ABSTRACT
Mahåv⁄ra’s teachings are presented, under his given name of Vardhamåna, at no great length and in no privileged manner. Suppression of the senses is given as the central tenet of his doctrine, sacrificial imagery being used to convey this: ‘he who conquers the mind and the passions and performs austerity correctly shines with pure soul like a fire in which the oblation has been poured’ (IBh 29.17).
