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 74

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Kevala-Bodhi-Buddhist and Jaina History of the Deccan
kammata, the black smith (Chart II, No.'s: 27) etc., the builder of a temple who receives a grant of land as a maintenance gift out of the main grant to the temple with which he was associated. The stonemasons figure as donees of various shares of land allotted mainly to the temple institution. Further, there is reference to individual artisans called Dariseiya Bammoja and Ayiseiya Jinnõja and to Kēśedēvara Bammoja. All the above instances adequately testify to the fact that the artisans had their existence tied to a dominant social authority. While referring to all these groups in his study, A. Appadorai considers them as the employees in the services of the temple and the variety of interests represented by these groups made the position of the temple as an employer predominant. While almost all these groups emerge as the recipients of the grants, we cannot attribute to them the status of being dominant or occupying an autonomous realm, as usually they were given maintenance grants made for the services they rendered to the temples. It is pertinent to underscore here that the fortunes of these cultural and economic groups were not just tied to the temples in which they functioned, but more importantly, to the nature of patrons too, who had a great deal to do with the emergence of the temple institution. Conclusion
Religious patronage by social groups thus played a crucial role in providing solution to the individual's “ideological interests” and “material interests”. Further, as stated above religion also played the role of rendering an individual with a specific religious identity that cut across different sections of a society, apart from maintaining a distinct social identity of the individual, particularly if he or she were part of the ruling elite. On the other hand, the individual's support of a certain religious ideology through his gifts benefited the religion to endure longer and exercise its overwhelming influence on society through its ideology and promote socio- religious harmony. Since temples served as custodians to promote a particular religious ideology, they became the major benefactors of social patronage. The emergence of the temple institution as an ideological center of power enabled it to draw support from across different sections in society thus coalescing them culturally. At the same time, society was also economically and politically controlled through the complex linkage between the State and its institutions in the rural countryside that was often accomplished effectively through the religious places of residence and worship. Political authority thus sought legitimation at various levels from socio-economic structure within a specific religious space.
Since such a study on social groups has not been attempted so far, we stress the fact that the social elites who constitute an important fabric of social stratification play a significant role in the perpetuation of the Jaina ideology in not only urban areas but also the rural areas. The support and patronage to this religion was simultaneous to the socio-economic transformation that took place during the early medieval period. Similarly, the study of religious institutions as major recipients of social and political patronage underlines its emergence as a dominant economic power and its role as a cultural agent of social control. The above attempt has thus tried to move away from the conventional framework of understanding the nature of polity, ecor.my and society and its deep linkages with religion during the early medieval times. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My sincere thanks to Prof. Aloka Parasher Sen who suggested to write on this topic and has encouraged me towrite this paper. Through out the process of the writing of this paper, she has rendered valuable suggestions for which I am greatly indebted to her.