________________
134 :: Aspects of Jaina Religion
is why we find that the States of Gujarat and Karnataka, which are the strongholds of Jainas from the beginning, are mainly vegetarian.
In fact it is admitted that as a result of the activities of the Jainas for the last so many centuries, ahimsā still forms the substratum of Indian character as a whole.
5. Political Progress
The Jainas also distinguished themselves in giving their unstinted support for the improvement of political and economic life in the country. The Jainas, especially in southern and western India, produced a large number of eminent and efficient monarchs, ministers, and generals and thereby contributed to maintain and improve the political importance of the people. Not only the ordinary Jainas but their āchāryas, i.e., saints, also aided materially to create the proper political environment based on ahimsā culture necessary for the resuscitation of the life in the country.
It is considered that due to the keen interest taken by the Jaina Achāryas, i.e., saints, in political affairs of the country, Jainism occupies an important place in the history of India, The Jaina ascetics were never indifferent towards the secular affairs in general. We know from the account of Megasthenes that, in the 4th century B.C., the Sramaņas of Jaina ascetics who lived in the woods were frequently consulted by the kings through their messengers, regarding the cause of things. So far as Karnāțaka is concerned Jainism, throughout its course of more than one thousand years, was an example of a religion which showed that religious tenets were practised without sacrificing the political exigencies when the question of rejuvenating life in the country was at stake. That is why in Karnataka we find that the Jaina áchāryas ceased to be merely exponents of dogmas and turned themselves into creators of kingdoms. It has already been noted that the Jaina saints were virtually responsible for the founding of the Ganga kingdom in the 2nd century A.D. and the Hoyasala kingdom in the 11th century A.D.
