Was Sasanka a Jaina in his Early Life?
Summary
Chittaranjan Pal’s article investigates a provocative question: Was Sasanka, the seventh‑century king of Gauda (in eastern India) and notorious persecutor of Buddhists, originally a follower of Jainism? The enquiry hinges on a passage in the Buddhist chronicle Ārya‑Mañjuśrī‑Mūla‑Kalpa that refers to the assassin of Rajyavardhana, the brother of Emperor Harṣa, as belonging to the nagna‑jāti or “naked caste.” Some historians interpret this epithet as an allusion to the Digambara Jaina sect, whose monks practise complete nudity as a sign of renunciation. Pal reviews evidence from various sources, including Hiuen‑Tsang’s travel account and numismatic and epigraphic data. The Chinese pilgrim records that Sasanka, king of Kāraṇasuvarṇa, treacherously murdered Rajyavardhana and later destroyed Buddhist monasteries. He also notes that Sasanka attempted to replace an image of the Buddha with one of Śiva, suggesting that he was a devout Śaivaite. Several coins and inscriptions likewise portray him as a Brahmin or a patron of Brahmanical religion. Pal acknowledges that these observations appear to contradict the Digambara hypothesis. However, he argues that the author of the Ārya‑Mañjuśrī‑Mūla‑Kalpa often masked identities using synonyms, initials or caste names rather than proper names, so the reference to nagna‑jāti may be intentionally oblique. He notes that there was no secular caste called nagna‑jāti in Bengal, which strengthens the association with the Digambara monks. The article further observes that people who convert from one faith to another often turn against their former co‑religionists with particular zeal; thus Sasanka’s later persecution of Jains and Buddhists does not necessarily preclude his having once been a Jain or having been born to Jain parents of Brahmin caste. Pal also cites a stanza suggesting that Sasanka performed pious acts toward Pratyeka Buddhas, which some scholars interpret as evidence of Buddhist sympathies but which could equally be seen as “Jain pious acts.” While the proof remains circumstantial and the conclusion tentative, the essay highlights the complex religious milieu of early medieval Bengal and cautions against simplistic characterisations of historical figures. The author concludes that it is plausible, though not definitively proven, that Sasanka or his family may have had Digambara Jain affiliations before he embraced Śaivism and turned against his former community.
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Conclusion
By sifting through chronicles, travelogues and textual ambiguities, Pal demonstrates how difficult it is to assign a fixed religious identity to historical rulers such as Sasanka. The king’s zeal in destroying Buddhist and Jaina institutions may reflect a convert’s fervour rather than innate hostility. Although the evidence is fragmentary, the possibility that Sasanka once belonged to, or was born into, the Digambara Jaina community remains open. Recognising this complexity encourages a more nuanced view of early medieval Indian politics and the fluidity with which elites could move between different religious traditions.