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44/The Räṣṭrakūṭas and Jainism
Siddhanta cakravarti etc. Jainism, primarily advocating non-injury does not rule out the inevitable warfare, is a tested case of religious doctrine coming to terms with social and political reality. Some of the steadfast supporters of the Jaina faith in Karṇāṭaka were military men who were not excoriated for participating in many battles, a fotiori, all the more, they were honoured with status and peerage.
2.9.4. The fact is that Jaina church has made a marginal provision for practicing their profession to its adherents, as is crystal clear by the commandments laid down by Simhanandin for his Ganga protege. The Rāṣṭrakūtas adopted this way of life in toto, as it came so handy to them. Because of the preponderance and sway of Jaina faith on the state, none of the Rāṣṭrakūța monarchs, ab initio to ad finem, performed horse sacrifice. From Dantidurga to IndraIV, all the emperors abandoned rituals involving animal sacrifice and strictly adhered the tenets of Jainism: 'Jainism was extremely popular.... one can even say that the cultural life of Karnataka in those days was dominated by the Jains... In fact, it is a period of cultural ascendancy of the Jainas in Karnataka history" [Kamath, Suryanath : 1997: 92].
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