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Jainism in Rajasthan
Surendra Bothara Research Scholar : Prakrit Bharti - Jaipur
[Jains are one of the few communities that can trace back their glorious history right within the remote prehistory. Theirs is a composite culture that has contributed amply to the allround development of humanity in this part of the world. Almost all facets of social and individual life, viz. art, literature, philosophy, architecture, music, science etc., have been enriched by followers of Jainism. The canvas is very wide and goes much beyond the scope of this article; as such we will limit our scope exclusively to the historical spread of Jainism in Rajasthan.)
The state we know as Rajasthan today was an area ruled by feudal lords and there were many small and large kingdoms. As most of these princes were Rajputs (Kshatriyas) the general name of this area was Rajputana. It had affinity and close relationship with other Rajput princely states, particularly of central India (now Madhya Pradesh) and western India (now Gujarat and Maharashtra). From the very beginning, besides being wealthy, Jain laity has been well educated and has enjoyed a reputation as honest and righteous citizens. This encouraged a close relationship between them and the Rajput ruling families and we find many Jains occupying important positions in the Rajput kingdoms. This made it possible for the itinerant Jain ascetics to frequent and influence almost every kingdom of these two adjacent areas making it possible for Jainism to flourish, particularly during the last millennium.
Rajasthan is connected with Jainism right from the period of Bhagavan Mahavir. Prabhavati, one of the seven daughters of Mahavir's maternal uncle Chetak, was married to King Udayan of Sindhu-Sauveer. Sauveer included some areas of modern Rajasthan (Jaisalmer) and Kachchha. According to Bhagavati Sutra Udayan had accepted Jainism and had constructed a massive temple in his capital. When Mahavir visited his capital, Udayan crowned his sister's son and got initiated as Jain Shraman.
Rajasthan has a large number of places of archaeological and historical importance. Of these, detailed work has probably been done mainly on Abu and Ranakpur. Nagda, near Udaipur, drew attention of the late Muni Kantisagar and he did some good efforts of compiling inscriptions from many known and lesser known sites. M. Vinaysagar has also compiled history of Nakoda Parshvanaath. Of the numerous places of interest, some important ones are Osian, Lodrava, Jaiselmer, Phalodi, KaredaParshvanaath and JirawalaParshvanaath.
Jains have a long tradition of inscriptions that were well preserved. Scholars from and working in Rajasthan like Col. Todd, Gaurishankar Ojha and P. C. Nahar were pioneers who compiled many of these inscriptions for their historical value. The mission was furthered by many other scholars, again from Rajasthan, including Muni Jinavijay, Muni KantiSagar, M. VinaySagar, Kastur Chand Kasliwal, and Somani. Thousands of inscriptions have been laboriously collected
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