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Cultural Milieu of Jaina Caves: Socio-economic and Religious Backdrop
315 Theravali and its link with Audambara tribe of Punjab suggest that Jainism reached Punjab by the 3rd century BC (Chatterjee 1978: 98).
Thus, it is clear that Jainism reached Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and possibly further northwest in the Mauryan period.
From the above analysis of the early history of Jainism, it is clear that by the 4th. 3rd centuries BC, the sect spread in almost all the parts of the country from east India and Uttar Pradesh. It is not very easy to trace the exact route of this spread. But it appears that it spread in successive stages over a long period of time.
Later Phase
The scene changes from the Gupta period. From around 3rd 4th century CE, a large number of Jaina remains in the form of inscriptions recording donations to Jaina monasteries, icons, caves and temples start appearing in almost all parts of the country.
Jainism emerged as the most powerful sect in south India, especially in Karnataka, where from the 4th to 12th century CE, it dominated the cultural scene. It was patronised by all the major ruling dynasties like Gangas, Kadambas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, later Chalukyas, Kalachuris and Hoysalas. The sect became so powerful that the origin and creation of kingdoms of Gangas and Hoysalas came to be attributed to the Jainas (Deo 1954-55: 123. 128). However, it received a setback in 12th century CE, when the Hoysala king Bittideva was converted to the sect of Ramanujacharya in 1116 CE and Vira-Saivism rose under Basava during the reign of the Kalachuris (Singh 1975: 6). In Tamil Nadu, the sect was very prominent from the 5th to the 7th century CE, as attested by a large number of remains and inscriptions. Madura and Kanchi were famous Jaina centres. There was a second wave of Jaina influence in the gth 9th centuries under the patronage of the Rashtrakutas (Champakalakshmi 1996: 317). However, the rise of Vaisnava Alvaras and the systematic persecution of the Jainas carried out by them in the 9th and 10th centuries led to almost elimination of Jainas from the Tamil land. The earliest definite evidence of Jainism in Andhra Pradesh is from the 7th century CE, though the regular evidence start appearing from the 10th century CE. From this time onwards, a number of Jaina remains in the form of inscriptions, icons and caves are found from all the parts of the state along with the evidences of royal patronage to the sect (Murthy 1963). However, with the decline and disappearance of the eastern Chalukyas in around 12th century CE, the sect lost its royal patronage and almost disappeared (Rao 1940-41: 195).
Jainism also became very popular in Gujarat-Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In Gujarat, under the Solankis (ca. 950-1246 CE) and the Vaghelas (1246-1304 CE), it reached the zenith of its popularity. A large number of remains in the form of temples, icons, inscriptions and literary references from this period speak of the glory of the sect (Singh 1982: 10-16).
In Madhya Pradesh, the sect held significant position in medieval period as suggested by increased number of remains scattered in almost all parts of the state. Sites like Deogarh, Gwalior, Khajuraho, Arang emerged as strongholds of the sect in this period. It was patronised by most of the ruling dynasties. Though a number of Jaina remains of medieval period are found from eastern India (Banerjee 1974: 152-167), it
