History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c14.s6.46

v1.c14.s6.46

But the influence of the principle of non-sacrifice was again successful latterly in the spread of Jainism. It appears that the Jainas gained an upperhand among the people as well as in the favour of kings towards the end of the Cālukya rule. Jainism is even now prevalent in the population of the southern Maratha country. In the heart of Mahārāṣṭra, Jainism could not prosper, for the heredity and natural patriotism of a people tend towards the religion of their ancestors and hence among the Marathas generally the Vedic Aryan religion still prospered. But in the varied population of the south Jainism spread. Vikramāditya II was partial to the Jaina religion. He repaired a Jain temple and gave a grant of land to a successful Jain Pandit named Vijaya Pandita who was also called Ekavādi or the only disputant (Bhandarkar). The Jain Pandits of those days, drawn of course from renegade Brahmins were very ingenious and learned disputants and they often scored success in religious disputes about the principle of Ahimsa. The modern Jains of the S. M. country are, however, not learned being usually cultivators and recruits from among the Brāhmins do not now join their ranks. But in the days of the early Chālukyas the case appears to have been different and Jainism gradually spead among the people and gained favour in royal courts. The religious tendencies of this period will be discussed in our next volume.