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The Rashtrakutas and their Times c20.s2: Jainism

The Rāṣṭrakūṭas and their Times c20.s2

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Jainism

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Our period was probably the most flourishing period in the history of Jainism in the Deccan. Soon after it Jainism received a set-back owing to rapid spread of the new Lingayat sect. In our period, however, the sect had no serious militant rival and was basking in the sunshine of popular and royal favour. The literary activity of the Jains was also remarkable in this age, and they seem to have taken an active part in the education of the masses. That, before the beginning of the alphabet proper the children should be required to pay homage to Gaṇeśa by reciting the formula *Śrī Gaṇeśāya namaḥ* is natural in Hindu society, but that in the Deccan even to-day it should be followed by the Jain formula *Om namasiddhebhyah* shows, as Mr. C. V. Vaidya has pointed out, that the Jain teachers of our age had so completely controlled the mass education that the Hindus continued to teach their children this originally Jain formula even after the decline of Jainism. The formula can of course be interpreted in a non-Jain sense as well, but it cannot be denied that originally it had a Jain significance.

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The way to the prosperity of Jainism in our period was already paved in the earlier age. Many of the Kadamba kings of the 5th and the 6th centuries were patrons of Jainism.¹⁶⁷ There are several spurious records at Lakshmesvar¹⁶⁸ really belonging to the 10th or 11th century, purporting to record grants in favour of Jain establishments made by early Chalukya kings Vinayāditya, Vijayāditya, and Vikramāditya II. These kings must have been known to the tradition, at least as occasional patrons of Jainism; otherwise it is hardly possible to explain why these, and no other kings, should have been selected as donors when the records were forged. Most of the Ganga kings of Talwad were either Jains or patrons of Jainism. Grants to Jain establishments made by Rāchamalla have been found in Coorg,¹⁶⁹ and when this king captured Vaḷhmalai hill, he commemorated its conquest by erecting a Jain temple upon it.¹⁷⁰ At Lakshmesvar there existed in our period buildings known as Rāya-Rāchamalla vasati, Ganga-Permādi-chaityālaya, and Ganga-kandarpa-chaityamandira.¹⁷¹ The names of these edifices bear testimony to the patronage of Jainism by the various members of the Ganga ruling family, after whom the buildings were named. Mārasimha II was a staunch Jain; he was a disciple of Ajitasena and his firm faith in his religion sustained him through the terrible ordeal of the Sallekhanā vow whereby he terminated his life after his abdication in c. 974 A.D. Mārasimha's minister Chāmuṇḍarāya is the author of the Chāmuṇḍapurāṇa; it was he who set up the colossal image of Gommates'vara at Sravana Belgola, and his reputation as a patron and devotee of Jainism was so great, that he was regarded as one of the three special promoters of Jainism, the other two being Gangarāja and Huḷḷa who were the ministers of the Hoysala kings Viṣṇuvardhana and Mārasimha I. In Noḷambawadi the religion was prospering, we have a record from that province mentioning the gift of a village by a merchant who had purchased it from the ruling king in order to bestow it upon the Jain monastery at Dharmapuri in Salem district.¹⁷² Among the Rāṣṭrakūṭa emperors Amoghavarṣa I was more a Jain than a Hindu. In his Pārs'vābhyudaya Jinasena calls himself as the chief preceptor (paramaguru) of that king who used to regard himself as purified by the mere remembrance of that holy saint.¹⁷³ Sārasangraha, a Jain māthematical work, also mentions that Amoghavarṣa was a follower of the syādvāda.¹⁷⁴ Amoghavarṣa's offering one of his fingers to the Goddess Mahālakṣmī, in order to extricate his kingdom from an epedemic,¹⁷⁵ only shows that he worshipped some Hindu deities along with Mahāvīra. He seems to have taken an active interest in Jainism; some of the Jain monasteries in Banavasi attribute, as my colleague the late Prof. R. D. Banerji informed me, the authorship of some of their religious ritual to Amoghavarsha. We have seen how Amoghavarsha I had abdicated his throne more than once; that was probably due to his being a sincere Jain, anxious to observe the vow of *akiñchanatā* (possessionlessness) at least for some time. This emperor had appointed Guṇabhadra, the author of the last five chapters of *Ādipurāṇa*, as the preceptor of his son Kṛṣṇa II; (176) the latter is known to have given a donation to a Jain temple at Mulgund. (177) So, if not a full-fledged Jain, he was at least a patron of Jainism. The same observation may hold good of the next ruler Indra III, for the Danavulapadu inscription (178) records that the prosperous Nityavarsha i. e. Indra III caused to be made a stone pedestal for the glorious bathing ceremony of Arhat S'ānti, in order that his own desires may be fulfilled. The last of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas, Indra IV, was a staunch Jain; when his efforts to regain his kingdom from Taila II failed, he committed suicide by the *sallekhanā* vow. (179)

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¹⁶⁷ I. A., VI, pp. 22, ff; VII, pp. 34 ff.

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¹⁶⁸ *Ibid*, VII, pp. 111 ff.

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¹⁶⁹ *Ibid*, VI, p. 103.

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¹⁷⁰ E. I., IV, p. 140.

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¹⁷¹ I. A., VII, pp. 105-6.

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¹⁷² E. I., X, p. 57.

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¹⁷³ I. A., XII, pp. 216-8.

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¹⁷⁴ Winternitz; Geschichte, III, p. 575.

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¹⁷⁵ E. I., XVIII, p. 248.

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Many of the feudatories and officers of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas were also Jains. Most of the Raṭṭa rulers of Saundatti were followers of Jainism, as pointed out already. (180) Bankeya, the Banavasi governor of Amoghavarsha I, was a Jain; he got the imperial sanction for the alienation of a village to a Jain establishment at his capital. (181) Bankeya's son Lokāditya is described by his preceptor Guṇachandra as the propagator of the religion founded by Jina; and S'rīvijaya, a general of Indra III, was a Jain and a patron of Jain literature. (182)

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These are the kings, feudatories and officers of our period who are so far known to have been followers or patrons of Jainism. There may have been many more; for, as will be shown in Chapter XVI, our period produced a galaxy of Jain authors and preachers whose literary and missionary activities must have produced a considerable effect, helped as they were by royal patronage. It is very probable that at least one third of the total population of the Deccan of our period was following the gospel of Mahāvīra. Rashid-ud-din states on the authority of Alberuni (183) that the people of Konkan and Thana were Samanis or Buddhists at the beginning of the 11th century. Al Idrisi calls the king of Naharvala i. e. Aṇahilapāṭaṇa as a Buddhist, whereas we know definitely that the king he had in view was a Jain, not a Buddhist. It is thus clear that the Muslims very often mistook Jainism for Buddhism and the above referred to statement of Rashidu-d-din may be taken to prove the prevalence of Jainism rather than Buddhism in parts of the Deccan during the 10th and the 11th centuries. Subsequent to our period Jainism lost much of its ground by the rise of the Lingayat sect which grew partly at its cost.

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¹⁷⁶ J. B. B. R. A. S., XXII, p. 85.

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¹⁷⁷ *Ibid*, X, p. 192.

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¹⁷⁸ A. S. R., 1905-6, pp. 121-2.

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¹⁷⁹ I. A., XXIII, p. 124.

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¹⁸⁰ *Ante*, pp. 272-3.

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¹⁸¹ E. I., VI, p. 29.

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We can get a glimpse into the life of the Jain Maṭhas of our period from our records. From the records of the early Kadambas (184) we learn that the Jains used to stay in one place during the rainy season, at the end of which they used to celebrate the well known Pajjushaṇa ceremony laid down in their scriptures. Another festival, lasting for a week, was celebrated from the 8th day of the bright half of Chaitra. This festival is still celebrated with great eclat on mount S'atrunjaya, (185) because Puṇḍarīka Gaṇdhāra, the chief desciple of Rishabhadeva, is stated to have obtained salvation with his 50 million followers on this day. (186) Both these festivals, which were common in the 6th century Deccan, must have been popular in our period too, since they are prescribed in the Jain scriptures and celebrated to this day.

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¹⁸³ Elliot, I, p. 68.

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¹⁸⁴ I. A., VII, pp. 34 ff.

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¹⁸⁵ Nahar and Ghosh, An Epitome of Jainism, pp. 676-7.

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¹⁸⁶ Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, V, p. 878.

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The Jain temples of our period had become replicas of the Hindu temples. The worship of Mahāvīra was just as sumptuous and luxurious as that of Viṣṇu or Śiva. Epigraphical records are seen making provision for his *angabhoga* and *rangabhoga* just as they do in the case of the Hindu deities. What a commentary on the doctrine of absolute *akiñchanatā* preached and practised by him!

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Food and medicine were provided for in the Jain Maṭhas and provision was also made for the teaching of the Jain scriptures.¹⁸⁷

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¹⁸⁷ J. B. B. R. A. S., X, p. 237.

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The Konnur inscription of Amoghavarṣa I and the Surat plates of Karkka (E. I., XXI) record grants made for Jain establishments. Both epigraphs, however, say that the grants were made, inter alia, for the purpose of *balicharudāna*, *vais'vadeva*, and *agnihotra*. These are essentially Hindu rituals and one is surprised to find grants made to Jain temples and monasteries for the purpose of performing them. It may be that during our period Hinduism and Jainism resembled each other more closely than is the case now, or the above expressions may have been introduced in these records by the oversight of the imperial secretariat. In the Konnur record, the expression is actually misplaced and, therefore, the latter alternative seems to me more probable.

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The influence of religion is estimated by the result it produces upon character. What then was the general character of the people in our period? It is gratifying to find that the Arab merchants of the age, in spite of their religious differences, pay as high a compliment to the Indian character as was paid by Megasthenes and Yuan Chwang, Al Idrisi says¹⁸⁸:

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¹⁸⁸ Elliot, I, p. 88.

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The Indians are naturally inclined to justice and never depart from it in their actions. Their good faith, honesty, and fidelity to their engagements are welknown and they are

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so famous for these qualities that people flock to their country from every side; hence the country is flourishing and their condition prosperous.' The Marathas of Deogiri and Nandurbar are described by Ibn Batuta (189) as upright, religious and trustworthy. The travellers whose testimonies have been quoted above belong to a slightly later period than ours, but there is nothing improbable in their description holding good of our age as well.

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It is very often asserted that the gospels of Ahimsā and Sanyāsa, that were popularised by Jainism and Buddhism, have ultimately resulted in the enslavement of India for the last 1,000 years. Some events, that have happened in our period, seem to support this view. When Bajhra, the nephew of Dahir, was preparing to defend the fort of Swistan against Mahmud Kasim, all the Samanis (i. e. Buddhists) assembled and said to him:—'Our religion is one of peace and quiet and fighting and slaying is prohibited as well as all kinds of shedding of blood. You are secure in a lofty place, while we are open to the invasions of the enemy and liable to be slain and plundered as your subjects. We know that Mahmud Kasim holds a firman from Hajjaj to grant protection to all those who demand it. We trust, therefore, that you deem it fit and reasonable that we make terms with him, for the Arabs are faithful and keep their engagements.' (190) It would be, however, a mistake to suppose that the Buddhists of Sindh were emasculated by their religion. They no doubt said that their religion forbade them from slaughter and shedding of the blood, but that was merely for cloaking their cowardice. The rapid successes of Mahmud Kasim and the brutality with which he butchered all those who opposed him had unnerved the population of Sindh. The Buddhists of Swistan were using the tenets of their religion only as a convenient excuse in order to avoid the prospect of being butchered or enslaved by the conqueror. It should be noted that the Hindus of Brahmānābād were equally meek and submissive, and the Brahmanas among them played the mean game of winning over the population to the side of the conqueror, (191) thereby bringing disgrace to the memory of their ancestors, who had incited the population against Alexander the Great and paid the extreme penalty for the glorious offence of patriotism.

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¹⁸⁹ p. 228.

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¹⁹⁰ Elliot, I, p. 158-9.

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It must be remembered that Jainism preaches the doctrine of Ahimsā in a more extreme form than Buddhism, and yet the history of the Deccan of our period shows that it had no emasculating effect upon its followers. Krishṇavarmā, an early Kadamba king, though a Jain, had the title of ‘the lover of war’ (raṇapriya). (192) The Jainism of Amoghavarsha I did not prevent him from offering a dreadful feast to the god of death on the battle-field of Vingavalli. (193) Bankeya, the Banavasi viceroy of the same emperor, was a devout Jain and yet a most active, successful and skilful general. (194) Indra III was at least a patron, and very probably a follower of Jainism; and so were his generals S’rivijaya and Nārasimha, and yet these had fought several battles and overrun the whole of Central India and the Madhyadeśa, in order to accomplish their ambitious plans of conquest. Nārasimha II, who was such a staunch Jain as to die by the sallekhana vow, was yet the hero of a hundred battles. Most of his predecessors on the Gānga throne were Jains and were yet taking part in the incessant warfare that was going around them freely and enthusiastically.

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The teachings of religion are only one influence that go to form the character of a people. Christian gospels recommend renunciation and meekness as strongly as the Jain and Buddhist scriptures, and yet Christian nations have been most worldly-minded and agressive. What very often happens is that people seek to cover their own weakness and cowardice, which have been due to causes that have very little to do with religion, under the specious name of religion and philosophy by distorting their teachings. In the face of the achievements of the Jain princes and generals of our period, we can hardly subscribe to the theory that Jainism and Buddhism were chiefly responsible for the military emasculation of the population that led to the fall of Hindu India.

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¹⁹¹ Ibid, I, p. 184.

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¹⁹² I. A., VII, p. 34.

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¹⁹³ Ibid, XII, p. 250.

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