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Jaina Rock-cut Caves in Western India south India. The nature of this guild is not very clear. In the praśasti of this guild, similar to that of Vira Bañanjus, they are claimed to have originated from the 500 Svamis of Ayyavole and are praised for their valour and other virtues (Gururajachar 1974: 118119). Ubhayanānādesis were the merchants, who traded both within the country and also outside the country. This guild included merchants from various regions (Gururajachar 1974: 117-118). Apart from these, a Nagara of Bhalavani is mentioned in the Bhalavani inscription of 1173 CE. Nagara was the generic term used for all traders and trading community in south India and meant guild of local traders (Champakalakshmi 1996: 313). The names of some of the bastis like Besakisettiya at Dharmapuri and Marasingasettiya at Huvinabage-agrahāra clearly indicate that these were built by settis or merchants. Though a number of inscriptions record patronage by ruling class, it is quite possible that many of them were urged by the influential mercantile community as evident in the case of Dandanayaka Dasimarasa, who made donations to Marasingasettiya basti on an appeal from the nakaras or traders of the place when he came to witness the Jina pujotsava there. It is possible that officials were invited by the Jainas to visit their temples and participate in various ceremonies.
A significant feature is that most of the donors-kings, chiefs, officials and guilds are known to have made donations to other faiths also and their personal faiths were not necessarily Jaina. Though Vira Bañanjus are considered to be Jaina, they patronised other faiths too (Gururajachar 1974: 124). Tiravade inscription records grants to Brahmaņas and an equal portion of land to Mahadeva and Buddha along with Arhat by King Gandaraditya.
Rise in popularity of Jainism in post 9th-10th century CE period
Two features are very striking in the historical development of Jainism in Maharashtra, one is its increased prominence and popularity after 9th 10th century CE as indicated by prolific Jaina remains including most of the caves under study and the second is the continuance with rock-cut caves even when structural architecture had become a more accepted norm. What were the factors behind the rise of the sect during this period? And why did the Jainas continue to excavate caves till so late?
To answer the former question first, it appears that one of the important factors behind the rise of Jainism after 10th century CE was the acceleration of trade activities and expansion of foreign trade with southeast Asia and China. The 'urban' character of the sect in the region and the fact that the sect was mainly patronised by the trading community and royal families as the above list indicates point at this. From the contemporary Jaina literature it is clear that the sect favoured the trading profession (Aery and Mathur 1990, Jain, V.K. 1990: 4-6) and it is well known that most of the followers of the sect till today come from the mercantile community. Considering all these factors, it can be suggested that one of the important reasons why the sect rose to prominence in the post-10th century CE period in Maharashtra was the revival of trade leading to the better position of mercantile community, both socially and economically. It has been shown that there was a revival and expansion of South Asian trade from the 10th century CE involving the south Asian, especially the Cholas and southeast Asian kingdoms and China (Champakalakshmi 1996: 47). This phenomenon is noticeable in
