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Social Divisions in the Jaina Community
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together but do not intermarry. Dasā Poravādas have begun to marry with Dasā Srimālis and Dasā Osavālas but the old practice of inter-dining and inter-marriage between Jaina and Vaishộava Poravādas has of late fallen into disuse.102 Along with religious awakening this might possibly be due to the fact that while Vaishnava Poravādas live mainly in Gujaratha, Jaina Poravādas are in Cutch, Kathiawar, Marwar and Gujaratha. Further, the Poravādas are sub-divided according to their places of residence, e. g., in Gujaratha they are known as Suratī, Ahamadābādi, Bharuchi, Kapadavañjī, etc. and in Kathiawar as Bhāvanagarī, Jāmanagarī, Mangroli, Porabandari, etc. and there are hardly any relations between them. Practically all these divisions are found in Bombay City but there also they live as separate groups. Widow remarriage is not practised at present but it seems that it was allowed in the past, for Asaraja married Kumāradevī, a young widow, from whom he had two sons, viz., Vastupāla and Tejapāla. Poravādas claim to have produced very capable persons most prominent among them are Vimala Šāha and Vastupāla and Tejapāla, the wellknown ministers of King Vīra Dhavala in the 13th century A. D. (v) Khanđelavāla :
Khandelavāla is another important caste of the Jainas. 103 Khandelavēlas are found among the Hindus also but they are mostly Jainas. They are all Digambara Jainas and it is peculiar that practically there are no Śvetāmbaras among Khaņdelavālas. They are spread in Rajasthan, Malwa, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar but more than three-fourths are concentrated in Rajputana and Malwa.
Khandelavālas take their name from Khandela, a capital town in Jaipur territory, ruled by king Khaņdelagira of Chauhāņa dynasty. There were 84 towns under the sovereignty of Khandela and they were governed by Rajputs of various dynasties like Süryavamsa, Somavaņģa, Hemavamsa, etc. In the year 1 of Vikrama Era cholera broke out in a virulent form and with a view to subside it the King, under the influence of Brahmins, performed human sacrifice in which a Jaina ascetic was sacrificed. The epidemic, instead of lessening, grew in intensity. At that time a Jaina ascetic by name Jinasena Acharya was on his tour in that province and the King enquired from him the reason of epidemic. The ascetic
