Pristine Jainism : Birth of Agriculture

Preservation of Kalpavrikshas (Forests) is inversely proportional to extension and development of agriculture. There are different theories about the beginning of agricultural practices. One is that destruction or depleting number of Kalpavrikshas by greedy people and increasing imbalance in demand of increasing population and decreasing supply of required products from shrinking forests (Kalpavrikshas) necessitated search of an alternate source of supplies. People in different periods sought advice of wiser people to find solution of their problems from time to time. There is mention of such wiser people called Manus. There were fourteen Manus before Adithirthankar Rishabhdeo. His father Nabhi Raj was the last Manu. By the time of Rishabhdeo forests (Kalpavrikshas) had extensively been destroyed and the supply (yield) of food and other products have dwindled. In Jain literature credit for discovery of agriculture, the alternate source of supplies is attributed to Rishabhdeo.

The other theory is that during the period when people depended solely on forests (Kalpavrikshas) for their supplies of all necessary requirements, they would be going round the forests near their habitations, generally near rivers or other water source, and collecting products. It is presumed in scientific parleys that seeds of some grasses wheat, rice or else collected by some ancestor of ours might have fallen on ground near his house. He must have observed the sprouting of these few seeds and subsequent flowering, fruiting and seeding. He would have then reflected that it is easier and less cumbersome to grow edible seeds at one place than take the trouble of going round the dwindling forests to increasing distances.