________________
(5)
the noblest branches of ethics and philanthropy. These two “revolutionary" faiths are non-theistic, but not anti-religious. They have survived the test of centuries, emerging as two leading religions of the world, challenging the respectful attention of all interested in the spiritual quest of man.
Between 400 and 200 B.C., we find that the Nanda Kings and the Maurya Ernperor Chandragupta supported Jainism, which spread as far as the south of Mysore ( Sravanabelagola ). Mahavira travelled from Bihar through - Anga, Vanga and Kalinga. The most 'sacred sites of Jainism are the temples on the Parasvanath Hill in Bihar. Rajagriha in Magadha and the rock-cut shrines of Udayagiri and Khandagiri in Orissa. The Digambara and Svetambara sects of Jainism are both represented in the inscriptions of Mathura, where we find a grand collection of Jain sculpture and architecture. After the first Jain Council of Pataliputra (1st century) another Council assembled in Vallabhi (Gujarat, about A.D, 500), whence Jainism spread under the Chalukya Kings over Kathiawar in the West and, through Maharashtra, under the Rashtrakutas, to Karnatak in the South, The early Chalukyas and the Rashtrakutas of Malkhed patronised Jainism, which came to be
the official religion of the South under the early Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat www.umaragyanbhandar.com
