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Unlike Rajasthan and Gujarat where Svetambars predominated, Digambars had their strongholds in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharastra and southern India. Madhya Pradesh had several influential Jain centres from earliest times. The ruling dynasties of this region favoured the brahmanical religion, however, Jainism was held in esteem by individual kings of different dynasties. Epigraphic evidence of the seventh century, discovered in the Sonagiri temples, proves their antiquity. Chandella kings patronised Jainism and the epigraphic inscriptions during the period of kings Dhanga, Kirtivarman and Madanavarman suggest that many temples including the famous Khajuraho and Deogarh temples were built during their reign. The literary sources provide extensive information regarding the state of Jainism in Madhya Pradesh, which include a temple dedicated to Parsvanatha at Dhara, which was later destroyed by the Muslims along with the Hindu temples. The Parmar kings Harsa Siyaka, Vakpati Munja, and Bhoja supported literary activities and were patrons of Jainism. Gwalior was connected with Jainism from earliest times and the fifteenth century was the golden age of Jainism, and it was largely due to the under the Tomara kings. (Chatterjee 1984: p.177)
Jainism was very popular in Rajasthan from the very early period: literary evidence from the Kuvalayamala shows that Bhinamala was a place of Jain pilgrimage in the 6th century CE. The Jain ascetics of Mathura, who used to visit Gujarat in the early centuries, had to pass through Rajasthan and they preached the Nirgrantha religion during their travels. The kings of the Capa dynasty were patrons of Jainism. That Jainism flourished in Rajasthan during the days of king Vatsaraja is further shown by an inscription (Bhandarkar, list no. 72) discovered from Osia and dated 956 CE. Several epigraphic inscriptions suggest that during the Rastrakuta dynasty and other kings Jainism was very popular in most centres of Rajasthan and had royal patronage (Chatterjee 1978: pp. 154-157). During the period of the various families of the Cauhan, Parmar and Gohil dynasties Jainism prospered and many temples were built between the 11th and 14th century CE (Chatterjee 1984: pp 39-54). From the 15th century onwards Rajasthan has remained one of the main centres of Jainism due to the patronage of the kings such as those of Jesalmir, Bikaner, Dungarpur and Mewar and the Marwari business community. It has famous centres of pilgrimage such as the Delwara temples at Mount Abu, Ranakpur and Jesalmir.
Thus all the available evidence indicate that Jainism was a pan-Indian religion, by the beginning of the 4th century CE. In northern India the Svetambars and in southern India Digambars were prominent. The Gupta dynasty, though inclined towards Brahmanism, patronised Jain scholars. Although Jainism never received the large-scale royal patronage of its early career, it appealed directly to the masses and gradually became popular throughout India. It has had a convoluted history, occasional persecution and severe competition from Brahmanism and Buddhism, but it never declined completely, as northern rulers were generally sympathetic to it. Even in the Muslim period, many rulers were influenced by Jain ascetics and were sympathetic to the cause of
Jains.
Western India
Royal patronage of Jainism has a long history in Gujarat. By the third century BCE Jainism had become a popular religion, which once formed part of the fabric of the kingdom of Samprati. In the Gupta period Gujarat was the chief centre of Jainism in
