Jains in India: Historical Essays 9780367204877, 9780429261787

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JAINS IN INDIA: HISTORICAL ESSAYS Jains have a long recorded history. While studying the history of India it is necessary to study the history of different Indian communities. Though small in number, Jains are very important in the economic and social life of the country. Jain history becomes more important when we find that the community anticipated new commercial practices adopted by European trading countries from the sixteenth century onwards. It seems that while they gave up some of the traditions and practices in the country, their traditional social and cultural practices continued as before. Two Jain names stand out in history; they are Veerji Vora, in the seventeenth century and Jagat Seth of Bengal in the eighteenth century. A succession of Jagat Seths interacted with high government officials and were very influential in their time as this volume brings out. This volume contributes significantly to the study of merchant communities and colonial history in South Asia. Surendra Gopal served as Lecturer, Reader and Professor in History Department, Patna University between 1958 and 1996. Along with teaching he carried out significant research work. The result has been more than 100 research papers and eight books. His latest book is Mapping Bihar: From Medieval to Modern Times (2018). Dr. Gopal has collected data for his works from English, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and Russian sources.

Jains in India: Historical Essays

S U R E N D R A G O PA L

MANOHAR 2019

First published 2019 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2019 Surendra Gopal and Manohar Publishers & Distributors The right of Surendra Gopal to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan or Bhutan) British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-0-367-20487-7 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-26178-7 (ebk) Typeset in Adobe Garamond 11/13 by Kohli Print Delhi 110 051

Contents

Preface

7

1 . The Social Life of the Jain Community in Medieval Times

9

2 . Economic Life of Jains in Medieval Times

44

3 . A Note on the Sources for a Study of the Social Life of the Jains in the Seventeenth Century

71

4 . The Sociological and Historical Background of Literary Activities of Jains in the Seventeenth Century

76

5 . Vijnapatipatra: A Source for the Social History of the Jains in the Nineteenth Century

84

6 . Caste among the Jains

88

7 . Jains in Agra in the Seventeenth Century: A Study of Some Sources

99

8 . Jain Merchants in Eastern India under the Great Mughals

106

9 . Jains in Bihar in the Seventeenth Century

119

10. Social Attitudes of Indian Trading Communities in the Seventeenth Century

125

11. The Jain Community and Akbar

132

12. Virji Vora

143

13. Jagat Seth

151

Appendix

159

Index

169

Preface

Jainism has continuously flourished in India like Hinduism since ancient times. Buddhism flourished, when the twenty-fourth Jain Tirthankara, Mahavir was born. From then onwards Jainism has had a continuous history. Jains have preserved their languages and memorialized their contribution to Philosophy, Ethics, Mathematics, etc., through the centuries. The Jain community has been basically literate and mostly engaged in trade activities. They deserve more attention by students of history. In course of my study of medieval India, I came across repeated references to them in both European and Indian languages, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, etc. They are also mentioned in English, Dutch and other European accounts repeatedly. Over the years I wrote quite a few essays on the Jain Community in various research journals and anthologies. These are collected here. Readers will find that in the seventeenth century Virji Vora was the greatest Indian merchant. In the eighteenth century a Jain family based in Bihar became the biggest merchant. The English East India Company agreed with the Mughal Emperor who conferred the title of ‘Jagat Seth’ (world merchant) on the chief on head of this family. The title in course of time became hereditary. Economic power soon placed them in the local political field. The English East India Company used them to their advantage. They became the de facto rulers of Bihar, Orissa and Bengal. This resource enabled the English Company to create an army which enabled them to establish their sway over India. I hope my essays on the community will attract scholars to write about them in detail. It is my pleasure to remember friends who motivated me to write about the Jain community. The first place among them goes to Shri Ramesh Jain who persuaded me to collect these essays

8

Preface

and publish them in a book form. My friend Prof. L.N. Ram, former Vice-Chancellor of Patna University has always encouraged me to write and publish my essays. I am grateful to Prof. Ejaz Hussain, Dr. Sanjay Garg and Ghufran Ahmad for help on several occasions. SURENDRA GOPAL

CHAPTER 1

The Social Life of the Jain Community in Medieval Times

After the Hindus, the Jains are the oldest surviving religious community in India. Their identity is confirmed by their distinct theology, philosophy, religio-socio rituals, literary traditions, among others. Certain other features of the community also deserve to be remembered. The basic profession of Jains in the historical period has been trade, both local and long-distance. As a result the community has been economically well-off.1 The relationship of the community with commerce compelled its members to acquire some elements of literacy. It is not an exaggeration to say that the community by and large has always been literate. Literacy enabled them to keep alive the Pr"ak|rt and Apabhram« \ sa languages which contain a large number of Jain theological, literary and philosophical texts. This is no mean achievement if we remember that over two millennia many languages appeared in north India and were forgotten. The strong element of literacy and economic affluence has enabled the community to contribute to the corpus of Indian art, painting and sculpture as well as architecture. They all have their distinctiveness and enrich the diverse strands of Indian culture. It may also be noted that the history of the Jains like that of the Hindus can be traced almost without a break since ancient times. SOURCES

The social history of the community, therefore, can be described on the basis of contemporary Jain texts, theological, literary and philosophical, etc., as well as biographies of religious teachers, and

10

Jains in India: Historical Essays

the leading lights of the community in Sanskrit, Pr"ak|rt, Apabhram« \ sa and a host of regional languages, Gujarati, R"ajasth"an$û, Hindi, etc. The corpus of literary sources can be supplemented by a number of inscriptions found on Jain temples, idols of t∂rthamkaras, and \ objects of worship in a number of languages. The Jain presence is also noted by contemporaries belonging to other faiths. On the basis of the contemporary sources, several accounts of the diverse activities of the community have been published. They do not specifically refer to its social life but important pieces of information about the lifestyle of Jains can be derived from them. The available sources for the study of the social life of Jains are diverse and plentiful. In medieval times, among Sanskrit texts, mention may be made of Siddhicandra’s Bh"a nucandraga^nicarita, a biography of Bh"anucandra, a ®Svet"ambara Jain monk who spent considerable time at the Mughal Court under Akbar and Jahangir.2 Pa^n^dita Jayasoma wrote a biography of Karamachandra, a powerful Jain minister of Akbar with a keen interest in community affairs entitled Karamacandra Prabandha in VS 1650. There are other contemporary texts in Sanskrit, which will be discussed subsequently. In Sanskrit, we have a large number of inscriptions either found on the pedestal of an idol/or foot-prints of t∂rthamkaras or on the gates of places of worship. Sri P.C. Nahar \ published 2,592 such inscriptions, collected from all over the country, from Calcutta.3 Besides these works in Sanskrit we have a number of contemporary writings in Gujarati, Rajasth"an$û, Hindi, etc. The Jains were prolific writers of r"asa in Gujarati. Many of the important events have been covered in poetic works such as R|s abhad" asa’s H∂ravijayas#urir" asa (VS 1685), Day"a ku«sala’s L"a bhodayar"asa (VS 1649), etc. In R"ajasth"an$û there are a number of contemporary accounts of Jain monks, their journeys, their role in religious rituals, their relation with the laity and the rulers, their social welfare activities, etc. These works do not specifically deal with social life but valuable data regarding Jain lifestyle, position of women, education system, etc., can be gained from them.

The Social Life of the Jain Community in Medieval Times

11

In Hindi, the most important work is by Banarasidasa, a Jain poet whose work Ardhakath"anaka is the first autobiography, written in Hindi. Many contemporary Jain writings in Hindi provide data about Jain social life. Among these mention may be made of the following works, all edited by K.C. Kasliwala: Mah"akavi Brahma R"aimala Evam \ Bha|tt| "ara|ka Tribhuvana K∂rti (Jaipur, 1979), Kavivara B#uchar"aja Evam \ Unke Samak"al ∂na Kavi (Jaipur, 1979), Bha|t|t"ara|ka Ratnak∂rti Evam \ Kumudacandra: Vyaktitva Evam \ K|rtitva (Jaipur, 1981), etc. Important information on the social life of Jains can be gleaned from these works. Several works published in the last century (technically they are secondary sources), especially biographies of Jain preachers are primarily based upon manuscript sources found in different Jain bha^n^d"aras and private possessions. They carry extensive quotations from manuscripts. Many of them are no longer easily accessible to researchers but the quotes can be used as primary sources. Among these mention may be made of S#ur∂«svara aur Samr"a|ta 4 and Yugapradh"ana ®Sr∂ Jinacandras#uri.5 Vijñaptipatras or Vinantipatras,6 peculiar to Jain community, are valuable sources for their social history. They were basically invitation letters sent by the community residing at a particular place to Jain monks to come to their place, participate in religious ceremonies and deliver public discourses. From the seventeenth century onwards they were illustrated with miniature paintings, depicting secular life. Besides naming influential members of the community they depict market scenes, forms of entertainment, dresses and ornaments worn by men and women. Other sources distinctive to Jains which are of help include ‘Pa|t|taval$ûs’, ‘Guruvav"al$ûs’ and ‘Vam« \ s"aval$ûs’. They are genealogical trees of "ac"aryas of different sects and include information on their origin and their famous disciples. They are generally dated and help us in establishing the correct chronology of men and events. Along with the basic data gleaned from the above-mentioned sources, contemporary Persian language texts and official documents throw light on relationship between the Mughal rulers and the Jains. Both Akbar and Jahangir issued firm"ans 7 in favour of the

12

Jains in India: Historical Essays

Jain community and Jahangir mentions them in his autobiography Tuzuk-∂-Jahang∂r∂. DEMOGRAPHICAL SPREAD

The Jains were basically concentrated in Gujarat and Rajasthan and in the neighbourhood of Delhi but as traders they traversed the length and breadth of the country. Individual Jains were to be found in most of the trading marts of western India and important commercial centres of north India extending from the Punjab and Sindh in the west to Bengal in the east.8 They had a strong presence in cities of modern Madhya Pradesh such as Ranathambhor, Gwalior, Burhanpur, etc.9 A Jain trader built a temple in Chaul10 on the west coast of India. Under the Great Mughals, from Akbar onwards, the Jains spread all over north India. One sovereign ruler from Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal and from Kashmir to Maharashtra, one set of laws, uniform currency, and royal mint houses in every provincial capital considerably reduced the discomforts faced by traders, engaged in inter-regional trade. The Jains took advantage of the favourable environment to expand their business and fanned out to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal as well as to Sindh and the Punjab. The economic policies pursued by Akbar helped Jains to intensify their business activities. Akbar announced that land revenue would be collected in cash. The peasants in the countryside were motivated to sell a part of their produce in the market and commercialization of agriculture and monetization of economy gained momentum. There was an overall increase in trading activities which promoted Jain migration and penetration into the rural areas. The entry of Jains into villages was facilitated by another factor. In times of crop failure (not infrequent in pre-industrial societies), the peasants were forced to borrow money from the traders which boosted the business of moneylending, carried on by Jains along with trading activities. Finally, the policy of religious toleration followed by Akbar11 and largely adhered to by his successors enabled Jains to activate themselves in different parts of the empire. They were particularly

The Social Life of the Jain Community in Medieval Times

13

happy when Padmanandi became the first Jain monk to be invited to Akbar’s court.12 He was followed by H$ûravijayas"uri and Jinacandras"u ri. All of them were warmly welcomed by the Mughal ruler. Jain traders now flocked to Agra, which was fast developing into the most important trading mart of north India. A sign of heightened Jain presence in Agra was the consecration of an idol of the tenth t∂rtha mkara Lord ®S $ûtalan"a tha here in the seventeenth \ century. 13 Akbar’s policy of establishing politico-marital alliance with the R"ajp"ut chieftains of Rajasthan contributed to Jain emigration from Rajasthan to other parts of the empire. Many R"ajp"ut rulers were inducted in the Mughal army as commanders and asked to lead military expeditions to annex new territories. The R"ajp"ut chiefs asked Jains to accompany them as suppliers of provision and keepers of accounts during their campaigns. M"ana Singh of Åmber, who conquered eastern India on behalf of the Mogul ruler Akbar was accompanied by several Jains, including Sh"ah N"an"u, who served him as d∂w"an.14 After eastern India was annexed, N"an"u stayed back in the provincial capital R"ajamahala and built Jain temples at holy places in Bihar, such as Sammed ®Sikhara, Camp"apura (modern Bh"agalpur) and on several 15 occasions went on pilgrimage with a samgha. He invited Muni \ Gy"anak$ûrti to R"ajamahala (then known as Akbarpur)—the capital of Bengal and Bihar. In the seventeenth century, when the English, Dutch and other European companies began operating in north India the opportunities in trade and related spheres of money changing, banking and insurance expanded. The Jains, especially of Rajasthan, took full advantage and played an active role in economy of eastern India. Under D$ûw"an Dhann"a R"ai, five hundred ‘®Sr$ûm"ala Vai«syas’ were employed for the collection of taxes in eastern India in the reign of Akbar. Poet Banarasidasa’s father Kharagasena also served under him.16 The thriving economy of eastern India in the second half of the seventeenth century continued to attract Jains. The most important person to emigrate was H$ûr"ananda Sh"ah, the forerunner of the house of Jagata Se|th. He came to Patna in 1652 in the reign of

14

Jains in India: Historical Essays

Sh"ah Jahan.17 His successors flourished and became so affluent that the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar conferred on his grandson, Se|th Fateh Chand, the title of Jagata Se|th.18 By then he had moved over to Murshidabad, the capital of Bengal. For the next half century, the house of Jagata Se|th dominated the economy of the region. The spread of Jains in eastern India is further confirmed by the fact that the idols of Jain t∂rthamkaras were installed in the city of \ Dacca in 1675, then the capital of the s#ub"a of Bengal.19 In north-west India, besides Agra and Delhi, the Jains moved to Lahore and Multan, besides some other places. In Multan (a great commercial mart and the gateway to Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia), mostly Oswal Jains were found. Vardham"ana Navalakh"a was the leading figure. He was in contact with poet Banarasidasa.20 They were reported to have migrated from Osi"a in Rajasthan in pursuit of trade.21 Yugapradh"ana Jinacandras"uri visited Multan and was accorded a warm welcome by his followers. He then journeyed to Jaisalmer which was connected by trade route to Multan.22 Jains were also to be found in Sindh. It is said that when a severe famine visited Gujarat in the thirteenth century, the Jains of Sindh helped to relieve the distress of the common man.23 It is clear that the Jains resided in most of the prominent trade centres of northern, central and western India. It should not, however be construed that they were primarily an urban community. At least in Rajasthan and Gujarat, a number of Jains resided in villages or in small towns. Jain monks who travelled from Gujarat to Agra or Delhi in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries received warm welcome from followers, residing in villages and small towns situated on the way. However, as traders, their main concentration was always in urban areas. THE STRUCTURE OF THE COMMUNITY

In spite of professing a common religion and bound by vows to practise non-violence, the Jains were divided into a number of sects and sub-sects since ancient times. The first sectarian division

The Social Life of the Jain Community in Medieval Times

15

brought into existence the S® vet"ambara and Digambara sects in the time of Bhadrab"ahu, more than century and a half after the death of Mah"a v$ûra.24 In course of time, both the sects split up again, giving rise to a number of groupings. For example, the bha|t|t"araka traditions among the Digambaras, are supposed ‘. . . to begin from the thirteenth century CE . . .’.25 These sects enjoyed a love-hate relationship, sometimes cordial, sometimes bitter. ‘®Sr$ûbh"u|sa^na of Nand$ûgaccha had the worst relationship with V"adicandra of Bal"atk"araga^na, but Indrabh"u|sana of the same line had good relations with all.’26 The sub-groupings in the samgha have been continuously going \ on.27 For example, Bal"atk"araga^na was first mentioned in the eleventh century CE, while Y"apan$ûyasamgha developed in the fifteenth cen\ tury in the south.28 The S"ur$û tradition has eighty-four gacchas.29 Among ®Svet"ambaras in the fifteenth century Lonk" \ a Sh"ah spoke against idol worship and excessive ritualism.30 In the seventeenth century, the Ter"apanth$ûs among the ®Svet"ambaras emerged as a force in Rajasthan and they vehemently criticized pomp and show in religious worship.31 They number as much as the other S® vet"ambaras and hence, are sometimes considered besides the Digambaras and ®Svet"ambaras, the third largest grouping among the Jains.32 It seems that the intersectarian tensions had increased after the fourteenth century. Earlier as Åc"arya Jinaprabhas"u r$û shows in Vividhat∂rthakalpa both ®Svet"ambaras and Digambaras visited the same places of pilgrimage, went to the same temples and worshipped the same idols.33 Laity and monks of both the sects often travelled together.34 Along with sectarian divisions, the Jain society was also characterized by caste-system, prevalent among the Hindus. CASTE SYSTEM

The caste system had entered among the Jains right from the time of Mah"av$ûra.35 It continued to develop and in the fifteenth century the Digambaras were supposed to be divided into eighty-four \ castes.36 In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the division of

16

Jains in India: Historical Essays

Digambara Jains into eighty-four castes, is repeatedly stressed.37 Brahma Gul"ala writing in the seventeenth century asserted that Jains were divided into eighty-four castes.38 In actual practice, the number of castes among Digambara Jains was more than eighty-four.39 In the town of Jhunjhunu alone, Jains belonging to thirty-six castes were to be found.40 In the last quarter of the seventeenth century in Ånandpur (Rajasthan) there were thirty-six castes of Jains.41 It appears that the figures eighty-four and thirty-six were purely notional: they simply indicated profusion of castes. According to Brahma R"aimalla, the Kha^n^delaw"al caste dominated Ranathambhor, S"ambhar and Delhi while the Agraw"ala were \ numerous in Delhi and Jhunjhunu.42 C"ak|su was mostly inhabited by Jains of Kha^n^delaw"ala caste.43 It is also clear that many castes appeared and disappeared.44 An essential constituent of Hindu caste system is gotra. This was also present among the Jains. The prevalence of caste system, gotra and idol-worship, made the Jains almost identical with the Hindus. JAINS AND HINDUS

The similarity to the Hindus was evident in many social rituals as well. The marriage ceremony was conducted by a Hindu priest before the sacred fire.45 H$ûr"ananda Sh"ah called his Br"ahma^na priest from Rajasthan for performing the various socio-religious ceremonies. 46 The Jains like the Hindus believed that birth determined the caste and there was a hierarchy in the caste system.47 Once in a while some Jains would worship Hindu gods and goddesses. Poet Banarasidasa worshipped the idol of ®Siva in the hope of acquiring riches and protection from future difficulties.48 Like the Hindus, the Jains also considered the prevention of cow-slaughter as an act of great socio-religious merit. Samayasundara during his visit to Sidhpur in Sindh obtained from the local Muhammadan administrator Shaikh K"a|z$û an order prohibiting killing of cows in Sindh.49 Like the Hindus, the Jains also cremated their deceased relatives. In view of the similarities in several socio-cultural rituals, out-

The Social Life of the Jain Community in Medieval Times

17

siders were unable to distinguish between Hindus and Jains. Since the Jains were mostly traders, they were regarded as a part of the Hindu vai« sya community. 50 The Hindus and Jains lived harmoniously. Very rarely relations between the two soured but it was a temporary phenomenon. During the reign of Madhosingh in Jaipur (1751-61) Jains were persecuted. Eventually an order was issued which laid down the payment of compensation for losses which the Jains had suffered.51 An important feature of the Jain social structure was that in spite of all conservatism and respect for tradition, it was not closed to others. Hindus from R"ajp"ut and other castes were always coopted into the fold of the community. There was a long tradition of R"ajp"ut families becoming Jains.52 The R"ajp"uts of the village Biholi impressed by the preachings of a Jain muni accepted Jainism. It was in one such family that Banarasidasa, the famous Hindi poet, was born.53 The forefathers of Muhnot Nainsi, the famous historian of the seventeenth century, were R"a|thor R"ajp"uts. One of them Mohan became Jain and it was in his line that Nainsi was born.54 Bh"anucandra, a reputed Jain monk, who lived at the court of Akbar and Jahangir and whose biography was written by his disciple Siddhicandra in Sanskrit was originally a Hindu vai«sya before being initiated into Jainism.55 Some of the Hindus, who had converted to Jainism, were accepted into the monastic order. They were trained in Jain theology and socio-religious practices. Occasionally they rose to high ranks in the monastic order. During the severe Gujarat famine of 1630-2, Jain monks converted several orphan boys to their faith to swell the ranks of their co-religionists. This practice was condemned by the famous Jain poet Samayasundara.56 INTERSECTARIAN TENSION

The caste divisions in the community were accepted; sectarian differences, however, caused considerable tension. Sometimes they became so intense that royal intervention was sought by the feuding parties.

18

Jains in India: Historical Essays

During the reign of Jahangir, the controversy about Dharma Sagara’s book Sarvajana ®Sataka, which had been banned by H$ûravijayas"uri was brought before the Emperor by Nemis"agara Up"adhay"aya. After hearing both the parties, the Emperor advised them to patch up.57 Members of the Lon\ k"a sect complained to the Emperor that the Jains of Tap"a gaccha led by Shantidas, the famous merchant of Ahmadabad, shunned interdining with them. Sh"ahjahan, however, refused to interfere.58 EDUCATION

It should be noted that the access of Jain monks to the highest imperial authority from Akbar onwards was due to their high level of learning and scholarship. The tradition of according high place to scholarship in the monastic order among the Jains was assiduously cultivated in the medieval age. Many of the Jain "ac"aryas or munis were great scholars and authors. Their knowledge of Jain and Hindu theology, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, astrology, etc., was profound. They were multilingual, well-versed in Sanskrit, Pr"ak|rt and local languages.59 Many of them were authors and poets in several vernacular languages. They were encouraged to study grammar, poetics, logic, etc. Some of them became musicologists as well. The great respect commanded by Jain monks in the society was much due to their position in the monastic order as well as due to their great scholarship. Of course, their austere and pure lifestyle brought to them much praise from different sections of the society. As among the Hindus so among the Jains, the scholarship of an individual was judged by the degree of proficiency he had acquired in Sanskrit language and literature since this was the language of higher learning. Jain scholars would not consider their education complete unless they had mastered Sanskrit. The Jain scholars studied Sanskrit because its knowledge enabled them to study seminal books on subjects like literature, grammar, poetics, logic, six schools of Indian philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, astrology, medicine, etc. Also many of the works on Jain theology, as was the case with the Hindu and Buddhist theology,

The Social Life of the Jain Community in Medieval Times

19

were written in Sanskrit. Furthermore, thus equipped, the Jain monks could discuss and debate theological questions with Hindu pa^n^dits and also with members of rival sects.60 Public disputations were frequent. Mah"amahop"adhy"aya Samayasundara in the seventeenth century was a great scholar of grammar, literature, poetics, logic, and several vernacular languages. He was a musicologist as well.61 He wrote a commentary on Mamma|ta’s K"avyaprak"a«sa, considered to be a very difficult text.62 Another Jain monk, Jinar"ajas"uri was awarded the title of "ac"arya in vs 1674. He was a reputed scholar of Jain theology, literature and logic. He wrote 14 books on different subjects.63 Samayasundara’s disciple Har|sanandana was also a reputed scholar of Navya Ny"aya. He authored 12 books, one of which Madhyama Vy" a khy" a na Paddhati was on public-speaking, 64 an art highly developed by Jain monks, since they were regularly called upon to preach to their devotees. Jain writings have enriched a number of branches, such as travel and biography. JAIN WRITINGS

It was customary for Jains to write biographies of their renowned religious teachers and patrons. Undoubtedly, most of these biographies were hagiographical in nature but they contain a lot of information about the contemporary society. For example, some of them describe in detail the journeys undertaken by the munis and "ac"arya. They refer to the spectacular welcome accorded to them by the community and also the role of the leading members in organizing these functions.65 The places covered during the journeys undertaken by Mah"amahop"adhy"aya Samayasundara included Multan, Maroth, Sidhpur, Deravar in Sindh, Lahore, Sarjpur, Phirojpur, Kasur in the Punjab, Agra, Akbarpur, Bibipur, Sikandarpur in Uttar Pradesh, S"an \ g"aner, Chatsu, Ma^n^dov"a, Mer|t"a, Bikaner, etc. (34 places) in Rajasthan, N"a gd"a h, Navanagar, ®Sauripura, Girn"a r, ®Satruñjaya in Saura^stra and Palanpur, +I^dar, Ahmadabad, Khambha|t, etc. (20) places in

20

Jains in India: Historical Essays

Gujarat.66 Obviously, Gujarat and Rajasthan had the largest Jain population in India. The high level of scholarship attained by several Jain monks was the outcome of a deliberately planned policy on education. Though no formal educational institutions for higher studies existed, yet the deserving and the meritorious were meticulously given all the opportunities to learn. Normally education was begun at the age of six or seven and rich parents distributed money in charity to celebrate the occasion.67 The students were put in an institution known as Chat«s"ala.68 Among the monks guru-«si|sya parampar"a was followed. A knowledgeable senior monk attached to himself a young acolyte or a bunch of promising youngsters and chalked out a programme for his/their education. It was the responsibility of the teacher to ensure that the student imbibed the necessary learning. He formulated the curriculum and the time-frame in which to complete the studies. It was the teacher who certified that the student had successfully completed the course of study laid down for him.69 He bestowed upon him the appropriate designation, up"a dhy"aya, mah"a mahop"a dhy"aya, "a c"arya, etc. The occasion was duly celebrated by the community with pomp and splendour indicating the community’s appreciation of the achievement of the student and his teacher. Samayasundara studied with monks M"ahimr"aja and Samayar"aja.70 The books he studied included Siddhahemasabd"anu«s"asana, Anek" a rthasam \ graha, Vi« s vasam-phunam" a l" a , K" a vyapr" a k" a « s a, and Pañcamah"ak"avya. He was also asked to read books on Jain theology.71 Works on Jain theology such as Gomma|tas"ara and A|s|tas"ahasr∂ were intensively studied.72 Along with classical studies, the Jain monks also developed expertise in vernacular languages and literatures because they had to communicate their message to lay followers through regional languages. Though the majority of the audience was literate, very few were trained in classical languages. The Jain contribution to the growth of vernacular languages and literature, in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, etc., is immense. Other subjects studied were medicine, knowledge of mantras, examination of precious stones, attributes of good elephants and horses, etc.73

The Social Life of the Jain Community in Medieval Times

21

In view of the fact that the Jain munis, "a c"aryas, etc., had to function as teachers as well, they all tried to collect as many books as possible. The Jain "ac"aryas started depositories of manuscripts at various places. When Akbar handed over to H$ûrvijayas"uri the books left by the late Muni Padmasundara (the first Jain monk at the court of Akbar), he immediately established a grantha bha^n^d"ara (book depository) in Agra and kept these books there.74 JAIN CONTRIBUTION TO VERNACULAR LITERATURES

It should be noted that many of the languages in this area during sixteenth-seventeenth centuries were in a state of formation. In many ways the Jain scholars gave shape to them. The Jain contribution in the formation of modern Hindi language and literature deserves our notice. A list of Jain writers in Hindi during this period is provided by Nemichand Shastri75 and Kamta Prasad Jain.76 The part played by Bha|t|t"a raka Ratnak$ûrti in this respect is praiseworthy.77 A characteristic of Jain writings in vernacular languages in medieval times may be noted. On many occasions, the Jain writings show a mixture of languages: R" a jasth" a n$ û, Gujarati and Apa78 bhram« \ sa. They also wrote in Brajabh"a|s"a or Brajabh"a|s"a mixed with other regional languages. Chihal’s poem Pañca Sahel ∂ G ∂ta shows a mixture of R"ajasth"an$û and Brajabh"a|s"a.79 The Jain penchant for a mixed language can be explained. The Jains mostly belonged to Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh, etc. In important commercial towns they lived together. To convey to them their message, the Jain monks had perforce to use a mixed language.80 V"adicandra, who lived in mid-seventeenth century of the Vikram era, wrote Hindi mixed with Gujarati.81 In the process many of the Jain monks acquired proficiency in several vernacular languages.82 One aspect of Jain writings needs to be stressed; they generally avoided ®S|rng" \ ara rasa, the dominant influence on literary works in the age.83 Chihal’s poem Pa"nca Sahel∂ Gita was full of «s|rng" \ ara rasa 84 but the poet was never vulgar.

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Jains in India: Historical Essays

The Jain writings were basically devotional, spiritual and didactic. Besides, many writings in vernacular languages were adaptations from Sanskrit, Pr"ak|rt and Apabhram« \ sa texts. Many Jain writers were simultaneously writing in vernacular languages as well as in Sanskrit and Pr"ak|rt. To a large extent, this put a limit to their themes. Many of their writings in vernacular languages were prompted by the demand of the laity. ® S ubhacandra, who was anointed bha|t|t"araka in vs 1573 wrote Tattvas"ara Duha at the bidding of his lay disciple Dulha.85 Ya«sovijayaj$û wrote both in Sanskrit and Gujarati.86 It is said that there has been no scholar of the calibre of Ya«sovijayaj$$û among Jains since then.87 Another distinguished scholar of Sanskrit and a poet of the middle ages was Meghavijayaj$û. He is reported to have memorized all important Sanskrit mah"ak"avyas (epic poems). He was well versed in philosophy and wrote a book on Sanskrit grammar Hemakaumud∂.88 He also wrote a commentary on Siddhahemacandra« s abd" a nu«s " a sana in order to make it easily understood by the beginners.89 His Saptasandh" \ ana Mah"ak"avya contains biographies of seven persons and each word has seven meanings!90 Along with the monks, the Jain laity also contributed to the development of vernacular literature. They studied theological literature, with the help of some knowledgeable person. Caturumala studied Harivam« \ sapur"a^na and other Jain Pur"anic literature with Dhawal Pa^n^dit in the late seventeenth century of the Vikram era.91 Banarasidasa studied with Pa^n^dit Devadas at the age of fourteen astronomy/astrology, literature and Jain theology. Later on, he read with Pa^n^dit Bh"a nucandra poetics92 dictionaries, religious rituals associated with Jainism, etc.93 The greatest piece of secular writing in Hindi produced by a Jain during this period was Banarasidasa’s autobiography, Ardhakath"anaka, the first autobiography written in Hindi.94 The book has been widely acclaimed by scholars and historians as it is a trustworthy mirror of the age in which the author lived.95 He candidly wrote about contemporary business practices, the tyranny of officials and the hardships faced by the common man.

The Social Life of the Jain Community in Medieval Times

23

Another secular theme touched by Jains was life in urban centres. Nahar Jatmal of Lahore wrote ‘Lahor Ghazal’ and described the city and the pattern of life in minute details.96 The genre became popular among Jain authors. Brahma Raimalla described around nineteen towns in his writings.97 The city of Agra has been depicted by several Jain scholars. Ya«sodharacarita carries a detailed account of Agra.98 Jain poets in regional languages have described the affluence of medieval Agra.99 Sanskrit works by Jains have descriptions of several urban centres. 100 Gwalior, a stronghold of Jains in the early sixteenth century under Mansingh Tomar was compared to Svar^na Lan\ k"a (Golden 101 ®Sr$û Lank" \ a). Camp"avat$û or C"ak|su, an important seat of the bha|t|t"arakas has been repeatedly descibed in Jain works.102 The Jains were writers of dictionaries. Samayasundara while at the court of Akbar was taunted about the Jain proverb that one formula has numberless meanings. After some time in vs 1649, Samayasundara presented to the Emperor his self-written book which contained ten lakh meanings of eight letters: jktkUrs nnrs lkS[;eA103

Banarasidasa compiled one of the first dictionaries in Hindi Banaras∂ N"amam"al"a at the request of his friends Narottamdas Khabra and Thakur Khabra.104 The Jains took keen interest in writing the biographies of their preceptors and patrons. Samaysundara wrote a poem on the meeting of his teacher Jinacandras"u ri with Akbar.105 Karamacandra Prabandha is the biography of Jain minister of the Akbar, who also evinced great interest in the well-being of the community by arranging receptions to visiting monks, by organizing pilgrim parties to Jain holy places and by winning concessions for the community members from the political authorities.106 Jain authors also wrote on scientific subjects. Bhagavat$ûd"asa is the author of Vaidyavinoda, a book on the Hindu system of medicine, Åyurveda in the reign of Sh"ah Jahan.107 The same author during his stay in Hissar completed Jyotis"ara, a treatise on astrology.108 Jayakirti, a disciple of Har| sanandana, was well-versed in

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Jains in India: Historical Essays

astrology and wrote a book on the subject.109 The proficiency of Jains in astronomy was such that Sawai Jaisingh, ruler of Jaipur (1699-1743), a great student of astronomy, used to consult Vidy"adhara, a Jain scholar on this subject.110 An important feature of Jain social life was that even women patronized and promoted book writing and/or transcription. At the bidding of Bai Mathur"a, Bhagavat$ûd"asa transcribed Navankkevali, a religious text.111 The common man because of regular interaction with the learned monks developed an inclination to debate and discuss the finer points of their religion. The inquisitive members formed «sail ∂ or a circle of like-minded persons. Such a «sail ∂ had come up in Agra where Banarasidasa and his friends under the influence of anti-idolatory, anti-priestly and antiritualistic movements in the Hindu society, questioned these practices in their own religion. They became founders of Ter"apantha within the fold of Digambara Jainism.112 The prominent members of this «sail ∂ were San \ gh$û Jagj$ûvana, Kunwarp"ala, Pa^n^dit Hemr"aja, R"amacanda, Sangh$ \ û M"athurad"asa, Bh"awald"asa and Bhagawat$ûd"asa. After the death of Banarasidasa, Jagaj$ûvanar"ama collected all his writings and put them together in a work Ban" a ras∂vil"a sa.113 The discussions were not confined to religious and spiritual topics. Banarasidasa read Madhum"alati and M|rg"abat∂ to a small group of lovers of literature during evenings at Agra. 114 Banarasidasa initiated within the Jain community a profound revolution which had been earlier convulsed by Lorika Sh"ah during the fourteenth-fifteenth centuries. Its impact continued to be felt centuries after his passing away.115 An indirect result of the emergence of these «sail∂s was the promotion of study of subjects such as logic, philosophy, grammar, etc., among common men.116 This point needs to be emphasized as higher education was supposed to be the preserve of the religious order. These «sail ∂s had no organized structure. They became popular in the towns of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.117 The Jain society during the middle-ages was in a state of intellectual ferment. This was partially reflected in the continuing

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25

debates (often times public) between protagonists of different sects. Jinacandras"uri defeated Dharmas"agara in P"a|tan in vs 1617 in an open debate, and thirty leading citizens belonging to various Jain sects signed a declaration announcing his victory.118 In another public disputation he got an upperhand over a scholar at Rajnagar.119 In vs 1642 in Jalor he forcefully argued in favour of his doctrinal position before the votaries of Tap"agaccha.120 In vs 1625, ®Sa«sik$ûrti was locked in a public discussion with Buddhis"agara, a proponent of Tap"agaccha in Agra and was judged to have won. On this occasion scholars like Pa^n^dit Aniruddha Misra and Pa^n^dit Mah"adeo Misra were also present.121 These public debates were a regular feature of Jain social life as they were divided into several groups and each sought to justify itself and tried to justify its ideological and ritual position. Of course, sometimes the followers of rival sects disturbed the functions of each other.122 Futhermore, India being a multi-religious society, sometimes the Jain monks were called upon to defend their faith against the exponents of other religions. H$ûravijayas"uri was called to Agra by Akbar to explain the tenets of Jainism because the Emperor was restless to know what religion was all about and for the purpose summoned leading theologians of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Zoroastrianism to Ib"adatkh"an"a. ®S"anticandraj$û, who accompanied H$ûravijays"u ri to Agra, was a scholar of repute and a great debater. He was known to have scored over several scholars in public disputations. At the court of Idar, he matched his debating skill with a Digambara Jain Bha|t| t"a raka, V"adibh"u|sa^na and was judged to have been the winner. On another occasion, in the presence of the Jodhpur ruler, he was declared successful against a Digambara Jain "ac"arya, Gu^nacandra.123 ®S"a nitcandra’s scholarship greatly impressed his teacher H$ûrav$ûjays"uri, who left him at the court of Akbar, when he proceeded to Gujarat at the end of his visit to Fatehpur Sikri. Akbar also respected him. The public as well as the Mughal emperors Akbar and Jahangir held the Jain monks in great respect for their erudition, debating

26

Jains in India: Historical Essays

skills and persuasive public discourses. Muni Jinacandras"u ri of Kharataragaccha also won the favour of both the emperors. The latter honoured him and conferred upon him the title of Yugapradh" ana. 124 To celebrate this announcement Minister Karmacandra Bacch"awat spent ‘hundred million rupees’.125 Muni Jincandras"uri’s successor, ®Sr$ûjinar"ajas"uri was respectfully received by Emperor Sh"ah Jahan in vs 1686 in Agra. Sundardasa, a Jain poet lived at the court of Sh"ah Jahan. The emperor honoured him first by bestowing upon him the title Kavir" a i and then Mah"akavir"ai.126 Honours publicly conferred upon Jain monks considerably raised the prestige of the community in the society as well as in the eyes of Mughal officials. Both would respect the beliefs and sensibilities of the community. Hasankuli Khan, the chief of N"agor, respectfully received ®Sr$ûjinacandras"uri when he entered into the town.127 Whenever a monk would receive a public honour, the community would celebrate it with pomp and ceremony. The affluent members would spend lavishly. This would increase the social prestige of such persons. Spending on such and other religious and social occasions was a socially acceptable and laudatory practice. When ®Sr$ûjinar"ajas"uri was anointed "ac"arya, one of his disciples ®Sr$ûmaldeo held a Nandi Mahotsava with great fanfare.128 Whenever the "ac"aryas performed any important religious ritual, the rich disciples would spend vast sums. In vs 1614, San \ gr"ama Singh met the expenses of kriyoddh"a ra function performed by ®Sr$ûjinacandras"uri.129 As traders, brokers and bankers, most of the Jains were always in close touch with the producing sections in the society, especially the craftsmen. In Burhanpur, the main commercial centre in Khandesh, Jain temples, up"a«srayas, prati«srayas (resting places for Jain monks) were constructed in kans"ara-pat"akas (kans"arapada— the locality of coppersmiths).130 The strong element of literacy enabled some members of the Jain community to serve in the various ramps of administration under the Mughals and local chieftains. They were small, middle level and high functionaries. Karmacandra served Akbar as a minister.

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27

When M"an Singh went to conquer eastern India on behalf of Akbar he was accompained by a large number of Jains, who served the administration as accountants, tax-collectors, etc.131 In Rajasthan, Mewar was always served by the family members of the house of Bh"am"a«s "ah in top capacities. Muhnot Nainsi rose to be the Prime Minister of Jodhpur. He was the writer of Muhnot Nainsi Ri Khy"at and M"arw"ar K"a Pargan"a K∂ Vigat, two important sources for writing the medieval history of Jodhpur and Rajasthan. These top officials in the state also led the armies in war and the cult of non-violence did not come in their way in the discharge of their duties.132 Since the Jains are educated, some men earned fame as writers and poets. A number of these works were written at the request of friends. For example, T | h"akursi in early sixteenth century wrote poems P"a r«svan"atha ®Sakuna Satthav∂s∂ in Rajasthani and Meghamalakaha in Apabhram« \ sa at the bidding of his friends Mallinath in VS 1578 and 1580 respectively.133 Those who were associated with bureaucracy acquired proficiency in Persian. Muladasa, the grandfather of Banarasidasa and an employee of a Muslim administrator in Malwa knew Persian.134 BOOK DEPOSITORIES

The spread of literacy and the cause of scholarship in the community was promoted by another social value extensively practised by the members of the community. Both men and women devotees, not part of the monastic order, if they could afford, ordered transcription of important texts, and these were then distributed as gifts among the members of the community. The monks, as a part of their education were assigned the work of transcription of books.135 This was considered to be an act of religious merit. Apart from preserving the Jain texts, this practice created a wider circle of readership, promoted intellectual inquiry and emphasized literacy as an important social value, not only for the monks but also for the laity. At the end of the transcribed manuscript not only the name of the person who had ordered the transcription was recorded but also his deeds were praised.136

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Jains in India: Historical Essays

It was a great incentive towards the spread of literacy,137 propagation of works by Jain authors138 and preservation of books written in the past.139 Sh"ah Karma got a transcription of Jind"asa’s Holire^nuk"a-caritra prepared in Ranthambhor and he offered the copy to Åc"arya Lalitk$ûrti.140 The practice of transcription of books was fairly widespread. Hundreds of books transcribed between VS 1601 and 1640 in Rajasthan are available in various Jain grantha bha^n^d" aras.141 As a result wherever there was a significant Jain community, grantha bha^n^d"aras or depository of books emerged. All important Jain up"a«srayas and caity"alayas were also book depositories. These grantha bha^n^d"aras succeeded in preserving Jain writings over the centuries. STATUS OF WOMEN

Literacy and the exposure to the wider world made the community’s outlook on the position of women much more liberal than other contemporary communities. The women enjoyed an honoured place. They were accepted in the monastic order142 and shown as much reverence as the male monks. The pains they took and the efforts they made for the propagation of the religion were socially appreciated. They accompanied the samgha or the collectives, which were \ organized to visit Jain holy places. Once in a while they also organized such journeys. Lalli, a female Jain devotee led a congregation of Jain devotees to the holy mountain of ®Satruñjaya.143 In vs 1646, when Bha|t|t"araka Ratnacandra led a samgha to B"aban\ gañj Sidhak| setra (C"u lagiri), several women formed part of the contingent. 144 The women also constructed temples, up"as« rayas and prati«srayas.145 After the ceremonies connected with the installation of temples’ idols/religious symbols concluded, the "ac"arya anointed the forehead of those who had convened this function with sandal paste. The women were not excluded from such ceremonies.146 When Åc"arya Ratnak$ûrti led samgha for pilgrimage to Girn"ar where Nemin"atha \ attained kaivalya on ®Satruñjaya mountains, he was accompanied by all the four categories of devotees, monks, "a ryik"a s (women

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29

members of the monastic order), «s r"a vakas (male devotees) and «sr"avikas (female devotees). Tej"aba$û (a woman) was the organizer of the samgha. She had been initiated into the order by Ratnak$ûrti.147 \ Åc"arya Ratnak$ûrti honoured Gop"ala and his wife Bejalde by anointing their foreheads with sandal paste.148 In vs 1647, Yugapradh"ana ®Sr$ûjincandras"uri initiated a woman devotee Kodam into the order.149 In vs 1697, Dhaunade, wife of Sh"ah N"atha and mother of Sh"ah Karmasi was admitted into the monastic order and administered twelve vratas by Mah"amahop"adhy"aya Samayasundara.150 The women also commissioned transcription of religious books for distribution among devotees and monks in order to earn religious merit and social prestige. T | h"akursi and his wife Lakhan had a copy of Bha|t|t"araka Sakalak$ûrti’s Ya«sodhara Carita transcribed. They presented it to Brahma Raimall in vs 1690.151 There were even women transcribers of books. A copy of P"ar«svan"atharasa was prepared by a woman disciple P"arvat$û Gan\ g"aw"al at the bidding of her teacher B"a$û Ratnai in vs 1722.152 This instance shows that Jain women, especially those who joined the monastic order were, by and large, literate. This raised their status within the society. An indication of high status enjoyed by women is the fact that a Jain lady Larkib"a$û was a part of the three member delegation sent from the port of Diu to invite H$ûravijayas"uri.153 Many images of Jain tirthamkaras or their symbols installed for \ worship carried inscriptions to the effect that they had been erected to earn religious merit for the wife or mother or for both the parents of the devotee.154 An idol of H$ûravijayas"u ri was erected by his lay devotees of Cambay, Pauma and his wife Pañch$û, a year after he passed away. An inscription at the pedestal attests to this fact.155 Since the women played an active role in the socio-religious life of the community, they were not segregated or put behind veil as was the case with upper-caste Hindu women. When "ac"aryas were welcomed by their devotees, women formed part of the congregations. They sang devotional songs in his praise. The Jain society escaped the purdah system which prevailed among high caste Hindus in medieval times. But many other disabilities which afflicted Hindu women can

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Jains in India: Historical Essays

be traced in the Jain society as well. For example, men could have a number of wives and could remarry after death of their wives. Abhayar"aja, the father of Jagaj$ûvana, a close friend of Banarasidasa, had a number of wives. Jagaj$ûvana was born from the youngest wife Mohande.156 The poet Banarasidasa married thrice.157 Child marriage was in vogue. Banarasidasa was betrothed at the age of nine and was married when he was eleven years old.158 After the death of his first wife, he married her sister.159 Fasting, as laid down by Jain religious practices, was generally undertaken by women. Megham"al"a, a fast undertaken by women during the rainy season was continued for five seasons consecutively and thereafter it was given up in a ceremony called udy"apana. In case this could not be done, women had to continue the fast for the next five years.160 The high status enjoyed by Jain women appears, at first glance, to be paradoxical since Jainism laid great stress on brahmacarya or abstention from sexuality. They considered women as an obstacle in the path of realization of the self. Nevertheless, in actual practice, women enjoyed high respect, as mother, as wife or a member of the community. By and large, it could be said that Jain social life largely veered round their religious festivals and rituals as prescribed by the monastic order to which they belonged. As a result certain social norms had evolved to which people tried their best to conform. Whenever a person was inducted into the monastic order, the members of the community belonging to the particular sect organized a public function (d∂k|s"a sam"aroha) and lavishly spent money on the festivities. Ratnak$ûrti was anointed as his chief disciple by Bha|t|t"araka Abhayanandi in vs 1630. The expenses concerning the ceremony were met by Samghapati P"ak|sika, his wife and sons.161 \ Whenever a higher rank, up"adhy"aya, mah"amahop"adhy"aya or "ac"arya was conferred upon any member of the monastic order, his disciples organized public functions to honour him. The devotees went round the city in processions with musical instruments playing, multicoloured banners, elephants, horses, chariots, etc. The visit of an "ac"arya to a particular area for participating in a religious ceremony for installing idols in temples, or for inducting

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someone into the monastic order or for taking rest during long journeys or for spending the c"aturm"asa (the four months of rainy season) were special occasions for the disciples. Apart from listening to their discourses, they celebrated it with gaiety. Members of the community residing in nearby places participated in these functions and listened to the preachings of the monks. When H$ûravijayas"uri was on way to Fatehpur Sikri at the invitation of Akbar, he halted at Mer|t"a. Groups of his devotees from N"agor and Bikaner came and worshipped him.162 On the orders of Akbar, Th"ansingh, Amipal, Bh"anush"a h and other affluent Jains came down to S"ang"an\ er to ceremonially receive H$ûravijayas"uri. They organized a procession with horses, elephants, chariots, etc., and escorted him to the town with great fanfare.163 While H$ûravijayas"uri stayed at Akbar’s court, Sh"ah Sadaranga of \ Mer|t"a celebrated the occasion by distributing thousands of rupees among the poor and needy in charity. He also donated horses and elephants.164 One of these elephants was purchased by a Mughal for 100 gold mohurs.165 Tejapala Soni, a resident of the port town of Cambay and a devotee of H$ûravijayas"uri, spent Rs. 2,500 in a day when the saint visited the place in vs 1646.166 Organizing lavish functions during visits of saints and during the performance of religious rituals and meeting expenses had become a part of the lifestyle of affluent Jains. This won them the esteem of their co-religionists and raised their status. ®S"antid"asa, the great merchant of Ahmadabad in the reign of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, constructed a grand temple and spent lavishly on religious functions.167 Durjansal had constructed a temple at Lahore and another at Burhanpur.168 Sanghav$ û Sangr" \ \ ama Singh, a minister at the court of Bikaner and a devotee of ®Sr$ûjinacandras"uri dedicated several Jain images and erected temples in Jain holy places in Bihar in vs 1666, 1688, 1702 and 1707.169 He had invited the "ac"arya to spend the c"aturm"asa in vs 1621 in Bikaner.170 Certain social functions, such as celebration of marriages or birth of a son were also marked by lavish spending of money. The display of wealth was very prominent especially when mar-

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Jains in India: Historical Essays

riages took place. The bridegroom donned ornaments and the members of his party were well-dressed. They put on mascara in their eyes, had betel-leaves in their mouth and their foreheads were anointed with saffron and sandal paste.171 Musical instruments were played when the bridegroom and his party proceeded to the bride’s residence.172 The bride-groom usually mounted a horse and a lavish feast was arranged in honour of the guests by the bride’s parents.173 The custom of presenting dowry to the bridegroom by the bride’s party was common. Of course, the type of dowry depended upon the economic status of the bride’s family. Besides ornaments and dresses, elephants, horses, male and female servants were also given as part of the dowry.174 A lavish feast was arranged on the occasion of a marriage and a variety of food including several types of sweets was served.175 It was a part of Jain religious and social ethos to accompany their revered gurus whenever they started on a pilgrimage. Of course, the rich followers met all the expenses of the party and arranged for the safety and creature comforts of the travellers. After the return of the samgha from pilgrimage, the organizer usually hosted a feast \ for the community members.176 In VS 1649, H$ûravijayas"uri decided to visit the holy places on ®Satruñjaya hills. He was accompanied by thousands of devotees, both men and women from the neighbouring towns of P"a|tan, Radhanpur, Palanpur, Ahmadabad, Cambay, etc. As the news of his pilgrimage spread, more and more devotees from Malwa, Mewar, Marwar, south India, Bengal, Cutch and Sindh came to pay their respects to the muni and to join the party.177 It seems that with the passage of time musical and dancing performances were organized as a part of celebration of important events. When in vs 1721 ®Subhacandra assumed the chiefship of the monastic order, festivities took place in which music and dance performances regaled the audience.178 On such occasions community feasts were also held. We have reference to one such feast in Surat in vs 1734.179

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33

In the Vijñaptipatras of the next century, we have paintings depicting scenes of musical and dancing performances. The Jain community had accepted music to such an extent that many songs and poems written during this period indicate the r"aga in which they should be sung.180 In vs 1644, when a pilgrimage party started for Siddhachal from Bikaner, it was joined by another from Ahmadabad which included Yugapradh"ana and Samghapati Yogin"atha and Somaj$û. As the party \ continued its journey, more and more pilgrims hailing from Mandover, Sindh, Jaisalmer, Siroh$û, Jalor, Saur"a|s|tra and Champaner,181 attached themselves. H$ûr"ananda Muk$ûm organized a samgha for visiting the holy place \ of Sammeda ®Sikhara. The event has been mentioned by Banarasidasa. Kharagsen, Banarasidasa’s father went on a pilgrimage with a samgha \ in vs 1661. Since the early middle ages, under the influence of Tantricism,182 the Jains did believe in astrology, auspicious moments and miracles. All their religious functions and important life-cycle rituals were held on days and time considered auspicious. Important activities were started at ‘auspicious times’.183 For fixing auspicious time and date they consulted the monks. Hence, many monks studied astrology as well. The Jains also believed in miracles and the chanting of mantras to ward off evil, to acquire wealth and for fulfilment of desires. The tradition was rooted in the past. Åc"arya Jinaprabhas"u ri had deeply impressed Muhammad bin Tughluq by showing him miracles.184 Yugapradh"ana S® r$ûjinacandras"uri by chanting mantras ensured that the Mughal army would not attack the town of Nadloi, because it was made to lose its way.185 In the town of Falaudi, as the Yugapradh"ana appeared before the ancient temple of P"ar«svan"atha, its locked doors automatically opened.186 The locks had been put on by the members of the rival Ter"apantha. It was held that when the town of Cak|su was raided by Ibrahim Lodi, it was saved from pillage by the grace of the idol of P"ar«svan"atha, which was held in high esteem.187 Yugapradh"ana Jinacandras"uri impressed Akbar by his miraculous powers. 188

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Jains in India: Historical Essays

The Jain monks conducted special religious functions to ward off evil influences of heavenly bodies for the welfare of their devotees. While at Lahore, at the request of Akbar, M"ahimr"aja in vs 1648 performed the A|s|totar∂ ®Santsn"at|r for the health of the newly born daughter of Prince Salim. The king spent Rs. 1 lakh and when "arat∂ signifying the end of the p"uj"a was performed, Prince Salim offered Rs. 10,000.189 Banarasidasa chanted a mantra acquired from a holyman daily for one year in the hope that after this was over, he would find ‘one d∂n"ara daily at his doorsteps’.190 Of course, nothing of the kind happened. For the fulfilment of wishes, pilgrimages were undertaken. Kharagsen, the father of Banarasidasa twice visited Rohtakpur K$û S"ah as a pilgrim praying for the birth of a son and Banarasidasa was born.191 In their everyday life, Jains tried to practise the cult of nonviolence. They refrained from meat eating and killing of all living beings. Vegetarianism was a part of their religious social ethos, which they actively preached and propagated and held to be an integral part of their existence.192 They extended their respect of life to even insects, birds and animals. For the wellbeing of birds and animals the Jains established pinjrapoles, where the sick and the diseased animals were treated.193 One such hospital for animals and birds was started in the late eighteenth century in Chandni Chowk in Delhi and is still functioning. The Jain aversion to the public killing of birds and animals was sometimes exploited by unscrupulous persons to earn some quick money. European travellers to Gujarat in medieval times report that some mischievous persons would take a bird and threaten to kill it before a Jain unless the person concerned paid him to desist from this ‘act’. Jains usually paid money to ‘avert’ this mischief. Despite their unique lifestyle, the Jains did not avoid socializing with members of other communities. They, of course, refrained from dining with others. But apart from this restriction, they socially mixed with the Muslim nobility and royalty,194 European Christian traders and others. Such close contacts were necessary for furthering

The Social Life of the Jain Community in Medieval Times

35

their business interests as also for winning the esteem of their coreligionists and other sections of the society. This interaction brought them closer to the higher echelons of the ruling circles and also enabled them to secure concessions for their community. In Jahangir’s time, H$ûr"ananda Muk$ûm was one of the richest persons in Agra. He once even invited the ruler to his house.195 Chand Sanghvi, a rich trader presented to Jahangir a valuable diamond ring and requested him to confer upon him 10 b∂gh"as of land as madad-i-maash grant in the pargan"a of Khambha|t, so that he could construct a monument in honour of his guru, the late Vijayasenas"uri. His request was accepted.196 Some Jains also served as personal officers of Muslim nobles. Abhayaraja was a d∂w"an of Jafar Khan in Agra. The latter held the rank of 5000 under Shah Jahan.197 The Jains had close relations with European Christians. Father Monserrate, the Jesuit priest at the court of Akbar recounts an incident in which two Christians were sentenced to death on the charge of spying. Two local Jain traders intervened. They secured the release of the accused persons after paying a ransom of one thousand pieces of gold.198 The Portuguese highly valued the Jains for their business acumen. Linschoten, a Dutch visitor to Goa at the end of the sixteenth century, found a street inhabited by the Gujaratis. It is quite possible that among these Gujar"at$ûs, there were Jains as well. The Portuguese had granted religious toleration to the Jains in their Indian possessions.199 V$ûrj$û Vora allowed Khw"aj"a Min"az, an Armenian Christian to purchase broad cloth on his behalf.200 The Jains consciously refrained from wine-drinking, gambling and prostitution. The three evils were repeatedly denounced and individuals were exhorted to shun them.201 In fact, Jain social code of conduct laid down that they would refrain from seven habits or sapta vyasana, viz., gambling, meat eating, wine drinking, prostitution, hunting, thieving and extra-marital relations. Poet T | h"akursi denounced them in his poem Sapta Vyasana S| a|tpada.202 His other work Vyasana Prabandha incorporating the teachings of Muni Dharmacandra reiterate the prohibition on the above seven habits.

36

Jains in India: Historical Essays

The evils of prostitution and extra-marital relations were emphasized since they ruined individuals and were not uncommon. Even Banarasidasa admits having indulged in these activities, which made him bankrupt. 203 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The rich Jains did not shirk their social responsibility when disasters like famine or external aggression hit the society. The concern for social responsibility was reflected in the conduct of V$ûrj$û Vora, based in Surat, reportedly the greatest merchant in India in the seventeenth century. When there was a famine in Surat, he gave away large sums of money in charity and also distributed gram to the hungry. In his old age, he gave up wordly pursuits and retired to a monastery.204 The Jains, despite their distinctive lifestyle were well integrated into the local society. Their dominant role in the economy was accepted by all groups of traders and the ruling authorities. Hence, some of the great Jain traders of the times were chosen to protect and promote the business interests of the local business community. Such an organization was named mah"ajana and its chief was called nagara seth. ®S"antidasa, the great merchant of Ahmadabad enjoyed this status.205 He would negotiate on behalf of the merchants with the ruling authorities and take necessary steps to protect their interest.206 In medieval times the Jain community continued to uphold their socio-religious norms but this did not come in their way of conducting their business with other groups belonging to different religions in the country. However, like other groups in the society, they too failed to perceive the usefulness of getting acquainted with European knowledge, science and technology. In spite of interacting so closely with the Europeans, they did not show any curiosity to understand the socio-economic and cultural milieu of the Europeans. They could not get out of the shell of conservatism and backwardness which had enveloped the Indian society.

The Social Life of the Jain Community in Medieval Times

37

NOTES 1. Jyoti Prasad Jain, Pramukh Aitih"asik Jain Puru|sa aur Mahil"aye\n (hereafter cited as Pramukha), New Delhi, 1975. 2. M.D. Desai (ed.), Bh"anucandraga^nicarit, Ahmadabad, 1941. 3. P.C. Nahar, Jain Inscriptions (Jain Lekh"a Sangrah), vols. I, II, III, Calcutta, \ 1918, 1929, 1957. 4. Muniraj Sri Vidya Vijayji, Sur∂«svara Aur Samrat Akbar, tr. into Hindi, Krishnalal Varma, Agra, V∂r Samvat 2450. \ 5. Agarchand Nahta and Bhanwarlal Nahta, Yugapradh"ana S® r∂ Jinacandras"uri (in Hindi) (hereafter cited as Yugapradh"ana), Calcutta, vs 2029. 6. B.L. Nahta, ‘Vijñaptipatra of Udaipur’, Jain Journal (henceforth cited as JJ ), July 1972, pp. 10-18; Surendra Gopal, ‘Social Life in Gujarat and Rajasthan in the Nineteenth Century as Revealed in a Scroll of Invitation’, JJ, January 1972, pp. 105-9; idem, ‘Vijñaptipatra, A Source for the Social History of Jains, in the Nineteenth Century’, Proceedings, Indian Historical Records Commission, Madras, XL Session, pp. 1-3. 7. Some of the firm"ans have been published in Appendix to Sur∂«svara Aur Samr"a|t, pp. 373-97. 8. Kasturchand Kasliwal, Kavivar Buchraj Evam Unke Samak"al∂na Kavi (in Hindi) (hereafter cited as Buchraj), Jaipur, 1979, p. 11. Buchraj, though a R"ajasth"an$û, spent most of his time in the Punjab. He completed his work Santosh Jai Tilaku in vs 1591 in Hissar. 9. Kasturchand Kasliwal, Mah"akavi Brahma Raimall Evam Bha|t|t"araka Tribhuvanak∂rti (in Hindi) (hereafter cited as Raimall ), Jaipur, 1978, p. 13; Bachraj, p. 10. 10. Sur∂«svara Aur Samr"a|t, p. 263. 11. Yugapradh"ana, p. 56. 12. Sur∂«svara Aur Samr"a|t, p. 92; Yugapradh"ana, p. 66. 13. Rama Kant Jain, ‘The Builder of the Garden Temple’ JJ, April 1976, p. 158. 14. Pramukha, p. 287. 15. Ibid., p. 288. 16. Pramukha, p. 291. 17. J.H. Little, The House of Jagatseth, Calcutta, 1967, p. 6. 18. Ibid., p. 7. The title was conferred upon him in CE 1722. 19. D.C. Sarkar, ‘Jain Temples in East Bengal in the Seventeenth Century’, JJ, January 1975, pp. 82-5. 20. Pramukha, p. 296.

38

Jains in India: Historical Essays

21. K.C. Kasliwal, Khandelwal Jain Sam"aj k"a B|rhad Itih"asa, Jaipur, 1989, pp. 55-6 (hereafter cited as Khandelwal Jain Sam"aj . . .). 22. Yugapradh"ana, pp. 111, 115. 23. Muni Jinvijayji, Jain Itih"asni Jhalak (in Gujarati) (hereafter cited as Jain Itihasni . . . , Bombay, 1966, p. 49. 24. Ravindra Kumar Jain, Kavivar Banarasidasa (in Hindi), Varanasi, 1966, pp. 37-8. 25. V.P. Johrapurkar, Bha|t|t"araka Samprad"aya, Sholapur, 1958, p. II. 26. Ibid., pp. 10-12. 27. Khandelwal Jain Sam"aj . . . , Ch. 2 entitled ‘Sangha Bhed or Sectarian \ Divisions’. 28. Ibid., pp. 26-7. 29. Yugapradh"ana, p. 8. 30. Ravindra Kumar Jain, p. 43. 31. Ibid., p. 45. 32. Ravindra Kumar Jain, p. 46. 33. Vividhat∂rthakalpa, Agarchand Nahta and Bhanwarlal Nahta (trans.), Varanasi, 1978, p. 17. 34. Ibid. 35. Khandelwal Jain Sam"aj . . . , pp. 28-9. 36. Ibid., p. 30. 37. Ibid., pp. 30-1. 38. K.C. Kasliwal, Bha|tt| "araka Ratnak∂rti evam \ Kumudacandra (hereafter cited as Ratnak∂rti), Jaipur, 1981, p. II 39. Khandelwal Jain Sam"aj . . . , p. 45. 40. Brahma Raimalla, p. 21. 41. Ratnak∂rti, p. 20; Buchraj, p. 124. 42. Ibid., p. 103. 43. Buchraj, p. 240. 44. Khandelwal Jain Sam"aj . . . , p. 47. 45. Brahma Raimall, p. 100. 46. Little, p. 7 47. Hukmchand Bharill, Pa^n^dit ^To^daramala Vyaktitva aur K|rtitva, Jaipur, 1973, p. 16. 48. Ravindra Kumar Jain, pp. 12, 96-7. 49. Samayasundara, K|rti-Kusum"añjali (hereafter cited as Samayasundara) Agarchand Nahta and Bhanwarlal Nahta (eds.), Calcutta, vs 2013, p. 21. 50. Pa^n^dit T ^ o^daramala, p. 16. 51. Ibid., pp. 34-5. 52. Jain Itihasni . . . , p. 56.

The Social Life of the Jain Community in Medieval Times

39

53. Ravindra Kumar Jain, p. 86. 54. Ram Narain Dugad, Muhnot Nainsi k∂ Khy"at, vol. II, Allahabad, vs 1991, p. 1. 55. Bh"a^nucandraga^nicarit, p. 59. 56. Samayasundara, p. 27. 57. Bh"anucandraga^nicarit, p. 21. 58. Imperial Mogul Firmans, M.S. Commissariat (Compiled), pp. 36-7. 59. K.C. Kasliwal (ed.), Mah" akavi Brahma Raimall evam Bha| t|t "a rak Tribhuvank∂rti, Jaipur, 1978, pp. 8, 36-7. 60. Veer ®S"asan Ke Prabh"avak Åc"arya, p. 212. 61. Samayasundara, p. 1. 62. Ibid., p. 3. 63. Ibid., pp. 32-3. 64. Ibid., pp. 34-44. 65. Bh"anucandraga^nicarit and Ambalal Premchand Saha (eds.), Digvijay Mah"ak"avya, Bombay, 1945. 66. Samayasundara, p. 19. 67. Brahma Raimall, pp. 52, 101. 68. Buchraj, p. 191, Ravindra Kumar Jain, p. 89. 69. Ravindra Kumar Jain, p. 90. 70. Samayasundara, pp. 13-14. 71. Ibid., p. 15. 72. Ratnak∂rti, p. 75. 73. Brahma Raimalla, p. 275 (Bha|t|t"araka Ratnakr$ûti studied Åyurveda). Ratnak∂rti, pp. 43, 80. 74. Jain Itihasni . . . , p. 173. 75. Nemicandra ®S"astr$û, Hindi Jain S"ahitya Pari«s ∂lan, Banaras, 1956. 76. Kamta Prasad Jain, Hindi Jain S"ahitya k"a Sank| \ sipta Itih"as, K"a«s$û, n.d. 77. Veer ®Sh"asan . . . , pp. 194-5. 78. Kamta Prasad Jain, pp. 82, 100-1, 109, 126. 79. Buchraj, p. 128. 80. Samayasundara . . . , pp. 84-8. 81. Ratnak∂rti, p. 33. 82. Ibid., p. 84; Poet Raimall wrote in Hindi and R"ajasth"an$û, Brahm Raimall, p. 59. 83. Pa^n^dit ^To^daramala, pp. 36-8. 84. Ibid., p. 38. 85. Buchraj, p. 7. 86. Kamta Prasad Jain, p. 152. 87. Jain Itihasni . . . , p. 196.

40 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124.

Jains in India: Historical Essays Ibid., p. 195. Ibid., p. 196. Ibid. Buchraj, p. 159. Ravindra Kumar Jain, p. 90. Ibid. Banarasidasa, Ardhakath"anaka, ed. Nathuram Premi, Bombay, 1970. Ravindra Kumar Jain, Kavivar Banarasidasa, Varanasi, 1966. Dhirendra Varma and Brajeshwar Varma, p. 484. Brahm Raimall, pp. 115-36. Kamta Prasad Jain, p. 127. Ratnak∂rti, p. 31. Mah"amahop"adhy"aya Meghavijayga^ni, Digvijayamah"ak"avya, Bombay, 1945, pp. 117-25; idem, Devananadmah"ak"avya, Bombay, 1937. Buchraj, p. 160. Ibid., p. 239. Samayasundara, p. 69. Ravindra Kumar Jain, pp. 124, 131. Yugapradh"ana, p. 81. Jaisom, ‘Karmcandra-Mantr$û-Vans Prabandha’ quoted in Yugapradh"ana, p. 81. Bha|t|t"araka Samprad"aya, p. 231. Ibid. Samayasundara, pp. 45, 78-9. The name of the book is Dik|s"a-Prati|s|th"a ®Suddhi . It was approved by Samaysundara. Pa^n^dit T | o^daramala, p. 33. Bh|t|t"arak Samprad"aya, p. 232. Hukamchand Bharilla, Pa^n^dit T | o^daramala, pp. 21-2, 58. Ratn"ak∂rti, pp. 26-7. Ravindra Kumar Jain, p. 103. Pa^n^dit T | o^daramala, p. 19. Ibid., p. 59. Ardhakathanaka, pp. 27-8. Yugapradh"ana, p. 26; Samayasundara, pp. 7-8. Ibid., p. 44. Ibid., p. 53. Ibid., p. 56-7. Pa^n^dit T | o^daramala, pp. 24-5. Jain Itihasni . . . , p. 179. Yugaprad"ana, p. 11.

The Social Life of the Jain Community in Medieval Times 125. 126. 127. 128. 129. 130. 131. 132. 133. 134. 135. 136. 137. 138. 139. 140. 141. 142. 143. 144. 145. 146. 147. 148. 149. 150. 151. 152. 153. 154. 155. 156. 157. 158. 159. 160. 161.

41

Samayasundara, p. 10. Tribhuvanak∂rti, p. 29. Yugapradh"ana, p. 46. Ibid., p. 23. Ibid., p. 26. Bh"anucandraga^nicarit, p. 45. Ramnarayan Dugad, Muhnot Nainsi ki Khy"at, vol. II, Allahabad, vs 1991, pp. 1-2, 4-5. Ibid. Buchraj, pp. 253. Ravindra Kumar Jain, p. 86. Brahma Raimall, p. 11, Raimall during his stay in Delhi concentrated on transcribing books. Ibid., p. 103. Buchraj, p. 11. Ibid., p. 12. Ibid. Ibid., p. 121. Ibid., p. 103. Yugapradh"ana, p. 50. Bh"anucandraga^nicarit, p. 49. Ratnak∂rti, p. 87. Bh"anucandraga^nicarit, p. 45. Ratnak∂rti, pp. 45-6. In vs 1643 the Åc"arya appointed Tej"ab"a$û, Jaimal, Meghai, Manbai, etc., in the town of Bardoli. Ratnak∂rti, p. 100. Ibid., p. 97. Yugapradh"ana, p. 54. Samayasundara, pp. 28-9. Brahma Raimall, p. 102. Ratnak∂rti, p. 20. Sur∂«svara Aur Samr"a|t, p. 277. P.C. Nahar, Jain Inscriptions, II, no. 1677. Sur∂«svara Aur Samr"a|t, p. 6. Ratnak∂rti, pp. 26-7. Buchraj, p. 255. Ibid., p. 90. Buchraj, p. 99. Ravindra Kumar Jain, p. 85. Ratnak∂rti, p. 43.

42 162. 163. 164. 165. 166. 167. 168. 169. 170. 171. 172. 173. 174. 175. 176. 177. 178. 179. 180.

181. 182. 183. 184. 185. 186. 187. 188. 189. 190. 191. 192. 193. 194.

Jains in India: Historical Essays Jain Itihasni . . . , p. 170. Ibid. Ibid., p. 178. Sur∂«svara Aur Samr"a|t, p. 258. Ibid., p. 260. A History of Gujarat, vol. II, pp. 140-1. Sur∂«svara Aur Samr"a|t, p. 256; Bh"anucandraga^nicarit, p. 45. P.C. Nahar, ed., Jain Inscriptions, vol. I, nos. 176, 196, 245, 271. Yugapradh"ana, p. 45. Brahma Raimall, p. 100. Ibid., p. 289. Ibid. Brahma Raimall, p. 101. Ratnak∂rti, p. 79, A list of popular food is given in Bha|t|t"araka Abhaycandra’s ‘Sukhri’. Buchraj, pp. 181, 251. Jain Itihasni . . . , p. 176. Ratnak∂rti, p. 92. Ibid., p. 91. Ibid., pp. 114, 116, 181-90. The r"agas mentioned are Maru^n$û, S"aranga, \ Mall"ar, Na|t N"ar"ayana, Bhairava, Kaly"ana, Kaly"a^na Carcar$û, De«sakha, Dhanyasi, ®Sr$û, A«s" avar$û, Go|dû$ , Parjiu, etc. The songs written by Bachraj in seventeenth century of the Vikram era were set to different r"agas. Buchraj, p. 39. Yugapradh"ana, pp. 53-4. Pa^n^dit T | o^daramala, p. 14. Brahma Raimall, p. 53. Vividhat∂rthakalpa, pp. 18, 23, 32-3. Yugapradh"ana, p. 47. Ibid., pp. 50-1. Buchraj, pp. 240, 253. Yugapradh"ana, pp. 95-7. Samayasundara, pp. 13-14. Ravindra Kumar Jain, pp. 11, 94. Ibid., p. 88. Buchraj, p. 7. Makrand Mehta, Indian Merchants and Enterpreneurs in Historical Perspective, New Delhi, 1991, p. 98. In fact Jain respect for Islam had a history. In the thirteenth century a Jain merchant Jagdu had built a mosque for Muslims in the port town of

The Social Life of the Jain Community in Medieval Times

195. 196. 197. 198. 199. 200. 201. 202. 203. 204. 205. 206.

43

Cambay, V.K. Jain, Trade and Traders in Western India, Delhi, 1990, p. 79. Ardhakath"anaka, vv. 224, 241-2, H$ûr"ananda Muk$ûm was also a poet of Hindi. Ratnakirti, p. 40. Sur∂«svara Aur Samr"a|t, p. 395. Ratnak∂rti, p. 27. Monserrate, The Commentary of Father Monserrate, New Delhi, 1992, pp. 189-90. Sur∂«svara Aur Samr"a|t, p. 262. Mehta, p. 44. Buchraj, p. 7. Ibid., p. 258. Ravindra Kumar Jain, pp. 92-4. K.H. Kamdar, ‘Sadavrat’ (in Gujar"at$û), Vinel"a Mot∂, vol. V, no. 1, Baroda, 1968, pp. 126, 128. Mehta, p. 95. Ibid., pp. 105-6, 108.

44

Jains in India: Historical Essays CHAPTER 2

Economic Life of Jains in Medieval Times

The economic life of Jains in medieval times can be reconstructed from a host of indigenous and European language sources. The indigenous language sources are mostly in Gujarati, Rajasthani, Hindi, Sanskrit, etc., while the European language sources are primarily in Portuguese, English, Dutch, French, etc. However at the outset, certain important characteristics of the two types of sources should be noted. Most of the indigenous language sources lack quantitative data. The contemporary literature in Gujarati, Rajasthani, Hindi and Sanskrit, etc., speak of the ‘affluence’ and ‘prosperity’ of individual Jains and of the community in different places but they seldom give any significant statistical data. We are left to deduce their economic clout from descriptions of grand reception accorded to the monks or the money or goods distributed in charities on religious or social occasions or by the number of idols installed or the number of temples built or organization of pilgrim groups of the community members to Jain holy places. On the other hand, the European language sources, especially the documents of the various European trading companies such as the Portuguese, the English, the Dutch, the French, etc., describe their dealings with Jain traders as with others on the Indian soil in concrete terms. They mention the quantum and types of goods sold or purchased as also their prices. They discuss the comparative status of Jain traders as compared to others in a place by writing about the extent of their trade contacts, the variety of commodities dealt by them, their command over liquid capital, their participation in banking operations, etc. The information becomes more copious

Economic Life of Jains in Medieval Times

45

from the seventeenth century onwards when the English and the Dutch and following them, the French extended their operations into the internal parts of India and their activities covered the whole of the north Indian plains, the western coast from Sindh to Kerala and the eastern Coromandal coast. In other words, it is from these documents that we can deduce the almost pan-Indian character of Jain economic activities and their dispersal in different parts of India. The documents of the English and the Dutch East India Companies enable us to trace the All India Trade network operated by V$ûrj$û Vora, the Jain trader of Surat, the greatest in India in the seventeenth century. The English documents underline his first appearance on the commercial scene in 1619. Again the English and the Dutch documents trace the evolution of the House of Jagat Seth in eastern India and its journey on way to becoming the greatest trading and banking firm in India in the opening decades of the eighteenth century. The career of V$ûrj$û Vora is well traced in W. Foster’s edited thirteen volumes of the documents of the English East India Company.1 Till V$ûrj$û Vora faded from the pages of history in 1670s, he had intimate relations with the English Company and we get a detailed account of his business activities. A collection of the document of the Dutch East India Company, edited by Coolhas2 also deserves mention because the Dutch Company also had the extensive business dealings with him. He was also the Company’s most important credit supplier and also purchaser of their imported goods. The French traveller Thevenot who visited India in 1660s, struck friendship with V$ûrj$û Vora in Surat. He speaks of the monetary loss the great merchant suffered as a result of the attack of ®Siv"aj$û on Surat in 1664.3 His information enables us to form an idea of the capital at the command of V$ûrj$û Vora and his capacity to withstand enormous losses. Our sources make it clear that the Jains cutting across their sectarian divisions primarily continued to be connected with trade and allied activities such as moneylending, money changing, banking, insurance, etc. The profits generated through trade enabled them to function as bankers, money-changers, etc. The profits were

46

Jains in India: Historical Essays

again ploughed back into commercial pursuits and contributed to their material prosperity and economic and political clout. Our evidence also shows that a section functioned as petty traders, saw ups and downs in their business career and just managed to keep their body and soul together. Some Jains also took up jobs in the government, especially in the revenue department, where literacy and knowledge of accounting were required. In the employment of the government some rose to high posts. But the proportion of Jains working as administrative functionaries was small. As traders, bankers and money-changers, Jains were found in all the principal ports and commercial marts of north Indian plains and western India. They were also found in the important villages and small towns, especially in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. The description in regional languages of the journeys performed by Jain monks and the reception accorded to them in various villages, small and big towns shows the presence of Jain population in these places. It is all too obvious that they were numerically small but their economic influence far exceeded their numbers. The Jains have been famous traders since ancient times. In medieval times they persisted in the profession and prospered. Jagdu of Gujarat was the most famous Jain trader of the thirteenth century in Gujarat and his affluence was well known.4 The Jains were engaged in trade at all levels. Some were big traders, who were concerned with wholesale and long distance trade, inter-regional as well as foreign. Others participated in interregional commerce and were fairly affluent. They were both wholesalers as well as retailers. A section, not so affluent, earned its living through retail trade. Many were moneylenders and bankers. Often times, the medium and small traders also acted as brokers; they were the vital links between the big trader and the primary producer. This profession received a boost in the seventeenth century when the European trading companies started operating in the inland trading marts and established direct contact with the primary producers in order to purchase the goods at cheap prices. Inability to speak the local dialect and unfamiliarity with the local conditions, forced the Europeans to depend more and more on brokers. Along with other Indian brokers (who came from

Economic Life of Jains in Medieval Times

47

the Hindu vai«sya community or the Parsi or Muslim communities), the Jains also took advantage of this opportunity. The Jains as other Indian traders profited from this expansion of trading activities. This explains their strong presence in Agra,5 the entrepôt of north Indian trade. Besides, they were well represented in two other important trade centres of north India, Lahore6 and Multan.7 One would not be wrong in assuming that from Lahore and Multan, the Jains took part in India’s overland trade with Afghanistan, Iran and trans-Oxus region of Central Asia. From these places sometimes they moved on to the Russian empire.8 The Jains utilized the capital which they commanded in many other activities allied to trade. They became moneylenders, advancing huge sums to traders as well as to rulers and officers of the state. Since the European trading companies in the seventeenth century were generally short of liquid capital they turned to Indian moneylenders, among them the Jains, to finance their purchases on the Indian soil. This brought additional profits of Jains and other Indian merchants. Along with other Indian traders, the Jains then branched out into the business of issuing hu^n^d∂s, i.e. the transfer of money from one place to another. A part of the reason for their success in this enterprise was the family and/or the community network, which encompassed several commercial centres. The profits earned from commission which they charged on hu^n^d ∂s further enriched them, helped them to expand business by consolidating or developing new areas of trade. With plenty of business expertise and capital at their disposal the Jains had no problem in taking up the highly flourishing business of the exchange of coins coming into India from different parts of the world on account of India’s favourable balance of payment position. The multiplicity of coins prevalent in India also required this facility to keep up business operations. The multidimensionality of Jain business enterprise can be very well appreciated when we take a look at the career of some leading Jain merchants in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Among these Jain merchants, V$ûrj$û Vora of Surat in Gujarat is pre-eminent. V$ûrj$û Vora was the greatest merchant of India in the seventeenth

48

Jains in India: Historical Essays

century. Kamdar on the basis of some Jain documents has described 9 him as a Sth"anakav"as$û Jain of the Lonk" \ agacch$ûya group. He enters the pages of history when the documents of the English East India mention him for the first time10 on 22 March 1619. For the next half a century V$ûrj$û Vora remained in the limelight on the economic scene in Surat. The English records mention him for the last time in 1670.11 V$ûrj$û Vora had extensive dealings with both the English and the Dutch East India Companies and later on with the French East India Company and other traders of note in the port town.12 He combined in himself the role of a trader, a moneylender, a banker, etc. As a trader, V$ûrj$û Vora dealt in commodities in bulk, both imported as well as those destined for export. A Dutch author notes ‘[He was] usually buying or selling such varied commodities as cotton, opium, spices, ivory, coral, lead, silver and gold, practically everything which changed hands in the wholesale market of Surat.’13 From the English he bought coral and ivory.14 From the Dutch in 1648 he bought cloves and in 1650 tea (20 maunds).15 Sometimes he along with some other principal merchants in Surat purchased the entire cargoes valued from Rs. 5 to 10 lakh.16 In 1650 in alliance with the Dutch broker Mohandas Parekh, V$ûrj$û Vora purchased all the goods brought by the Dutch to Surat. He was also able to purchase Indian commodities in bulk and sometimes was the only person in a position to meet the demands of the European companies for these goods. In 1625 the English had to purchase Rs. 10,000 worth of pepper from him since he alone could supply the quantum needed by them.17 The English were forced to pay the price he charged. When additional quantity of pepper reached Surat, the English tried to purchase it but V$ûrj$û Vora outbid the English and secured the entire stock. The English tried to escape from V$ûrj$û Vora’s monopolistic tendencies and sent their agents to the Deccan to purchase pepper. V$ûrj$û Vora countered the English move by instructing his men there to offer higher prices and prevented the former from obtaining the commodity. The English were finally forced to secure their supplies from him.18

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49

V$ûrj$û Vora had become the monopolist of Malabar pepper. Everyone needing the commodity had to turn to him.19 This is but one instance of the dominance exercised by V$ûrj$û Vora in the Surat market. V$ûrj$û Vora could dictate terms to the European trading companies and also compel his Indian competitors to refrain from annoying him because he had built up a network of his agents in different trading marts of India and abroad. They were stationed in Broach, Baroda, Ahmadabad, Agra, Burhanpur, Golkonda, in the trading centres on the north Malabar and the Coromandel coasts, etc.20 He had his men in the trade marts of the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Iran, Java, etc. He used European shipping for sending or bringing goods.21 Such positioning of agents enabled him to buy commodities at the source of their production at much cheaper prices and hence, could afford to outbid others in pricing these commodities. He owned ships as well.22 The reason he could create such an extensive trading organization was the enormous capital at his disposal. An idea of his wealth can be had from the fact that in 1664 ®Siv"aj$û sacked Surat and looted his residence and warehouses. A Dutch eye-witness reported that he carried six barrels of gold, money, pearls, gems and other precious commodities.23 Foster computes V$ûrj$û Vora lost £50,000.24 A Dutch Chaplain at Surat in 1664 called him ‘the richest merchant in the world. His fortune was estimated at eight million rupees.’25 Such was V$ûrj$û Vora’s vitality that he soon recovered and was once again functioning as the prime trader of Surat. The availability of so much cash enabled V$ûrj$û Vora to function as the most important moneylender of Surat. All the European trading companies at one time or another were indebted to him and for that reason were afraid to alienate or displease him. He would compel the Europeans to sell to him imported commodities at prices he fixed. No Indian or any trader in Surat would venture to purchase these for fear of offending him. The Europeans were left without an option; they had to accept the terms laid down by V$ûrj$û Vora. Of course, this was highly unpalatable to them. The English disgust with V$ûrj$û Vora is apparent when he is called as the ‘. . . most injurious man’26 to their trade. In spite of such hard feelings the English East India Company continued to deal with him

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because of three reasons: he was an important buyer of goods brought by them;27 he was the most reliable provider of Indian goods needed by them for exports; finally, he lent them money whenever they needed it to arrange cargo for their ships. Probably his ability to supply liquid capital required by Europeans was the most decisive factor which forced them to comply with his directives. The foreigners were often short of ready money and on such occasions, he was their invariable saviour. A look at the sums advanced by V$ûrj$û Vora to the Europeans is instructive. Apart from such small sums as Rs. 20,000 in 1635, Rs. 30,000 in 1636, he lent heavy sums such as Rs. 2,00,000 in 1636 and Rs. 1,00,000 in 1642 in Ahmadabad. When the English borrowed Rs. 4,00,000 in 1669 in Surat from a group of creditors, V$ûrj$û Vora was an important member of the group. It should be noted that V$ûrj$û Vora was capable of lending money not only in Surat but also in most of the important commercial centres where the Europeans were operating. The above story was repeated in case of the Dutch Company VOC as well. V$ûrj$û Vora’s capacity to advance loans in places other than Surat made him invaluable to the English and the Dutch; both borrowed from the agents of V$ûrj$û Vora outside Surat. On one occasion at Agra, Kalidas Mega, agent of V$ûrj$û Vora lent Rs. 43,000 to the Dutch at 11 per cent. In 1634 at Agra another agent of V$ûrj$û provided the Dutch with Rs. 16,000 out of Rs. 44,000 which they had borrowed.28 The English also borrowed from V$ûrj$û Vora Rs. 50,000 at Agra in 1630. In 1650, the agent of V$ûrj$û Vora in Golkonda advanced a loan of 10,000 old Pagodas to the English East India Company.29 The amount financed the Company’s voyage to Pegu in Burma. On this occasion he charged interest of the rate of 1½ per cent per month.30 The rate of interest charged by V$ûrj$û Vora varied according to the exigencies of the situation. Of course, for all these loans, he charged a heavy amount of interest. The English paid him though they disliked him for the exorbitant interest they had to pay. They were helpless; they agreed because it made sound business sense.

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Besides, being a purchaser and provider of goods and also being a creditor, V$ûrj$û Vora also rendered other services to them. Both the English and the Dutch found it convenient to transfer money from one place to another through the agency of the firm of V$ûrj$û Vora. The VOC always remitted money from Surat through the agency of V$ûrj$û Vora.31 The English in 1630 sent Rs. 15,000 through a Bill of Exchange from Surat to Agra through V$ûrj$û Vora.32 The business relationship between V$ûrj$û Vora and the Europeans could develop because it was highly advantageous to the latter in many ways. A Dutch author has conceded that much of the early success of the Dutch Company was due to services rendered by V$ûrj$û Vora.33 In short, V$ûrj$û Vora, so long as he was active, remained the most important trader in Surat; this was accepted on all hands by the contemporaries. An Armenian Khw"a j"a Minaz, who was himself a prominent merchant of Surat from 1660s onwards purchased broad cloth on behalf of V$ûrj$û Vora.34 Minaz was financing voyages to Manila.35 The pre-eminent position of V$ûrj$û Vora in the economic life of Surat was recognized by the imperial Mughal authorities. They sought his advice and consulted him whenever any problem cropped up between the government and the traders. Similarly, traders, both Indians and foreigners sought his good offices for the redressal of their grievances against the government. There are numerous instances when the Mughal authorities sought his assistance to resolve a crisis situation.36 The Governor of Surat formed a committee in 1636 to inquire into the looting of two ships belonging to Surat merchants by English pirates. V$ûrj$û Vora was made a member of the committee. After the sack of Surat by ®Siv"aj$û in 1664, the local Mughal governor sent V$ûrj$û Vora and Haji Zahid Beg another important merchant to the imperial court to plead for the fortification of the town as a measure of security against future attacks.37 It seems that around 1670, V$ûrj$û Vora renounced the world, entrusted the business to his family members and retired to a monastery.

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Like his early life, we hardly have details about his last days. From 1619 to 1670 V$ûrj$û Vora dominated the business scene in Surat, the premier port of India. He had successfully competed against the Indian and Asian merchants and also the Europeans. The latter were a formidable foe since they did not mind using their fire-power on the high seas to enforce their demands. But V$ûrj$û Vora by his economic acumen and clout ensured that the Europeans complied with his wishes and did not resort to extraeconomic coercion. V$ûrj$û Vora’s top position remained unchallenged. What is remarkable is that V$ûrj$û Vora had achieved this distinction without any political support. Unfortunately, neither the European nor the indigenous sources give us any idea of his lifestyle. But we do learn that he tried to discharge his social responsibility. During the severe famine of 1630-2, he distributed grain and cooked food to the hungry and needy.38 Like other Jains of his age, he lavishly contributed to the socioreligious functions of his community. Most of the Jain traders in medieval times, the big, the medium and the ordinary, generally traded in precious stones, diamonds, rubies, pearls, etc. They also sold ornaments, which are always in demand in the Indian society, cutting across caste, class and religion. The Jains took advantage of this persisting demand. It appears that investment in jewels and jewellery was a form of earning high profit and a form of hoarding wealth in troubled medieval times. These could be easily hidden and transported whenever the local condition became troublesome. Unfortunately this was not rare.39 Jain jewellers were to be found in places where there was a concentration of nobility, administrative functionaries and businessmen.40 Ahmedabad was a reputed mart for jewellery and precious stones. The English Ambassador Sir Thomas Roe and the French traveller Tavernier both mention this.41 Shantidas was the most prominent trader in jewels. For obtaining diamonds he used to visit B$ûj"apur, a centre of diamond mining and trade.42 Since the Mughal rulers were fond of jewels, they kept in touch with prominent jewellers. This was an important reason why Sh"ah Jahan used to address Shantidas as m"am"a or uncle.43 Jahangir had appointed him as his

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jeweller and it was expected that (he) should offer gifts and presents and every kind of jewellery to the Emperor.44 He sold jewels to Asaf Khan, the brother of Nur Jahan and father-in-law of Emperor Sh"ah Jahan.45 Prince Dara Shikoh also bought jewels from him.46 His wealth was well known to the royal family and this made him an object of extortion. During the war of succession following the serious illness of Sh"ah Jahan, Prince Murad forcibly extracted from Shantidas and his family a sum of Rs. 5.5 lakh.47 It was a measure of his usefulness to the Mughal court that when Murad lost the war, Aurangzeb, who became the emperor ordered Rahmat Khan to return Rs. 1 lakh from the royal treasury as a part payment towards the loan incurred by his deceased brother.48 Aurangzeb sought to derive political milleage out of his magnamity and issued to Shantidas another firm"an asking him to convey to the ‘merchants and the mah"ajanas and to all the inhabitants’, his ‘goodwill towards them’.49 Shantidas like V$ûrj$û Vora was consulted by the Mughal authorities on matters affecting the state of economy in the city. The other traders also accepted him as their spokesman and he was definitely ‘the first’ among them. He intereceded on their behalf with the imperial authorities. Like other Jain traders, Shantidas had several business interests. He also participated in long distance sea trade. This is evident from the fact that an English ship which was captured by pirates had goods belonging to Shantidas. According to one version his loss amounted to Rs. 10,000 and according to another, to Rs. 35,000.50 Since many other Gujarati traders had also suffered losses, Shantidas organized the Ahmadabad mah"ajana to put pressure on the English East India Company to make good their losses. When the Englishmen dallied, he prevailed on the local authorities to punish the Englishmen, who were put behind bars. Ultimately, the English relented and Shantidas was paid the amount he was claiming.51 Another reason for Shantidas’s influence was his capacity to advance loans to the Europeans. This was a source of income as well as influence. Shantidas regularly lent money to the European East India Companies. In 1627 the English borrowed from him Rs. 10,000 at 1 per cent interest per month.52

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Like V$ûrj$û Vora, Shantidas also exercised great influence over the local trading community. The English complained that in 1640, there was a great shortage of money in Ahmadabad and all small merchants were unwilling to lend because Shantidas was holding his money.53 The local traders considered him as their role model. Shantidas became the Nagara Se|th of Ahmadabad. Subsequently a number of his descendants became Nagara Se|ths of the city.54 Such vast economic power and influence, however, did not insulate both there merchants from local bureaucratic tyranny. The political master always remained supreme and the merchants either had to toe their line or to persuade them to accept their view. This created a highly unfavourable situation for the merchants, who had to contend with political uncertainties along with ups and downs in business. Hakim Sadra (Masih-uz-Zaman) who became the governor of Surat in 1638, was personally interested in trade. He wanted to corner all supplies of pepper and extorted money from the merchants of Surat. To terrorise the trading community, he even imprisoned V$ûrj$û Vora. When the matter came to the knowledge of Sh"ah Jahan, he ordered his release.55 In order to soothe his feelings, Sh"ah Jahan invited him to the imperial court. Shantidas incurred the wrath of Prince Aurangzeb, while he was the governor of Gujarat. The latter ordered the defilement of the temple of Cint"ama^ni P"ar«svan"atha which Shantidas had constructed in the Saraspur suburb of Ahmadabad. When Sh"ah Jahan came to know of it, he ordered its restoration to Shantidas and some compensation was also paid to him.56 The above two incidents are highly revealing. The fact comes out that in Gujarat the Jain traders, despite enjoying economic dominance, could not escape bureaucratic tyranny. Normally they seldom got involved in politics. They adopted a neutral stance. They reacted when their collective economic interests were threatened or when the tyranny became unbearable. This is illustrated by the following example. The Hindu and Jain merchants of Surat en masse left the city to protest against the behaviour of the local Qazi57 who was trying to force them to accept Islam. The emperor intervened when he realized that the

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economic life of the city would be disrupted and the state exchequer would be adversely affected. The Qazi was recalled and the traders returned to Surat. While political neutrality was the hallmark of traders in western India, the story is different when we take up the fortunes of another Jain trading concern, the House of Jagat Se|th which emerged in eastern India in the last quarter of the seventeenth century. The founder of the House of Jagat Se|th was Hiranand Sh"ah, an Oswal Jain from N"agaur in Marwar who came down to Patna in 1652.58 He started as a banker and a trader of saltpetre.59 Saltpetre from Bihar was then the most sought after commodity by the Europeans60 and he soon prospered. He advanced loans to Europeans and discounted bills of exchange they received from other places. Hiranand Sh"ah’s eldest son, Manikchand moved to Dacca, the capital of Bengal and a famous centre for producing the finest muslin in the world. Banking business which entailed supply of liquid money to Europeans and Indian merchants was thriving in the seventeenth century as business flourished in Bihar and Bengal in the second half of the seventeenth century after the Dutch and the English systematically started exploring its markets for cotton textiles, silk, opium, saltpetre, etc. Bengal and Bihar were the most important entrepôt for the European and Asian merchants, where they obtained goods for export to European and Asian markets. Manikchand was financing even the private trade of Josiah Chitty, an employee of the English East India Company.61 Manikchand developed cordial relations with Murshid Quli Khan, ‘the Supreme head of financial administration in the province’. When the capital of Bengal was shifted to Murshidabad from Dacca, Manikchand also moved over to the new city; the establishment at Dacca was not closed since Dacca remained a mint town of the Mughal empire and a flourishing trade centre.62 Under the direction of Manikchand, the banking operations expanded and soon he had branches all over Bengal and north India under different names. When Farrukh Siyar declared himself the Mughal emperor in Patna in 1712, he borrowed money from local bankers. Manikchand was his chief creditor.63 He had become a close confidante of Murshid Quli Khan and received from the

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emperor the title of Nagara Se|th.64 The nearness of the House to the Bengal Governor and the emperor was a crucial factor in the economic progress of the family. After Manikchand’s death in 1714, his nephew Fateh Chand succeeded him. He was also a favourite of Murshid Quli Khan. Under him the House reached its zenith. His influence over the money market of the Mughal empire was dominant. In this he differed from both V$ûrj$û Vora and Shantidas. The Mughal emperor made him the ‘Treasurer General of Bengal’ and Emperor Muhammad Sh"ah conferred upon him the designation of Jagat Se|th as a hereditary distinction.65 It is said that before making this recommendation to the emperor, Murshid Quli Khan forced Fateh Chand to pay him Rs. 5 lakh.66 The Central Office of the House at Dacca was styled as ‘Manikchand Jagat Se|th Fateh Chandji’. Fateh Chand’s nearness to the political supremos in Delhi and Murshidabad gradually led to his involvement in the politics of the period. The European companies courted him for his word carried great weight with the naw"a b and the Mughal emperor. Whenever they needed some favour from the naw"ab or the emperor, they routed their request through the House of Jagat Se|th. The English and Dutch companies requested Jagat Se|th Fateh Chand not to intercede on behalf of the Ostend Company with the naw"ab when it pleaded for the issuance of a firm"an permitting them to trade. Finally, when the Ostend Company struck a deal with the naw"ab, it deposited Rs. 70,000 in the bank of Jagat Se|th. The money was to be handed over to the naw"ab after the Ostenders received the imperial firm"an.67 Fateh Chand and his successor Mahtab Rai, held that the right to the minting of coins in Bengal exclusively belonged to them even though the English East India Company had obtained an imperial rescript to use the imperial mint for producing gold and silver coins. The Bengal naw"ab agreed with the views of the Jagat Se|ths.68 This privilege made the Se|ths the biggest buyer of silver in Bengal.69 Another author describes the House as the ‘biggest purchaser of all the bullion imported in to Bengal’.70 In 1751 the naw"ab of Bengal ordered the Dutch, the English and the French East India Companies to ‘send all money whether

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Bullion or Rupees to the Mint at Muxadvad (Murshidabad) to be coined there into sicc"as or disposed of to Jugut Seat (Jagat Se|th) and forbidding the Europeans to pay away any Money to their Merchants but the new sicc"as’.71 The right to mint coins was a source of great profit to the Jagat Se|ths since it enabled them to exercise dominant control over the money market. Secondly, since Bengal was an important trade mart, coins of various countries were brought here as Bengal’s exports always exceeded her imports. They were sometimes reminted and this gave the Jagat Se|ths great profit because they could decide and charge the ba|t|ta, i.e. the relative exchange rate. Also they exchanged the various coins and received commission for this service. According to one estimate, the House ‘coined 5 million rupees a year and the profit on this account amounted to 0.35 million rupees’.72 An author has graphically described the reasons for the tremendous influence wielded by the house of Jagat Se|th. ‘The major sources of the huge income, tremendous power and great prestige of the house of Jagat Se|th were derived from their farms of Murshidabad and Dacca mints, two-thirds of the province’s revenue collection, their control over rates of exchange, interest rates, billbroking and the provision of credit.’73 The economic importance of the house received impetus when it was called upon to remit the annual tribute of the s"ub"a h to Delhi. 74 The existence of branches of the house in all the important trade centres in eastern, northern and western India, enabled the house to carry on the work of transmission of money through hu^n^d ∂s.75 This was a very important segment of their activities. A contemporary author noted that a dar«san∂ hu^n^d ∂ between Rs. 50 lakh and 1 crore could be drawn in the time of Se|th Fateh Chand.76 The prosperity of the house was so well established that even when the Mar"a|th"as in 1742 looted Rs. 2 crore from the house of Jagat Se|th, its liquidity was not impaired. In 1747 the Chief of the Dacca Factory of the English East India Company received Rs. 1 lakh by means of a hu^n^d ∂ sent from Kasim Bazar and discounted by the house of Jagat Se|th.

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The command over so much cash enabled the House to advance large sums as credits, commercial or otherwise. All the European trading companies were dependent upon the House in times of need. The House was playing the same role which V$ûrj$û Vora played in Surat in the seventeenth century. In 1732 when the English East India Company sent Rs. 1,50,000 to Patna, they borrowed the amount from the House of Jagat Se|th.77 At Kasim Bazar, the servants of the Company borrowed Rs. 2,00,000 from the House. The Company was irritated but had to admit that if they were to trade in Bengal,78 ‘Futteh Chand must be satisfied’ and ‘the house must be kept in temper’. In 1747 the English Factory at Dacca had borrowed heavily from the House of Jagat Se|th and others and was not in a position to pay the interest. The Dutch and the French companies were equally obliged to the House for credits. In 1756, the Dutch borrowed Rs. 4 lakh at 9 per cent from the House of Jagat Se|th. A little earlier, the French Company owed Rs. 1.5 million to the house.79 The representative of the House stood surety for the am∂rs of Delhi when Ahmad Sh"ah invaded Delhi in 1757 and was extorting money from the Mughal nobles.80 The House advanced loans to European companies, the government and private European merchants, nobles as well as Indian businessmen. Of course, a part of the reason for their success was the close nexus they had forged with the naw"abs of Bengal right from the days of Murshid Quli Khan till the English became ascendant after the battle of Plassey in 1757. Their relations were equally cordial with the Mughal rulers in Delhi. But after the battle of Plassey the political scenario underwent a change. Naw" ab Sirajuddaula distrusted them and Naw"a b M$û r Kasim killed Jagat Se|th Mahtab Rai and Mah"ar"aja Swarup Chand and held their family members as hostage. The English East India Company and its servants gained immense booty after their victory at Plassey. The grant of d∂w"an∂ by the Mughal Emperor Sh"ah Alam further reduced the need of the

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Company to look for money for commercial investments. The dependence on the House of Jagat Se|th for capital was gone and this heralded their decline. Within a decade their economic prosperity had suffered a great setback. This is evident from the following instance. In the famine of 1770, Jagat Se|th Khushal Chand donated only Rs. 5,000 while an ordinary trader Gopi Mondal gave Rs. 50,000.81 Such an affluent family as that of the Jagat Se|th had a lavish lifestyle despite the Jain emphasis on austerity. For example, Mahtab Rai and Swarup Chand were purchasing Rs. 1,50,000 worth of Dacca muslin in 1747 for household use. The Bengal naw"ab purchased muslin worth Rs. 3,00,000 a year.82 Even when the House was economically declining and in ‘dire economic straits’, Jagat Se| th Khushal Chand declined a pension of Rs. 3 lakh a year offered by Robert Clive because he claimed that his household expenses were Rs. 1 lakh per month.83 The House of Jagat Se|th whose capital in early 1760s was calculated at Rs. 7 crore was now inexorably sliding to its decline.84 The fortune of the House of Jagat Se|th could not be retrieved. In 1844 Jagat Se|th Gobindchand sought a pension from the Company and was granted a sum of Rs. 1,200 per month.85 To sum up, the fortunes of V$ûrj$û Vora were based on long distance foreign and internal trade; the prosperity of Shantidas depended upon internal trade and diamond trade; the wealth of the House of Jagat Se|th resulted from a combination of banking and internal trade. It dabbled in politics, enjoyed enormous influence at the court of the Mughal emperor and the Bengal naw"ab. The political revolution of 1757 in Bengal changed the politicoadministrative scene to the detriment of the interest of the house. Soon it faded into background. Besides these three merchants who were at the top in their time, there were several other Jains, who achieved varied degrees of success. Karma Sh"ah, the well known cloth trader of Chittor, earned so much money that he advanced a loan of Rs. 1 lakh to Bahadur Sh"ah, the prince of Gujarat. When Bahadur Sh"ah became the ruler in 1526 CE, Karma Sh"ah visited him in Ahmadabad. Bahadur Sh"ah

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returned the money and also permitted him to repair Jain temples on the ®Satruñjaya hill.86 Another important Jain merchant of Mewar in the sixteenth century was Bh"am"a Sh"ah, who earned eternal gratitude of the Sisodi"a ruling house and carved a name for himself in history by helping R"a^n"a Prat"ap during his fight against the Mughal ruler, Akbar.87 In the sixteenth century, two Gujarati brothers Rajia and Vajiya belonging to Cambay became prominent traders in the Portugueseheld port of Goa. Their affluence is attested to by the grandeur of their shop which was adorned with an inverted gold vessel at the top. They got a person released from the Portuguese captivity in the port town of Goa by paying a huge ransom. When the person after his release once sought to kill twenty-two thieves, the latter protested saying that the particular day was sacred to Sh"ah Rajiya. The person immediately released them saying that Rajiya brothers were not only his great friends but also had saved his life. He could not think of hurting their feeling.88 Another important trader of the port of Diu was Abhayar"aja, who owned four sea-going vessels and was very rich.89 I have already pointed out that members of the Jain community in spite of being small in numbers were widely distributed in the country. Most of them were either small or medium businessmen, active in important villages, small towns and important urban administrative and commercial centres. This is best illustrated by the history of the family of the famous Jain Hindi poet, Banarasidasa who lived during the reigns of three Mughal emperors, Akbar, Jahangir and Sh"ah Jahan. After Muldas’ death in Narwar (near Gwalior), his son Kharagsen (Banarasidasa’s father) left the place along with his mother and arrived in Jaunpur (Uttar Pradesh) where the latter’s brother Madan Singh was a jeweller dealing in precious stones.90 Trade in precious stones was an important profession of Jains; traders like Shantidas of Ahmadabad supplied gems to the royal Mughal household. Besides these, there were a host of others, in small as well as in medium category, who catered to the vast clientele for earning their livelihood. Also it was not unusual for the same person to try his hand at several businesses.

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Kharagsen, as he was growing up, moved on to Agra in 1569 and in association with relatives, took up shroffage, i.e. exchange of coins of different varieties,91 a very popular business in medieval times. After some time he came back to Jaunpur and in partnership with Ramdas Agrawal continued with the business of shroffage. Side by side, he also sold pearls and precious stones.92 Since the local governor Qulich Khan tyrannized over the jewellers, because they failed to satisfy his demand for precious stones, Kharagsen and other jewellers fled Jaunpur. Kharagsen left his family at the village of Shajadpur along with his son Banarasidasa and himself went to Allahabad to earn a living.93 In the absence of his father, Banarasidasa tried to earn some money by selling cowries.94 It was his first foray in business and his grandmother celebrated the occasion by distributing sweets out of the first profit made by Banarasidasa. Business was the basic profession the Jains took up. It did not matter even if the beginning was a humble one. Banarasidasa’s father decided to take a hand in training his son in the art of business. He took him along to Allahabad, kept him as his understudy and familiarized Banarasidasa with the profession of usury and pawning commodities.95 Generally, by participating in family business and by gaining practical experience, the scions of Jains learnt the art of business. The distinct impression is that Jains did not specialize in any particular commodity; they combined business in various items and were active in the lucrative business of shroffage and moneylending. In 1610 CE Kharagsen was convinced that his son was capable of carrying on business independently. He decided to give him a chance. He collected some jewel-incrusted ornaments, some pieces of gems, 20 maunds of ghee, two barrels of oil, some locally manufactured textiles, all costing Rs. 2,000 only. A part of this amount was borrowed. He wrote down the prices on a piece of paper and asked him to go to Agra and start business there.96 The spirit of entrepreneurship displayed here should be noted. The father personally arranged that the son set himself up in business at a distant place on his own. Of course, Agra being the capital city of the Mughal empire, was a flourishing business centre and

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provided prospects for larger profits. This must have been uppermost in the mind of Kharagsen when he selected the imperial city for his son to start his business career. As was customary in those days Banarasidasa joined a caravan proceeding to Agra. The caravan travelled on an average of 5 kos (around 15 km.) each day. 97 The journey was full of incidents because of torrential rains but eventually Banarasidasa reached Agra and began trading.98 The transaction in oil and ghee was profitable while he suffered loss in the sale of jewels and ornaments. But overall the profits were enough to enable him to pay off all his debts.99 After a stay of couple of years, Banarsidasa along with two friends undertook a business trip to Patna, then the most important commercial city in eastern India.100 The journey was full of hazards; they survived accidents, loss of way, company of thieves,101 etc. They reached the city. Probably this was a pleasure-cum-business trip. Banarasidasa had literary and religious interests and was unable to concentrate on business. He returned to Jaunpur. After the death of his father in 1616 CE Banarasidasa decided to have another go at business. He borrowed Rs. 500 and invested the money in the purchase of Jaunpur$û textiles.102 Raising capital on credit for purposes of trade was an accepted practice. However, before he could start trading he was summoned to Agra by Se|th Sabalsingh Mothia.103 Banarasidasa entrusted the goods to a friend and went to Agra. The purpose was to clear the accounts. It seems that Banarasidasa was at this point of time issuing and receiving hu^n^d∂s on behalf of Sabalsingh and this was his primary source of livelihood. The journey to Agra was full of misadventures. On one occasion he was on the point of being arrested by the police on charges of circulating counterfeit money. With great difficulty104 he managed to extricate himself from this situation. Sabalsingh Mothia was an extremely rich trader. When Banarasidasa reached Agra, Sabalsingh was enjoying with his friends a programme of music and paid no heed to his plea for clearing the accounts. This continued for thirty months. Obviously rich traders could afford to ignore their subordinates who had to submit to

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their whims. Eventually Banarasidasa met Sabalsingh’s brotherin-law and requested him to plead on his behalf. He persuaded Sabalsingh to give in writing that Banarasidasa owed nothing to him.105 This long wait must have disenchanted Banarsidas from pursuing a commercial profession. Banarasidasa gave up his trading activities and for the rest of his life devoted himself to literary and religious pursuits.106 It is said in the time of Jahangir, 88 ®Svet"ambara Jain families lived in Agra.107 Savaji Kabanji Parekh of Porbander was another important Jain trader. He complained to Sh"ah Jahan when the local administrator raised tax from 3 to 6 per cent on goods sold by him. He succeeded in securing an imperial firm"an which ordered all the local officials not to exact more than 3 per cent as tax.108 He constructed a Jain temple in 1635 CE but later on accepted Pu|s|ti M"arga, as propagated by Vallabh"a c"arya. 109 A group of fourteen merchants lent to the East India Company in Bengal between 31 March and 25 July 1670 a sum of Rs. 5.23 lakh. Of these Kalyanchand Jesang and Kapurchand were certainly Jains.110 The narrative underlines certain important facts about the economic life of Jains in medieval times. First, trade was their primary economic occupation. In pursuit of trade they had spread all over north India from Multan in the west to Patna, Rajmahal, etc., in the east. They were to be found in major villages, small towns and important commercial centres. Capital could be easily raised for investment on credit. Loans were available as a part of normal business practice. The affluent merchants had a wide trading network which enabled them to participate in long distance trade and also receive and transfer money from and to different places. The combination of trade, banking and shroffage brought immense material prosperity to some Jains. On occasions the economic clout was translated into political influence as the history of the House of Jagat Se|th amply demonstrates. The Mughal capital, Agra, the commercial entrepôt of the Mughal empire, was the headquarters of many eminent Jain trad-

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ers. Besides Sabalsingh, we know of Hiranand Mukim who was so rich that the Mughal Emperor Jahangir visited his house as an invitee in 1610. Jahangir permitted him to lead a congregation of Jains from Allahabad to the Jain holy place Sammed ®Sikhara in Bihar.111 Uttamchand Jawahari has been mentioned as another jeweller of Agra.112 It is clear that in addition to their participation in banking and shroffage, a major source of Jain affluence was their trade in diamonds, pearls and other precious stones. In the seventeenth century diamond trade in India was booming. Even the Europeans participated in this trade. Fischel notes, . . . prominent London Jews, who, attracted by the wealth of the diamond mines at Golconda, seriously considered going to India settling in Madras. Already in 1670 London Jews were interested in the Indian diamond trade and a certain Rodrigues of Berry Street and a Da Costa are reported to have paid some money into the East India Company Bank.113

Involvement in trade, banking, usury and exchange of coins required the person concerned to pick up at least rudiments of three r’s—reading, writing and arithmatic. Since trade was their primary profession, they were a literate community. Literacy among Jains had deeper roots as they were exposed to the preachings of their wandering monks. Wherever there was a concentration of some Jains, during the rainy season, some monks would stay, deliver lectures on religious scriptures. Hence, as a community the Jains had enough incentive to learn to read and write. They were skilled in accounting. Moving from place to place, they had also developed expertize in local languages and were invariably familiar with two or three languages. The grandfather of Banarasidasa had studied both Hindi and Persian.114 Hence, many Jains were offered jobs in the administration, before and under the imperial Mughals and the local nobility. Jobs in the administration were the next important source of livelihood for the Jains. Sangrama was appointed a minister by Sher Sh"ah Suri.115 His son Karmacandra eventually rose to become a trusted minister of Akbar. 116

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Under Akbar the Great, Than Singh was an important minister. He was responsible for Akbar’s invitation to Hiravijayas"uri.117 When Man Singh conquered Bengal on behalf of Akbar, he carried with him a number of Jains, who were then entrusted with the task of reorganizing the revenue administration. Diwan Dhanna Srimal has been mentioned as one such official in Bengal.118 Kharagsen the father of Banarasidasa went to Bengal to serve under Dhanna Srimal. He was made a treasurer or po|td"ar of four pargan"as and he collected revenue with the help of two k"arkunas and forwarded the amount so collected to the local governor.119 He returned to Jaunpur after Dhanna suddenly died.120 Nanu Godha accompanied Akbar’s General Man Singh to Bengal. He became so affluent that he constructed eighty temples in Bengal. He owned seventy-two elephants.121 Kharagsen’s father Muldas was also a government official, who served in the j"ag∂r of Narwar, granted to a Mughal official. It is reported that along with the collection of the revenue, he also advanced loans and earned extra money. Another Jain, Jaita Sh"ah was also a confidante of Akbar.122 Among other administrative officials at the local level, mention may be made of Sahaskaran of Viramgaon (near Ahmadabad), who commanded a force of 500 cavalry.123 Another Jain to make his mark as a distinguished administrator was Muhnot Nainsi, who was at one time the Prime Minister of Jodhpur and who came from a family of distinguished administrators.124 He was a historian as well. He led the State armed forces on several occasions. His valour on the battle-field made the enemies tremble with fear.125 NOTES 1. W. Foster, ed., English Factories in India, 1618-69, vol. 13, Oxford, 190627. 2. Coolhas, ed., Generale Missiven Der Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, vols. I & II, Martinus Nijhoff, 1664. 3. Thevenot, Indian Travels of Thevenot and Careri, ed. S.N. Sen, New Delhi, 1949, p. 22.

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4. V.K. Jain, Trade and Traders in Western India (CE 1000-1300), Delhi, 1990, p. 107, ‘Jagdu had regular trade relation with Persia, was so rich that, during a terrible famine lasting for three years, he was able to distribute gram free to the people’. Jagdu had also built a mosque for the use of Muslims. Ibid., p. 79. 5. Banarasidasa names a number of Jain traders residing in Agra, viz., Sabalsingh Mothia, Kunwarpal Johri, Banarasidasa, Ardhakath"anaka, ed. Nathuram Premi, Bombay, 1970. 6. Surishwar Aur Samr"a|t, tr. Krishnalal Varma, Baroda, Samvat 1980. 7. J.P. Jain, Pramukha Jain Puru|sa aur Mahilayen, New Delhi, 1975, p. 296. Sh"ah Hiranand was the most prominent Jain trader of Lahore. 8. K.A. Antonova and N.M. Goldberg, eds., Russko-lndiskiye Otnosheniya, V XVII V, Moscow, 1965, pp. 11, 15, 56, 64, 66 ff. The merchant was called Marwari Barayev and was the richest among Indian merchants in Russia. 9. B.G. Gokhale, Surat in the Seventeenth Century, Bombay, 1979, p. 137. 10. EFI (1618-21), p. 86. 11. Gokhale, p. 145. 12. The entire stock of coral brought by the English in the ship Discovery from the Red Sea was purchased by V$ûrj$û Vora, EFI (1646-50 ), p. 210; EFI (1668-69), p. 195. The English had temporarily broken their relations with V$ûrj$û Vora in 1665, EFI (1665-67 ), p. 3. For his dealings with the Dutch, see EFI (1668-50), p. 88; Gokhale, p. 143. For his dealings with the French, Gokhale, pp. 143-5; EFI (1668-9 ), p. 206. 13. O.C. Kail, The Dutch in India, Delhi, p. 73. 14. EFI (1630-3), pp. 301-2; EFI (1642-5), p. 99; EFI (1646-50), p. 281; EFI (1651-4 ), pp. 57, 87; EFI (1651-4 ), p. 30. 15. EFI (1646-50 ), p. 330. 16. W.H. Moreland, From Akbar to Aurangzeb: A Study in Indian Economic History, London, 1923, p. 153. 17. Gokhale, p. 143. 18. EFI (1624-9 ), pp. 90-4. 19. Surendra Gopal, Commerce and Crafts in Gujarat, New Delhi, 1975, p. 110. 20. Kail, p. 73; EFI (1637-41), pp. 235, 288. 21. Makrand Mehta, Indian Merchants and Entrepreneurs in Historical Perspective, Delhi, 1991, p. 61; Kail, p. 73. 22. EFI (1618-21), p. 86. 23. EFI (1661-64), p. 310. 24. Ibid.

Economic Life of Jains in Medieval Times 25. 26. 27. 28.

29.

30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37.

38. 39.

40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52.

67

Kail, p. 73. Ibid. EFI (1642-5). It is stated that in 1668 V$ûrj$û Vora and Hajizahid had in stock enough quicksilver and vermilion to satisfy the requirements of the ‘whole country for many years’, EFI (1668-9), p. 24. Javed Akhtar, ‘Mercantile and Financial Operations of V$ûrj$û Vora, The Great Seventeenth Century Merchant of Surat’, Proceedings, Indian History Congress, Madras Session, 1996, pp. 318-19. Gokhale, p. 142. Akhtar, p. 318. Ibid., p. 319. Kail, p. 73. Commerce and Crafts in Gujarat, p. 66. EFI (1670-7), p. 192. EFI (1624-9), pp. 27-30. Narmadashankar Dave, Suratni Mukhatesar Hakikat, Bombay, 1866, pp. 1-2, quoted in Makrand Mehta, ‘V$ûrj$û Vora: An Indian Merchant’, Indian Merchant and Entrepreneur, p. 59. K.N. Kamdar, ‘Sad"avrata ’, Binclan Moti, November 1968, pp. 125-9. Banarasidasa graphically describes how Qulich Khan, the administrator of Jaunpur tyrannized the local dealers in precious stones, who to save themselves fled to nearby forests and hid themselves. On another occasion when the news of the death of the Mughal emperor became known, the whole town of Jaunpur anxiously waited for the outbreak of violence. Ardhakath"anaka, pp. 111-13. Ardhakath"anaka, p. 148. Indian Merchants and Entrepreneurs, pp. 96-7. Ibid., p. 96. Ibid., p. 100. Ibid., p. 102. Ibid. Ibid., p. 103. Indian Merchants and Entrepreneurs, p. 104; Commerce and Crafts in Gujarat, pp. 177-8. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid., p. 107. Ibid., p. 109. Indian Merchants and Entrepreneurs, p. 109.

68 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79.

80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85.

Jains in India: Historical Essays Ibid. D. Tripathi, ed., Business Communities in India, Delhi, 1984, pp. 44-5. EFI (1637-41), pp. xvi, 88, 100. Tripathi, op. cit., pp. 26-7. Commerce and Crafts in Gujarat, p. 179, Eight thousand traders left from Broach in April and they returned in December 1668. J.H. Little, House of Jagat Seth, Calcutta, 1967, p. vi. Ibid. Om Prakash, The Dutch East India Company and the Economy of Bengal, 1630-1720, Princeton, pp. 58-60. Little, p. 19. Ibid. Murshid Quli Khan and His Times, p. 96. Ibid., p. 99. Little, p. vii, 26; Sushil Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline: Eighteenth Century Bengal, Delhi, 1995, p. 110; Murshid Quli Khan . . . , p. 99. Ibid., pp. 99-100. Murshid Quli Khan . . . , p. 209. Little, pp. viii-ix. D.K. Taknet, Industrial Entrepreneurship of Shekh"awat∂ M"arw"ar∂s, Jaipur, 1987, p. 76. Little, p. ix. K.K. Datta, The Dutch in Bengal and Bihar, Patna, 1969, p. 14. Chaudhury, p. 111. Ibid., p. 110. Little, p. ix. Murshid Quli Khan . . . , pp. 234-5. Taknet, p. 72. Idem, p. 68. Little, p. x. Idem, p. xi; The Dutch in Bengal and Bihar, Patna, p. 20; Datta, pp. 122-3. Fateh Chand in 1743 claimed and received Rs. 25,000 from the English East India Company, which Russell had borrowed from him and had died without repaying. Ibid., p. xii. Little, p. xvi. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid., p. xvii. Ibid., p. xxiii.

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86. C.B. Sheth, Jainism in Gujarat, 1100 to 1600 CE, Bhavnagar, not dated, p. 237. 87. Ibid., p. 273. 88. Surishwar aur Samr"a|t Akbar, pp. 249-53. 89. Ibid., pp. 213-14. 90. Ardhakath"anaka, p. 19. 91. Ibid., p. 21. 92. Ibid. 93. Ibid. 94. Ibid. 95. Ibid. 96. Ibid., p. 22. 97. Ibid., p. 23. 98. Ibid. 99. Ibid. 100. Ibid. 101. Ibid., Surendra Gopal, ‘The Jain Community and Akbar’, Jainism and Pr"ak|rt in Ancient and Medieval India, ed. Bhattacharya, Delhi, 1994, p. 423. Hemraj Patni of Patna was married to a niece of Seth Hiranand Mukim of Agra, p. 24. 102. Ibid., p. 24. 103. Ibid. 104. Ibid. 105. Ibid., p. 29. 106. Ibid., pp. 30, 31 ff. 107. ‘The Jain Community and Akbar’, p. 425. 108. Indian Merchants and Entrepreneurs . . . , pp. 68-9. 109. Ibid. 110. Ibid., p. 79. 111. Ibid., p. 29. 112. Ardhakath"anaka, vs 327 and 328. 113. W.J. Fischel, ‘The Jewish-Merchant Colony in Madras (Fort St. George) during the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries’, Journal of Social and Economic History of Orient, vol. III, pt. I, April 1960, p. 81. 114. Ardhakath"anaka, p. 19. 115. Karmacandra Vamsotkirtanakam K"avyam, v. 234. 116. Ibid., v. 334. 117. Surishwar aur Samr"a|t Akbar, p. 99, 155, 258. Manukalyan and Amipal assisted him. 118. Ardhakath"anaka, p. 20.

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119. Ibid., p. 20. 120. Ibid., p. 21. 121. Kasturchand Kasliwal, Khandelwal Jain Sam"aj k"a B|rhad Itih"as, vol. I, Jaipur, 1989, pp. 196, 198. 122. Ardhakath"anaka, p. 19. 123. Surishivar aur Samrat Akbar, p. 222. 124. Brajmohan Jawaliya, Muhnot Nainsi, Delhi, 1982, pp. 8-10, 14-16. 125. Ibid., p. 18.

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CHAPTER 3

A Note on the Sources for a Study of the Social Life of the Jains in the Seventeenth Century

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Gujarat occupied an important place in the economic life of our country. The Jains were then possibly the leading indigenous trading community, closely followed by Hindu Banias and Muslim Bohras. However, little effort has been made to trace their social life, their customs and their relationships with other communities during this period. This study deserves our close attention for, in the later centuries, these communities, specially the Jains, emerged as an important segment of the Indian bourgeoisie. Some of the reasons why inadequate attention has been paid to the Jains appear to be the inability of the European observers of that period to distinguish sharply between them and the Hindu Banias in their accounts, which have so far continued to be the main basis of our study of the socio-economic history of these centuries. Another reason has been our comparative indifference to contemporary Sanskrit and vernacular literature as source materials for the study of socio-economic life in Mughal India. The Sanskrit and vernacular literatures, specially in Gujarati, of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries contain important information about the Jain community—about their geographical distribution, the main centres of their concentration, and the elite of the community as well as the social and sectional tensions appearing among them. The aim of the present note is to invite the attention of this distinguished body of scholars to the usefulness of these sources.

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The Jain community had never a hereditary priestly class but it always had important saints to whom great respect was paid. These saints were at the same time scholars well versed in literature, philosophy and religion. Akbar had at his court H$ûravijayas"uri, who was ranked as one of the foremost scholars of the day.1 Other Jain scholars of note were Shanti Candra Upadhyaya, Bhanucandra Upadhyaya and Vijaya Sena Suri.2 These were linked to each other as teachers and disciples. These disciples after the death of their masters sometime compiled their biography. Incidentally they refer to facts which are of use to students of social history. I may mention the book H∂ravijayas"urir"asa in Gujarati, a biography of the Jain saint H$ûravijayas"uri by Rsabh Das written in vs 1685, i.e. AD 1629. For the present purpose I have consulted the Hindi version of the Gujarati book Surishwar aur Samrat, a biography of the saint H$ûravijayas"uri compiled on the basis of H∂ravijayas"urir"asa, and HiraSaubhagya-Maha-Kavya of Devavimala, an almost contemporary work in Sanskrit. The list of the dwelling places of the devotees of the saint and the places which he visited give us a fair idea of the extent to which, the Jain community had spread. It included the Portuguese possession of Goa and Chaul,3 Mathura, Agra, Lahore,4 and Multan, besides the whole of Gujarat, Saurashtra and Rajasthan. Similarly an idea of the affluence of the individual members of the Jain community can be had from the gifts they offered. A lay devotee in Agra, Sadarang, offered two elephants, one of which was later on purchased by a Mughal for 100 gold mohurs.5 Again another Jain devotee, Durjansala, constructed a temple at Lahore.6 The same person again consecrated a temple at a far away place like Burhanpur.7 Tej Pal Soni, a devotee of the saint and an inhabitant of the port of Cambay, spent Rs. 25,000 in a day when the saint visited the port in VS 1646.8 It is also apparent that the leadership in the society was in the hands of the richest persons. They were usually the local sanghpatis9 and represented the community. Another important source in Bhanucandraganicharita, a biography of the Jain saint Bhanucandra, who was a disciple of H$ûravijayas"uri and flourished in the time of both Akbar and Jahangir. This is in Sanskrit verse, written by his disciple Siddhichandra in the

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seventeenth century, sometime after VS 1690. Both of them were intimately attached to the court of Akbar and Jahangir. Siddhicandra was well versed in Persian and Sanskrit and is the author of nineteen works in Sanskrit and Gujarati.10 For the present purpose I have used the copy published in Singhi Jain Granthmala in 1941, edited by M.D. Desai. Besides corroborating the above facts, it gives certain additional data relating to the social life of the Jains. We learn that sectarian conflicts within the Jain community was a common feature. The rivalry between the Tapi Gaccha and Kharatara Gaccha11 was specially keen. Both tried to harm each others’ interest on all possible occasions. The matter had to be taken to Emperor Jahangir.12 The Jain community also sometimes faced the hostility of the Hindus13 and the Muslims.14 The Jain community appeared to have welcomed conversions. It seems, however, that the converts mostly belonged to the Bania caste among the Hindus. Probably nearness of professional and ideological interests facilitated the change of religion for the Banias. Bhanucandra, the subject of the book, was originally a Hindu Bania by caste.15 Jain ladies do not appear to have been kept confined in their houses. They seem to have been taking active interest in religious matters. One source refers to a Jain woman constructing temples and upasrayas.16 Another woman, Lalli by name, is described as leading a congregation of Jain devotees to the sacred mountain Satrunjaya.17 The Jain women were merely carrying forward the old tradition, for even in the time of Akbar, a Jain lady, Larkibai, was included in the delegation of three representatives by the Jain laity of the Portuguese port of Diu, to invite the revered saint, Hira Vijaya Suri.18 The Jains seemed to have close links with craftsmen. This is clear from the fact that in Burhanpur Jain temples, upasrayas and pratisrayas 19 were constructed in kansara-patakas (kansarapada— the locality of coppersmiths).20 Briefly speaking, I am trying to draw the attention of the scholars of medieval Indian history to the wealth of information regarding social life contained in the books written by Jains in the seven-

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teenth century. Mention in this connection may also be made of seventeenth century works like Vijay Tilaka Suri Rasa of Darsanvijaya and Karmacandraprabandha by Gunvinay in Gujarati. The above data to some extent find confirmation in the farmans issued to the Jains in Persian language by the Mughal emperors from Akbar down to Aurangzeb. The fact that farmans were issued to the Jain community by the Mughal rulers from Akbar to Aurangzeb shows the importance attached to the community. Some of these farmans were brought together and published by Prof. Commissariat. 21 In the time of Shah Jahan the Lomka sect of the Jains complained to the emperor that the Jains of the Tapi Gaccha sect, led by the famous merchant of Ahmadabad, Shantidas, shunned interdining with them. Shah Jahan refused to interfere.22 Thus the sectarian rivalry continued to plague the Jains throughout the seventeenth century.

NOTES 1. Suriswwar aur Samrat by Muniraj Sri Vidyavijayji, translated into Hindi from Gujarati by Krishnalal Verma, Agra, VS 2405. 2. Ibid., p. 15. 3. Ibid., p. 250. 4. Ibid., p. 262. 5. Ibid., p. 258. 6. Ibid., p. 256. 7. Bhanucandraganicharita, ed. M.D. Desai, Singhi Jain Granthmala, no. 12, Calcutta, 1941, p. 45. 8. Surishwar aur Samrat, p. 260. 9. Leader of the Jain community. 10. Bhanucandraganicharita, pp. 71-4. 11. Two sub-sects of the ®Svetambara Jains. 12. Bhanucandraganicharita, pp. 43, 49, 51 and 61-4. 13. Ibid., p. 43. 14. Ibid., pp. 30 and 50. 15. Ibid., p. 59. 16. Ibid., p. 45.

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75

Ibid., p. 49. Surishwar aur Samrat, p. 277. Halting places for Jain monks. Bhanucandraganicharita, p. 45. Imperial Mughal Farmans in Gujarat, compiled by Prof. M.S. Commissariat, reprinted from the Journal of the University of Bombay, vol. IX, pt. I. 22. Ibid., pp. 36-7.

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Jains in India: Historical Essays CHAPTER 4

The Sociological and Historical Background of Literary Activities of Jains in the Seventeenth Century

The Jains, an ancient community, primarily engaged in the trade, were to be found in the seventeenth century in all the important market-places of north India1 such as Lahore, Multan, Delhi, Agra, Patna, etc., though their main concentration was in Rajasthan and Gujarat. Evidently, the establishment of the Mughal rule which introduced political stability over a large part of the country created the necessary environment for the exapansion of commerce, and the Jains did not fail to take advantage of the new situation; in pursuit of commcrce they bagan to move outside Gujarat and Rajasthan in ever increasing numbers. The Jains enjoyed a distinct advantage over members of other communities. As businessmen, most of them knew at least rudiments of reading and writing and were, by and large a literate community. This fact is confirmed and reflected by the considerable body of literature, both secular and religious, produced by them throughout their history.2 In fact, continuity of literary tradition is a distinguishing feature of the Jain community; it enabled them to transmit their cultural heritage, which in turn kept their identity intact and saved them from the fate of Buddhism and Buddhists, who disappeared from the land of their birth. Over the last two thousand years several languages have developed and faded out in north India and the Jains have written in most of these. It might be pointed out that in their zeal to acquaint the community with its traditions, the Jains continued to study and write in languages, even when they ceased to be in popular use or

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when they became the preserve of a handful of literati. Thus in the seventeenth century, besides assiduously applying themselves to the learning of Sanskrit, they were the only people who kept the knowledge of Prakrit and Apabhramsa languages alive,3 so that their religious heritage did not fall into oblivion. Admittedly, the number of writings in Prakrit and Apabhramsa was few: but they were the only people who wrote in these languages. In contrast, their writings in Sanskrit were more prolific: their continuing interest in Sanskrit language is explained by many reasons. In the seventeenth century, Sanskrit was the language of culture and the key to higher education amongst the Hindus besides endowing the person concerned with high social prestige. The Jain scholars never considered their education complete unless they had mastered Sanskrit because it enabled them to study subjects like astronomy, grammar, logic, philosophy, etc. Moreover, mastery over Sanskrit was essential for studying numerous religious texts and works by preceding Jain scholars, whose contribution in the enrichment of the language is considerable.4 Furthermore, the Jain teachers were frequently called upon to debate and discuss with Hindu religious leaders the tenets and philosophy of their faith.5 Along with the Hindus, the Jains helped to keep knowledge of Sanskrit alive;6 and in the process, they enriched certain branches such as biographies and travel accounts. They wrote biographies of their religious leaders, rich patrons within the community and produced one of the Mughal Emperor Akbar.7 One must admit that these are written in a spirit of hero-worship and hence present a highly exaggerated picture of the achievements of their main character, but nevertheless, they throw light on many aspects of contemporary life, which is valuable for writing a socio-economic history of the period. They describe in detail places, visited by their religious leaders where their patrons lived. Since the route of the journey is traced, one gets a glimpse into the situation of the country-side as well. The way of life of the affluent section of the community and their attitudes are well-depicted. We also get a fleeting glimpse of the life of the upper crust of the society.8 Jain contribution to the development of vernacular literature in this age is significant. One can say that no history of vernacular

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literature of north-west India in the seventeenth century can ignore achievements of Jain scholars. The vernacular languages all over north and west India were, in the seventeenth century, in a state of formation.9 The Jains had quite early grasped the fact that Hindi was coming into its own and so had begun using the language from the fifteenth century onwards. As more and more time elapsed, they used the language frequently in their writings but by the seventeenth century, the language used by them was not pure Hindi but a mixture of Rajasthani, Gujarati, and Apabhramsa.10 In some cases the language was Brajbhasa,11 while in others it was akin to, what is now known as, Khadi Boli.12 It is interesting to note that many of these Jain writers in Hindi belonged to non-Hindi-speaking areas such as the Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.13 This development can be explained by the fact that the Jains, who were traders by profession, had acquired taste for it as well as proficiency because of their visits to areas around Delhi and eastwards upto the borders of Bengal, where Hindi was in use.14 As was the case with other contemporary Indian languages, poetry remained the dominant form of literary expression: though the poetry by Jain authors studiously avoided Shringara rasa, the dominant motif of the age.15 It was filled with religious ardour, was devotional in character and was full of spiritual content. There have been very few exceptions.16 The stress on devotional element in poetry was a direct manifestation of Jain attitude to sex-life. The Jain ethics stressed a disciplined sex-life for the laity and complete abstinence for the ascetics. Hence, they did not like to write about things associated with sex. Another factor which contributed to the devotional character of Jain literary output was that most of the authors belonged to the religious order. It was inevitable that they would not write on topics forbidden by their religion. Another factor reinforced the devotional content of poetry by Jain poets. Much of the poetry produced by the Jains of the time was translation or adaptation from religious texts in Sanskrit or Prakrit so that they could become accessible to the lay followers, who were ignorant of these languages. Thus many Jain writers of Hindi were also scholars of Sanskrit,

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Prakrit and Apabhramsa and have works to their credit in these languages.17 It would be, however, a mistake to think that the Jain laity totally refrained from producing any literature. In fact, the Jain laity, as distinguished from the members of religious order, primarily wrote in vernacular languages, including Hindi and more or less, avoided the classical languages. In this connection it would be interesting to compare the achievements of Jains with Khatris and Kayasthas, the two other non-Brahmin literate communities of north India. It appears that the Jains produced more literary works than the members of either of the two communities. This may be explained again by the nature of vocation usually pursued by the Jains. Usually the Jains carried on independent business or associated professions. They avoided petty jobs in the administration which were mainly dominated by the Kayasthas as well as Khatris, especially the former.18 Hence, whereas the Jains enjoyed ample leisure and funds to indulge in their literary pastimes, the other two communities usually lacked them. Furthermore, in course of their wanderings as traders, the Jains acquired more varied experience of life and times than the Kayasthas and Khatris and these were reflected in their literary achievements. Nevertheless, the primary theme of Jain writers was religious, although they did touch upon secular matter. The greatest piece of secular writing produced during this period in Hindi was Banarsidas’s autobiography Ardhakathanak, which incidentally also happens to be the first autobiography in the Hindi language.19 The work has already attracted considerable attention of literateurs as well as historians.20 Candid description of trials and tribulations faced by the author till the age of fifty-five impresses a reader. The historians find in him a trustworthy testimony on the age in which he lived: for he makes no attempt to hide anything and also as an ordinary businessman, his autobiography throws light on contemporary business practices and hardships faced by the common man. Even in Persian language there is hardly any contemporary autobiography which so graphically and in a matterof-fact manner gives such an intimate glimpse in the social life of ordinary man.21 Another secular theme frequently touched upon by Jain authors

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relates to description of various uraban centres, intimately known to them. Nahar Jatmal of Lahore writes of his own city and describes it in detail. In fact, he depicts in his poem ‘Lahore Gazal’ the life of an urban centre.22 It may be pointed that in Hindi this was the first occasion, when a city has been described in such minute detail on the basis of close personal knowledge. This genre became widely popular among other Jain authors: according to one estimate there are fifty poems dealing with cities and city-life based on personal observations and informations.23 The growth of this particular branch of literature lay in the logic of Jain society and history. As traders, the Jains were primarily urban-based and were familiar with almost all the important cities and urban centres in the Hindispeaking area. They could write on urban life with competence and authority: secondly, the urban roots of Jains had already resulted in a considerable body of literature on towns by them in the Sanskrit language.24 The new writings in Hindi on the already familiar theme was another attempt to bring literature nearer to the life of the common man. Pattavalis constitute another important feature of literary achievements of Jains. Samaya Sundar, a poet as well as a scholar, wrote a poem on meeting of his preceptor Jinachandra Suri with Akbar.25 In fact, the writing of prashastis and biographies in Hindi began with the Jains. They usually wrote about their religious teachers, rich patrons who subsidized these authors or spent lavishly on religious ceremonies, and important political authorities. Any such piece of writing necessitated a detailed history of the family of the hero of the narrative. No other group of authors in Hindi have taken so much pains to furnish genealogies.26 Systematic recording of genealogies or prashastis in Hindi especially of those not belonging to royalty was begun by Jain scholars. Their value as source-material for students of history is inestimable. In this case again, the Jain scholars were merely carrying forward a tradition which had already been developed in Sanskrit.27 For the student of Indian society these genealogies provide further data for his study. If the main character was a trader, author sometimes indicates

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the type and mode of business he was conducting, the places where he had his business interests, his wealth and his life-style.28 The descriptions, undoubtedly, were replete with poetic fancies but nevertheless contained a hard core of truth about the mundane activities of all sections of their co-religionists: the laity and the monks. Finally, the Jain scholars also contributed to the growth of Hindi prose during its formative stages. This need not cause any surprise: for the Jains who were traders, prose was more useful for keeping business records and conducting business correspondence. This also explains why in this century, the Khatris, who were partially traders, also contributed to the growth of prose as a vehicle of literary expression. Among Jains, as early as the mid-sixteenth century Pandey Rajmal wrote a commentary on Kundkundacharya’s Samayasara in Hindi prose.29 The tradition continued thereafter; Banarsidas, the poet, also wrote in Hindi prose.30 His prose writings were collected by one of his friends after his death in a work called Banarsivilas. 31 Other prosewriters were Akhayraj Srimal, Pande Hemraj and Rupchand Pande, etc.32 The Jain writers came very near to writing the first historical work in Hindi. The book Raj Vilas is a panegyric but is full of historical importance.33 The Jain writers helped to popularize Hindi prose as a medium of literary expression.

NOTES 1. Surendra Gopal, ‘A Note on the Sources for a Study of the Social Life of the Jains in the Seventeenth Century’, Proceeding, Indian Historical Records Commission, vol. XXXIX, Patna, 1968, p. 53; S.N. Sen (ed.), Indian Travels of Thevenot and Careri, New Delhi, 1949, pp. 84-5; and Mirat-i-Ahmadi , tr. M.F. Lokhandwala, Baroda, 1965, p. 176. 2. It is difficult to give the whole list but there is hardly a gap since the ancient times. Nemichandra Shastri, Hindi-Jain-Sahitya Parishilan, I, Banaras, 1956, pp, 27, 41. 3. Dhirendra Varma and Brajeshwar Varma (eds.), Hindi Sahitya (in Hindi),

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vol. II, Prayag, 1959, pp. 472, 483; The Digamber Jains continued to use Apabhramsa till AD 1643. Devendra Kumar Shastri, Bhavisayatakatha tatha Apabhramsa Kathakavya, Varanasi, 1970. Manikyachandra wrote Satvasnakaha in 1634. 4. Johrapurkar and Kasliwal, Veer Shasan ke Prabhavak Acharya, Delhi, 1975, pp. 181, 212-13. 5. Ibid., p. 212. 6. G.N. Sharma, Social Life in Medieval Rajasthan, Agra, 1968, p. 255. 7. The reference here is to Krparasakosa by Santicandra. Also see infra. 8. See, for example, M.D. Desai (ed.), Bhanucandracarita, Ahmadabad, Calcutta, 1941; and Ambalal Premchand Shaha (ed.), Digvijaya Mahakavya, Bombay, 1945. 9. For a representative list of Jain authors in Hindi and their works, see Nemichandra Shastri, II, pp. 210-11. See also Johrapurkar and Kasliwal, Veer Shasan ke Prabhavak Acharya, pp. 194-5. The reference is to the services rendered by Bhattarak Ratnakirti to the development of Hindi. 10. Kamta Prasad Jain, Hindi Jain Sahitya ka Sankshipta Itihas, Kasi, n.d., pp. 82, 100, 101, 109, 126. 11. Varma and Varma (eds.), op. cit., p. 478 12. Ibid., p. 486 13. Ibid. 14. Surendra Gopal, ‘Jains in Bihar in the Seventeenth Century’, Proceedings, Indian History Congress, December 1972 (Muzaffarpur Session). 15. Varma and Varma (eds.), op. cit., p. 480; Kamta Prasad Jain, op. cit., p. 118. 16. This is obvious from the extracts produced from the writings of Jain poets of the seventeenth century in the works referred to above by Dhirendra Verma, Brajeshwar Varma and Kamta Prasad Jain. Pandit Nemichandra Shastri, Hindi-Jain-Sahitya Parishilan, vol. I, pp. 22-3. For exceptions, see pp. 235-7. 17. Mention may be made of poets Bhagvatidas, Salivahan, etc. See, Kamta Prasad Jain, op. cit., pp. 100-15 ff. Yasovijayaji wrote in Sanskrit and Gujarati, ibid., p. 152. 18. See my paper ‘Social Attitudes of Indian Trading Communities in the Seventeenth Century’, in Essays in Honour of Prof. S.C. Srakar, New Delhi, 1976, pp. 193-200. 19. Banarsidas, Ardha Kuthanak, ed. Nathuram Premi, Bombay, 1970. 20. For instance see, Dr. Ravindra Kumar Jain, Kaviuar Banarsidas, Varanasi, 1966; Nemichandra Shastri, II, 41-2, etc. 21. Varma and Varma (eds.), op. cit., p. 479; Kamta Prasad Jain, op. cit., pp. 110-15 and 120-4.

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22. Ibid., p. 484 23. Ibid., p. 484; The city of Agra has been described by various Jain writers. Mention may be made of Yasodharcarit. Kamta Prasad Jain, op. cit., p. 127. 24. For example, see Mahamahopadhya Meghavijaygani, Digvijay-mahakavya, Bombay, 1945, pp. 117-25 and also by the same author Devanandmahakavya, Bombay, 1937, pp. 61-4. 25. Ibid., p. 479; Agarchand Nahta and Bhanvarlal Nahta, Yugpradhan Shri Jinchandra Suri, Calcutta, VS 2029, pp. 5-6; Muni Padmasundar wrote Akbar Shahi-Sringardarpan; and Jinachandra Suri wrote Akbar-Pratibodhras. Jyoti Prasad Jain, Pramukh Aitihasik Jain Purush aur Mahilayen, New Delhi, 1975, p. 279. 26. Pattavali Prabandh Sangrah, compiled by Acharya Sri Hastimalji Maharaj and edited by Dr. Narendra Bhanavat, Jaipur, 1968. 27. Sri Pattavali Pragsangrah, written and compiled by Pandit Kalyan Vijay Gani, Jalor, 1966, pp. 118, 264. 28. Jyoti Prasad Jain, op. cit., pp. 282-3. 29. Ibid., p. 476; Kamta Prasad Jain, op. cit., pp. 135-8. Nemichandra Shastri II, p. 40. It is claimed that Banarsidas was inspired by this example. 30. Ibid,, Kamta Prasad Jain, op. cit., p. 136. 31. Nemichandra Shastri, II, pp. 41-2. 32. Ibid., pp. 42-4. 33. Varma and Varma (eds.), op. cit., p. 496.

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Vijnapatipatra: A Source for the Social History of the Jains in the Nineteenth Century

The Jains, can claim to be one of the few ancient religious communities still surviving in India, with a continuous history. This single fact alone would make a study of their social life interesting and instructive. But if we keep in mind that the Jains were, and to an extent even today are one of the most powerful economic groups in the country, their social history assumed special significance. Fortunately, paucity of sources does not hinder our study because the Jains themselves have left behind a large variety of materials containing useful information on the subject. Some of them have been published by voluntary Jain organizations but as yet, they have not been, with some exceptions, utilized by historians. The purpose of the present paper is to draw the attention of scholars to the importance of Vijnapatipatra or Vinantipatra as a source for depicting the social life of the Jains in the nineteenth century. Vijnapatipatras or Vinantipatras were invitations sent by congregations of Jains devotees to their religious leaders to come and preach and observe festivals enjoined by their religion with them. However, the invitations were not mere matter of fact letters but they contained elaborate descriptions of goods, persons and places wherefrom a number of facts come to light. We learn for example, the food that was popular, the textiles that were in vogue, the market that served the local needs and the people who provided the local leadership in both secular and religious affairs. Sometimes these documents were decorated with paintings which portrayed both religious and secular motifs. We can by studying these paintings

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also, gather useful bits of information for our purposes. One such Vijnapatipatra has been published in Shri Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya Golden Jubilee Volume by Bhanwar Lal Nahta. 1 The original document is now in the Gujarati Tapagachcha Sangha Library, Calcutta. The Vijnapatipatra was sent by the Jain devotees of Merta (near Ajmer in Rajasthan) to Acharya Vijayajinendra Suri, a saint of the Tapagachcha sect at Virampur (Viramgam) near Ahmadabad in Gujarat) in Samvat 1867, i.e. AD 1810. The document is 32 feet long. Painting occupy a space of 17 feet. The rest contains description of Merta and Viramgam and the personal qualities of the Acharya in Marwari and Sanskrit language, both in prose and poetry. The paintings, while showing some religious scenes also depict a mosque, a bazaar and a dancing girl. The inclusion of paintings points that the tradition of illustrating religious literature among the Jalnas continued.2 The types of illustrations also indicate the religious tolerance of the Jains who did not mind portrayal of a mosque in such a document. The dancing girl is shown before a sitting Jain Acharya and this poses a question. How is that the Jain saint who preaches and practices physical austerities is shown enjoying the dance? Did the attitude of the Jains towards enjoyment of music and dancing undergo a change? The question can be satisfactorily answered only after further research. As stated earlier, the language used in the documents is Marwari and Sanskrit. Evidently, the tradition of the study of Sanskrit among the Jains continued as also their emphasis on vernacular languages, to the evolution and enrichment of which they had contributed significantly in the preceding centuries. We also find that the Jains had not ceased to patronize local poetic talents, for the verses composed here to have been the work of some poets of Merta.3 Thus we can infer that the Jains continued to extend patronage to local poets and painters. Many of the verses composed are set to definite ‘ragas’ and can be sung, which shows the skill of the local poets.4 The verses give a graphic description of the town of Viramgam. In verse 4 the author describes the Jain temples and important buildings of the city.5 In verse 16 he refers to Hindu gods and goddesses worshipped in the city, thus once again showing the

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tolerant religious attitude of the Jains.6 Verses 6 to 11 depict the market place the traders, the vegetables and fruits that were sold, the silken textiles marketed and the sweetmeats that were available. We are also told the name of the local ruler, Fateh Singh Rao who was a follower of Shiva. The verses refer to his just character and benevolent rule.8 Verse 19 speaks of Tokar Seth, who was the leader of the Jain community at Merta, the sender of the present invitaiton on behalf of the Merta Jains.9 Thus the tradition of the leading Jain merchant heading the local community in social and religious affairs continued. The poet has also described Merta.10 We are told that Man Singh was the ruler and the town was administered by Pancholi Gopaldas.11 Man Singh was a strict Hindu and Hinduism flourished under him without any impurities.12 The town was inhabited by a large number of traders. Many of whom were ‘lakhpati’ or quite rich.13 There were skilled goldsmiths, tailors, shoe-makers and beautiful and adept female dancers to cater to the needs of the local feudal lords and rich traders.14 This is the picture of a small town of Rajasthan in the early nineteenth century, when the medieval feudal traditions had not yet known a breach. The Vijnapatipatra, therefore, throws light not only on the social life of the Jains but also on the life that went on in the small cities of Gujarat and Rajasthan. It is dependable because it has been written by one who had intimate knowledge and hence its great value. In conclusion, the author would request the scholars assembled here to bring to light more such documents so that they may be utilized by historians in writing a fuller and comprehensive social history of nineteenth century India.15

NOTES 1. Shri Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya Golden Jubilee Volume, pt. I, published by Shri Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya, Bombay, 1968, pp. 49-64 (Hindi section), hereafter cited as Jubilee Volume.

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2. Ibid., pp. 348-420. 3. Ibid., p. 61. The name of the poet who composed the verses is Gulalvijay. 4. The main ‘raga’ used is ‘Deshi Bhatiyani’. The verses in Marwari languages are in Doha or Chhapaya form. 5. Jubilee Volume, p. 52. 6. Ibid. 7. Ibid. 8. Ibid., p. 53. 9. Ibid., p. 52. 10. Ibid., pp. 58-9. 11. Ibid., p. 59. 12. Ibid., p. 57. 13. Ibid., p. 59. 14. Ibid. 15. The author acknowledges his gratitude to Yogendra Mishra, Treasurer, Indian History Congress, who kindly lent his personal copy of the Jubilee Volume and thus made possible the preparation of the present paper.

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Jains in India: Historical Essays CHAPTER 6

Caste among the Jains*

Caste is the unique reality of the Hindu society. It is not only the most significant feature of those who profess Hinduism but has also overtly or covertly colonized protagonists of religions which explicitly reject the caste system, such as, Christianity and Islam after they settled down in this country. The British from the very beginning of their rule in India had realized that in order to govern the country they should have detailed information about the local terrain, the society, its history, culture, economy, etc. Hence, as soon as they could, they ordered local surveys. Major Rennell’s survey of eastern India was one such step, when the earliest maps were prepared.1 It was followed by the detailed investigations carried out by Francis Buchanan, towards the fag end of the eighteenth and in the first decade of the nineteenth century in eastern India and the newly conquered territories from Tipu Sultan, forming the kingdom of Mysore. Buchanan prepared a detailed account of the people, caste, their religion, customs mores, etc., after visiting the territories and meeting a lot of informants.2 As newer territories were added to the British empire in the pre-1857 period, more such surveys were repeated at regional and local levels which yielded a corpus of data of interest and useful to administrators, policy makers, sociologists, anthropologists, ethnographers, historians, archaelogists, natural and biological scientists of different disciplines, etc. On the societal side these data were subsequently consolidated in decennial censuses beginning from 1872. 3 * Based on K.C. Kasliwal, Khandelwal Jain Samaj ka Brihed Itihas (in Hindi) (A Detailed History of the Khandelwal Jain Community), Jaipur, 1989.

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From the time the first census was conducted, stress was laid on the enumeration of the caste and different faiths professed by the people because of the realization that caste was the unique reality of the Indian society; the other feature was the presence of a multitude of religious faiths along with a host of sub-sects. There might have been a hidden political motive as well. The British could have wanted to bring to fore the sub-identities in order to weaken the force of Indian nationalism which after recovering from the shock of the suppression of the movement of 1857 began to assert itself among the educated sections of the population from the 1870s. From the British angle this was an opportune moment as an attack had been mounted on the caste system by a series of socio-religious reform movements in the country, such as, the Brahmo Samaj, the Prarthana Samaj, the Arya Samaj, etc. Though socioreligious in character, these movements had a distinct political overtone: they emphasized the unity of the Indian society and therefore constituted a potential threat to the colonial administration. Of course when the theme of Indian nationalism was sung, the question of subidentities could not be set aside. If Kabir, Nanak, Akbar, Pratap, Shivaji, Guru Gobind Singh, Bahadur Shah Zafar, etc., were lauded, who could deny their regional, religious or caste affiliations! Hence, the Indian nationalism gave birth to two parallel streams: first the overarching nationalism which transcended caste-organizations, springing up all over the country; some of these had distinct regional overtones while others bore an all India character. Mention may be made of caste organizations set up by the Br"ahma^nas, Rajputs, Kayasthas, Bhumihar Br"ahma^nas, Yadavas, Kurmis, etc. Of course, certain technological factors also facilitated the growth of nationalism as well as sub-identities. These were the expansion of railways whch helped quick travel and enabled the people from distant areas to assemble together quickly. Secondly, the growth of the printing press technology had resulted in the publication of ever increasing number of books, journals and newspapers in all the major languages of the country. Hence, exchange and propagation of ideas were now much easier. It is not surprising that the printed word became a major tool for the propagation of both the ideas. Attempts were made to write and publish history of various castes, mostly by

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amateurs. Of course, literary evidence from Dharma S® "astras and Smritis was citied, inscriptions in Sanskrit and other Indian languages and Persian language chronicles were explored; but a good number of the assertions were based on oral evidences and surmises derived from their observations of current rituals within the caste. Caste histories and caste journals were published. Some names of the journals brought out in the nineteenth century were entitled Dwija Patrika, Kshatriya Patrika, Brahmana Khatri Hitaisi, Teli Samachar, Kayastha Samachar, etc.4 On the one hand such a development intensified feelings of casteism, sectarianism, regionalism, etc., but on the other they also promoted studies on the origin and development of various castes and communities, and also, if they were Hindus, a discussion as to their place in the Var^na order since the British as a matter of policy preferred uppercaste Hindus for appointment to government jobs. To the social scientists, these studies give an insight into the complex caste-structure of the Hindu society; they indicate the presence of numerous sub-castes within a caste and differing social status enjoyed by each in various regions. At the same time they gave a glimpse of the bond that prevented it from disintegrating and kept it going. It was also apparent that unity of the country could best be comprehended if one became aware of its social diversities. This genre of ‘history-writing’ persisted even when the freedom movement was at peak though on a reduced scale as unifying factors were stressed so as to strengthen the fight against the alien rulers. The Jain community did not remain unaffected by the general anxiety to establish and assert its identity. In their case the problem was not acute; they had successfully maintained it from the ancient times through all the travails of Indian history. All they had to do was to collect and print the different versions available in manuscript and inscriptional forms from their numerous Granthabhan^d" aras and temples and icons, found all over the country. However, in their case as well sub-identities were equally important. The Censuses enumerated only the Jains, but the members of the community preferrerd to stress their subidentities, S® vet"ambaras, Digambars, Ter"apanthis, etc., chiefly because of the tradition of doctrinal disputation and jealousy. One such attempt resulted in the preparation and publication of

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Digambar Jain Directory in 1914, which dealt with only one section of this community and which then numbered 69,285 persons.5 It was preceded by the publication of a caste history, Khandelwal Jain Itih"asa (History of Khandelwal Jains) in 1910.6 In the post-independence period a variety of reasons have again created interest in writing history of castes and communities. This has happened in spite of the fact that enumeration of caste other than that of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has been given up in censuses held in independent India. Partially this interest can be explained by the political system adopted in the country which is characterized by directly elected legislatures at the regional and national levels and in which each adult has one vote irrespective of caste, linguistic, ethnic or religious affiliations. As a result mobilization on caste or linguistic grounds is supposed to be an important factor in ensuring victory. However there is another side as well. As more and more sources have been brought to light and historians, sociologists, anthropologists have a chance of presenting newer studies of castes, comparatively comprehensive, authentic and objective in tracing the emergence and development of different communities. It was against this background that the publication of [kaMy s oky tSUk LkEkkt dk c`gn~ bfrgkl (A Detailed History of the Khandelwal Jain Community) by K.C. Kasliwal should be evaluated. Dr. Kasliwal is a trained historian and has devoted several decades to the study of manuscript sources on Jain history, society, culture, religion, etc. The Khandelwals constitute an important segment of the Digambar Jains and have spread all over the country; originally they went out in pursuit of trade and have now emerged also as industrial entrepreneurs. The fabulous wealth of some members of the community enabled them to patronize learning within the community, construct grand temples and organize and hold community worship and to lead parties of pilgrims (sangha) to Jain holy places at their own cost. They also came in contact with the high and mighty in politics whom they served in various capacities. However, throughout this period the Khandelwals remained wedded to the notion of caste and maintained

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their identity as such. Hence, any account of the evolution of this caste over the centuries is bound to confirm or contradict some of our general notions regarding the nature and functioning of the caste system, such as, its static and tenacious character, its economic nexus, etc. It should also show how and to what extent the caste system of the Hindus left its impress on the other communities existing in the country. The book begins by giving a general history of the evolution of the Jain religion and the community; Jainism developed earlier than Buddhism in ancient India and was opposed to several Vedic and Br"ahma^nical tenets, such as, ritual sacrifices and the supremacy of the Br"ahma^nas in the social hierarchy, etc. This provides a much needed background to the non-Jain reader unfamilar with the history of the community. The social history of the Jains is the history of schisms in the community which began quite early in its career. First, the community was split up between the Digambara and S® vet"ambara sects and subsequently the two kept up splitting into a number of sub-groups, sometimes a breakway section congealed into a caste. The schisms either territorial, or ethnic or ideological or personality oriented never ceased and a large number of castes emerged in the community. The caste system of the Hindus had invaded the Jains. The subdivisions among the Jains are referred to in the fifth century AD.7 When the caste-system had become deeply entrenched among the Hindus. The point which needs investigation is, why the fragmentation among the Jains coincides with the strengthening of the caste system among the Hindus? Differentiation of occupations was not so wide-spread among the Jains as compared to the Hindus, who were primarily and have basically remained traders. So what different reasons or factors prompted the emergence and growth of castes among the Jains as different from the Hindus. Unfortunately, our author keeps mum here. But the study suggests an answer. Sometimes, a large group of people among the Hindus accepted a new religion; since they were sufficiently large, they were constituted into a caste. In this case it is said that around 3,00,000 Rajputs of Khandela in Rajasthan accepted Jainism and since then they were given the appelation of the caste of Khandelwal Jains.8 Conversion brought into existence a new caste. They were also

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known as Saraogis. Thereafter subdivisions among them proliferated. Jainism accepted proselytization which Hinduism apparently rejected. The author has done well to print a list of different Khandelwal castes available in four manuscripts (pp. 32-44) and has shown that though tradition recognizes only eighty-four sub-castes, in practice two hundred and thirty-seven sub-castes can be enumerated. There is no unanimity on the number of castes among the authors; in some cases, gotras have been described as a caste. There is a tendency for the gotras to be transformed into a sub-caste, a fact found among the Hindus as well. The author has mentioned the different gotras and identified the places where they are found in large numbers. He has taken this opportunity to refer to some eminent personalities who have enriched the religious and cultural life of the Jains through their contributions in the historical times. With the progress of time, some of the castes have disappeared. We do not know whether they were absorbed in the old order or their nomenclature was changed or they just became extinct. Again this shows interesting parallelism with the caste-system among the Hindus. The account shows that the Jain community was fairly well spread throughout the country; it should not then surprise us if today they are found in all the parts of our country. A question which should be asked is ‘how could the Jains maintain their identity’? They were not absorbed by the Hindus although some do have marital relations with the Vai|s^ nava Vai« s ya Hindus; they escaped being swamped by the Muslims. They did not meet with the fate of the Buddhists of ancient India who in the post-Harsha period gradually disappeared and left their traces only on the fringes of the subcontinent in the far off Ladakh and the Chittagong hilltracts. I may hazard a guess. The Jains with their accumulated expertise in commercial matters served the Indian society by distributing the production surpluses created by the peasantry and the artisans and so remained a vital link in the economic system. No one was willing to hazard a disruption in the economy by annoying them. They also endeared themselves to the ruling elites by bringing in luxury goods from distant places, by helping them with finances and

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serving them as trusted officials especially in the finance department.9 Hence, their presence was never viewed with disfavour. Besides external factors, certain internal factors also enabled the Jains to maintain their identity. The strong element of functional literacy, ever present in the community since trade could not be carried on without it, permitted them to keep their social memory intact generation after generation. In this they were also helped by the life-style they had developed: it was considered an act of religious merit if one distributed copies of religious books among the holy-men in the community.10 We repeatedly find copies of religious texts being done on the orders of rich men. These were to be given to holy and learned men in the community. Such acts helped traditions to survive. Those Jains, who did not join the religious order also produced literary works, religious, semi-religious and secular in the local languages (emphasis added)11 which enabled the common Jain (generally literate) to become conversant with the broad contours of their religion and history and become aware of their Jain identity. In short, the element of literacy and also the recourse to nonclassical languages as vehicles of literary expression were important factors in preserving and perpetuating the Jain identity. The rest of the book, from pp. 143 to 292 is devoted to a description of the important religious leaders, the main religious festivals held in the community, the well-known temples constructed in different parts of the country, etc. It is really creditable for the author to have collected all the material at one place, so that the process of evolution of the religious life of the community as well as the material prosperity enjoyed by some of its members can be discerned. In a separate chapter, the author writes about the eminent personalities, produced by the community. He has touched upon their mundane achievements, such as, association with the political elites and acts of religious merit. Unfortunately, this approach to history via biography fails to click since the biographical sketches are too brief to tell us anything about how the material prosperity was attained and what role they played in the politics and eonomy. For example, Nanu Codha is reputed to

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have built eighty temples in Bengal when he served the governor of the province, Raja Man Singh in the reign of Akbar in the sixteenth century. He was in possession of seventy-two elephants.12 It is difficult to believe that he amassed this huge wealth merely as an employee; but we do not know what other profession he simultaneously carried on. At best these biographical outlines remain as isolated bricks which at this stage cannot be used to construct ‘an historical structure’. Of course, it is undeniable that certain valuable information can be gleaned which deepen our understanding of the historical processes at work in the country. Among the important revelations which emerge, mention may be made of the mobility of the Khandelwal community. Their members were to be found in Bengal in the east (where in the early seventeenth century a member of the community is reputed to have constructed eighty temples) to Dera Gazi Khan (now in Pakistan) in the west. Of course, this mobility was aided by the establishment of the Mughal rule in India from Afghanistan or the Oxus River in the west to the Chittagong hill tracts in the east in which the Rajput chiefs of various states in Rajasthan had played an active role. When the Rajput noble went as governors or administrators or commanders, they carried Jains of Rajasthan to lend them a helping hand in organizing supplies or administering finances, etc. But at this point, it should be noted that history turns into a mere narration of personalities, dates and events. The inner dynamics which helped the members of the community in these distant parts of the country to earn huge wealth is not revealed. Association with topadministrative functionaries can only be one of the factors. We do not learn about their commercial activities. What were the articles they traded in? What commercial practices did they adopt? How did they organize their vast trading operations? After all, trade was their forte but no light is thrown on their areas of trade, their methods or their interaction with the other trading communities in the country. The outlines of the evolution of the community are known and so it is high time we get some insight into their mundane, day to day activities. Only then it will be clear how their bread was earned and

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how their piles of money were made, with which they constructed several large and small temples and organized grand religious festivals involving huge outflow of cash. One can then move on to ask the next question: did these expenses affect capital accumulation and the health of their business? Similarly, we are told about the great intellectual attainments of the holy-men but we do not get any idea of the educational system which produced these men of letters, who were well-versed not only in Jain theology, but also in philosophy, literature, astronomy, indigenous system of medicine, languages, such as Sanskrit, Pr"akrit, Apabhra^msa, Gujarati, Rajasthani, Braj, etc. We do not get any idea of the syllabus which was followed for any subject or the method of teaching. Why it is that no institutional base was created for imparting education? An answer to this question is vital for the following reasons: the Jains as traders were in a better position to appreciate the fact that production, whether artisanal or agricultural could increase if production processes could be improved through an application of science and technology, however, rudimentary at that stage. As traders they were generally in direct touch with the primary producers and therefore, they were ideally placed to carry out this message. This would have had a vital bearing on the emergence of scientific revolution in the seventeenth century and eventually the beginnings of the industrial revolution in our country. Here we again draw a blank. Scholars of Jain history in future may like to concentrate on elucidating these dark but vital corners of history of the community. Nevertheless, it has to be admitted that an important step has been taken towards writing the History of Jains as distinct from the History of Jainism. We need the former more if we are striving for a fuller history of the Indian society. It is high time we have ‘History of Jains in Gujarat’, ‘History of Jains in Rajasthan’, etc., along with what we already have, History of Jainism in Gujarat and History of Jainism in Rajasthan, etc. A few words about the form of writing of the book will be in order. In the work references have been made to ‘rupees’ in connection with expenses. But this is not correct. The amount must be mentioned in the contemporary currency or as is given in the source which has been

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used. Otherwise, it leaves a misleading impression. Secondly, the dates are generally given in Sa^mvat era. The dates should be converted into the Gregorian calendar which will be more convenient for the readers. A bibliography must be appended because it is a necessary tool for scholarly researches. However, these are just suggestions made in the hope that this would enhance the usefulness of the work to historians of Indian society, culture and economy to which the Jains have contributed a good deal throughout our writtern history. Finally, I plead that caste-histories written in vernacular languages should not be ignored on the ground that they are works by amateurs, having little expertise in the methodology of history-writing and are full of biases. They contain data which can deepen our understanding of the evolution and working of the caste-system in our country.

NOTES 1. James Rennel, A Bengal Atlas: Containing Map of the Theatre of War and Commerce on that Side of Hindoostan, London, 1781. 2. Francis Buchanan, An Account of the District of Bhagalpur in 1810-1811, Patna, 1928; idem, An Account of the Districts of Bihar and Patna in 181112, Patna, 1928; idem, An Account of the District of Purnea in 1809-1810, Patna, 1928. 3. Government of India, Census of Bengal 1872 by H. Beverley, Calcutta, 1872; The decennial Census was subsequently carried out in 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911, 1921 and 1931. In the post-independence period it was carried out in 1951, 1961, 1971, 1981 and 1991. 4. Surendra Gopal, Patna in the Nineteenth Century: A Socio-Cultural Profile, Calcutta, 1982, p. 78. 5. Kasliwal, op. cit., p. 62. 6. Ibid., p. XIII. 7. Kasliwal, op. cit., p. 75. 8. Ibid., pp. 79-80. 9. Ibid., Ch. 7. The author has given brief biographical sketches of fiftyfour Khandelwal Jains, associated with administration from the tenth century AD to the nineteenth century AD.

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10. Vidyadhar Zohrapurkar and Kasturchand Kasliwar, Veer Shasan ke Prabhavak Acharya, New Delhi, 1975, pp. 154, 240, 247. 11. See for example the volumes published in the series Jain Kaviyon ki Hindi Seva from Jaipur. The volumes have been edited by Dr. Kasliwal. 12. Kasliwal, op. cit., p. 197.

CHAPTER 7

Jains in Agra in the Seventeenth Century: A Study of Some Sources

From the beginning of the seventeenth century, internal trade in north India began to expand rapidly. Several factors contributed to it. Among these mention may be made of policies of Akbar: collection of land revenue in cash, payment of salaries of officials in cash, establishment of a large number of mints, construction of major roads linking far-flung areas of the empire to the capital city of Agra, etc. The advent of European traders in the area in the early seventeenth century accelerated the process. Among the major beneficiaries of the expanding internal commerce were Jains who, in course of the seventeenth century, became important traders throughout the area.1 However, documents of the various Euopean trading companies and contemporary travel reports of Europeans, which constitute the most important sources for writing the trade history of the period, hardly throw any light on the socio-cultural life of this group. For this we have to use works by Jains which though abundant are not, strictly speaking, works of history. They cannot be even compared to contemporary Persian chronicles— such as Akbarn"am"a, Padshahn"am"a of Abdul Hamid Lahori, etc.— the most popular form of history writing in Mughal India. The present paper is an attempt to point out some of the Jain sources which yield information on socio-cultural life of the Jains in the Mughal capital of Agra. The contemporary Jain writings are a mixed bag. Some of them, though ostensibly biographies are, in fact, hagiographies of religious leaders either by their disciples or devotees. Occasionally we have

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biographies of secular leaders of the community as well.2 These biographies contain descriptions of Jain holy-places but incidentally they also refer to members of the community and their socio-cultural lives. We also have Vijnapatipatras, i.e. letters of invitation sent jointly by the leading Jains to important holy-men to pay them visits. Some of these Vijnapatipatras still survive.3 Another source that helps us in our studies are the inscriptions to be found on Jain temples and idols. The language used is mostly Sanskrit or Hindi.4 The contemporary Jain writings repeatedly refer to Agra, the Mughal capital. The reason appears to be two-fold. As an imperial capital Agra offered opportunities for trade, unrivalled by any other urban centre in north India. It was natural that Jains, whose traditional occupation was trade, should flock to Agra, from the neighbouring state of R"ajasth"an. Secondly, as a religious liberal, Akbar showed keen interest in listening to the finer points of various religions and hence, he invited leading holy men to his court. Among these were Jains as well. Padmasundar seems to have been the first Jain monk to have spoken to the emperor about his religion.5 After the visit of H$ûravijaya S"uri, a highly respected Jain saint to the emperor in Samvat 1639, several Jain saints visited the Mughal \ court throughout the seventeenth century. Among these, mention may be made of the following: Shantichandraj$û, Vijaysena S"uri, Bh"anuchandra, Harshasara, Jayasomaj$û, etc.6 The close ties subsisting between these Jain saints and Akbar can be inferred from the fact that at their instance the experor prohibited the killing of animals during certain days.7 An imperial firm"an to this effect was issued. The firm"a n was applicable in the subahs of Delhi, Oudh and Orissa.8 Besides, the Jains were permitted to renovate their temples and conduct group pilgrimages.9 In fact, this information reveals the wide extent of religious toleration practiced by Akbar and some of his immediate successors. More information concerning Agra is contained in the work entitled Bhatt"araka-Samprad"aya,10 a collection of inscriptions on idols and copper-plates and verses and statements referring to Bhatt"arakas in Patt"aval ∂s and other contemporary writings. An inscription shows that a Jain, Rupchand whose father Banarsi was a resident of Agra had gone to Surat to worship a Jain saint.11

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The event indicates the existence of ties between the Jains residing in two most important commercial marts of the country. For the Jains, Agra had emerged as a cultural centre. Several Jains wrote on diverse subjects while staying in the city. In Samvat \ 12 1695 ®S"aliv"ahana wrote Harivam« s a Pur" a ^ n a in Hindi. \ In the reign of Akbar, poet Parimal wrote in 1594 ‘®Sr$ûp"alacharitra’ in which he graphically described the city of Agra and the contemporary society.13 Another important work written here was a Sanskrit poetical work Yashodharcharitra by Jn"ank$ûrti at the request of famous trader Shah Nahu.14 Though the theme of both these works was traditional, yet they show the Jains kept alive their mythology which enabled them to maintain the continuity of their traditions. In the reign of Sh"ah Jah"an in a book on Åyurveda, Vaidyavinod was completed.15 The writer, Bhagwat$ûd"as, seems to have been intellectually fairly active as he had written another book on astrology Jyotiss"ara in Hisar.16 He also transcribed a religious text in Agra Navankkevali for a lady Bai Mathura.17 The fact shows that some Jain ladies took keen interest in theology of their religion and had received enough education to be able to go through some of the books dealing with the subject.18 Bhagwat$ûd"as, who lived during the reigns of two Mughal rulers Jah"a ng$ûr and Sh"ah Jah"an copied another religious text namely, Dvatriusdindvakeval ∂. He was also the author of books such as Mugati Shiromani Chunad∂, Anek"a tthan" amam"a l"a, Brihat S∂t"a Sahi and Laghu S∂t"a Sahi.19 The arrival of important Jain saints from R"ajasth"an and Gujar"at, the presence of Jain intellectuals well-versed in the theology and lore of their religion stimulated lively debate within the community regarding its nature, tradition and practices. We have no positive evidence but such an inquiry might have been set in motion by the general atmosphere of liberality prevailing in the society. As a consequence the city of Agra acted as a trend-setter even amongst the Jains in the seventeenth century. Thus Banars$ûd"as founded the Ter"apanth∂ sect in opposition to the Bhatt"arakas of the Digambar sect who had introduced a variety of rituals and ostentatious practices20 Banars$ûd"as denounced the institution of Bhatt"arakas, condemned

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the innovations introduced by them and wanted religion to be a simple, personal and spiritual matter as several of the earlier saints such as Kabir and Nanak had been demanding. Since Jain traders from different parts of rhe country visited Agra for purposes of trade, they came in contact of Banars$ûd"as and carried the message of Ter"apantha to their places.21 It soon spread into the cities of the neighbouring R"ajasth"ana namely Kamana (near Bharatpura) and Sanganera (near Jaipur). The Ter"a pantha developed as a protest movement among the Digambara Jains, similar to the protest movements like Kabirpantha, Sikhism, etc., that had emerged among the Hindus in north India during the last few centuries. A look at the rituals given up by the Ter"apanthis shows how much they were under the spell of anti-idolatry and anti-priesthood sentiments sweeping over the country. Simplify, spiritualize and individualize the religion seemed to be their dominant motto, although in the process, they did not want to go beyond the framework of the traditional religion. A letter written from K"amana to Ter"apanthis in Sanganera in VS 1749 contains the statement that they had given up rubbing saffron on footprints of Mahabir, worshipping while sitting, pouring water over the idols, gambling in the precincts of the temple, playing of musical instruments in the temple, offering cooked food in temple, eating in the temple, worshipping at night, organizing ostentatious congregations, sleeping in the temple, etc.22 Religion was sought to be transformed into an intensely personal spiritual affair. It transpires that people accepted such changes only after a good deal of discussion. For the purpose, they had organized circles to discuss spiritual and theological matters, called sail∂s and one such circle operated in Agra in which Banars$ûd"as took a leading part.23 It is significant to note that these sail∂s did not confine themselves to discussing spiritual and theological matters but imparted instructions in logic, philosophy, grammar and other subjects and were thus instruments for imparting and promoting education among the Jains.24 Sail ∂s had come to supplement the traditional modes of disseminating higher education among the laity. Normally higher education among Jains was confined to monks, who had renounced

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the world and attached themselves to some teacher in whose company they studied languages, grammar, literature, religious texts, etc. They reflected an effort on the part of the Jains to loosen the hold of the priesthood on religion and education. The inference is supported by the organizations! structure of the sail ∂s which was very loose and had no formal head and no chief was ever elected; those with intellectual attainments, in course of time, came at the top. The sail∂s seemed to have become popular in towns of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.25 The career of Banars$ûd"as, the initiator of Ter"apantha is well-known from his autobiography, Ardha-Kath"anaka, the first autobiography in Hindi.26 The work throws a flood of light on contemporary socioeconomic situation of a common trader, the trial and tribulations he had to undergo in carrying on his business. His journeys for business purposes are described and the perils he encountered are noted. The other difficulties such as the oppressions of officials who forced the traders to part with their goods at nominal prices are noted.27 We also learn about his contacts with other noted poets such as Goswam$û Tuls$ûd"as28 and Sunderd"as.29 The credit for propagating Jain scriptures in simple Hindi among the common man also belongs to Banaras$ûd"as, who thus enriched the corpus of Hindi language. His presentation of Samayas"ara, a Jain religious text in the form of a popular drama in Hindi is a case in point. For educating the common man, Banaras$ûd"as wrote N"amam"al"a, a dictionary in which the equivalents in local dialects of important Sanskrit words were given.30 The dictionary happens to be the third in Hindi language after M"anamañjar∂ and Anek"arthan"amam"al"a of Nandad"asa written around VS 1626. The dictionary is in poetry. In short, for the Jains. Agra was an important cultural centre from which new literary and religious forces radiated. We have additional information concerning important members of the Jain community in the city of Agra from these Jain sources. Some of the well-known Jains in the city are mentioned. For example, a Jain Karma Chand was a minister of Akbar31 who enjoyed emperor’s trust and confidence. Th"an Singh was another confidant of the emperor and his favourite.32 At the instance of the emperor a depository of books relating to Jainism was started in Agra and

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Th"an Singh was asked to look after it.33 Since then the Grantha Bhand"ar of Agra has been an important centre for the collection of Jain books. Hir"anand Mukim, a rich Jain trader of Agra was close to Jah"ang$ûr and had invited the ruler to his own house.34 In fact, in Jahangir’s time in Agra there were eighty-eight important Jain personalities belonging to ®Svet"ambara sect and many of them were fairly wealthy.35 A firman of Jah"angir describes how Chanda Sanghvi presented the emperor a valuable diamond ring and requested that 10 bighas of land be conferred upon him as a madad-i-m"ash grant in the pargan"a of Khambhat so that he could construct a monument to his guru the late Vijaysen Suri. His submision was accepted.36 In short, the above information about socio-cultural life of the Jain community shows that though literacy was widely prevalent, yet advanced knowledge was mostly the preserve of those who had entered monkhood and hence, the common man rarely got involved in contributing to the cause of knowledge. The Åffluent Jain traders forged close ties with the Mughal emperors, who respected their religious, cultural and social sensibilities. Such an information is not available in other historical sources.

NOTES 1. Surendra Gopal, ‘Jain Merchants in Eastern India under the Great Mughals’, in Dwijendra Tripathi (ed.), Business Communities of India, Delhi, 1984, pp. 69-70. 2. For example, Karmachandra Charitra by Pandit Jayasoma is a biography of a minister of Akbar who was a Jain; J.P. Jain, Pramukh Aitihasik Jain Purush aur Mahil"ayen, New Delhi, 1975, pp. 288-9; see also the Sanskrit poetical work Ath Karmachandra Vam« \ sotkirtankam K"avyam consisting of 547 verses. 3. Hiranand Shastri, Ancient Vijñapatipatras, Baroda. 4. For example see P.C. Nahar, Jain Inscriptions, vols. I, II, Calcutta, 1918. 5. He wrote a work in Sanskrit entitled Akbarsh"ah∂-Sringardarpan. Another Jain work in praise of Akbar is Kripa-ras-ko«sa. 6. Agarchand Nahta and Bhanvarlal Nahta, Yugapradh"an Sr∂jinchandra S"uri, Calcutta, VS 2029, pp. 57-8. 7. Ibid., p. 82.

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8. Ibid., pp. 152-3, Muniraj Srividyavijayji, Sur∂shwar aur Samr"at Akbar, Agra, sv 1980, pp. 377-96. 9. Pramukh Jain Aitihasik Purush . . ., pp. 289-90. 10. V.P. Zohrapurkar, Bhatt"araka Samprad"aya, Sholapur, 1958. 11. Ibid., p. 62 12. Ibid., p. 133. 13. Pramukh Jain Aitihasik Purush, pp. 286-7. 14. Ibid., p. 288. 15. Bhatt"arak Samprad"ayo, p. 231. 16. Ibid. 17. Ibid,, p. 232. 18. Ibid., p. 243. 19. Ibid. 20. Hukamchand Bharilla, Pandit Todar Mal: Vyaktitva evam Krititava, Jaipur, 1973, p. 21. 21. Ibid. 22. Ibid., p. 22. 23. Ibid., p. 58. 24. Ibid., p. 59. 25. Ardha Kath"anak, ed. Nathuram Premi, Bombay, 1943, pp. 27-8. 26. Ibid., p. 17; The work is well-known to students of Mughal history and has been extensively used. 27. Ibid., p. 21. 28. Ravindra Kumar Jain, Kavivar Banars∂d"as, Varanasi, 1966, pp. 115-17. 29. Ibid., pp. 119-21. 30. Ibid., pp. 137-9. 31. Pramukh Jain Aitihasik Purush . . . , pp. 288-9. 32. Surishwar aur Samr"at, p. 258. 33. Ibid., p. 124. 34. Ardha Kath"anak, vv 224, 241, 242. 35. Ibid., p. 135. 36. Sur∂shwar aur Samr"at, p. 395

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Jains in India: Historical Essays CHAPTER 8

Jain Merchants in Eastern India under the Great Mughals

At the dawn of the sixteenth century, Jains were mainly concentrated in Rajasthan and Gujarat although in ancient times they were an important component of the population in the plains of north India. Under the Turko-Afghans, they had dwindled1 considerably in the Gangetic plain; however, the Rajasthani and Gujarati Jains did not forget their association with the eastern region: several of their holy places such as those associated with the life and death of tirthankaras and other teachers were situated in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.2 This is evident from a number of inscriptions of the late fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries discovered in these places.3 However, we have no information regarding their professional activities in eastern India during this period though they were active in Delhi, where they enjoyed the respect and favour of the Delhi sultans such as Ala-ud-din Khilji, Muhammad bin Tughluq and Firuz Tughluq.4 This seems to have induced a stream of emigration to eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, as a result of which the Jain presence in the local population must have been strengthened.5 We find references to settlement of rich Jain traders in Uttar Pradesh between the rivers Yamuna and Ganga in the first quarter of the sixteenth century.6 But their role in the economic life is not clear as no information is available. The turning point in the history of Jains comes in the time of Akbar the Great when we start meeting them again in ever increasing numbers. Several factors contributed to this. From then onwards, the stream never dried up, though the volume occasionally fluctuated. Akbar gave a new orientation to the Mughal state, by adopting a policy of religious toleration and friendship with the Rajputs

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which resulted in heavy induction of Rajput rulers and noblemen of Rajasthan in the Mughal army and bureaucracy. Many of the Rajput chieftains and noblemen who helped the Mughal rulers to conquer Bihar and Bengal had Jain compatriots in their entourage as advisers and assistants. This swelled the number of Jains in the Gangetic Valley. Thus Raja Man Singh7 who conquered Bihar and Bengal on behalf of Akbar had in his entourage several Jains. Diwan Dhanna Rai appointed 500 Shrimali Jains in the Department of Revenue to collect land revenue in Bengal and Bihar.8 Mahamatya Nanu was another important Jain who settled down in Raj Mahal, the newly established capital of Bihar and Bengal. He stayed there for fifteen years not only as the counsellor of the new Mughal governor but also as a businessman.9 When Raja Gaj Singh of Marwar went to fight the battle of Hajipur in Bihar, he was accompanied by a Jain counsellor, Mehta Jaimal.10 From now onwards the Jains moved to eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal both for purposes of pilgrimage and trade. In 1591 Shah Than Singh of Jaipur organized a pilgrimage party to Pawapuri in Bihar.11 He was followed by Hiranand Mukim of Agra in the early part of the next century.12 Kharag Sen, a small trader from Jaunpur made repeated trips to Patna for purposes of trade and his example was followed by his son Banarsidas.13 Other Jain traders such as Narottam also accompanined Banarsidas to Patna.14 Thus by the turn of the seventeenth century the migration of Jains to Bihar and Bengal had become a fact of life and by the 1630s, Jains were beginning to consider Patna as their homeland. Two inscriptions dated VS 1682 and 1699 (AD 1526 and 1543) refer to Patna as homeland of the donee Jains.15 As the diffusion of Jains was taking place in Bihar it is hardly surprising that their presence in the territory intervening between Agra and Patna also became pronounced. Undoubtedly, the richest and the most influencial Jain traders were concentrated in Agra. Probably the largest colony of Jains in north India was also to be found in this city. Several factors account for this. All the important Rajput nobles at one time or the other stayed in Agra either as courtiers or as Mughal bureaucrats or again just to curry favour with the court or to keep it well disposed towards themselves so

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that they might secure some lucrative assignment which would add to their status. They brought the Jains from their homeland as counsellors or employed local Jains as agents. Akbar’s policy of religious toleration also brought Jains to his court.16 Among these, the most important was Karma Chand Bachchavat, who has served as Prime Minister of the State of Bikaner.17 Some of the Jains attached to the Mughal court moved to Lahore when the emperor temporarily shifted his capital there. The Jain teacher Vijaysen Suri was invited and the Jain devotees organized an important festival on the occasion.18 But it seems that apart from migration on account of attachment to Rajput nobles, a more important motive was the lure of lucrative business which had witnessed a spurt on account of Akbar’s policies. Akbar announced that henceforth all land revenue would have to be paid in cash. The announcement had two implications. First, the landholder was now forced to part with a part of his produce in the market and this contributed to the further monetization of the Indian economy19 and thus widened trade opportunities which activated the Jains. Secondly, the State now opened more mints to fulfil the need for ready cash. Akbar’s empire had 76 mint towns.20 This resulted in the growth of more business for money-changers whose business was to exchange coins of different varieties and to give current coins in exchange for old coins. Hence we find that in Akbar’s time the Jain traders discovered new areas for extending their activities and it is no surprise that we find them in all prominent urban centres extending from the river Indus to the Bay of Bengal. The conquest of Gujarat in 1573 linked north India with the port towns of the province and, therefore, Western Uttar Pradesh and south-eastern Punjab now had unhindered access to the Sea; imported commodities from across the sea were transported to Delhi-Agra region. This also ensured overseas markets for the local farm produce as well manufactured goods. Agra became the chief mart in north India and the Jains did not fail to take advantage of this situation. Parimal, a contemporary Jain poet residing in Agra, described Akbar’s reign as ‘free from injustice’ and ‘unparalleled elsewhere’.21 Another Jain scholar Samaysundar won the

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emperor’s applause by narrating 10,000,000 meanings of a Sanskrit sentence. 22 Jain migration, begun in the reign of Akbar, received impetus in the reign of Akbar’s successor on account of several new developments. First, Jahangir was able to establish peace with Mewar, the only state of Rajasthan which had declined to accept the hand of friendship offered by the Mughals. Thus, the Jains of Rajasthan had full opportunity to travel all over the Mughal empire.23 Secondly, the activization of Jains was furthered by the arrival of the English and the Dutch East India Companies in India. As distinguished from the Portuguese, the European newcomers entered the plains of northern India in search of commodities which they needed, at first, for export to Europe and then for other Afro-Asian countries. Thus internal trade was stimulated and Agra became a focal point for transhipment of north-Indian commodities, such as indigo, cotton textiles, sugar, saltpetre, etc., to Surat, the port in Gujarat, from where these were sent to their respective destinations in Europe, Africa or Asia.24 Agra became the chief centre of activities for Jain traders, since it had emerged as the most important entrepôt of trade in the region. Thus, it is hardly surprising that throughout the seventeenth century, we have references to distinguished Jains of Agra, either traders or governmental functionaries. Jahangir’s friendship with Hiranand Mukim is well known.25 Jagjivan, a diwan of Jafar Khan, enjoyed a mansab of 5000 under Shah Jahan. His contemporaries were Hemaraj, Ramchand, Sanghi, Mathuradas, Bhawaldas, Bhagwatidas, etc.26 Other famous Jains of the period were Kunwar Pal, Salivahan, Parihanand and Sundardas. The latter was a famous poet; Shah Jahan bestowed upon him the titles of Kavirai and Mahakavirai.27 The Jain saint Jinaraj Suri met the emperor at Agra shortly before his death.28 In the reign of Jahangir, the English and the Dutch successfully consolidated their position and became regular visitors to markets in north India. In Patna the English first arrived in 1620 and were followed by the Dutch in 1632.29 Events in the reign of Shah Jahan, the sucessor of Jahangir, enabled European traders to consolidate their position in north Indian markets.

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First, Mughal-Persian relations were in bad shape and so the overland trade with Persia was declining and opportunities for trade in this sector were dwindling. At the same time, Shah Jahan was engaged in a continuing conflict with the Deccan states with the result that the most attractive area for trade within the Mughal empire remained the territory stretching from the Indus to the Bay of Bengal. Hence, we find that the European traders started visiting this area in ever increasing numbers.30 Rajasthani Jains were not slow to realize this and so they continued to emigrate to this region. It was during this period that Hiranand Shah arrived in Patna. He seems to have prospered and soon his successor became the most important and the richest trader in north India.31 The movement of Jains to Bengal was but a continuation of the same process. This need not surprise us as Bengal and Bihar were intimately connected. In 1671, John Marshall found that people of Patna were moving to Dacca in search of a living on account of a severe famine.32 The stream of Jain migration seems to have continued unabated in the reign of Aurangzeb. Political-cum-economic factors again explain this phenomenon. During the first two decades of his reign, Aurangzeb’s relations with Rajputs were cordial and so there was no problem for Rajasthani Jains in migrating to east India. The Rajput wars were a brief interlude as after their conclusion the emperor shifted his activities to south India and was not destined to return again to the north. In the meanwhile, the opportunities for trade in western India continued to shrink on account of Maratha attacks on Mughal territory, continuous Mughal war with the Deccan states, the decline of the Safavids and the Ottomans and the rise of piracy in the Arabian sea. As a result, the Europeans intensified their activities in eastern India and so the Gangetic Valley emerged as the most promising area in terms of business opportunity. The Rajasthani Jains did not fail to respond to the challenge and, thus, their numbers kept on increasing.33 A Jain work Digvijaya Mahakavya written in VS 1627 describes Agra, Allahabad, Varanasi in glowing terms.34 It goes on to shower praises on places associated with Jains in Bihar, such as the small town of Bihar Sharif, Rajgriha, Nawada and Sammet Sikhar, etc.35 Thus,

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we find that throughout the seventeenth century, several factors were at work which promoted emigration of Rajasthani Jains all over eastern India. It is, therefore, not surprising that Banarsidas mentions several places in Uttar Pradesh36 where Jains lived in large numbers. Among places named by him are Agra,37 Banaras, Jaunpur, Ayodhya, Allahabad, Kara, Manikpur, Fatehpur, Khairabad, Etawah, Meerut, etc. There are references to Jains in Lucknow as well.38 It would now be pertinent to discuss the amount of capital owned by the Jains and the commodities in which they traded. Here we are faced with paucity of data. But the autobiography of Banarsidas written in the reign of Shah Jahan sheds a good deal of light on this area and gives some idea of the type of commodities in which they normally traded. The Jain traders were not a homogeneous lot; there were several levels amongst them in terms of possession of capital. There were some who had at their command a large amount of capital; while other operated with very little. Among the top echelons were Karma Chand and Than Singh and Jeta Shah of Agra,39 who in the reign of Akbar had organized a grand reception for Jain teacher H$ûravijayas"uri when he arrived in Agra. He was received by a procession consisting of musicians, elephants, horses, camels and chariots. Gold and silver flowers were used for decoration. Geometrical patterns were made on the ground with the help of pearls.40 Hiranand Mukim, a Jain trader of Allahabad, was so affluent that he led a congregation of lay Jains to Sammet Sikhar in Bihar in 1604. Jains were invited from different towns of Uttar Pradesh; the father of Banarsidas joined it from Jaunpur; they visited the various Jain places of pilgrimage in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,41 and returned after a year.42 Hiranand shifted to Agra after Jahangir became the emperor and invited him to a party at his house in 1610 and offered valuable presents.43 Another Jain trader of Agra to win royal favour was Sabal Singh Mohita whose lavish life-style is vividly described by Banarsidas.44 He was the chief of lay Jains of Agra. The story of the family of Hiranand Shah is well-known. He arrived in Patna in 1652 and his son Manik Chand migrated to Dacca and thence to Murshidabad where his

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successor Fateh Chand, secured the title of Jagatseth from the Mughal emperor in 1722.45 Not much is known about the affluence of Hiranand Shah, but his son Manik Chand prospered and the house became a significant factor in the economy and politics of eastern India46 during the next six decades. All the foreign traders, the English, the Dutch, the French, the Armenians, etc., and the local rulers maintained contacts with him. But some Jains were at the bottom of the scale who were forced to borrow paltry sums for some time to keep up their business. Banarsidas starved for some time in Agra and then borrowed about Rs. 200 from his mother-in-law to set himself up again in business.47 He also mentions a host of other traders who were in similar circu-mstances. In between these two extremes, there were levels of affluence. This is well illustrated by the history of the family of Banarsidas. He was a resident of Jaunpur which had been the capital of Sharqi sultans a couple of centuries earlier. He was a jeweller and was in contact with the top administrators of the town. Banarsidas’ fatherin-law Kalyanmal was similarly a small trader of Khairabad.48 When misfortune dogged Kharagsen in Jaunpur, he moved to Allahabad.49 Banarsidas who was then around fourteen years of age sold cowries and earned a paisa or two.50 It was not unusual for them to enter into business partnership to augment their small capital.51 When Banarsidas dissolved the partnership after two years, he had earned a total profit of little more than Rs. 200.52 The poet described the situation as ‘discovering a shell after churning the ocean’.53 It is difficult to enumerate with precision the exact number of commodities that were dealt with by the Jains; however, the range was fairly wide. Once again we turn to Banarsidas as an example. When Kaharagsen decided to set up Banarsidas in business, he started for Agra with 20 maunds of ghee, 2 barrels of oil, four packet of miscellaneous articles and some precious stones.54 Cottontextiles constituted another important commodity of trade.55 But the small Jain trader virtually dealt in every commodity.56 However, the affluence of Jains was the result of large-scale wholesale trade as was the case of with the Gujarati Jains, whose most well-known

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representative was Virji Vora of Surat during this period.57 Their business extended to commodities such as indigo, saltpetre, sugar, etc., and imported commodities such as metals like quick-silver, lead, copper, etc., and precious and semi-precious stones. Thus, almost all items were included in the commodities they traded in, and the only exception seems to have been horse which they excluded on religious grounds. In spite of dealing in a large variety of items, the general tendency was to concentrate on high-valued and easily transportable commodities, principally precious metals and stones. All the traders of Agra mentioned by Banarsidas such as Sanwal Singh, Ratan Chand, Bandidas traded in precious stones.58 Banarsidas writes, ‘The trade in precious stones is the best.’59 But the Jain trader did not give up commerce in low-valued commodities of everyday use, such as textiles, oil, cowrie, etc.60 The Jain trader, by virtue of his scale of trading operation was well-suited to act as representative and collaborator of foreign traders, who lacked local expertise and also monetary resources. The family of Hiranand Shah played this role. It could, therefore, be said that apart from being retail and wholesale traders, the Jains also acted as brokers and collaborators. For the Jains the changeover to banking and money-changing was an easy job and both the functions were performed alongwith trading operations.61 The history of the family of Hiranand Shah reflects this dimension of the activities of the Jains. In all the principal cities of north India such as Dacca, Hugli, Murshidabad, Patna, Banaras, Agra, Delhi, etc., the House of Jagatseth had its branches so that the transfer of money was no problem.62 The Dutch record described Fateh Chand as the ‘greatest money-changer of Hindustan’.63 The Jains were able to play this role on account of their command over capital, existence of business ties all over north and western India and also presence of kinsmen and castemen in important trading centres. At this point it is not difficult to appreciate the fact that the Jain traders commanding huge liquid monetary resources inevitably came in close contact with the various European trading companies,

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then becoming active in eastern India, as well as with the ruling authorities. It is not surprising that some of the Jain traders became closely associated with the royal house. Hirachand Mukim was the personal jeweller of Emperor Jahangir.64 They were appointed to important offices involving financial management. The examples of Dhanna Rai and Banarsidas’ father have been cited above.65 The family of Hiranand Shah established close ties with the ruling authorities in Bengal. Fateh Chand was put in charge of the mint at Murshidabad.66 Frequently he advanced huge sums as loans to the nawabs of Bengal.67 He was responsible for transmitting the revenue of Bengal to Delhi.68 His establishment functioned in Bengal as the state bank.69 The English East India Company had entered into business contacts with Manik Chand in 1706. Between 1718 and 1730 they borrowed at an average of Rs. 1 lakh per annum. This was in addition to the sum borrowed from his other establishments in different towns all over north India.70 The Jains had, thus, entered into trade, banking, moneylending, transfer of land revenue to the imperial capital, financial management of the State, etc.; thereby they acquired an influence over the local economy quite out of proportion to their numbers. The favourable politico-economic situation existing in the seventeenth century enabled the Jains to spread in eastern India and become a dominant force in the local economy. The success, thus, achieved spurred other Jains and Rajasthani Hindu traders to continue their movements towards the east in the eighteenth century because conditions in the north-west were becoming anarchic owing to the weakness of the Mughal empire, the invasion of Marathas and Nadir Shah; and were not conducive to the growth of trade. With the coming of the railways in the nineteenth century, this Rajasthani migration received further impetus.71 Thus historical factor is partly responsible for the absence of the growth of indigenous entrepreneurship in the region in modern times, because the local economy never got out of the grip of outsiders. In the second-half of the eighteenth century, the English became dominant following their victories in the battles of Plassey and Buxar. The region continues to be under the dominance of outsiders even today.

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NOTES 1. Mahamahopadhyaya Vinaysagar, Shasanprabhavak Acharya Jinprabh aur unka Sahitya, Bikaner, 1975, p. 52. After Prithivi Raj Chauhan had been killed by Muhammad Ghori, his close associate Seth Ramdev wrote that the Turkish ruler had been established and, therefore, the Jain images should be kept in hiding and his instructions were carried out. 2. The 24th and the last and the most well-known Jain Tirthankar Vardhman Mahavir was born in Vaishali and he died in Pawapuri, located in Bihar. Twenty Tirthankars, i.e. excepting the first, twelfth, twenty-third and twenty-fourth, died on a hill top, Sammet Sikhar near Hazaribagh, again in Bihar (now Jharkhand). Angades and Champanagari, both in Bihar, were described by Mahakavi Brahma Raimall, who flourished in the reign of Akbar. Kasturchand Kasliwal, Mahakavi Brahma Raimall evam Bhattarak Tribhuvan Kirti, Jaipur, 1978, p. 117. The city of Banaras is intimately associated with the seventh Tirthankar Suparsvanathji and the twenty-third Tirthankar Parsvanathji; Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh is associated with the first Tirthankar Rishabhdev. See P.C. Nahar, Jain Inscriptions, pt. I, Calcutta, 1918, pp. 84, 98; ibid., pt. II, p. 145. A document of VS 1441 (AD 1385) refers to the travels of a Jain Saint in Ayodhya. Acharya Jinvijay Muni (ed.), Vigyaptilekhe Sangrah, vol. I, Bombay, 1960, p. 2. Another Jain work of the fourteenth century refers to a number of Jain holy places in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Jain Parbah Suri, Vividh Tirthakalp, Santiniketan, 1934, pp. 11-28, 32, 65-70. 3. Jain Inscriptions, n. 2, I, Inscription nos. 151-7, 171-2, 175-81, 186-9, 211-23, 238-9, 256-8, 269, 274-97, etc. 4. Shasanprabhavak, n. 1, pp. 49-50, 54-9; Vidyadhar Zohrapurkar and Kasturchand Kasliwal, Veer Shasan ke Prabhavak Acharya, New Delhi, 1975, pp. 116-27. It seems that in the fifteenth century there was a setback to the process because Bhattarak Shubhchandra had to transfer his seat to Chittor from Delhi as he found the attitude of the local authorities hostile. Ibid., p. 148. Nevertheless, even Sultan Sikandar Lodi treated Jain teacher Bhattarak Visalkirti with respect. V.P. Zohrapurkar, Bhattarak Sampradaya, Sholapur, 1958, p. 22. 5. See n. 3, infra. 6. Kasturchand Kasliwal, Kavivar Buchraj evam unke Samkalin Kavi, Jaipur, 1979, pp. 179-81. 7. R.R. Diwakar (ed.), Bihar through the Ages, Delhi, 1959, pp. 490-1. Raja

116

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

17. 18. 19.

20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

Jains in India: Historical Essays Man Singh became Governor in 1589. His son Jagat Singh held charge of the city of Patna. Jyoti Prasad Jain, Pramukh Aitihasika Jain Purush aur Mahilayen, New Delhi, 1975, p. 291. Ibid., pp. 287-8. Ibid., pp. 306-7. Ibid., p. 314. Ibid., p. 290. Banarsidas, Ardha Kathanak, Bombay, 1970, vv. 35, 197, 240, 407. Ibid., vv. 458, 461. Jain Inscriptions, n. 2, vol. I, nos. 332-3. Krishnalal Varma (ed.), Surishwar aur Samrat, Agra, 1922, 99. Some of the prominent Jains were Than Singh, Manukalyan and Amipal. Akbar’s policy was continued by Jahangir, who had a number of Jain saints in his court and he once invited Vijaydev Suri, the chief of ®Svetamber Jains, to his court. Meghavijay Upadhyay, Devanand Mahakavya, Ahmadabad, 1937, pp. 13-14. Jyoti Prasad Jain, n. 8, p. 291. Varma, n. 16, pp. 155, 160-5. Irfan Habib, The Agrarian System of Mughal India, Bombay, 1963, pp. 238-9. Prof. Habib remarks, ‘From the above information it may, perhaps, be safely concluded that apart from such isolated territories as Kashmir and Orissa, or the desolate portions of Rajputana, the cash nexus was firmly established in almost every part of the empire. Its prevalence meant simply that the peasant was normally compelled to sell a very large— in not a few cases, the larger—portion of his produce in order to meet the revenue demand.’ Sunita Budhwar, ‘Mines, and Their Administration in the Suba of Ajmer’, Indian History Congress, Proceedings, Waltair, 1979, p. 321. Kasturchand Kasliwal, Bhattarak Ratnakirti evam Kumudchandra, Vyaktitva evam Krititva, Jaipur, 1981, p. 31. Ibid., p. 36. G.N. Sharma, Mewar and the Mughal Emperors, Agra, 1954, pp. 135-8. Surendra Gopal, Commerce and Crafts in Gujarat, New Delhi, 1975, p. 127. Bhattarak Ratnakirti, n. 21, pp. 40-1. Ibid., p. 27. Ibid., pp. 27-30. Ibid., p. 36.

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29. Jagdish Narayan Sarkar, Glimpses of Medieval Bihar Economy , Calcutta, 1978, p. 48. 30. Ibid., pp. 50-1. 31. For greater details, please see Surendra Gopal, ‘Jains in Bihar in the Seventeenth Century’, Jain Journal, September 1973, pp. 79-83. 32. Sarkar, n. 29, p. 113. 33. Ibid., pp. 50-1. 34. Meghavijay, Digvijaymahakavya, Bombay, 1945, Sarg XI. 35. Ibid., Sarg XII and XIII. 36. Ardha Kathanak, n. 13, vv. 30, 33, 70, 109, 116, 132, 141, 144, 232, 240, 465, etc. Meerut was the home of maternal grandfather of Banarsidas, Ibid., v. 584. 37. A Jain Saint Meghvijay wrote a work on grammar, Chandraprabha in Agra in VS 1700. Devanand Mahakavya, n. 16, p. 6. 38. Pushpa Prasad, ‘Jahangir and Jains’, Islamic Culture, vol. lvi, no. 1, January 1982, pp. 39-40. 39. Varma, n. 16, pp. 222-3. 40. Ibid., pp. 105-6. 41. Ardha Kathanak, n. 13, p. 30, vv. 224-8. 42. Jyoti Prasad Jain, n. 8, p. 290; Ardha Kathanak, n. 13, v. 239. 43. Ibid. 44. Ibid. 45. J.H. Little, House of Jagatseth, Calcutta, 1967, pp. vi-viii. 46. Ibid. 47. Ardha Kathanak, n. 13, pp. 42-3. 48. Ibid., v. 101. 49. Ibid., v. 134. 50. Ibid., v. 135. 51. Ibid., v. 352. 52. Ibid., v. 362. 53. Ibid., v. 365. 54. Ardha Kathanak, n. 13, vv. 283, 284. The list of precious stones is as follows: Manik 24, Mani 34, Neelam 9, Panna 20. 55. Ibid., v. 399. 56. Ibid., v. 119. 57. B.G. Gokhale, Surat in the Seventeenth Century, Bombay, 1979, pp. 13746. 58. Ardha Kathanak, n. 13, v. 384, 393, 400, 445. 59. Ibid., v. 393.

118 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71.

Jains in India: Historical Essays Little, n. 45, p. vii. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Jyoti Prasad Jain, n. 8, p. 290. Ibid., p. 291. Little, n. 45, p. vii. Ibid., p. viii. Ibid., p. ix. Ibid. Ibid., pp. ix-x. Timberg, The Marwaris, New Delhi, 1978, Ch. III.

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CHAPTER 9

Jains in Bihar in the Seventeenth Century

The seventeenth century was a landmark in India’s commercial history. The establishment of a uniform political system over Indian territory extending from Kabul to the Bay of Bengal and from Kashmir to the Narmada by Akbar ensured security of life and property and thus created favourable conditions for the development of long distance overland intra-Indian trade. Hence, as compared to preceding centuries, the movement of traders and goods between different parts of the country considerably increased. Thus Gujarati Jain traders in the reign of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb could be found in the far-off Lahore1 and the Punjabi Kshatris could be found as far as Bengal and Gujarat. The Deccan plateau was also visited by traders from other parts of India.2 Such visits underlined the fact that whenever these traders found business unremunerative at a particular place for any reason or due to a combination of circumstances, they would not hesitate to shift their activities to distant parts of the country where they could hope for better profits and congenial environment. An important example of the movement of business community is provided by the migration of the Jains to Bihar in the seventeenth century. Needless to say, the emergence of the Jains in the markets of Bihar is a fine testimony to their-entrepreneurship, ability to stick to profession in spite of difficulties. Bihar contains several Jain holy places. Kshatriyakunda, the birth place, and Pavapuri, the place of nirv"a^na of Mahavira, the twentyfourth t∂rtham \ kara, are in Bihar. Sammed Shikhar, where twenty out of twenty four Tirthankaras attained nirv"a^na is also in Bihar. Rajgir is another holy place of the Jains in the province. Hence,

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the area as such was not unknown to them.3 But adverse political circum-stances till the mid-sixteenth century had acted as disincentives and prevented them from setting up business in Bihar. In the time of Akbar not only this constraint had disappeared but new in-centives had emerged. Akbar established friendly relations with the Rajput rulers in Rajasthan, the home of large number of Jains. The Rajput leaders of Rajasthan placed themselves in the service of the Mughals. As the Mughals had created a common bureaucracy and army for the empire, many of these Rajput nobles went to the east. Some of them were accompanied by members of the Jain community as ‘financial advisers’. In reality, these ‘financial advisers’ were traders, bankers, money-changers and usurers, all rolled into one. Further, the Rajput army contingents were accompanied by the Jains who arranged supplies of food, etc. Thus the Jains, had a good and first-hand look at the potentialities of the Bihar market. Therefore, when the Jains found going hard in the Agra, Delhi and Gujarat markets in the second half of the seventeenth century, they turned to Bihar. In the second half of the seventeenth century, a number of factors had depressed profits in the markets of north and north-western India. From the time of Shah Jahan, the Mughals were on inimical terms with Safavid rulers of Persia and their relations with Central Asian powers were not cordial. This affected India’s overland trade with Persia and Central Asian principalities. The Lahore market thus lost much of its importance. The Sikh uprising in the Punjab further affected business opportunities in the province. The beginnings of Maratha invasions on Gujarat in 1664 and the political instability on the western coast of India compelled the European trading companies to shift their attention to eastern coast. But the growing conflict between the Mughals and the Deccan kingdoms, the Mughals and the Marathas and between the Marathas and the Deccan kingdoms made operations in the markets of the Deccan and the Coromandel coast difficult. Things became still more difficult when Aurangzeb left the north for south and intensified military measures against the Deccan states. Hence, the Europeans too were now concentrating on Bihar, Bengal and

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Orissa. Here they could get in abundance their requirements of textiles, saltpetre, indigo, sugar, etc., without encountering much political interference. In the last quarter of the seventeenth century Bihar, Bengal and Orissa were commercially the most prosperous territory in India. The Jains now began moving to the east as the other northern Indian trading communities like the Vaishyas and Kshatris4 had been doing. Of course, the primary concentration of these immigrant traders was at Patna, the premier business centre in the province. Patna had acquired this status because of its favourable geographical location which made it easier to approach the city by convenient riverine and land routes from all directions in the state. Moreover, traders from Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet found Patna a more convenient place for business than any other city in north India. Hence, Patna was in fact the emporium of commodities from the Himalayan and trans-Himalayan region. Thus both Indian as well as non-Indian merchants made Patna the focus of their activities in Bihar. Among the newcomers, the most important trader was the Jain Hiranand Shah from Rajasthan, the founder of the house of Jagatseth. He arrived here from Agra. Soon he acquired considerable wealth and his family shifted to Murshidabad.5 A street named after him still keeps his memory fresh. Kanwarpal and Sonpal, two brothers (Oswal by caste), who had migrated from Agra also appear to have been fairly prosperous.6 They built and dedicated a number of images and temples in order to earn religious merit for themselves and their family.7 They also constructed a temple at Mirzapur in UP.8 It appears that some of the Jains had come to regard the city as their homeland for in two inscriptions dated Samvat 1682 and 1699 the dedicators are referred to as the inhabitants of Begampur in Padalipura (Pataliputra).9 Obviously it signified that they had been long resident in the place. Patna was attracting the Jains even from the neighbouring province of Bengal. We come across an inscription of Samvat 1732 from which it can be inferred that a Jain belonging to Mathur Gaccha of Kastho Sangha shifted from Dacca to this place.10

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After Patna, the next important settlement of the Jains appear to be the township of Bihar. Besides being an important textile manufacturing centre and market-place for the surrounding countryside, it was near to two Jain sacred places, Rajgir and Pavapuri. Three inscriptions in Bihar belonging to Samvat 1638, 1643 and 1694 show that the local Jain community was rich because they constructed temples and dedicated images.11 Some of them appeared to have lived the long and thought themselves as old inhabitants of the place. This can be deduced from an inscription of Samvat 1698 at Pavapuri wherein a group of Jains who built a temple described themselves as belonging to Bihar.12 Twelve families are mentioned. This group was again instrumental in the erection of another Jain temple at Pavapuri.13 Bihar was famous among the Jains and a work of the late seventeenth century devotes two pages to its description.14 Another rich Jain trader who is frequently mentioned in inscriptions found at Pavapuri, Rajgir and Kundalpur (near Nalanda) and Gunaya (near Nawadah) was Sanghvi Sangram Singh. He dedicated several Jain images and erected temples in these holy places.15 These inscriptions are dated Samvat 1702, 1707, 1686 and 1688 respectively. He was an inhabitant of Bihar and may have been the head of the local Jain community as his name along with that of his parents, stands at the head of the list of devotees.16 Campanagar in the vicinity of modern Bhagalpur was another important point of concentration of the Jains. They came here because it was a textile producing area. Its geographical location rendered the chief-marketing centre of south-eastern Bihar. Besides, it was an important transit-point for traders coming from northeastern Bihar and Nepal. Hence, even Hiranand Shah extended his activities to this place.17 Inscriptions dated Samvat 1756 indicate that the Jains here belonged to Maksudabad and Bikaner.18 They were rich. They constructed several temples and set up images.19 It is interesting to note that a particular Jain family had migrated here from Azimganj.20 The other important place where the presence of the Jains is mentioned is Hajipur. It was just across the Ganges opposite Patna and was a collecting point for textiles and saltpetre obtained in

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north Bihar before being despatched to Patna. The trader in question is stated to belong to Hajipur but he consecrated stone and metal images at Patna in Samvat 1762 and 1771.21 Thus it is apparent that in course of the seventeenth century a number of Jains had taken up residence in important commercial centres of the province. Usually they belonged to Rajasthan. Some of them had done exceptionally well and they occupied an important place in the economic life of the province. Quite a few regarded the city in which they lived as their homeland.22 It is likely that further researches would indicate that they were much more widespread and were also active as middle and lower level merchants.

NOTES 1. Mirat-i-Ahmadi, translated by M.F. Lokhandwala, Baroda, 1965, p. 176. 2. Mahamahopadhyay Meghavijay, Digvijayamahakavya, ed. Pandit Ambalal Premchand Shah, Bombay, 1945, p. 13; Devanandamahakavya, ed. Pandit Bechardas Jivaraj Doshi, Ahmadabad, Calcutta, 1937, pp. 15, 16. 3. Several Jain inscriptions of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries have been found in Bihar. 4. Guru Tegh Bahadur left his pregnant wife at the house of a devotee in Patna while proceeding to Assam. She gave birth to a child who acquired fame as Guru Gobind Singh. 5. Jain Inscriptions, collected and compiled by Puran Chand Nahar, pt. I, Calcutta, 1718, Inscription nos. 135, 295. 6. Ibid., Insc. no. 307. 7. Ibid., Insc. nos. 307-12. 8. Ibid., Insc. no. 433. 9. Ibid., Insc. nos. 332-3. 10. Ibid., Insc. no. 326. 11. Ibid., Insc. nos. 221, 223 and 228. 12. Ibid., Insc. no. 190. 13. Ibid., Insc. no. 191. 14. Digvijayamahakavya, pp. 122-4. 15. Jain Inscriptions I, nos. 198, 245, 271 and 176. 16. Jain Inscriptions II, no. 1697.

124 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

Jains in India: Historical Essays Jain Inscriptions I, no. 135. Ibid., Insc. nos. 138-9. Ibid., Insc. nos. 137-44. Ibid., Insc. no. 142. Ibid., Insc. nos. 300, 313-15 and 334. All the Jains have not migrated to the state from Gujarat or Rajasthan. Some of them like Mahattians were original inhabitants of Bihar.

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C H A P T E R 10

Social Attitudes of Indian Trading Communities in the Seventeenth Century

While discussing the question why the industrial revoluion was delayed in India for more than a century and a half, it is pertinent to analyse the social attitudes of principal trading communities. Such an analysis may give us an insight into their outlook towards social changes and enable us to discover factors responsible for the non-development of the spirit of scientific inquiry among them. This is important if we bear in mind the fact that the scientific revolution preceded and made possible the industrial revolution. For the present purpose I have selected the Jains, the Vai«syas and the Khatris. These operated primarily in Gujarat, Rajasthan and north India and controlled the major portion of trade and allied activities. The Jains appear to have been economically the most powerful group. It was a measure of their economic importance that Mughal emperors from Akbar down to Aurangzeb granted firmans to them embodying religious privileges.1 The Portuguese were equally indulgent to them.2 When intersectarian tensions developed among them, Shah Jahan refused to take sides.3 Virji Vora, the greatest merchant of the seventeenth century, was a Digambar Jain of Surat, who at one time or another loaned money to the English, the Dutch and the French East India companies.4 His agents could be found in Agra,5 Burhanpur,6 Nandurbar,7 the Konkan8 and Malabar coasts.9 Shantid"as, a ®Svetamber Jain from Ahmadabad, was probably the greatest financier of his times. His status was duly recognized by Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.10 Besides him we know of quite a large number of affluent Jain traders.11

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The field of operations of the Jains inside the country was quite large as can be inferred from their presence in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Sind, the Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, possibly in Bengal, besides in Maharashtra and the Malabar coast. Therefore with their wealth, immense commercial experience and command of vast markets, they might have been expected to pioneer the transformation of the economy. However they failed to do anything of the sort. A partial explanation of their failure should be sought in their ideology. They pursued wealth but it was never regarded as the end. The ideal was the salvation of the soul from the world. The material world was hardly a desirable thing. Consequently even in midst of business pursuits they were occupied by religion which by preaching severe austerities acted as a positive disincentive. Profits were not to be ploughed back into productive enterprises but were to be spent lavishly on construction of temples, religious buildings and other religious festivals.12 The hold of religion on the mind of men was so great that they refused to accept a successful wordly man as their leader, unless he had also been equally active in religious affairs of the community. Shantidas had to seek religious privileges on behalf of the community from the Mughal emperor.13 He constructed the magnificent temple of Chintamani at Ahmadabad.14 He also led congregation of Jain devotees to places of pilgrimage. The same can be said of other Jains who were not affluent.15 Nobody could escape the hold of religion and tradition. The debates which raged round also reveal the undoubted strength of tradition. They were not concerned with doctrinal advances or modifications but touched minor rituals. There was no effort to re-examine, reform, reject or re-assert the doctrines in the light of the events of the seventeenth century. The Jain attitude towards higher education betrayed a basic weakness. It was the concern of a small group, which eventually took to monkhood. In this the Jains should be distinguished from other communities which did not regard education as an essential qualification for the holy order. This put into background the secular content. In effect education became the means to unravel the metaphysical mysteries of religion and not the instrument for

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understanding the physical world around. Little wonder, the Jains showed no interest in the study of technological processes or scientific truths which might have helped them in organizing production on a new basis. Their contempt for secular and broadbased education is visible in their attitude towards vernacular languages. Bhanucandra, a famous Jain saint and scholar of late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, while writing a Gujarati prose summary of B"anbhatta’s Kadambar∂ concluded thus: ‘The old Pandit B"anbhatta enriched the story Kadambar$û with new flavour. The story is difficult. Therefore in order that people of mean intellect may understand it, I am summarizing the story in the language of the people.’16 This was in spite of the fact that the Jain monks had been forced to start writing in Gujarati in order to communicate with their lay followers to whom a classical language like Sanskrit was incomprehensible. The Jain conservatism can be seen in their reluctance to seek new avenues of employment either for themselves or their capital even after the European penetration had drastically cut down their overseas commerce and severely restricted their share in internal trade. Instead of adopting a policy of massive retaliation they pursued the line of accommodation. Right from sixteenth century they had been collaborating with the Portuguese.17 When the English and the Dutch arrived in the seventeenth century, the Jains after initial hesitation began to help them. They served Europeans as financiers and middlemen.18 In other words, occupational status quo was reflected in their social attitudes, which favoured no changes. It meant no incentive for rational inquiry and barred the path to scientific progress. The Vai«syas were a much more numerous community and could be found almost all over the country. Like the Jains after the arrival of the English and the Dutch in the seventeenth century, they concentrated their attention on financing European trade and rendering services to them as middlemen.19 Absence of any radical occupational change meant little or no change in social attitudes. Again, like the Jains, pursuit of wealth was not the end in life. It could not be avoided because it was their ‘assigned’ profession in the society. No amount of professional success could raise them in

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social hierarchy where the top two places remained the preserve of the Brahmans and the warrior caste. At best it may mean occasional promotion in the administrative set-up. Therefore to secure social recognition and honour, they had to pose like the Jains as religious men and offer gifts to religous divines and institutions and spend lavishly on the construction of religious buildings. Hence a significant portion of wealth was used for unproductive purposes. As distinguished from the Jains, one important effort was made to rise above the socially enforced asceticism in the midst of material plenty. This was the movement launched by Vallabh"ach"arya. Vallabh"ach"arya propagated a new sect of Vai«snavism in the first three decades of the sixteenth century. He did not denounce worldly pleasures. He discounted severe austerities on the part of the devotee as an essential condition for his salvation. According to him religion, wealth, sex and salvation were integral part of life.20 He criticized the caste hierarchy as Chaitanya had done in Bengal. The followers of the sect included besides traders, Muslims, low-caste Hindus and untouchables.21 His preachings comprehending both religious and social ethos found immediate response among the Vai«syas. They became popular in Rajasthan and Gujarat where the Vai«syas are in fair number. Vithalnath, the son of Vallabh"ach"arya and the next head of the sect, made six journeys to Gujarat.22 When in the seventeenth century Aurangzeb tried to desecrate their temple in Mathura, the idol was shifted to Nathdwara in Rajasthan, which to this day remains their main shrine.23 Undoubtedly the promise of social equality, the sanction to enjoyment of worldly pleasures attracted them towards the teachings of Vallabh"ach"arya. The new faith, however, failed to instil the feeling of individualism among its followers for it preached the ultimate surrender of the devotee to the deity to secure the salvation of the soul. Thus even for them pursuit of material wealth did not become a desirable end. Ultimately several taboos cropped up. Purity and defilement became an obsession. Vallabh"ach"aris virtually created a caste for themselves within the fold of Hinduism. They had failed to rise above the caste they sought to demolish. In other words, they could not break the shell of traditionalism. This is again evident in the type of literature they produced.

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It is true that the preachers adopted vernacular languages to communicate with their lay devotees. Theirs was one of the first attempt to write in Hindi prose.24 Yet the stress was on devotional poetry. Nothing was done to promote the secular content of education. Thus no real revolution in social attitudes was attempted. Coming to Khatr$ûs, their case was different. The community was unique in the sense that its members were engaged in several professions besides trade. They were traders, craftsmen,25 soldiers and governmental functionaries,26 all rolled into one. Hence their social attitudes were much more flexible than either the Jains or the Vai«syas. The flexibility of outlook was also the result of the geographical location of their homeland, the Punjab and Sind. As border provinces, both had been constantly exposed to outside influences as well as external ravages. Thus they were always called upon to make adjustments. Further as traders, they had been making overland journeys to Afghanistan, Iran, Central Asia and in the eighteenth century to the Russian empire.27 Naturally Hinduism with its rigid caste distinctions, laws of defilement was a constant irritant. Little wonder Sikhism with its stress on human equality and absence of ritualism was started by a Khatr$û and won popularity among the Khatr$ûs. Similarly the Khatr$ûs also accepted the preachings of Vallabh"ach"arya.28 The Khatr$ûs quickly took to governmental jobs, when such an opening presented before them in the time of the great Mughals. For this they avidly learnt Persian. Thus education for them had a secular purpose. Along with the Pars$ûs they alone showed a willingness to accept new avenues of employment by re-orienting their attitudes towards education. Yet the Khatr$û too proved incapable of ushering in capitalist revolution in spite of showing more adaptability and receptivity to new ideas. Their inability can be explained in economic terms. being principally traders on land, they were never as affluent as the Jains and Vai«syas who also participated in seaborne commerce. From the time of Shah Jahan onwards, their trade across the frontiers suffered considerably owing to political rivalry of the Mughals with Persia and Central Asia and instability in Afghanistan.29 In the

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reign of Aurangzeb, the Punjab was in ferment. Its commerce suffered considerably. The migration of Khatr$ûs eastwards which was in early times only a trickle, now became a steady stream. But numerically they were small and wide dispersal prevented them from making any significant impact on economy. At best they were suited to be carriers of capitalist transformation but not its harbingers. The present analysis of the social attitudes of the three main trading communities of northern and western India shows that the Jains and Vai«syas and Khatr$ûs were unable to cast off the cocoon of traditionalism in the seventeenth century. The social constraints stood in the way of the creation of a favourable climate for the beginnings of scientific revolution in India.

NOTES 1. M.S. Commissariat, Imperial Mughal Firmans in Gujarat (reprinted from the Journal of the University of Bombay, vol. IX, pt. I, July 1940). 2. Muniraj Vidyavijayji, Surishwar aur Samrat, translated into Hindi from Gujarati by Krishnalal Varma, Agra, VS 2405, pp. 262, 278. 3. Imperial Mughal Firmans, pp. 36-7. 4. W. Foster, ed., English Factories in India (henceforth cited a EFI ), 165560, p. 215. 5. EFI, 1624-9, pp. 232, 271. 6. John Jourdain, The Journal of John Jourdain, 1608-17, Cambridge, 1905, p. 114; EFI, 1630-3, pp. 90, 287. 7. EFI, 1668-9, p. 193. 8. EFI, 1637-41, p. 235. 9. EFI, 1624-9, p. 94; EFI, 1637-41, p. 42. 10. M.S. Commissariat, History of Gujarat, vol. II, Bombay, 1957, p. 141; Studies in the History of Gujarat, Bombay, 1935, pp. 60, 67. 11. Surishwar aur Samrat, pp. 256, 258, 260; M.D. Desai, ed., Bhanucandraganicarita, Singhi Granthmala, no. 12, Calcutta, 1941, p. 45. 12. Ibid. 13. Studies in the History of Gujarat, pp. 54, 60. 14. History of Gujarat, vol. II, p. 141. 15. Surishwar aur Samrat, p. 262. It is claimed that five hundred temples were built as a result of the preaching of Hira Vijaya Suri, ibid., p. 259.

Social Attitudes of Indian Trading Communities 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

22. 23. 24. 25. 26.

27.

28. 29.

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Bhanucandraganicarita, p. 66 (Sanskrit portion). Surishwar aur Samrat, pp. 252-3. The most important example is that of Virji Vora. EFI, 1622-3, pp. 278, 280. Sodash Granth (in Hindi), Bombay, Samvat 2017, p. 9. Prabhudayal Mital, Astachhap-Paricaya, Mathura, Samvat 2006, p. 44; History of the Sect of Maharajas, Or Vallabhacharyas in Western India (author not known), London, 1865, p. 40. History of the Sect of Maharajas, p. 42; J.M. Shelat, Akbar, vol. II, Bombay, 1959, p. 217. Astachhap-Paricaya, p. 39. The reference is to book Chaurasi Vaisnavon ki Varta (in Hindi). We know of Khatri weavers in the seventeenth century. Todar Mall, the Prime Minister of Akbar, was a Khatri. Patra Das or Raja Bikramjit, another Khatri, rose very high in the estimation of Jahangir and was appointed the governor of Gujarat, Bhanucandracarita, pp. 48-9. Surendra Gopal, ‘Trading Activities of Indians in Russia in the Eighteenth Century’, The Indian Economic and Social History Review, vol. V, no. 2, June 1968, p. 146, fn. 35. Astachhap-Paricay, p. 137. In 1696 an Englishman from Meshed reported that there had been no caravan either to or from India due to disturbed conditions. Lawrence Lockhart, The Fall of the Safavi Dynasty and the Afghan Occupation of Persia, Cambridge, 1958, p. 289.

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The Jain Community and Akbar*

This brief paper tries to delineate the impact of Akbar’s policies on the Jain community. As is well known, the Jains were mostly concentrated in Rajasthan and Gujarat though their pockets existed almost throughout north India besides some places in western India and south India. A work of the fifteenth century shows that the members of Jain community were also to be found in Malwa, Sindh, Haryana and the Punjab.1 We also learn that between Samvat 1475 and 1515 Jinabhadra Suri a saint of Tapagachcha branch of Shvetambara sect took up the arduous task of transferring Jain works written on palm-leaves to paper and established grantha bhandar or depositing centre of books in Jaisalmer, Jawalpur, Deogiri (Daultabad in Maharashtra), Ahipur and Patan.2 There is also a mention of such depositories in Mandapdurg or Mandu in Malwa and Cambay in Gujarat.3 In Gujarat and Rajasthan, the Jains were basically traders though in Rajasthan some of them also occupied important official positions such as the family of Bhagrmal Kawariya of Mewar whose members from the time of Rana Sanga onwards served Mewar as ministers and included such illustrious ministers as Tarachand, Bhema Shah, Jiwa Shah, etc.4 Similarly, the Muhnot family was associated with the house of Jodhpur and provided several ministers in the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, the most famous of them being Muhnot Nainasi, the writer of Muhnot Nainsi Ri Khyat.5 * This is a revised version of a paper presented at the ICHR sponsored Seminar on ‘Akbar and his Age’, held at New Delhi in October 1992.

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Their close connection with the ruling chiefs in Rajasthan and Gujarat facilitated the quick and smooth integration of the Jains in the Mughal administrative system after these chiefs decided to cooperate with the Mughals in the time of Akbar. Their trust in the new polity is evident from their diffusion all over the Mughal empire under Akbar and his successors. Akbar’s policy helped to create conditions in which Jain traders began to migrate to the different parts of north India from Rajasthan and Gujarat. This became possible because of the combination of a number of factors. First, by conquering the whole of north India Akbar established a uniform system of government, a single fiscal and customs policy and basically one type of currency. Roads linking important trade and producing centres of Gujarat and Rajasthan such as Surat, Ahmadabad, Ajmer, Bayana, etc., to Agra were built. Roads now connected Agra with Lahore and halting places along the roads were provided. At the same time comparative security of persons and property was established which made long distance travel and transport of goods more safe and convenient. Akbar’s policy of conquest had helped to forge one political unit out of northern and western India which created suitable conditions for conducting economic activities over a much wider region. While these measures had created the much needed environment, the real breakthrough came after Akbar implemented his Rajput policy and instead of subjugating the Rajput chiefs and incorporating their kingdoms converted them into the allies and vassals of the Mughal empire, sometimes even by entering into matrimonial relations. Many Rajput chieftains along with their family members were made administrative functionaries and military commanders by Akbar and sent to different parts of the empire, to administer, to keep peace or to win new territories.6 Many of these top Rajput commanders and administrators carried with them their advisers from their homeland to assist them in the task of administration. Among these some were Jains. Man Singh, while he was posted as the Governor of Bengal with its headquarters at Rajmahal in Bihar, had with him Mahamatya Nanu Godha a

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Jain who served him for a long time and then returned carrying immense riches. Nanu Godha is reputed to be the most celebrated Jain personality among the Khandelwals in the seventeenth century. He is reputed to have constructed eighty temples in Bengal (by Bengal is meant both the present day Bihar and Bengal). He owned seventy-two elephants and his wealth was unparalleled.7 The services of these Jains were also needed for arranging supplies to the armies led by the Rajput commanders in different parts of empire during the reign of Akbar. Personal knowledge of the different parts of the empire thus obtained helped the Jains to make up their minds about moving out of Rajasthan to earn a livlihood. Therefore, Akbar’s Rajput policy not only led to the migration of Rajputs but also of the Jains to the different parts of the Mughal empire. As is well known, Akbar by laying down that the land revenue should be paid in cash rather than in kind gave a boost to commercialization of agriculture as peasants become interested in producing cash crops which commanded a ready sale and fetched higher prices, at least on a part of their landholdings. This measure intensified rural-urban trade monetization of economy8 and was an important factor in promoting inland trade during this period. The Jain community which was dispersed over this region took advantage of this opportunity for they had the necessary expertise and probably more important than this, though located in different places they remained in contact with each other through ties of family, friendship, occupation and religion. The members of the community could therefore, operate all over the region with greater confidence and better knowledge of the prevailing economic and political environment. The family ties of Jains covered a number of places as is evident from the fact that Banarsidas’s grandfather Muldas was attached to the ruler of Narwar near Gwalior while his maternal grandfather Madan Singh Chinaliya was a famous jeweller of Jaunpur. His father Kharagsen had served in Bengal, Allahabad and Jaunpur. Banarsidas settled down in Agra.9 Another example of the existence of family ties among Jains

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residing in distant cities is furnished by Hemraj Patani, a resident of Patna who was married to a niece of Seth Hiranand Mukim of Agra.10 In Bengal Diwan Dhanna Rai had under him five hundred Shrimal Vaishyas who were employed in the task of revenue collection.11 It is against this background that we must view the visit of Jain saints to the court of Akbar. It was a reflection of growing interest of their lay followers in the continuously widening area of economic activities, made possible by the emergence of the new political entity. Akbar, of course, invited them to visit him following his desire to bring about a rapproachement among the major religious communities of the country. But the growing involvement of their co-religionists in the Mughal polity and economy must have been an important motivation for them in seeking and maintaining good relations with the Mughal emperor. Thus from Padmasundar who appears to have been the first Jain monk to meet Akbar we have a continous flow of distinguished Jain saints to the court of Akbar and his successor Jahangir.12 Of course, the most famous Jain visitor to Akbar was Hiravijaya Suri who met him in Samvat 1639.13 Akbar was so much impressed by Hiravijaya Suri that he conferred upon him the title of ‘Jagad Guru’ or ‘the preceptor of the world’.14 The interaction won over the confidence of the community. When Hiravijaya Suri quitted the court in 1587, he left behind his brilliant disciple Santichandra, the author of Kriparasakosha.15 When he left the royal court in 1587 he asked Bhanuchandra and his disciple Siddhichandra to stay back. They lived even after the death of Akbar at the court and Siddhichandra who had also learnt Persian, wrote Bhanuchandraganicharita, a biography of his master. The faith of the community in Akbar and the Mughal polity was strengthened when the ruler issued firmans prohibiting the killing of animals on certain days sacred to the Jains.16 Similarly, they were permitted to renovate their temples and allowed to go on pilgrimage in large groups.17 The time span of eleven lunar years separating the two firmans of Akbar and also the continued stay of Jain teachers at the Mughal court point to the continuing patronage of the Jains by the Mughal emperor.

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We find a rich Jain trader of Agra, Seth Hiranand Mukim, who later on became the personal jeweller of Emperor Jahangir leading a party of Jain pilgrims to Sammed Shikhar in Bihar. While it was not unusual for Jains to go on pilgrimage to holy places in Rajasthan and Gujarat, it was certainly something new that a big party of Jains could go from Agra to Sammed Shikhar and the state extended full protection to the party.18 The practice of large parties of pilgrims visiting eastern India helped in integrating Jains residing in different parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, etc. This change should not be overlooked as earlier the Jains generally travelled to their holy places mostly located in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Eventually, this environment promoted inter-regional ties and trade. Akbar’s policy of religious toleration resulted in increased mobility of Jain saints and their entourage, which further reinforced the bonds among the members of the community. They could profess and practice their religion publicly. The new-found mobility enabled them to forge linkages at all levels of administration which furthered the commercial activities of their co-religionists as officials were now afraid to harass them. Akbar’s policies affected the Jain community in several other ways. The good relations that developed between the Jain religious leaders and the Mughal rulers now extended to the members of the community at large. A number of them held positions in the Mughal administration and could influence the state policies and help their co-religionists whenever they felt harassed by the activities of the local Mughal officials. Also, they were now emboldened to settle down in groups in places where they could profitably follow their traditional vocation of trade. Furthermore, the royal patronage helped the community to forget temporarily their dissensions19 and cooperate with each other in secular and temporal matters. Thus in March 1596, Jains from Punjab, Bengal, Rajputana and Gujarat forgetting their differences assembled on the Satrunjay hills to pay homage to their deities.20 This was probably an unforeseen and unanticipated consequence of the harmony developing between the Mughal ruler and the Jain community.

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In the time of Akbar Agra emerged as an entrepôt and was probably the greatest trade mart inside the country.21 We have substantial number of Jains residing in Agra in time of Akbar. Many of them were fairly rich. They occupied official positions as well as carried on trade. Karma Chand was a minister of Akbar, enjoying his trust.22 His biographer claims that for some time he prohibited fishing in Jhelum, Satluj, Ravi and Indus rivers.23 He cites instances when Akbar conferred lavish rewards on Karma Chand.24 Than Singh was another favourite and confidante of Akbar.25 At the instance of the emperor, a centre for collecting books relating to Jainism was started in Agra and Than Singh was asked to look after it.26 It was said that in the reign of Akbar’s successor Jahangir eighty-eight important Jains belonging to the Shvetambara sect resided in Agra and all of them were fairly well off.27 In Bihar in the early seventeenth century, we have reference to twelve families of Jain traders whose leader was Sanghvi Sangram Singh.28 Subsequently the number went on increasing during the reign of Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. We have also the example of Than Singh, Manu Kalyan and Amipal, who were deputed by the emperor to look after Acharya Hiravijay in Agra. 29 They lavishly spent money on his public reception.30 All travel accounts of Jain saints in the reign of Akbar describe grand processions being organized in towns by Jains through which they passed, especially in Gujarat, Malwa and Rajasthan where they were present in large numbers.31 In many towns of Western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab, they again received warm reception from their followers. The opportunity to display publicly their faith and opulence must have exerted a powerful psychological impact on them to continue to earn and accumulate wealth. The assemblage of affluent Jains in substantial number in Agra gave an impetus to cultural and religious activities. In 1594 Parimal wrote ‘Sripalcharitra’ which gives a vivid description of Agra and its society. 32 Banarsidas, the writer of the first autobiography in Hindi, grew up in Agra and he was a member of a group which discussed a

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variety of religious subjects, some of which were disliked by orthodoxy.33 Banarsidas, as is well known also came in contact with the famous Hindi poet Goswami Tulsidas and Sundardas.34 It should be noted that some other economic policies of Akbar also helped the Jains to reap economic profit. The requirement of payment of land revenue in cash invariably meant the growth of moneylending and increased importance of moneylender not only in the rural sector but also in the urban sector. The Jains were well-fitted to assume this role. They had the capital, they knew the market conditions and also they had local knowledge about the social and financial status of men they had to deal with. Hence, they combined moneylending along with their activities. We know in the seventeenth century Virji Vora, a Digambar Jain of Surat, the greatest trader in India was also a well known moneylender who advanced loans to the various European trading companies. The new business brought them increased wealth. As internal trade developed, money-changing and transmission of money through hundis became its important components. Akbar had given a fillip to monetization by organizing mints in all the provincial capitals. The Jain traders again had no difficulty in taking up this new profession on a wide scale since they had the capital as well as expertise. Similarly, with respect to the transmission of money through hundi, the Jain traders were best fitted for the job as their links extended not only all over north India but also to west India both because of their trading activities and also because of community affiliation. Thus the Jain traders diversified their activity into moneylending, moneychanging and transmission of money. As the seventeenth century proceeded and the European trading companies became active in the internal markets of north India and gave a further fillip to inland trade, the Jains were fully prepared to profit from it. The intensified trade activities of Jains is evident from their presence in small and big towns of north India. In Multan (in the Punjab) we know of a group of Jain traders who followed the teaching of Banarsidas. It is said that the leading member, Vardhaman Nawlakha, went to Agra to meet Banarsidas.35

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Shah Haranand was a leading Jain trader, who resided in Lahore.36 Nahar Jatmal of Lahore subsequently wrote a poem ‘Lahore Ghazal’ in which he extensively described the city.37 The Jain saint Jinsingh Suri went to Lahore and stayed there at the instance of Karma Chand.38 His lay followers such as Parbat, Man Singh, etc., besides organizing meetings for his sermons gave him very warm and grand reception.39 In Delhi, many Jains resided. In the time of Shah Jahan they constructed the famous Red Jain temple in the vicinity of Chandni Chowk which still exists.40 Mathura was another centre which attracted their presence. East of Agra, they could be found in Prayag, Jaunpur, Varanasi, Patna, etc. Hence, in the time of Akbar they were engaged in long distance trade and were rich. Some of them were fairly affluent while some of them were just able to make both ends meet. While they were trading in bulk items such as textiles and dyes and food stuffs, they were also engaged in high valued trade of diamonds, gold and silver, etc.41 Finally, one should also take into account the fact that many of the Jain saints though generally moving in Agra, Delhi, Rajasthan and Gujarat region, still preferred to write in Hindi besides writing in Sanskrit, Prakrit,42 Gujarati43 and Rajasthani. Thus in the later half of the sixteenth century, Ratnakirti (Samvat 1600-56) wrote a number of poems in Hindi.44 He is reputed to have been the first Digambar Jain poet of Hindi. Of course, Banarsidas has carved for himself a name in the annals of Hindi poetry. Many of these writers in Hindi belonged to the Punjab as well.45 One should not forget to mention that the Jains are also among the early writers of Hindi prose. As traders and administrators it was almost a compulsion for them to acquire proficiency in writing of prose. In the mid-sixteenth century Pandey Rajmal wrote a commentary on Kundkundac"arya’s Samayas"ara in Hindi prose.46 Banarsidas also wrote Hindi prose.47 This points to a growing realization among the Jain saints and literatures that many of their co-religionists has settled down in the Ganga-Yamuna Doab region and had picked up the local language, therefore, it was necessary to speak and write in the language with which they were conversant, so that they could imbibe the message they intended to convey.

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To students of history, another aspect of Jain literary works during the age of Akbar becomes important. Some of the writings dealt with the life and times of Akbar. Siddhichandra writes of Akbar. ‘There is not a single art, not a single branch of knowledge, not a single act of boldness and strength which was not attempted by the young emperor.’48 One may not accept it but this is one dimension of how the contemporaries perceived their ruler. Similarly, while speaking of Abul Fazl, he says, ‘He had gone through the ocean of the whole literature and he was the best among all learned men’. One can again question this. But certainly one gets a contemporary view of one of the important chroniclers of Akbar’s age.49 Some biographical writings on Jain saints though highly eulogistic, throw light on the lifestyle of Jains, the status of women, the use of wealth, etc., and the religious schisms that affected the Jain society. We, therefore, have a glimpse into the history of a group, which though played an important role in the economy, but was largely ignored by the Persian writers. They remain, therefore, an important source for a fuller study of the society in the age of Akbar. To understand the age of Akbar, we have to read the writings of contemporary Jains.

NOTES 1. Muni Jin Vijay (ed.), Vijnaptitrivenih, Bhavnagar, 1916, pp. 34, 39. The work basically deals with a pilgrimage undertaken by Jains from Sindh to Nagarkot (now in Himachal Pradesh) in Samvat 1484, i.e. in AD 1427. 2. Ibid., pp. 58-9. 3. Ibid., p. 59. 4. J.P. Jain, Pramukh Jain Purush aur Mahilayen, New Delhi, 1975, pp. 300-2. 5. Ibid., pp. 305-8; see also G.D. Sharma, ‘Contemporary and Modern Trends of Writings on the Soceity of Rajasthan during the Mughal Period’, in Ray and Chakrabarti (eds.), Studies in Cultural Development of India, Calcutta, 1991, pp. 293-309. 6. There are numerous examples of Rajput Chiefs occupying high civil and military posts under Akbar.

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7. Kasturchand Kasliwal, Khandelwal Jain Samaj ka Brihad Itihas, vol. I, Jaipur, 1989, pp. 196-9; J.P. Jain, op. cit., p. 314. 8. Shireen Moosvi, The Economy of the Mughal Empire c. 1595, Bombay, 1987, p. 353. 9. J.P. Jain, op. cit., pp. 291-2. Banarsidas, Ardha Kathanak, Bombay, 1943, pp. 19-22. This edition has been edited by Nathuram Premi. 10. Ibid., p. 293. 11. J.P. Jain, op. cit., p. 291. 12. Padmasundar wrote a work in Sanskrit entitled, Akbarshahi Sringardarpan. Another Jain eulogistic work on Akbar is Kripa-rasko«sa by Santichandra. 13. Surishwar aur Samrat Akbar, p. 105. He was accompanied by sixty-seven monks. The earlier visitor had in his entourage thirty-five monks; Muni Vidyavijay, Vijay Prasastisar (in Hindi), Lucknow, 1912, p. 32. 14. Vijay Prasastisar, p. 31. 15. M.D. Desai, ‘Jain Priest at the Court of Akbar’, Journal of the Gujarat Research Society, January 1942, vol. IV, no. 7, p. 14. 16. Surishwar aur Samrat, p. 128. Copies of the two firmans issued by Akbar in favour of the Jains are published in the Appendix. See ibid., pp. 375-86. The first firman was issued in AH 999 and the second in AH 1010. 17. J.P. Jain, op. cit., pp. 289-90. 18. Ibid., p. 290. 19. Vijay Prasastisar, pp. 40, 79. A schism which had plagued Jains of Ahmadabad for twelve years ended after Suriji intervened. 20. M.S. Commissariat, ‘Epigraphic and other Records in Gujarat Relating to the Jain Saint Hiravijaya Suri’, Journal of the Gujarat Research Society, vol. III, no. 3, p. 148. 21. Moosvi, The Economy of the Mughal Empire, c. 1595, Calcutta, 1987, p. 128. 22. Ath Karmachandravam Sotkiiprtankam Kavyam (in Sanskrit with Hindi translation), pp. 59, 75 and vv. 272, 273, 340-2. The book was composed at Lahore in Samvat 1654. Ibid., p. 119. 23. Ibid., p. 69, v. 321. 24. Ibid., p. 77, vv. 354-5. 25. Surishwar aur Samrat, pp. 99, 155, 258. He and Bhanukalyana were asked by Akbar to invite Hiravijaya Suri to the royal court at Agra. C.B. Seth, Jainism in Gujarat, Bhavanagar, 1953, p. 264. 26. Ibid., p. 124; Seth, p. 135. 27. Ardha Kathanak, p. 135. 28. J.P. Jain, op. cit., p. 297. 29. Sri Vidyavijayji, Surishwar aur Samrat Akbar (translated into Hindi from

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30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49.

Jains in India: Historical Essays Gujarati by Krishnalal Varma), Agra, Samvat 1980, pp. 104-5. Hiravijay Suri was accompanied by sixty-seven saints, ibid., p. 106. Ibid. Vijay Prasastisar, Surishwar aur Samrat, etc. J.P. Jain, op. cit., pp. 286-7. Hukamchand Bharilla, Pandit Todar Mal: Vyaktitva evam Krititva, Jaipur, 1978, p. 2; Khandelwal Jain Samaj . . . , p. 254. Ravindra Kumar Jain, Kavivar Banarsidas, Varanasi, 1966, pp. 115-70. J.P. Jain, op. cit., p. 296. Ibid., p. 296. Dhirendra Varma and Brajeshwar Varma, p. 484. Ath Karmachandravan Sotkiirtankam Kavyam, p. 83. vv. 381-3; Vijay Prasastisar, p. 58. Ibid., p. 85, vv. 383-93, 428-9, Surishwar aur Samrat, p. 156. Anekant, vol. VIII, nos. 4-5, p. 219. See Ardha Kathanak. Sheth, op. cit., pp. 274-8. Ibid., pp. 278-9. Zohrapurkar and Kasliwal, Vir Shasan ke Prabhavak Acharya, New Delhi, 1975, pp. 194-5. Dhirendra Varma and Brajeshwar Varma (eds.), Hindi Sahitya . . . , vol. II, Prayag, 1959, p. 485. Kanta Prasad Jain, Hindi Jain ka Sankshipta Itihas, Kasi, n.d., p. 136. Nemichanda Shastri, Hindi Jain Sahitya Parishilan, vol. II, Banaras, 1956, pp. 41-2. Siddhichandra, Bhanuchandraganicharit (in Sanskrit), Calcutta, 1941, p. VII. Some of the works were Kriparaskosa, Hirasaubhagya Mahakavya, Jagadguru Kavya, Bhanuchandra Gani Caritra, Akbar Pratibodh Rasa, Vijay Prashasti Kavya, Vijaya Deva Shri Mahatyam, Suri Karma Chandra Charitra, etc.

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C H A P T E R 12

Virji Vora

Fourteenth and fifteenth centuries are significant in human history. Inter continent contacts increased fast. Sailors now could sail from Western Europe to two Americas without changing their boats. Similar was the case between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Unhindered access between two Oceans changed the contours of European politics and economics. Europe’s story was also shaped by events in West and South Asia and the Far East. History was no longer the result of military events in the East or Far East. Four crusades between Muslims and Christians had failed to produce permanent results; both sides agreed to co-exist despite vital differences. The Mediterranean Sea did not remain the most important centre of the east-west trade. Europe’s economy was also shaped by events in East Asia. Europeans felt they should establish their culture in parts of Asia and Africa. But they failed in the thirteenth century. Mongols under the leadership of Chingiz Khan destroyed European dreams; Europeans decided to put economy first and let politics follow. Europeans considered the Indian subcontinent occupied central position. A Portuguese Vasco da Gama arrived with his ships in Indian waters in 1498. He stopped at the port of Calicut (now named as Kozhikode). He was convinced that business in Indian waters would be extremely profitable. He conveyed this message to Portuguese royalty. Portuguese rulers promised all possible support to Vasco da Gama in his endeavour to develop regular sea trade between India and Europe. Soon direct Euro-Indian sea trade became a reality. The Portuguese remained the major business community in Indo-European trade throughout the sixteenth century. Other European nations looked at the Indo-Portuguese sea trade with

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great admiration and wished they could also become regular participants. It took almost a century to European nations other than Portuguese to trade directly with India. For England, the opportunity came when they defeated Spain, ally of Portuguese, in 1588. Some other European nations also decided to participate in Indo-European sea trade. This desire to sail to India became an obsession in the seventeenth century among European citizens and states. They established trade relation with India. Both the state and citizens now had a stake in the Indo-European sea trade. The state allowed their Companies to enter into agreement and/or military conflict without waiting for royal permisson. The state asked the Companies to go in for peace and/or war without prior consultation or without state approval. These companies were almost like a sovereign state with power to enter peace or war. The English East India Company or Dutch East India Company made full use of privileges granted to them. It is against this background that the activities of Indian traders have to be evaluated. In 1635 the English Company purchased 900 quintals of copper from Dutch in Surat in order to supply the Portuguese in Goa EFI (1634-6 ), p. 101. The deal was struck in the name of Virji Vora, then the greatest Gujarati trader of the seventeenth century. In India the Mughals established their rule after their victory in the first battle of Panipat in 1526. Akbar had captured Gujarat. Gujaratis remained in touch with Mughal capital Agra and then Delhi. Gujarati ports became an integral part of the economy of north Indian plains. The city of Surat, now emerged as the most important trading centre for north Indians. The Europeans made Surat (a town in Gujarat based on Tapti River . . . which ultimately merged in the Arabian Sea as their headquarters. Surat was preferred because the sea route to the Persian Gulf or ports of Yemen and Oman were within easy reach. Surat was well-connected by the land route with two premier cities of north India, Agra and Delhi. Surat thus emerged as the chief and the biggest centre of sea and land route trade. It is against this background we have to look at the performance of Indian traders including Virji Vora—to the greatest of them in the seventeenth century.

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II Virji Vora is mentioned for the first time in English Factory Records as a trader in 1619. For the next half-a-century European Factory records repeatedly refer to him in a variety of roles, as the chief trader and moneylender. As a trader he generally tried to become the sole supplier of a particular commodity so that he could resell it at a profitable price. Purchase of an entire bulk of commodity made him the sole seller; general people had no option but to pay the price set by Virji. European trading companies normally turned to Virji for the supply of commodities they needed. We have very little idea about the family of Virji. We have no account of his entry into Surat market. His name is given along with other prominent traders in a letter sent to the English East India Company. Indians needed British support for their receipt of goods they had bought to Surat. From now onwards for around half century Virji Vora is mentioned as the most important trader of Surat. Europeans also borrowed money. He was the greatest moneylender to Europeans and Indians (Surendra Gopal, Crafts and Commerce in Gujarat, p. 162). In 1619 the English gave a license to his agents ‘Hacka Parracke’ to sail in a junk owned by Virji Vora. The English asked their country-men to extend to them all courtesy on the high sea. Virji Vora’s agent at Agra arranged for the transmission of their letter to Surat (Gopal, p. 135). The agents of Virji Vora paid Rs. 5,000 to the English at Agra [EFI (1624-9), p. 271. The presence of the agents of Virji Vora is mentioned at Burhanpur in 1630 (ibid., p. 136). The European traders tried to develop close relation with Virji. His support and active assistance were indispensable for successful pursuit of business in the province. The England learnt by experience that Virji could help them when everyone else had failed. When no moneylender could advance loans to the English, Virji met credit needs of the English, although the interest charged by him was high (ibid., p. 180).

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In the 1660s and 1670s, there was a general decline in prosperity of the local business community. However some traders managed their hold. Among them was Virji (ibid., p. 181). Abdul Gafur was another big trader of Surat. Riches did not prevent state officials from harassing Virji Vora. While studying the career of Virji Vora, this element has to be kept in mind (p. 240). Thevenot estimated the total wealth of Virji Vora at ‘eight million Franc at least’ [Thevenot, p. 22], quoted in Gopal, p. 180. The fortune of Virji Vora was declining. In 1669 the English reported, ‘The debt was being paid off as fast as money became available. Virji Vora was first to be considered and payment to him of 60,000 rupees when he was much in want thereof, had added much to your reputation’ [EFI. (1668-9 ), p. 195]. The French found themselves in heavy debt to Virji Vora [EFI (1668-9), p. 181]. Money was so scarce that the English Company in 1675 had to spend four days for getting one thousand rupees [EFI (1670-7) p. 248]. In Surat no goods were available for trade [EFI (1670-77 ), p. 208]. Moneylending operations came to be concentrated in the hands of a few friends of Virji Vora, Abdul Gafur and Khoja Zahid. The decline in trade was due to Maratha attacks on Surat in 1660s. Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor failed to suppress the Marathas led by Shivaji. Virji Vora remained a leading business house even after Shivaji’s loot of Surat in 1664. Many merchants were impoverished. But Virji Vora managed to stay in business. It is said in 1668 Virji Vora and Khoja Zahid had in stock ‘enough quicksilver and vermilion to satisfy the requirements of the whole country for many years’ [EFI (1668-9 ), p. 24]. The English who had temporarily severed their relations with Virji Vora in 1665 [EFI (1668-9 ), p. 24] were in 1669 in debt to him and other Surat merchants. At this stage Aurangzeb’s religions policy also affected trade. Five Hindu/Jain traders approaches Gerad Aungier the British agent to give them shelter in Bombay [EFI (1668-9), p. 190]. Eight thousand Hindus left Surat for Broach [EFI (1668-9 ), p. 192].

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Religious intolerance shown by Aurangzeb affected traders all over Gujarat and it paralysed local economy. Eventually Virji Vora also realized that in such a situation, trade or activities related to trade was not possible. Virji gradually disappeared from the pages of history. In the 1670s Maratha attacks on Surat affected its economy adversely (Gopal, p. 178). The great merchant of Surat Tulsidas became bankrupt (ibid.). Even the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb realized this. In order to restore its economy, the Mughal ruler allowed the inhabitants not to pay any tax to the government. When Marathas struck Surat in 1670, trade came to a halt. [EFI (1670-7 ), pp. xvi, 195, 204]. Goods from Dabhoi to Surat, a distance of couple of miles could not be sent. Traders refused to issue insurance on goods because insecurity had affected the locals adversely. Money became scarce in Surat. It is said moneylending operations became concentrated in few hands, such as Virji Vora, Abdul Gafur and Khoja Zahid (Gopal, p. 179). A look at trading activities of Virji Vora is interesting. Virji Vora was also active in coastal trade. Towards the end of 1650 the Gujarati authorities wanted the English to go to Gujarat ports such as Cambay, Broach, etc. The English accepted the proposal but only in respect of those goods recommended by Virji Vora [EFI (1646-50 ), p. 331]. This is a pointer to Virji’s influence on Malabari trade. When the English captured a Malabari ship, they found goods belonging to Virji Vora, which were restored to him (ibid., p. 330). Similarly in 1650 the servants of the English East India Company stationed on the western bank were to pay back money to the agents of Virji Vora; which they had earlier borrowed (ibid., p. 291). They accepted the fact that credit provided by Virji had enabled them to remain active on the Malabar coast. The rise of Malabaris in the coastal trade forced Virji Vora to gradually lessen his participation. A look at imports by Virji Vora in Surat would be interesting. Virji Vora purchased most of the coral sold by the English on the Malabar coast [EFI (1642-5), p. 99]. The dynamics of Virji Vora’s trade on the Malabar coast was described by an English; ‘I understand Virji Vora yearly sends

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down his people hither to Calicut with cotton and opium, by which had not [gain?] less than double his money to those people he buy his pepper off, [and] disposeth his pepper to us for double what it cost him. . . .’ (ibid., p. 108). The dependence on Virji forced the English to carry his goods on their ships to Ponnani (ibid., p. 60). The English were unhappy because Virji Vora was making exorbitant profits. They were determined to make their purchases directly on the Malabar west [EFI (1646-50 ), p. 199]. In the 1640s, Virji Vora grew into prominence in the coastal trade between Gujarat and Malabar. In 1642 an English ship went to Calicut to receive pepper from the agent of Virji Vora [EFI (1642-5) p. 7]. The agent informed him that pepper was in Ponnani from where it was secured along with cardamom and turmeric (ibid.). Next year the English purchased 550 bags of pepper from the agent of Virji Vora at Calicut (ibid., p. 86). English wanted to purchase Malabari spices for sending it to England. They intended to export pepper worth £10,000. However they wanted the price of pepper to be ‘16 mahmudi for 16 mahmudis the mound’. They discovered that Virji Vora had already bought all pepper brought in by Malabaris to Gujarat by paying quarter of mahmudi more than the English [EFI (1624-8), p. 94]. It appears that Virji Vora had a virtual monopoly of Malabar pepper at Surat for he got it from the incoming Malabari ships and hisagents also procured it straight from Malabar. Anyone needing great quantities had to turn to him. Thus in 1629 the English purchased from him 20,000 mounds of pepper (ibid., p. 327). Even the Dutch looked up to him for pepper (ibid., p. 94). The demand for pepper in Malabar was great. Even Virji Vora was unable to meet it. This despite the fact that Virji Vora had his factory at Calicut [EFI (1634-6 ), p. 288] in 1640. Nevertheless Virji had, in fact, become the monopolist of pepper from western India in Surat. Everybody requiring pepper at Surat had to deal with him. Leading Gujrati merchants active in Maharashtra, in 1640 Virji Vora had a number of men in Rajapur [EFI (1637-41), p. 98].

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In 1650, three Dutch ships from Batavia (Indonesia) came to Surat. They had brought tea. Two Surat merchants including Virji Vora purchased the tea [Bal Krishna, p. 106; EFI (1646-50 ), p. 330. English transported goods to Bantam on behalf of Shah Bandar, Mirza Mahmud and Virji Vora . . . [EFI (1624-9), p. 212]. The Dutch were monetarily better off than the English who had to take loans from Virji Vora for their trade [EFI (1646-50 ), p. 88. The English sent money from Gombroom (port under Persia in the Gulf of Persia) to be returned to Virji (ibid., p. 105). Hari Vaisya and Virji Vora gave loan to East India Company for more than 30,000 laris (currency) to either transport the goods to Surat or to give them loans, they had taken Europeans sent goods of Surat traders to Persia [EFI (1624-9), p. 306]. The entire stock of coral brought from Mokha in the Discovery by the English was purchased by Virji Vora [EFI (1646-50), p. 210]. The nature of trading activity of Virji Vora can be concluded from the above examples. It appears that the rise of Virji Vora as a significant merchant of Surat was fast. For the next half-a-century this Surat trader and the English East India Company supported each other. Both the parties were keen that trade between Surat and the Red Sea should not be affected since it was lucrative for both the parties. A treaty was signed between East India Company and Surat merchants in 1624. Among signatories was Virji Vora. Other signatories were Jamaluddin Mahmud, Mahmud Saleh Tabrezi, Nizamuddin Mahmud Ali Ispahani, Ali Mashedi, Saadat Yar, Mutwalli Mahmud, Mahmudi Ibrahim, Haji Abdul-Nabi, Hari Vaisya. W.H. Moreland, ‘Pieter Van Den Broeke at Surat’, in Journal of Indian History, vol. XI, (April 1932). When did Virji Vora enter Surat market, we do not know. How he became a leading merchant or what were his activities in early years remains a mystery. But for the next five decades he is regularly mentioned in the documents of European Companies. Most important was the emergence of Virji Vora as the greatest

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trader with capacity to control and regulate the internal market. There are several instances on record when he purchased the entire or ‘most’ of the imported stock of coral [EFI (1646-50 ), p. 5], Spices (ibid., pp. 206 and 257), Ivory [EFI (1651-4 ), 30], Quicksilver [EFI (1634-6 )], pp. 226, 256; EFI (1640-50), 281, 257; ibid., 330, 258; EFI (1655-60 ), p. 215. The local businessmen were so afraid of him that they did not make any purchases till Virji Vora had disclosed his own mind. Virji Vora’s business deals affected prices. Therefore, local traders took care of Virji Vora’s deals. The English had to borrow from Virji Vora to keep their trade going [EFI (1646-50 ), p. 88]. Why and when Virji Vora disappears we do not know. But he was the leading trader of his times is the truth.

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C H A P T E R 13

Jagat Seth

In the seventeenth century, Patna, then the biggest urban centre in eastern India was well known in India and abroad. Along with textiles and opium, it also sold commodities from the Himalayan areas. A Jain businessman Hiranand Shah of Nagor (in Rajasthan) decided to migrate to Patna and find his fortune (Singh, p. 3). We have no idea what prompted Hiranand to undertake this step. Probably apart from news that it was a great business centre, he might have taken the decision because both the city and the area were familiar to Jains as many saints in ancient times lived here and Jains performed yatra of their holy places. Hiranand Shah arrived in Patna in 1652. Here he died in 1711 (ibid., p. 8). What business he conducted besides moneylending, is unknown to us. But he prospered. In 1690 the English founded the city of Calcutta and made it their chief centre of trade in the East. Ships from different parts came here; locals took whatever seemed useful to them or put their commodities on boats destined for markets on the west Coromandal coast or sent to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf ports or even sent to Europe. Hiranand Shah and his son Manik Chand and other family members participated in trading and soon became well known names among traders, big and small, and also among top bureaucrats. Manik Chand increased the economic prosperity of the family and made it an influential family in the state. The contempary society also gave him an opportunity to use his trading skill. He rise up and became a member of top bureaucracy. After the death of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, the empire became weak since its financial condition was rendered from bad

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to worse. Things were so bad that soldiers did not receive their salaries for months. Also there was a contest about who should sit on the throne. Manik Chand and Murshid Quli Khan, diwan (chief official of Mughals) tried their best to put things in order. Murshid Quli Khan tried his best to improve the situation and was able to put Bengal’s economy on good footing. Jain Manik Chand also traded. Of course, trade was in bulk and worth thousands of rupees. They also helped the English East India Company and its members to indulge in private trade. The members of the British Company played a dual role. They had come to assist the Company in commerce. They had also become individuals who traded with money taken on loan both as Company’s servants and individuals. Private trade by Company’s employees was a regular feature. Jains were rich, they were considered a member of Mughal bureaucracy. Their advice was taken seriously. Aurangzeb died in 1707 and he was succeeded by Bahadur Shah. Hiranand died in 1711. He had seven sons and one daughter. It seems that Hiranand Shah’s family members had developed business deals in Bengal. One of his sons, Manik Chand was ‘most hardworking’. He had established contacts with Mughal bureaucracy; he was a close friend of oldest son of Mughal emperor. When Diwan Maqbool Ahmad shifted to Dacca, Manik Chand followed suit. At Dacca Manik Chand remained the most important supplier of credit to European companies as well as European traders (employees) who indulged in trade for personal benefit in defiance of terms of contract with the Company. Manik Chand had managed to give notice of his capabilities to benefit from all possible occasions. He was the most popular moneylender. His friend the Mughal diwan took care to collect taxes which he paid to the officials (Mughals). Manik Chand fully cooperated with him. The twin, therefore, enjoyed the trust of Mughal officials from Dacca to Delhi. When Murshid Quli decided to shift the headquarters to Murshidabad, Manik Chand also followed; he moved from Dacca to Murshidabad.

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Murshid Quli Khan (original name Maqbool) made Manik Chand the chief of the mint at Murshidabad. He was asked to produce sikka (the name of the silver coin locally produced). This added hugely to the prestige of Manik Chand because sikka out of his mint was the costliest in India. In order that Manik Chand continued to be the best producer of silver coinage, the East India Company sold to him all the silver it imported into Bengal suba. When the Mughal emperor suddenly passed away, several members of the royal Mughal family sought Murshid Quli Khan’s support. Murshid Quli Khan spoke in favour of Mughal Prince Farukhsiyar who was then in Bengal. Manik Chand like his friend diwan lent his support to the Mughal prince, who had declared Patna as the new capital of Mughal empire. This added to the prestige of both Manik Chand and Murshid Quli Khan. The emperor as a sign of his appreciation declared Manik Chand as ‘seth’. He was allowed to put on gold rings in the feet. Simultaneously he gave the title of ‘Jagat Seth’ to Manik Chand’s adopted son Fateh Chand. The Mughal ruler Muhammad Shah who followed Farukhsiyar also honoured Fateh Chand with the title of Jagat Seth because he helped in controlling public distress during famines in Delhi. The Mughal ruler also conferred Anand Chand the son of Fateh Chand, with the title of ‘Seth’. In 1723 close cooperation existed between Fateh Chand and the English East India Company. In 1725 the nawab conveyed to the English East India Company through Fateh Chand that he was a friend of the English and would remain so in future (Singh p. 80). This was a sign that both Mughal administration and Company’s employees made Fateh Chand their primary supporter and shared with him their hopes and secrets. Murshid Quli Khan died in 1727 (ibid., p. 84) Fateh Chand continued to be a supporter Mughal rule in Bengal. Fateh Chand had to face problems from the side of local traders. A local businessman Kantu borrowed from Jagat Seth Fateh Chand and was interested in the purchase of silk. He, however, failed to return the money. Indian businessmen refused to have dealings with the English East India Company unless Kantu returned the money

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to Fateh Chand. This shows the great respect local businessmen had for ‘Jagat Seth’. When the East India Company failed Fateh Chand in getting money from Kantu he sought the help of administration. The Company affirmed that the money owed by Kantu was the money of royalty and Kantu should return it. For six months nothing came out of it. Fateh Chand complained to the government and sought its help. The government agreed and issued an order that Fateh Chand’s money should be treated as government’s capital. Businessmen threatened that if the Company did not help Jagat Seth Fateh Chand, boats coming from west to east would be captured. The Company did not act. However they suggested that part of the money should be paid by Kantu. Fateh Chand did not accept this settlement. The government agreed with Fateh Chand’s response. The government asked employees to shut down the East India Company factory in Cassimpore and then came to Murshidabad. The nawab summoned the pleader of the Company. He was told that the nawab was the master and would not mind the Company going away with the pleader. The Company was emphatically told that Jagat Seth Fateh Chand would not suffer any monetary loss. A special meeting was held at Cassim Bazar in September. It was decided that Rs. 1,30,000 would be given to Jagat Seth Fateh Chand. The Company would appoint a new agent in place of Kantu. Jagat Seth Fateh Chand agreed. He gave in writing that all differences between him and the Company had been solved. Jagat Seth Fateh Chand did not have any dispute with the Company. Jagat Seth Fateh Chand was accompanied by Mr. Stakhaus and Mr. Russel. They met the nawab and told him that matters were settled after Jagat Seth Fateh Chand cut down the amount he had given to the Company. It seemed that Jagat Seth Fateh Chand did not like the agreement because he refused Company’s demand for loan. Employees of the East India Company had difficulties. Jagat Seth Fateh Chand was no longer liberal in advancing money as loan. However, by 1731 businessmen Jagat Seth Fateh Chand became active. He loaned money and charged interest according to the situation (ibid., pp. 106-7). Throughout 1730s Jagat Seth Fateh Chand remained active.

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Jagat Seth Fateh Chand suffered great loss in Delhi during Nadir Shah’s attack in 1740. Yet Fateh Chand was able to continue doing his business. We find him advancing a loan of Rs. 1,21,000 to the English East India Company in April. The rate of interest was one rupee per hundred monthly. The amount of wealth in the House of Jagat Seth Fateh Chand was great. It is said that when Marathas attacked Bengal they attacked Murshidabad and looted the property of Jagat Seth in 1742. His worth was Rs. 2 crores (ibid., p. 137). Fateh Chand died on 26 December 1744 (ibid., p. 115). After the death of Jagat Seth Fateh Chand his family continued business. As stated earlier silver was the most important item; Jagat Seth Mahtab Rai continued though things were becoming difficult. The Maratha menace was continuing and traders were not sure that their capital should be investment in silver coins. The mint was not functioning;. In fact Jagat Seth Fateh Chand was blamed for trying to get back his money whatever be the way (ibid., p. 149). The East India Company despite differences insisted that their good future depended on ‘good relation with Jagat Seth Fateh Chand’ (ibid., p. 151). The Company was further compelled by the Bengal nawab to collect money as ‘a donation’. The conclusion of the Company was that Fateh Chand had not only succeeded in pressuring what he had received but also in ‘deposing and widening it’. Mahtab Rai succeeded Fateh Chand as Jagat Seth. The Mughal ruler at Delhi confirmed this. However the business of the East India Company was in a state of crisis. In October 1746 an English ship brought ‘50,000 rupees’ weight of silver’. The President of the Company asked Jagat Seth Mahtab Rai to purchase it. Jagat Seth agreed but forced the Company to pay the rate of interest imposed by him (Little, pp. 140-1). Next year in 1747, business situation was unsatisfactory and Company had to seek the support of Jagat Seth Mahtab Rai. Jagat Seth aimed at monopolizing the purchase of all silver in the province. Jagat Seth Mahtab Rai had to face the competion of Muslim and Armenian traders. The Company largely survived with the help of loans given by Jagat Seth. In 1749 it amounted to Rs. 5,84,000. The Dacca branch of Company

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in 1749 had a debt of Rs. 5,84,000. Alivardi Khan who looked after the prince for five years died on 9 April 1756. As history was to show this proved to be a significant period. Alivardi Khan was succeeded by Siraj. By this time the Jagat Seth Mahtab Rai had further increased his control over Bengal’s economy. The were in receipt of Bengal’s revenue. They charged 10 per cent interest. They earned ‘40 lakhs’ a year (ibid., p. 152). The treaty of 1757 between Bengal ruler Siraj-ud-daula and the East India Company further strengthened the economic position of the Jagat Seth Mahtab Rai. Jagat Seth used their political influence to further increase their economic gains. This was their ‘transactions’ with European merchants, the English, French, Dutch, etc. (ibid., p. 154) had borrowed Rs. 4,00,000. It was commonly believed that the Seth ‘advanced large sums of money to the English prior to the battle of Plassey. The English got rupees of the Hindu banker. Equally with the sword of the English colonel contributed to the overthrow of the Muhammadan power in Bengal (ibid., p. 155) The English had succeeded in putting their nominee on the Bengal throne. However Miran soon replaced Mir Jafar. The military victory of the English in 1757 convinced them that they could safely carry on their wishes. However, they were mistaken. Miran looked with suspicion on the behaviour of Jagat Seth. The nawab felt he was more favourable to the English. Harsh words were publicly spoken by the nawab about Jagat Seth. Not only this Miran had Jagat Seth and his brother arrested, they were sent to Munger (Monghyr). It is said that Jagat Seth and his brother were killed. Sons of Jagat Seth and nephews were arrested. They followed Miran during his attempt to go to a place where victorian English army would not arrest him. The English wanted they should not be harmed. The Bengal nawab requested the Mughal emperor to release sons and nephews of the rebel. Eventually they were set free. It is said that Jagat Seth’s family gave large sums of money. Afterwards Jagat Seth’s family members were released; late Jagat Seth’s son Khushal Chand was allowed to use the title ‘Jagat Seth Khushal Chand’. The new Jagat Seth believed in spending money. It is said the food for four hundred men was daily prepared.

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Once he was invited to visit Calcutta. The money spent was sixteen thousand rupees. However we must remember that times had changed. The political situation had dramatically varied. The English now ruled over India. They discovered that ruling was more profitable than business. The English East India Company ceased trading. It was finally dissolved in 1878. After all, income from land revenue and various laws was bigger. Effective rule was financially a better source of money. The English took back the mint from Jagat Seth. A major source of income was lost. Subsequent Jagat Seths were in such a state of poverty that they had to request the government to grant them pension so that they could have a regular source of monetary relief.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Chatterjee, Kumkum, Merchants, Politics and Society in Early Modern India, New York. Fergus, Nicoll, Shah Jahan, Penguin. Little, J.H., House of Jagat Seth, Calcutta, 1957. Singh, Parasnath, Jagat Seth (in Hindi), Patna, 2008. Sarkar, Jagdish Narayan, Private Traders in Modern India, Calcutta, 1988.

Appendix*

When Warren Hastings was on his last tour to Upper India previous to his departure for England, we are told that he received a petition from Khushal Chand praying that he might be re-instated in his hereditary office of receiver and treasurer of the Government revenues and that the Governor-General replied ‘your father rendered very important services to the British Government and for its establishment in the East; should it please God, on my return from my tour, your wishes shall be fulfilled.’ When he returned he found that Khushal Chand was dead and his adopted son Harakh Chand was a minor. The Governor-General expressed great sorrow at the news of Khushal Chand’s death and at once interested himself in behalf of Harakh Chand. He wrote to the Nawab Mubarak-uddaula: Nawab Sahib of exalted rank and dignity, admirer of the brethren, may you live long. ‘After expressing my earnest desire, which cannot be described in writing for the happiness of an interview with you, I bring to your kind notice that a robe of honour consisting of six pieces, an ornament that is worn on the turban, a turban set with jewels, a necklace of pearls, an ear-ring with pearls and a palanquin with frills have been sent by me, through Sir John Daly to the kind gentleman, Seth Harakh Chand Sahib. I hope your noble self will be pleased to confer on the said Seth the title of Jagat Seth, to give him a seal and to allow him the privilege of being looked upon with the esteem and respect that his family have received this long time.’ The Nawab’s reply, dated the 11 March 1784, was as follows: ‘Your esteemed letter—intimating that a robe of honour consisting of six pieces, together with an ornament that is worn in the turban, a turban set with jewels, necklace of pearls, an ear-ring and a *J.H. Little, House of Jagat Seth, pp. 239-47

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palanquin with frills have been sent by your noble self to Seth Harakh Chand, through Sir John Daly, a gentleman kind and helpful to his sincere friends; and that myelf may confer on the said Seth the title of Jagat Seth, may give him a seal and allow him the privilege of being looked upon with esteem and respect as his family has been for a long time—having reached here, afforded great pleasure to my heart gave me satisfaction in every way. May God spare your noble self-full of bounty, endowed with excellent qualities, incomparable in fulfilling the wishes of, and in doing favours to people high and low—to live long with safety and dignity. As the said Seth has been honoured and exalted with the robe of honour I also have given him, as desired by you, the seal with the inscription Jagat Seth Harakh Chand engraved on it’.1 Thus Harakh Chand was confirmed in the title of Jagat Seth without any reference to the court at Delhi. The translator of the Seir Mutaqherin states that during the course of the troubles that fell upon Bengal the property of the Seths had been made away with everywhere and he thus contrasts the circumstances of the family in the time of Harakh Chand with their wealth in the time of Jagat Seth Fateh Chand, ‘will a Jagatseat now, after having been plundered by the Marhattas of full two Crores in Arcot Rupees only, give government the next six months bills of exchange for 50, 60 and a 100 lacks, payable at sight?—So far from that, Jagatseat has not been able to pay, but by instalments a bill of 140,000 rupees in 1787.’ Harakh Chand’s pecuniary difficulties are said to have been removed by the inheritance of the fortune of an uncle, Gulab Chand. Harakh Chand was the first of the family who abandoned the Jain religion and joined the sect of the Vaishnavs. He was childless and being extremely anxious to have a son he faithfully followed all the ceremonies enjoined by the Jain religion in such a case but with no result. At length a member of the Vaishnava sect advised him to propitiate Vishnu. He did so and obtained his desire. A son was born to him whom he named Indra Chand and three years afterwards another son was born who was named Vishnu Chand. Two years later he showed his gratitude by erecting the

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temple which has been described in a former chapter. Over the temple is an inscription in Sanskrit which has been translated thus ‘There was in the family of the Jagat Seths a scion named Sumer Chand, son of Mahtab Rai who was famous throughout the world and possessed wealth surpassing that of Kuvera. His son Harakh Chand was known for his great piety and excellence. He became the disciple of Ramanuja Das, an ascetic of the Vaishnava sect, who had come from the Vindhya Mountains and whose virtues shone resplendent like the moon. He consecrated this temple to the God Hari as a token of his gratitutde to his preceptor in the year 1857 Samvat (AD 1801). May increased prayers be offered to the god at this place. Dated Monday the fifth day after the full moon in the month of Magh of the Samvat year 1857.’ A modern writer is wrong in his conjecture that Harakh Chand lost prestige among the Jains by his change of religion. He and his successors have been respected as much as before by the members of their old religion. In fact it is doubtful whether the members of this family ever renounced entirely their Jain religion. They continued to perform their funeral rites and marriage ceremonies in the manner in which they had been performed by their ancestors in Rajputana and as all the Oswals in the district of Murshidabad who remained Jains performed theirs. Not only so but they had their Jain gods;2 they paid the expenses incurred for the worship of those gods and even worshipped them themselves and listened to the words of the sacred books of the Jains. Harakh Chand died in 1814 and was succeeded by his son Indra Chand who became the fifth Jagat Seth. Nine years later he followed his father to the grave. His title of Jagat Seth was recognized by the British Government. His brother Vishnu Chand received the title of Seth from the the Nawab Nazim Deler Jang. Gobind Chand, the son of Indra Chand, was the sixth Jagat Seth. He is said to have dissipated the remaining wealth of his ancestors. The following letter will help us to understand this and at the same time will show that the British Government still remembered the importance which was once attached to the title of Jagat Seth. The letter is from the Secretary to the Government of India and is addressed to ‘Juggut Seith Gibind Chand’.

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My Esteemed Friend, I have had the pleasure of receiving your letter returning your letter returning your thanks for permission to use a carriage and four and soliciting some Troopers or the same and others matters. In reply I am directed by His Honor the Governor-General to intimate to you that it is not usual to allow Troopers, and a sunnod is considered unnecessary. I am further directed to inform you that Government cannot interfere between you and His Highness the Nawab Nazim. Whenever you wish to proceed to Lucknow, and to Gwalior and Hyderabad, for which of course you must previously obtain the sanction of the Ruling Authorities of those states, a Passport will be granted to you, but it is unusual and objectionable on such occasions as the present to grant Letters of Introduction to the Residents at the courts to which you wish to proceed. I remain, With much consideration, Your sincere friend, Council Chamber, 23 March 1835

(sgd.) W.H. Macnaghten Secretary to the Government.

When Jagat seth Gobind Chand found himself forced to sell the family jewels he applied to the British Government for help and was granted a pension of Rs. 1,200 a month. The letter from the court of Directors to the Governor-General of India, sanctioning the pension, runs as follows: 1. In yours political letter dated 18 January (No. 1) 1843 you transmit to us two petitions from the widow and son of the late Jagatseth Indra Chand of Murshidabad representing their fallen fortunes and praying for a provision. 2. The petitioners are the representatives of the family and mercantile firm of Jagat Seth Mahtab Rao whose attachment to British interests and whose services to our Government in times when such services were peculiarly valuable are matter of History.

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3. It does not appear that the present applicants have personally and peculiar claim upon us and the decline of the family seems to have been owing as much to mismanagement as to any unavoidable cause. 4. In acknowledgement however of the former merits of the House towards the British Government we acquiesce in your recommendation and that of Major-General Roper, the agent at Murshidabad, for the grant of Rs. 1,200 per month to the present head of the family, Jagat Seth Gobind Chand. The family should be informed that the grant is for life only.’ In 1844 Gobind Chand’s cousins Seth Kissen Chand, the son of Seth Vishnu Chand, also applied for a provision. The court of directors, however, replied ‘When we granted a pension of Rs. 1,200 to Gobind Chand, it was with the intention of providing for the family and not for the individual and as it appears that Gobind Chand has no children we think he may reasonably be expected to set apart a portion of his stipend for the support of his cousin.’3 However Jagat Seth Gobind Chand continued to hold the pension entirely at his own disposal until towards the close of 1858 when the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, in spite of this earnest protest of the Governor-General’s Agent at Murshidabad, directed that one-fourth of the Pension should be appropriated to Seth Kissen Chand. This decision was rescinded that next year by the Secretary of State for India.4 The estimation in which Jagat Seth Gobind Chand was held may be judged from the following fact. At the marriage of Nawab Feredun Jah, Robes of Honour were distributed to all the important people of Murshidabad the value of which varied with the rank of the recipient. No one received a Robe of Honour of higher value than that received by Jagat Seth Gobind Chand.5 Jagat Seth Gobind Chand died in 1864. Like many other members of the family he was childless but in his lifetime he has adopted a son, Seth Gopal Chand. The latter and Seth Kissen Chand made a joint application to Government in which the Rs. 700 of his father’s pension might be conferred on Seth Gopal Chand leaving Rs. 500 for Seth Kissen Chand. The result was that

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Government sanctioned a pension of Rs. 800 per mensem to Seth Kissen Chand on the understanding that is was for the support of himself and the rest of the family including the widow of the late Jagat Seth Gobind Chand. Seth Gopal Chand appealed against this decision, first to the Viceroy and then to the Secretary of State for India and in the end was offered Rs. 300 per mensem from the pension of Seth Kissen Chand. As the head of the family he felt it consistent with his position to accept such an arrangement. He died shortly after. Seth Kissen Chand died in 1880. Meanwhile Jagat Sethani Pran Kumari, the widow of Jagat Seth Gobind Chand has adopted a son named Gulab Chand. The ceremony of adoption was performed according to the custom prevailing among the Oswals and in the family of the Seths and in accordance with the Hindu Shastras. Almost all the Oswals of the district were invited to be present on the occasion and after the ceremony Gulab Chand was considered to be the true son of Jagat Seth Gobind Chand for Hindu law makes no distinction between an adopted son and one begotten. ‘It is difficult to impress the Europeans with the importance of those sanctions which make the customs of adoption so peculiarly sacred. One may here be mentioned. In the Sanskrit the divine ancient language of India the word for son is puttra, and Manu, the highest authority for Hindu institution, says that a son is called puttra, because he is the instrument and the only instrument, for delivering his father and fore-fathers from the dread hell named puttra and though this derivation has no philological value, it explains better than anything passion to have male issue, which is the characteristics of the Hindus, and that unutterable woe which oppresses those who die without either. Among the objects for which a son is wanted by a Hindu is certainly the perpetuation of the family, but the prime function which a son is to fill is to offer cakes to the manes of ancestors and perform those numerous religious ceremonies which are essential to their salvation. This function cannot be performed by any other relative however near, and in case of Jagat Seth Gobind Chand there was no other relative who could fill it until the adoption of Gulab Chand. But this function is filled by an adopted son as well as by a son of the body.’6 The

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legal aspect of the case has been given as follows: Her Majesty Queen Victoria, through Lord Canning in 1858, assured the native princes/princess and all her Indian subjects that any succession which may be legitimate according to Hindu or Muhammadan Law shall be upheld and in accordance with that pronouncement, the succession, the state and the dignity of many adopted sons of native chiefs and zamindars have been recognized by the Government. Lord Dalhousie, notwithstanding his policy of annexation, did not apply the principle of lapse in many cases of adopted son amongst the chiefs of Marwar. In the family of Jagat Seth Harakh Chand it was recognized by the Government. Hindu law makes no distinction between an adopted son and a son born of the body (Manu’s Hindu Law, 7th edn., pp. 214-16, and the authorities quoted therein). Jagat Sethani Pran Kumari was granted a pension of Rs. 300 per mensem after the death of Seth Kissen Chand but when her adopted son approached manhood was being recognized as the head of the house of Jagat Seth and the social leader of the Oswals, she again memorialized the Government to increase her own pension or to grant a separate pension to her son. All her efforts were unavailing and so, too, were the efforts which Gobind Chand made on his own behalf after the death of Jagat Sethani Pran Kumari. This occurred in September 1891. Jagat Seth Gulab Chand was educated at the Nawab’s Madrassa at Murshidabad, an institution founded under the patronage of the Governor-General of India and the Nawab Nazim of Bengal, for the education of the members of the Nizamat family and the admission of Jagat Seth Gulab Chand to the school kept the traditional close connection of the family of Jagat Seth with the Nawab of Bengal. Gulab Chand was a very pious, simple-hearted man and a staunch Jain. He had four sons and one daughter. Two of his sons, Jagat Seth Fateh Chand and Seth Udai Chand survived him. He died on 8 April 1912 at Calcutta. Jagat Seth Gulab Chand was honoured with a visit from the Viceroy, Lord Curzon, on the 1 March 1902 which was thus described in the page of The Englishman of the 3 March: ‘His Excellency the Viceroy and suite visited the dwelling-house

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of Jagat Seth at Mahimapur on his way back to Azimganj at about 2.30 p.m. today. On arrival at the gate the commissioner of the Presidency Division alighted from his state carriage and introduced Jagat Seth and walked into the enclosure. His Excellency carefully inspected the ruins of the old Jain temple consisting of detached columns and arches made of granite being specimens of Jaina Buddhistic sculpture, and was greatly interested. He then proceeded to the Hindu temple made of china bricks in 1801. The Viceroy next inspected the family documents, consisting of firmans granted by the Emperors of Delhi to the ancestor of the present Jagath Seth and rare gold and silver coins from the 15th century downward, as also some jewels and a valuable idol. When leaving, a nuzzur of ten gold mohurs was offered, which His Excellency touched and returned. A garland of gold lace was then presented and was kindly accepted. His Excellency in honouring Jagat Seth has honoured the whole Oswal community.’ It was on this occasion that Jagat Seth Gulab Chand presented the firman of the Emperor Farrukhsiyar, conferring the title of Seth on Fateh Chand, to the Victoria Memorial. Other distinguished visitors to the house of the Seths were Sir John Woodburn, the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, Lord Kitchener, who was then Commander-in-Chief in India and the members of the Historical Society of Calcutta. Jagat Seth Gulab Chand was succeeded by his eldest son Seth Fateh Chand who is generally recognized by his fellow countrymen as the 8th Jagat Seth. He lives a short distance away from the ancient home of his ancestors for when he was a boy the great earthquake of 1896 hurled to the ground the part of house that the scouring of the Bhagirathi had spared. His father then built the new house which he called ‘Jagat Seth’s House’. Blocks of brickwork which once formed part of the old house still strew the bank of the Bhagirathi. A few remnants of the old walls are still visible but the site is almost covered with jungle. A short distance down the river large blocks of mansonry can again be seen—the ruins of the Jain temple built by Manik Chand when the family first came to Murshidabad. This temple was onced adorned with finely covered columns and arches of touchstone7—fit stone for a

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banker’s temple. These were rescued from the river’s maw and are to form the chief adornment of a new Jain temple of which Jagat Seth Fateh Chand laid the foundation stone in 1913. Early in 1914 he proceeded to Ajmer to celebrate the marriage of his brother, Seth Udai Chand with the daughter of Seth Bridhimul Lorah, son of Dewan Bahadur Seth Umedmul Lorah of Ajmer. He was welcomed by the Oswals from all parts of Rajputana as their recognized head, indeed the family of Jagat Seth claims to be the recognized head of the Jain community in India. He himself is the principle guest at their gatherings to whom they pay nazar and for whom they reserve the seal of honour or ‘masnad’.

NOTES 1. Copies of the Persian originals of these letters were supplied to the writer by the kindness of Khondkar Fazal Rubbee Khan Bahadur, Diwan to the Nawab Bahadur of Murshidabad. 2. Some were of gold, some of silver, some of rare stone, some studed with jewels. Lord Curzon who saw them in 1902 remarked that he had never seen such curious idols before (Note by head of family). 3. Despatch of the Court of Directors No. 42 of 1844 dated 6 November 1844. 4. Despatch from the Secretary of State for India, No. 55, dated 8 November 1859. 5. List in Record Office at Murshidabad. 6. Extracted from a memorial made to the Secretary of State for India by Jagat Seth Gulab Chand. 7. The blocks of touchstone were brought from Gour, the ancient capital of Bengal. No other temple made of touchstone is found in any part of India (Note by head of family).

Index

Abhayar"aja 35, 60 "ac"arya or munis 11, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31 Åc"arya Jinaprabhas"uri 15, 33 Agra 13, 23, 24-6, 35, 47; commercial entrepôt of the Mughal empire 61-4; Jains in 99-104; Jain traders in 107-13 Akbarn"am"a 99 Anek"arthan"amam"al"a 101, 103 20 Anek"arthasamgraham \ Apabhram« \ sa language 9, 10, 21, 22, 27, 77, 78, 79, 96 Ardhakath"anaka 11, 22, 79, 103 Arya Samaj 89 A|s|tas"ahasr$û 20 A|s|totar$û ®Santsn"at|r 34 Banaras$û N"amam"al"a 23 Banarasidasa 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 27, 30, 33, 34, 36, 60-5, 103; entrepreneurship 61-2 Ban"aras$ûvil"asa 24 Bh"am"a Sh"ah 60 Bhagavat$ûd"asa 23, 24 Bhagwat$ûd"as 101, 109 Bh"anucandra 17, 72, 73 Bhanucandraganicharita 10, 72-3, 135 Bhatt"arakas in Patt"aval $ûs 100; institution of 101-2 Bhatt"araka-Samprad"aya 100 Bha|tt| "ara|kk| a Sakalak$ûrti’s Ya«sodhara Carita 29 Bihar 55; Jain holy places in 31, 11920; Jain merchants in 106-7; Jains in seventeenth century in 119-23 book depositories 21, 27-8, 103; Jain

grantha bha^n^d"aras 28; Jind"asa’s Holire^nuk"a-caritra, transcription of 28 brahmacarya 30 Brahmo Samaj 89 British Empire in India: census and surveys 88-9; Indian nationalism 89 Buchanan, Francis 88 caste among Jains 88-97 caste histories 90 caste journals 90 caste organizations 89 c"aturm"asa 31 Chand, Fateh (Jagat Seth) 14, 56, 57, 112-14, 151-7; close cooperation existed with English East India Company 153; problems from the side of local traders 153-4 Chand, Karma 103, 108, 111, 137, 139 Chand, Manik 111-12, 114, 151-3; most popular moneylender 152 dar-sani hu^n^d ∂ 57 Day"aku-sala’s L"abhodayar"asa 10 Dharma ®S"astras 90 Digambara 15, 16, 90, 91, 92, 101, 102, 139 Digvijaya Mahakavya 110 d∂ks"a sam"aroha 30 Dutch East India Company 7, 45, 48, 54, 55, 56, 58, 144, 149 English East India Company 7, 45, 48, 50, 53, 55, 56, 58, 114, 144, 147, 149, 152, 153, 155, 157

170

Index

firm"an 11, 53, 56, 63, 100, 104, 125, 135 da Gama, Vasco 143 Godha, Nanu 65, 133-4, 146-7 Gomma|tas"ara 20 Granthabhan^d"aras 90 guru--si|sya parampar"a 20 Guruvav"al$ûs 11 Harivam\ sapur"a^na 22, 101 Hemakaumud $û 22 Hira-Saubhagya-Maha-Kavya of Devavimala 72 H$ûravijayas# uri 13, 18, 25, 29-32, 65, 72, 111, 135 Hiravijayas#urir"asa 72 House of Jagat Se|th 45, 155 Indian nationalism 89; exchange and propagation of ideas 89; printing press technology, growth of 89; railways, expansion of 89; technological factors 89 Indian trading communities in seventeenth century, social attitudes of 125-30; devotional poetry and 129; field of operations of Jains 126; Jain attitude towards higher education 126-7; Jain conservatism 127; Jains, contempt for secular and broad-based education 127; Khatr$ûs, social attitudes 129-30; undoubted strength of tradition 126; Vai-syas 127 Jagat Se|ths 7, 45, 151-7; right to mint coins 157 Jagjivan 109 Jain "ac"aryas: depositories of manuscripts at various places 200 Jains: as personal officers of Muslim

nobles 35; attitude to sex-life 78; aversion to the public killing of birds and animals 34; caste system 15-16; contribution to the development of vernacular literature 77-8; did not avoid socializing with members of other communities 34-5; intersectarian tension 17-18; literacy among 64; r"asa in Gujarati 10; refrain from seven habits or sapta vyasana 35; refrained from wine-drinking, gambling and prostitution 35; religious and social ethos: accompany revered gurus to pilgrimage 32; social history of 91; social responsibility 36; social structure 17; society during the middle-ages, intellectual ferment 24-5; tried to practise non-violence 34 Jain community and Akbar 132-40; Akbar’s policy of religious toleration 136; intensified trade activities of Jains 138; Rajput chieftains 133; Rajput commanders and administrators 133-4 Jain community in medieval times, social life of 9-36 Jain laity 22, 73, 79 Jain merchants in Eastern India under the Great Mughals 106-14; Akbar, orientation to the Mughal state 106-7; Akbar’s policy of religious toleration 108; diffusion of Jains in Bihar 107; Jain migration, stream of, reign of Aurangzeb 110; Kharagsen 112; Mahamatya Nanu 107; MughalPersian relations 110; Rajasthani Jains, emigration of 110-11; under the Turko-Afghans 106 Jain monks 10, 11 , 14, 17, 18-21,

Index 25-6, 34, 46, 127; religious functions to ward off evil influences 34 29 Jain tirthamkaras \ Jain writings 19-21; munis and "ac"arya 19; vernacular literature 21-7 Jains and Hindus 16-17; cremated their deceased relatives 16; lived harmoniously 17; marriage ceremony 16; prevention of cow-slaughter 16 Jains as traders: in Gujarat and Rajasthan 132 Jains in Bihar, seventeenth century 119-23; beginnings of Maratha invasions on Gujarat 120; in Bhagalpur 122; in Hajipur 122-3; in Patna 121; in Rajgir and Pavapuri 122; India’s overland trade with Persia and Central Asian principalities 120 Jains in medieval times, economic life of 44-65; ‘affluence’ and ‘prosperity’ of individual Jains 44; Ahmadabad, reputed mart for jewellery and precious stones 52; as moneylenders 47; business of issuing hu^n^d ∂s; 47; European language sources 44; Jain business enterprise, multidimensionality of 47; Jain economic activities 45; petty traders 46; profited from expansion of trading activities 47 Jains, social history of the community 9-12; literary sources 10; in medieval times, Sanskrit texts 10 Jains, demographic spread 12-14; all over north India 12; D$ûw"an Dhann"a R"ai 13; and economic policies by Akbar 12; entry into villages 12; M"ana Singh of Åmber 13; north-west India, besides Agra and Delhi, moved to Lahore and Multan 14; religious toleration

171

policy by Akbar 12; tenth Lord ®S$ûtalan"atha 13; t∂rthamkara \ thriving economy of eastern India, second half of seventeenth century 13 Jains, education 18-19; Jain monks in the society 18; Jain scholars studied Sanskrit 18-19; scholarship 18 Jains, structure of community 14-15; bha|t|t"araka traditions among the Digambaras 15; sub-groupings in 15; ®Svet"ambaras 15; the samgha \ Vividhat$ûrthakalpa 15 Jyotis"ara 23-4; in Hisar 101 K"amana 102 kans"ara-pat"akas (kans"arapada) 26, 73 Karamacandra Prabandha 10, 23, 74 Kasliwal, K.C. 91 Khambhat, pargan"a of 104 Khan, Murshid Quli 55-6, 58, 152-3 Kha^n^delaw"al caste 16 Khandelwals 91-2, 93; community, mobility of 95 Kharagsen 33, 34, 60, 61, 62, 64-5, 107, 112, 134 Kriparasakosha 135 kriyoddh"ara function 26 Kshatriyakunda 119 Kundkundacharya’s Samayasara 81; in Hindi prose 139 ‘Lahor Ghazal’ 23, 80 Larkibai 73 Madhum"alati 24 mah"ajana 36 Mah"akavir"ai 26, 109 mah"amahop"adhy"aya 30 Manikchand 55-6; relations with Murshid Quli Khan 55 marriage ceremony 16; display of wealth 31-2

172

Index

Megham"al"a 30 Meghavijayaj$û 22 Minaz, Khw"aj"a 51 Mothia, Sabalsingh 62-3 M|rg"abat$û 24 Mughals 120, 129, 133, 144; and local chieftains 26; and the local nobility 64; rule in India 144 Muk$ûm, H$ûr"ananda 33, 35, 64, 107, 111, 114, 135, 136

Rajasthan 12-16, 19, 20-1, 24, 27-8, 72, 76, 92, 95, 103, 106, 107, 109, 120, 123, 126, 128, 132, 133, 134, 136, 137, 139 Rajastani 27, 44, 78, 96, 106, 110, 114; contemporary accounts of Jain monks 10 Rajasthani Jains 110-11 Rajgir 119-20, 122 Rajputs of Khandela in Rajasthan 92 R|sabhad"asa’s Hiravijayas#urir"asa 10

nagara seth 36 Nainsi, Muhnot 17, 27, 65 N"amam"al"a 103 Navankkevali 24, 101 North India: Agra as chief mart 108-9; commercial centres of 12; European trading companies, active in internal markets 138; internal trade in 99; non-Brahmin literate communities 79; Patna as a trade centre 121; Surat as trading centre 144; trading mart 13, 45-7, 55, 63

Sadra, Hakim (Masih-uz-Zaman) 54 «sail $û 24, 102-3 Samayasundara, Mah"amahop"adhy"aya 16, 19, 19, 20, 23, 29, 108-9; places covered during the journeys 19-20 33 samgha \ Sanganera 102 Sanghvi, Chand 35, 104, 122, 137 ®S"anticandraj$û 25 Sapta Vyasana Sa|tpada 35 Saptasandh" \ ana Mah"ak"avya 22 Saraogis 92-3 Savaji Kabanji Parekh of Porbander 63 Schisms 91 Sh"ah, Jaita 65 Sh"ah, H$ûr"ananda 13-14, 55, 110, 113, 114, 121, 151 Sh"ah, Karma 59-60, 137, 139 Shantidas 18, 36, 52-4, 56, 59, 60, 74, 126; exercised great influence over local trading community 54; organized the Ahmadabad mah"ajana 53 Shikhar, Sammed 13, 33, 64, 119, 136 Shringara rasa 78 Siddhahemacandra-«sabd"anu«s"asana 22 Siddhahemasabd"anu«s"asana 20 Siddhichandra’s Bh"anucandraga^nicharita 10 Singh, Man 65, 86, 95, 107, 133, 139 Singh, Sanghvi Sangram 26, 122, 137

Padshahn"am"a of Abdul Hamid Lahori 99 Pa^n^dita Jayasoma 10 Pañca Sahel ∂ G∂ta 21 Parimal 101, 108, 137 P"ar«svan"atha ®Sakuna Satthav$ûs $û 27 P"ar«svan"atharasa 29 ‘Pa|t|taval$ûs’ 11, 80 Pavapuri 119, 122 Persian language texts 11, 74, 79, 90 Portuguese 35, 60, 72-3, 109, 125, 127, 143-4 Pr"ak|rt language 9 Prarthana Samaj 89 Prashastis 80 prati-sayas 28 Rai, Mahtab (Jagat Seth) 56, 58, 59, 155-6

Index Singh, Th"an 31, 65, 103-4, 111, 137 Singhi Jain Granthmala 73 Sirajuddaula, Naw"ab 58 Smritis 90 Soni, Tejapala 31 ®Srjinar"ajas"uri 26 s|rng"ara rasa 21 Subhacandra 22, 32 Suri, Jinsingh 139 Svar^na Lank" \ a (Golden ®Sr$û Lank" \ a) 23 ®Svet"ambara Jain families 63 ®Svet"ambara sect 92, 104 Ter"apantha 102, 103 Ter"apanth $û sect in opposition to the Bhatt"arakas of the Digambar sect 101 ter"apanthis 102 10, 106, 119 t$ûrthamkaras \ transcribed manuscript 27 Tuls$ûd"as, Goswam$û 103, 138 Tuzuk-$û-Jahangiri 11-12 udy"apana 30 up"adhy"aya 30 up"a«srayas 28 Vaidyavinod 23, 101 Vai|s^nava Vai«sya Hindus 93 Vai«s^navism 128 Vallabh"ach"arya 128 Vallabhch"aris 128 ‘Vams" \ aval$ûs’ 11 Var^na order 90

173

vegetarianism 34 Vijnapatipatra 33, 84-6, 100; Marwari and Sanskrit language used 85 Vora, V$ûrj$û 35, 36, 45, 47-54, 56, 58, 59, 113, 125, 138, 143-50; as a trader 145; as most important moneylender of Surat 49; Aurangzeb’s religions policy affected trade 146-7; capacity to control and regulate the internal market 149-50; dictated terms to the European trading companies 49; English Factory records 145; greatest moneylender to Europeans and Indians 145; imports in Surat 147; influence on Malabari trade 147; Malabar coast, dynamics of trade on 147-8; Maratha attacks on Surat affected economy adversely 147; nature of trading activity 149; prominence in coastal trade between Gujarat and Malabar 148; Surat, decline in trade 146; western India in Surat, monopolist of pepper from 148 women, status of 28-36, 140; constructed temples 28; status of Jain women 73; samgha or the collectives 28 Ya«sovijayaj$û 22