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Cultural Milieu of Jaina Caves: Socio-economic and Religious Backdrop
339 north India (Malik 1998: 153), western India, comprising of Gujarat, parts of Rajasthan and north Konkan (Jain, V. K. 1990: 3) and south India (Champakalakshmi 1996: 203310). The regional studies have revealed similar situation in the case of Andhra Pradesh (Sundaram 1968: 46) and Karnataka (Gururajachar 1974, Kuppuswamy 1975). Though no such detailed study is available in the case of Maharashtra, it is logical to assume that this region also participated in ongoing process, noticed throughout India. The assumption can be supported by the fact that Sanjan, Chaul, Thana and Sopara in Konkan were active and prosperous ports of the western coast during this period as testified by their frequent mention in the accounts of the Arab geographers and Marco Polo (Jain, V. K. 1990: 134-136). These texts also list a number of items, which were produced at these places and were exported to far off countries along with the items from other areas (Jain, V. K. 1990: 134-136, Gururajachar 1974: 105-107). Thus, there must have been regular movement of commodities criss-crossing the region. Moreover, a large number of references to various industries in the Mahanubhava texts and Arab accounts (Panse 1963: 60-61), descriptions of large cities in literary accounts (Panse 1963: 57-58) as well as some inscriptions (Kolte 1987: 40) and the presence of a number of merchants and guilds in different parts of Maharashtra as shown above, indicate brisk trade activities. Without going into the details of the factors and the mechanism of this phenomenon suffice it is to say that this period was characterised by general prosperity, increase in the number of urban towns and rise in the social status of the mercantile community. This resulted in the emergence of elaborate religious monuments, sustained on large-scale donations. In the light of these facts, it can be inferred that the improved position of Jainism in Maharashtra during the post-10th century CE period was related to the revival of trade activities.
Incidentally, even in Gujarat, the sect became very prominent after 10th century CE and was patronised mainly by the mercantile community. In Karnataka, though the sect was very strong from the 5th century, patronised mainly by the ruling families, it started receiving patronage of mercantile community from the 10th century onwards (Singh 1975: 113). In Rajasthan, the mercantile community proliferated with the assimilation of a large number of converts to Jainism (Malik 1998: 135). It has been pointed out that the Osvalas, Jayasvalas, Khanelvalas, Agravals and Maheśvaris, five main divisions of the Vaisyas in western India were originally Kshatriyas, but later became Vaisyas when they converted to Jainism and took to trade (Sankalia as cited in Malik 1998: 135-136).
Against this background we now turn to the second problem, why continue with rock-cut architecture when structural architecture was obviously more popular? There are hardly any post-10th century CE caves known from any part of the country, though some Jaina icons were carved on rock-face as late as the 15th century CE at Gwalior (Burgess and Fergusson 1880: 509-510). Even in Maharashtra, where caves had been a popular mode of religious architecture, structural temples had replaced caves. With the exception of Panhale Kaji in the Ratnagiri district, where a few caves belonging to the faiths of Vajrayāna Buddhism, Brahmanism and the Nathapantha were excavated between the period of 10th to 14th centuries CE (Deshpande 1986: 126), Bhamachandra in the Pune district, where a Saivite cave was excavated in the 12th-13th century CE and a 14th-15th century CE Nathapanthi cave at Anjaneri in Nasik district, no cave of any other faith was
