________________
JAINISM THROUGH AGES
Dr. Kamini Gogri
LESSON - 6 In this article we will study the spread of Jainism in Maharashtra
Although Maharastra has no history of royal patronage to compare to that of Gujarat, Jainism flourished there at an early date because of the missionaries sent by Samprati. The language of many Jain writings is today known as Jain Maharastri Prakrit. Maharastra was, for a time, under the domination of the Calukya and Rastrakuta dynasties and this allowed Jainism to flourish for a long period. Some places, such as Kolhapur, still have large Jain population. The early popularity of Jainism in Maharastra is shown by the fact that beautiful Jain caves at Ellora were excavated in 800 CE. The epigraphic evidence suggests that Jainism was very popular in the Kolhapur district and had royal patronage (Chatterjee 1984: p. 60-64).
We can trace existence of Jainism in Maharashtra from ancient period. Lot of Jain caves, rock inscriptions and copper plates found in various parts of Maharashtra prove that Jainism was a prominent religion in this region.
Maharashtra is situated at western part of India. It is a part of the Plateau of Deccan. In ancient time Maharashtra included Northern parts of present day Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The word Maharashtra is not found in any Vedic literature, Ramayan or Mahabharat, but it is mentioned at many places in Jain and Buddhist literature and some Hindu purans.
Maharashtra has worked as a link between north and south India. This region is called a gateway to South India. Jainism oriented in North and eventually became a major religion of South India. Thanks to the Jain missionaries of North who migrated to South. For these missionary Jain monks of North India, there were at least two major routs to reach southern part of India, i.e. one from Eastern parts of India passing through Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and another passing through Maharashtra. The earliest known migration was in 3rd century B.C.E., when Acharya Bhadrabahu and thousands of Jain monks left North India and went to Karnataka. The only way for them was through Maharashtra as they left from the city of Ujjaiyini, which is in neighboring northern state Madhya Pradesh. Archeological Evidences
Migration of Jain monks to south India through Maharashtra took place as early as 3rd century B.C.E. The
earliest inscriptional evidence of the presence of Jain monks in Maharashtra is the Jain cave at Pale (Paaley) in Pune district. This cave is situated on the famous ancient rout passing through Naane Ghaat. A rock inscription is carved in this cave, which is in Prakrit language and Brahmi script. The first line of this inscription is 'Namo Arhanta Nam'. No other lines of Namokar Mantra are written in this inscription. Scholars like Sankliya have dated this inscription back to 2nd century B.C.E. This is the earliest rock inscription found in Maharashtra. So the first inscription in Maharashtra is a Jain inscription. Interestingly, the first inscription in Marathi language, although it is not in Mahara Maharashtra, is also an inscription related to Jains.
There are many other caves and rock inscriptions related to Jainism in Maharashtra carved in later period. The most important Jain caves in Maharshtra are situated at Dharashiv and Ter in Osmanbad district, Ellora in Aurangabad district, Mangi-Tungi, Gajpanth, Ankai-Tankai and Patan in northern Maharashtra, Paaley in Pune district and Kundal in Sangli district.
Further, history of the most of the Jain pilgrimage centers in Maharashtra goes back to ancient or medieval period. Literary References
Many literary references also prove the presence of Jainism in ancient and medieval Maharashtra. The earliest Jain literature in India was written in Ardhmagadhi language, a language of ancient Magadh (Bihar). But later on many sacred texts and other important Jain literature was written in Maharashtri, a Prakrit language spoken in Maharashtra. The volume was so high that in later period this language was named as Jain Maharashtri language. In later centuries Jain literature in Maharashtra was written in Maharashtri Apbhransh language. All these languages are predecessors of present day Marathi language, the most important and official language of Maharashtra. Notable thing is that the old Marathi was known as a Prakrit language. To Be Continued In The Next Issue
O00 76-C, Mangal Flat No. 15, 3rd Floor, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road,
Matunga, Mumbai-400019. Mo: 96193 / 79589 / 98191 79589.
Email: kaminigogri@gmail.com
UGG 96
2121 - 2090
