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Gaurishanker Hirashanker Ojha had deciphered a remarkable inscription of the village Badli near Ajmer (Rajasthan). The inscriptiob reads thus 'बौराय भगवते चतुरासीतिवसे काये जामामालिनिये रनिविठ माझिमिनिके।
According to Dr. Ojha this refers to 84 Vira Nirvana era i. e., 443 B. C. This speaks of the prevalence of Jainism in Rajputana 2400 years ago.
The study of Hathigumpha inscription of Udaigiri hill about 3 miles from Bhubaneshwar written in Apabhranasa Prakrit throws valuable light on the antiquity of Jainism. It begins with an invocation to Arhant and Siddhas in the traditional Jain style. This shows that Kalinga Chakravartin Kharvela was a Jain king. With regard to this inscription the observations of Dr. K. P. Jayaswal are very important. He has remarked, "Jainism had already entered Orissa as early as the time of king Nanda, who as I have shown was Nada Vardhan of the Sesunga dynasty. Before the time of Kharavela there were temples of the Arhants on the Udaigiri hills, as they are mentioned in the inscriptions as institutions, which had been in existence before Kharavela's time. It seems that Jainism had been the national religion of Orissa for some centuries". (J. B. O. QS. Vol. III P. 448). He further remarks, "This inscription occupies a unique position amongst the materials of Indian history for the centuries preceding the Christian era......From the point of view of the history of Jainism, it is the most important inscription yet discovered in the country. It
