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Cultural Milieu of Jaina Caves: Socio-economic and Religious Backdrop
335 was prevalent in north and west India was present in Sultanpur in north Maharashtra. The Kandhār Anvaya, mentioned in the Mehkar inscription is not known from other parts of the country as it obviously had local importance. It shows that Kandhar was a prominent seat of the sect.
Apart from the inscriptions, some literary texts also provide information on the sub-sects that prevailed in Maharashtra. Virasena and Jinasena, who wrote Jayadhavala and a tika on Jayadhavala respectively at Vatagramapura in Nasik district, belonged to panchstupanvaya (Vijayamurti 1957: 43-44). From the 5th century inscription of Paharpur, Bangladesh, it is known that this anvaya was a group of Nirgranthas (Vijayamurti 1957: 44).
Śvetambara Communities
A number of icons at Pune, now in Adinatha temple and in the temples of Oswals as well as Podvals, carry inscriptions, which range between 1293 CE to 1480 CE. These records mention Svetāmbara gachhas like Agama, Brahmana, Brhad, Jnanakiya, Khartara, Koranta, Maddaha, Rudrapalli, Tapa, Udhava, Upakeśa, Vrabrhana and communities like Srimala and Prāgvat. Brhad gachha is also known from some of the inscriptions from Sirpur.
All these gachhas are mentioned in the epigraphs post-dating the 9th century CE, while many of them arose between the period of the 11th to 14th centuries CE (Deo 195455: 544). They were prevalent mainly in north Gujarat and Rajasthan, though they also existed in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bengal and Bihar (Deo 1954-55: 519-544). Thus, it is clear that the Svetämbaras, who donated the icons in Pune, migrated to Maharashtra in the late medieval period.
Even today, original Marathi Jainas are Digambaras and following sub-sects of Digambaras are present among them. (1) Setavāl (2) Pancham (3) Chaturtha (4) Kasār (5) Bogar (6) Dhakad (7) Gujar-Humbad (8) Marvadi Khandelwal, Pallival, Agarval (9) Baghervāl (10) Kamboj (11) Nemā. Of these, Setavāls are present throughout Maharashtra, Chaturtha-Pancham are concentrated in south Maharashtra while Baghervals are mainly in Vidarbha and northern Marathwada. Except Chaturthas, all the communities are engaged in business. Except Gujars and Marvādis, all these communities speak Marathi language and follow Marathi customs and festivals (Akkole 1968: 13).
Interaction with other religions
A number of records invoke Jina along with other Brahmanical deities. Many of the rulers were known to be patrons of different religions. There are a few Brahmanical temples such as Mahadeva temple at Patne in Jalgaon district, the Mahadeva temple at Umarga in Osmanabad district, the temple at Anwa in Aurangabad district and LaksmiNarayana temple at Pedgaon in Ahemadnagar district, where Jina figures are found on pillars or janghā portion of the exterior wall. A stepped-well in front of a devi temple at Jhagaji in Osmanabad district has a standing figure of Jina on one of the walls. However, some anti-Jaina sentiments are expressed occasionally. Ganesvadi record of 1099 CE
