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The sociological and historical background of literary activities of Jaips in the seventeenth century
Dr. Surendra Gopal
The Jains, an ancient community, priinarily engaged in the trade, were to be found in the seventeenth century in all the important marketplaces of north Indial such as Lahore, Multan, Delhi, Agra, Patna, etc., though their main concentration was in Rajasthan and Gujarat. Evidently, the establishment of the Mughal rule which introduced political stability over a large part of the country created the necessary environment for the exapansion of commerce, and the Jains did not fail to take advantage of the new situation; in pursuit of commerce they bagan to move outside Gujarat and Rajasthan in ever increasing numbers.
The Jains enjoyed a distinct advantage over members of other communities. As businessmen, most of them knew at least rudiments of reading and writing and were, by and large a literate community. This fact is confirmed and reflected by the considerable body of literature, both secular and religious, produced by them throughout their history. In fact, continuity of literary tradition is a distinguishingfeature of the Jain community; it enabled them to transmit their cultural heritage, which in turn kept their identity intact and saved them from the fate of Buddhisin and Buddhists, who disappeared from the land of their birth.
1. See my paper "A note on the sources for a study of the
Social Life of the Jainas in the Seventeenth Century" Proceeding, Indian Historical Records Commission, Vol. XXXIX, Patna, 1968, p. 53; S. N. Sen (ed.) Indian Travels of Thevenot and Careri, New Delhi, 1949, pp. 84-85 and Mirat-i-Ahmadi, M. F. Lokhandwala (trans.), Baroda, 1965,
p. 176 2. It is difficult to give the whole list but there is hardly a gap
since the ancient times. Neinichandra Shastri Hindi-JainSahitya Parishilan, I, Banaras, 1956, pp, 27, 41
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