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Jainism in Mathurā
of the Kusāna period discovered at Mathurā far exceed the contemporary inscriptions of other religions found from this city.200
There is no evidence that Jainism enjoyed the partronage of the Kuşāņa rulers.201 The credit for the popularity of Jainism at Mathurā during the Kuşāņa period goes to its splendid monastic organisation and the religious zeal and fervour of its adherents. The religious policy of the Kuşāņa rulers was tolerant. The majority of the Mathurā Jainas belonged to the trading classes. The Kuşāņa kings needed the support of the trading classes for the stability and success of their empire. Therefore, they adopted a tolerant attitude towards Jainism. The liberal religious policy of the Kusāna rulers indirectly contributed to the rise of Jainism at Mathurā.
THE JAINA COMMUNITY AT MATHURĀ
Jainism drew its followers at Mathurā from all sections of society. The majority of the Jainas belonged to the trading classes. But some of them belonged to professions or groups which were not rated high.202 The Jaina inscriptions discovered at Mathurā are dedicatory inscriptions. They reveal that the Jaina donors of images, āyāga-pattas, temples, etc., belonged to a wide variety of groups and professions. The inscriptions discovered at Mathurā mention the Jaina donors as daughter-in-law of the ironmonger,203 wife of a caravan leader,204 wife of a dyer,205 mother of the perfumer,206 the perfumer,207 the
200. EI, X, Appendix, pp. 2 ff; JPV, p. 18; AJAA, p. 81; J.E. Van Lohuizen-de Leeuw, The
Scythian Period, 1949, p. 149 fn 16. 201. JPV, p. 18; Bhaskar Chattopadhyaya, Kusāņa State and Indian Society, 1975, p. 171. 202. EI, X, Appendix, no. 102; MM, no.Q.2; B.N. Puri, India Under the Kuşāņas, 1965, p.
149. 203. Ibid., no. 29. 204. Ibid., no. 30. 205. Ibid., no. 32. 206. Ibid., no. 37 207. Ibid., no. 39.
