Sarak

For the village in Azerbaijan, see Sərək.

The Saraks (from Sanskrit Śrāvaka) is a community in Bihar, Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand. They have been followers of Jainism since ancient times, however were isolated and separated from the main body of the Jain community in western, northern and southern India.

History

There are remains of many historical Jain temples specially in Purulia district,^[1] where the Saraks have continued to worship. They have continued to remain vegetarian even though this practice is uncommon among other communities in the region. Saraks have Parshva as a favored patron and recite the Ṇamōkāra mantra. They visit Śikharjī and other tirthas of this region.

The region is called Vajjabhumi in ancient texts because diamonds were once mined in the region.^[2] The Tirthankara Mahavira visited this region according to the Kalpa Sūtra. Acharya Bhadrabahu was a native of the Pundravardhana region of Bengal.

Rashtrakuta period

In 13th century, Porahat in Singhbhum district was conquered by Rashtrakuta (Rathore) chiefs. Their traditional account Vamsa Prabha Lekhana (edited by Raja KASHIRAM SINGH II, 1641) ^[3] mention that the Sarak entered Kolhan before 7 th Century AD.

Separation and rediscovery

The Saraks lost contact with Jains in the rest of India after its conquest by Ikhtiyar Uddin Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji. Contact with the Digambara Bundelkhand Jains was reestablished when the Parwars Manju Chaudhary (1720–1785) was appointed the governor of Cuttack by the Maratha Empire.

Saraks are concentrated in Purulia district of West Bengal and Ranchi, Dumka and Giridih districts of Jharkhand. The Saraks of Jharkhand and West Bengal are Bengali speakers.

Professions

In the past they were engaged in copper mining in the region.^[4] Most Saraks are farmers engaged in rice cultivation. Some of them have shops related to agriculture. Many are well educated. There are some teachers, doctors and professors in this community.

It has been found that in this region Sarak students are excellent in education.

See also

• Jain community
• Jainism in Bengal

References

1. ^ Welcome to the Official Website of Purulia District
2. ^ http://purulia.gov.in/district_profile/dist_profile.html Historical Background
3. ^ http://www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/ips/p/porahat.html PORAHAT (Princely State)
4. ^ http://www.santalsarak.org/index1024.html Prof. V. Ball, 1868, Geological Survey of India