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The Influence of Jainism on Akbar, The Mughal Emperor : 127
able to induce Akbar to issue orders prohibiting the catching of the fishes in the Indus river for four months.25
Some of the prominent Jaina monks continued to reside at the court after the departure of Vijaya Sen Suri to Gujarat. Bhanu Chandra continued to be a constant companion of Akbar until the latter's death in 1605. Another famous Jaina monk Siddhi Chandra stayed at the court and wrote many Sanskrit works, including the well known 'Bhānucandra Carita' which throws welcome light on the aspect of Akbar's court life. He studied Persian at the suggestion of Akbar, so that he could read the religious and secular literatures of Persian. It is also said that after his recovery from serious illness, the Emperor distributed 500 cows as a charity to the Jaina monks. But, Abul Fazl speaks of various kinds of charity and does not specifically record the giving away of 500 cows.26 It is also believed that the two Jain Monks, Bhanu Chandra and Siddhi Chandra, accompanied the Emperor on his third visit to Kashmir in May, 1597. They also joined Deccan expedition and the siege of Asirgarh. According to Jaina accounts both, Bhanu Chandra and Siddhi Chandra, went with Akbar to Burhanpur, finding no Jaina shrines in the city. The two monks obtained the Emperor's sanction for their erection, with the result that many temples and upāśrayas were constructed by wealthy Jains.27 It is also said that when Siddhi Chandra came to know about the demolition of Jaina temples at the foot of Mount Vimala (Shatrunjaya), he at once proceeded to Akbar, and succeeded in getting imperial orders issued for preventing the sacrilege. It is also said that when Vijaya Sen Suri came to know that no new temple could be erected on the hill of Shatrunjaya, he wrote a letter to the Upadhyāya pointing out that if this state of affairs continued, the hill held so sacred by the Jains would have little significance for the community in future, "For the old temples would crumble down with the lapse of time and no new ones would take their place." Bhanu Chandra and his disciple, thereupon, both approached the Emperor, and induced
