Later Gangas Mandali Thousand

Author(s): Nagarajaiah Hampa
Publisher: Ankita Pustak

Page 96

Society and Religions /53
were duty bound to support and respect all religions existing in their kingdom. The rulers were the worshippers of all religious orders, champions of shrines of all gods, a dictum so well enunciated by Khāravela, king of Kalinga, in second cent. B.C.
All said and done, each ruler had his own choice, his own allegiance to a particular caste, sect, creed or religion. He used to take more care to protect and promote his personal faith. Such an act of active patronage of a particular faith would be transparent in his administration. Many a time his or his subordinates annual taxes and other relevant revenues from a particular source of a village or a commodity, used to be turned over to a temple of his sect or a mendicant community of his religion. However impartial a king tries to be, such favours invariably brought a tremendous increase in that religion's political power, prestige and social status. Ultimately, this would lend an impetus to popularise the faith of his choice. The common people considered it to be easy and safe to develop royal contact, to derive administrative benefits and of access to the court by simply following the kings religion.
The socio-religious history of the Mandalinād is not different from this analysis; their catholicism is transparent, but their proJaina attitude is not opaque. During the long reign of the Mandalinãd Gangas, once again the Jainas moved into positions of great influence as ministers, chief of army and as financers. As a consequence they were able to establish a power base in the Mandalinād also, which sustained for centuries. After the Gangas, the Kadambas, the Rāştrakūtas, the Cālukyas of both Bādāmi and Kalyāna, the Kalacuris and the Seuņas supported Jainism to the maximum. Once again fortune smiled on the Jainas, as the Hoysaļas shouldered the responsibility of promoting Jainism as their own religion, which also helped the Mandali-Gangas to thrive for some years. A detailed analysis of the Mandalinād charters will make the above observation more meaningful and confirm that the Mandali rulers made munificent grants for the maintenance of both Jain and non-Jain monasteries without any discrimination. Liberal grants, consistent teaching and guidance of the monks, greatly contributed to the spread of material and