council at Pataliputra (Sthulabhadra) | vs | 3rd Buddhist council at Pataliputra (Moggaliputta Tissa) |
| 2nd council: Sthaviravada–Mahasanghika split | vs | 4th council period: Mahayana rises |
| Ashvaghosha (Buddhacharita) | vs | Buddhaghosa (Visuddhimagga) |
| Nagarjuna (philosopher) | vs | Nagarjuni hill (Ajivika caves) / Nagarjunakonda (Andhra site) |
| Panchashila (lay precepts) | vs | Panchsheel (India–China, 1954) |
Favourite MCQ trap
Swapping the two founders’ details: a “pipal tree” or “Kushinagar” offered for Mahavira, or “Pavapuri” or “sal tree” offered for the Buddha. Mahavira = sal, Rijupalika, Pavapuri; Buddha = pipal, Niranjana, Kushinagar.
Second favourite trap
“Ashoka presided over the Third Buddhist Council” or “the Mahayana split happened at Vaishali.” Ashoka was the patron and Moggaliputta Tissa presided. Vaishali produced the Sthaviravada–Mahasanghika split; Mahayana is linked to the Kanishka era.
Advertisement