________________
132
The Unknown Pilgrims
century B.C. King Khăravela of this same region had an inscription engraved testifying, it seems to his Jaina faith or at least to the interest he had in that faith.81 It is very possible that Jainism spread as far as Kalinga from the kingdom which later comprised Bangāla.82
Another region which was certainly an important Jaina centre in the pre-christian era was Avanti, where King Samprati, grandson of Asoka, towards the end of the IIIrd century B.C.83, made Ujjayini his capital. He is said to have been very well-disposed towards Jainism and to have taken the initiative of sending some munis to the South, in the direction of the regions around Andhra and Dramila (Tamil Nādu).84 Ujjayini was for a long while a centre of Jaina activity and is often mentioned in the commentaries. It was visited by numerous ācāryas and it is even reported that there were in that city five hundred upāśrayas for munis and sādhvis. 85
Finally, and incontestably, at an epoch just prior to the Christian era, groups of munis established themselves in the North-West in the district ca Mathurā, where innumerable ruins testify to a Jaina centre flouris ning at the beginning of the Christian era. 86
81 This inscription starts: "Namo arahamtānam namo savasiddhānaṁ..." cf. Guèrinot, 1908, p. 69; C.J. Shah, 1932, pp. 184-185, puts the reign of Khāravela in the IInd c. B.C. or there abouts; Basham, 1959, p.62, in the last part of the Ist c. B.C.; Atlas p.20, plate III. c.1 somewhere between 20 B.C. and 5 B.C.
82 Cf. Majumdar, 1968, pp. 130-138.
83 Cf. Deo, 1956, pp. 91-92; 98.
84 Cf. Atlas, p.19, plate III B. 5
85 Cf. PPN, p. 113.
86 Cf. P 154 ff.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
