Kevalaodhi Buddhist And Jaina History Of Deccan Vol 2

Author(s): Aloka Parasher Sen, B Subrahmanyam, E Siva Nagi Reddy
Publisher: Bharatiya Kala Prakashan

Page 73

Religious Patronage and Identity Formation-A Study of Jaina Inscriptions (6th-12th Century A.D.)
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Another important development in Jainism was the proliferation of the Jaina monastic community into numerous groups. The process though had its beginning in the early centuries of the Christian era, it became more intense only during the early middle periou." The earliest monastic group of Jainism was the Müla Sangha (Chart I, No.'s: 1, 6, 8) that finds prominent mention in the records of the first Phase. The second important monastic group during this period was the Yăpanīya Sangha. The composer of Aihole praśasti of Pulakēśin II namely, Ravikīrti is mentioned to hare been the follower of the Yāpaniya sect. Both the Müla Sangha and the Yāpaniya Sangha that belonged to the Digambara order played a significant role in making the religion more popular by allowing considerable laxity in reforming the Jaina doctrines and rituals, thus making the religion more acceptable to the laity. The period from the 8th to the 10th century was the most eventful in the history of the Jaina church. It was during this period that the establishment of several new monastic orders in the southwestern Deccan appears more prolific."
The multiplication of monastic groups is apparent in Phase 2 of our study (10th - 12th century AD). This is evident from the several terms that were used to indicate the position of a particular order in the monastic gradations. A perusal of inscriptions of this Phase refers to several such gradations like the sangha, gana, gachchha, anvaya, and so on. While the sangha was used to specify a monastic section, gaña and gachchha refer to the hierarchy of the monastic section. Inscriptions of Phase 2 mention Varasēna gaña, Kumudi gana, Sūrasta gana, and Dēva or Dēsi gana. Most of the names of the gana appear to have been taken from the place names where the Jainas had settled. Apart from this we also have the mention of Hogariya or Pogariya gachchha, Chandrakavata anvaya, Chirakūta ånvaya (Chart II, No. 14, 18) and so on. The mention of these various sections that emerged both with in the Mūla Sangha and the Yāpanīya Sangha interestingly shows that dissension and expulsions were a common feature in the Jaina monastic order of the times, and the break away group formed new schools but, however, maintained their affiliation to the original Sangha.
The mention of the Jaina preceptors as the donees or as those to whom the grants were entrusted indicates the emergence of this group as the most powerful section of the society owning their proximity to the temple institution, which from the latter half of Phase 2, emerges as the most crucial agent of legitimation for various social groups. As a result the genealogies of these religious priests takes prominence where we find the mention of the succession of preceptors from 3 generations to 12 generations. With the emergence of many monastic groups it becomes important for the temples to maintain the genealogies of the religious priests as this would help them in trace the antiquity of the temple and augment the ideological role of the temple.
As a result of the temple and its allied institution, the basadi in fact, witness during this period the emergence of a whole range of social groups such as the monks and nuns in the Jaina temples catering to various types of religious teaching. The temple institution normally maintained them out of the grants they got but nonetheless, they emerge as a distinct stratum in the social structure of the period. These religious heads acted as the most formidable forces of the society during the latter part of the 11th and 12th century AD. They began to be closely involved in the maintenance, functioning and governance of the temples, as they were major centers of political and economic power. In fact, a majority of the grants were entrusted in the heads of these institutions.
Apart from the names of monks and nuns in the monastery as recipients of gifts we also find mention of artisan communities as figuring as donees in large quite a number of inscriptions during Phase 2. In this context we have reference to terms such as the stonecutter (Chart II, No.'s: 9, 11),