________________
schism in Jainism occurred at this place. Jaina traditions aver that Vajrasvāmi and other Jaina pontiffs, obtained liberation in the hills Kunjarāvarta and Ratha. varta in the neighbourhood of Vidiśā, now known as Bhilsa, 1
Sunga-Sätavā bana saka Period 187 B.C. to 318 A.D.
From the traditions recorded in the Jaina Nibandhas, we know that Jainism was associated with Saurashtra and Avanti in the first century B.C. The great Jaina saints and scholars like the Kālakāchārya lived and propagated Jainism in this area. At this time, it was a living and active religion, and it influenced the life of the people. Some of the Jaina sources claim Vikramāditya as a convert to Jainism. It is claimed that Siddhasena Divākara, having caused the breaking of the phallic symbol of Mahākāla in Ujjayini, and the appearance of the image of Pārsvanātha, enlightened Vikramāditya. According to the Digambara Jaina Pattāvali,3 Vikramāditya played as a child for eight years, for sixteen years he performed sacrifices following a false doctrine, for forty years, he was devoted to the religion of the Jaina and then reached heaven. It seems that the ancestral and personal religion of Vikramaditya was Saivism but he was also under the influence of Jainism and patronized it. As the traditions of Vikramaditya are of very late period, they cannot be actually relied upon. The temple of Avanti Sukumāla was probably in existence at Ujjain during this period.
Gupta-Aulinara Period 319-700 A.D. :
Jainism was not so prevalent as Budhism in Malwa during this period. The earliest substantial evidence for the existence of this religion, is known from the three stone images4 of Jaina Tirthāi karas of the fourth or fifth century A. D. discovered at Vidiśā. From the inscriptions of these images, it is clear they were made by Mahārājadbiraja Rāmagupta at the preaching (upadeśa) of Cheluksba. mana, son of Gokyānti, and pupil of Acharya Sarppasena Kshamaņa, who was the grand pupil of the Jaina teacher Kshamacharya. Though Rāmagupta was a follower of Brahmanical religion, he extended his patronage to Jainism also, by erecting statues of the Jaina Tirthan karas.
The Udayagiri cave inscriptions of of 425-26 A.D. records the installation of an image of the Tirthan kara Pārsvanātha by Sankara, the disciple of saint
1. Jaina Tirtha Sarya Samgraha, II, p. 318. 2. The Pattavuli Samuchchaya, pp. 46, 106. 3. IA, XX, p. 247. 4. Journal of the Oriental Institute, Baroda, XVIII, p. 247. 3. CII, III, No. 61.
4-30
Mahavira Jayanti Smar ik a, 76
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
