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70: Śramaņa, Vol 64, No. 1, Jan.-Mar. 2013
Jainism and Islam as per Jain hagiography, the Mughal Emperor Akbar did not hesitate in allowing performance of Jain ritual for astrological healing of the ill effects in the birth chart of his grand daughter. A baby girl born to the eldest son Salim of Emperor Akbar was attributed to the astronomical constellation of Mula Nakṣatra. Wise men told the Emperor that it augured evil to her father and that the evil should be checkmated by some means. Thereupon the Emperor consulted the Jain pontiff Bhanucandra on this issue. He suggested that it could be done effectively by performing the "Aştottra-s'ata-snatra" ceremony (108 baths to be given to the idol of Jina in its temple). His Majesty declared that the ceremony was to be performed without delay at the newly built residence of the priest, and that he and Śekhūji (Prince Salim) would personally attend the programme.
Mughal emperors had followed a continuous policy of positive engagement with the small yet prosperous Jain community. This engagement was eyed not just for using the principle of non-violence as a soothing influence for the Mughal empire; Mughals also wanted to gain from the economic resources of the Jains. 19 So in this case ritual and healing had a symbolic social role as well. This event of a Muslim emperor opting for Jain rituals and priests to 'cure' his family problems was in a big way a socially assimilative process as well. The Jain pontiff Bhanucandra entrusted the responsibility of management of this ceremony to Than Singh, the Jain community leader of city of Agra. A public image and perception had to be created to establish a long term effect of this assimilation. Thus a vast hall was temporarily created near the Jain upāśraya. A large congregation of people out of curiosity thronged to the hall which proved too small to meet such onrush. It was an occasion for the political alignments as well. The Emperor sent an invitation to Mantri Karamacandra Bacchavata, the leading member of Kharatar Gaccha respected by him to attend the ceremony. In fact, the description of the whole ceremony underlines the fact that social and religious ceremonies had multi dimensional role for the contemporary society.
