Jain-Mughal Relations

The relations between the Jain community of the Indian subcontinent and the Mughal Empire constitute an important and distinctive chapter in the broader history of Hindu-Muslim relations in Mughal India. The Jain community, although numerically small in relation to the Hindu and Muslim populations of the empire, occupied an economically and culturally significant position in Mughal India, and the relations between the Jains and the Mughal court were marked by a complex mixture of accommodation, patronage, conflict, and indifference. The pre-Mughal Jain community, the role of Jain merchants in the Mughal economy, the religious patronage of the Jain temples and the Jain religious establishments by the Mughal court, the position of the Jains under the mansabdari hierarchy, the conflict with Aurangzeb in the later years of the reign, the famous Jain figures at the Mughal court (including the Jain monk Hiravijaya Suri at Akbar’s court), the wider Jain community of the imperial period, and the legacy of the Jain-Mughal relations in the modern period are treated in detail below.

The Pre-Mughal Jain Community

The Jain community of the Indian subcontinent had a substantial presence in the region long before the Mughal conquest. The Jain religious tradition, founded by Mahavira (c. 599–527 BCE) and his predecessor Parsvanatha (c. 877–777 BCE), had been a major religious tradition of the Indian subcontinent for more than two millennia before the Mughal period, and the Jain community had established substantial religious, mercantile, and cultural establishments in the various regions of the subcontinent. The principal Jain establishments of the pre-Mughal period included the major Jain temples of Mount Abu (the Dilwara temples), the Shravanabelagola of Karnataka, the Palitana of Gujarat, the Ranakpur of Rajasthan, the Sravasti of the Gangetic plain, the Vaishali of Bihar, the Rajgir of Bihar, and the various other regional Jain establishments of the subcontinent.

The Jain community of the pre-Mughal period was divided into two principal branches: the Shvetambar (“white-clad”) and the Digambar (“sky-clad”). The Shvetambar branch of the Jain community was concentrated in western India, particularly in Gujarat and Rajasthan, and it was the principal branch of the Jain community of the Mughal period. The Digambar branch of the Jain community was concentrated in central and southern India, particularly in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra, and it was a smaller but significant branch of the Jain community of the Mughal period. The two branches of the Jain community maintained their own distinct religious establishments, their own distinct religious texts, their own distinct religious practices, and their own distinct cultural traditions, and the relations between the two branches were marked by a complex mixture of cooperation, competition, and mutual recognition.

The Jain community of the pre-Mughal period had substantial mercantile and economic interests in the subcontinent, and the Jain merchants of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and the Deccan were major commercial figures of the period. The Jain shravak (layman) community was particularly important in the long-distance trade of the Indian Ocean, the overland trade of Central Asia, the regional trade of the Deccan and South India, and the commercial life of the principal cities of the subcontinent. The Jain merchants of the period handled the trade in textiles, spices, gems, precious metals, and the various other commodities of the period, and they were major commercial figures of the subcontinent.

The Role of Jain Merchants in the Mughal Economy

The Jain merchants of the Mughal period played a substantial role in the imperial economy, and the Jain commercial establishments of Gujarat, Rajasthan, the Deccan, and the various other regions of the empire were major economic institutions. The Jain merchants of the period were major figures in the long-distance trade of the Indian Ocean, the overland trade of Central Asia, the regional trade of the Deccan and South India, and the commercial life of the principal cities of the empire. The Jain shravak community was particularly important in the trade in textiles (the abrawan and shabnam of Dhaka, the baluchari of Murshidabad, the tanchoi of Ahmedabad, the gaji of Surat, the mashru of Patan, the konchha of Varanasi, the paithani of Paithan, the himroo of Aurangabad, the jamdani of Dhaka, the baluchari of Murshidabad, the patola of Patan, the kinkhwab of Lahore, the khas of Burhanpur, the chanderi of Chanderi, the banarasi of Varanasi, the kashmiri of Kashmir, and the various other textiles of the imperial wardrobe), the trade in spices (the black pepper of the Malabar, the cardamom of the Western Ghats, the cinnamon of Sri Lanka, the cloves of the Moluccas, the nutmeg and mace of the East Indies, the ginger and turmeric of the eastern and southern regions, the cumin and coriander of the western drylands, and the saffron of Kashmir), the trade in precious metals and stones (the gold of the various sources, the silver of the various sources, the diamonds of Golconda, the rubies of Burma, the emeralds of Colombia, the sapphires of Sri Lanka, the pearls of the Persian Gulf, the jade of Burma and Khotan, the agate and carnelian of Cambay, and the various other precious metals and stones of the imperial treasury), and the various other trades of the period.

The Jain merchants of the Mughal period were also major financial figures of the imperial economy, and the Jain sahukars (merchants), mahajans (bankers), and shroffs (money-changers) were major financial figures of the period. The Jain financial establishments of the period were major financial institutions, and the Jain shroffs of the principal cities of the empire were major financial figures. The Jain shroffs of Ahmedabad, Surat, Patan, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Agra, Delhi, Lahore, Murshidabad, and the various other cities of the empire were major financial figures, and the Jain shroffs of the imperial daulat khana-i-khas (the imperial treasury) were major figures of the imperial financial administration.

The Religious Patronage of the Jains by the Mughal Court

The Mughal court extended substantial religious patronage to the Jain community, and the Jain religious establishments of the empire received substantial support from the imperial court. The principal Jain religious establishments of the Mughal period included the major Jain temples of Mount Abu (the Dilwara temples), the Shravanabelagola of Karnataka, the Palitana of Gujarat, the Ranakpur of Rajasthan, the Sravasti of the Gangetic plain, the Vaishali of Bihar, the Rajgir of Bihar, and the various other regional Jain establishments of the subcontinent. These Jain establishments received substantial patronage from the Mughal emperors, the mansabdari nobles, the regional rulers, the principal merchants, and the various other patrons of the imperial period.

The principal Mughal patrons of the Jain religious establishments included Akbar, who extended substantial patronage to the Jain community and received the Jain monk Hiravijaya Suri at his court, Jahangir, who continued the patronage of his father, Shah Jahan, who extended further patronage to the Jain community, and the mansabdari nobles of the imperial establishment, who made substantial donations to the Jain religious establishments. The patronage of the Jain community by the Mughal court was a major element of the broader policy of religious integration pursued by the Mughals, and it was a particular feature of the reigns of Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan.

The Jain religious establishments of the Mughal period also made substantial contributions to the cultural life of the empire. The Jain temples of the period were major centers of art, architecture, and learning, and the Jain shravak community was a major patron of the wider cultural life of the empire. The Jain shravak community was particularly important in the patronage of the temple architecture of the period, the temple sculpture of the period, the temple painting of the period, the temple music of the period, the temple literature of the period, and the various other cultural traditions of the imperial period.

The Position of the Jains under the Mansabdari

The Jain community occupied a complex position under the mansabdari hierarchy of the Mughal Empire. The mansabdari system, the formal hierarchy of the imperial service, was in principle open to Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and other non-Muslim communities, and a substantial number of Hindus (particularly Rajputs) were incorporated into the mansabdari system. The Jains, however, were less commonly incorporated into the mansabdari system than the Rajputs, the Kayasthas, the Khatris, and the other Hindu communities, and the principal reason for this was the traditional Jain preference for mercantile and financial occupations rather than for the military and administrative occupations of the mansabdari system.

The Jain community, however, did have a presence in the mansabdari hierarchy, and a number of Jain nobles were incorporated into the mansabdari system during the Mughal period. The Jain mansabdari nobles of the period were typically drawn from the Jain shravak families of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and the Deccan, and they typically held relatively modest mansabs rather than the highest mansabs of the empire. The Jain mansabdari nobles of the period served as administrators, diplomats, and military commanders, and they played a substantial role in the imperial administration of the period.

The position of the Jains under the mansabdari hierarchy was complex. On the one hand, the Jains were technically eligible for the mansabdari system, and a number of Jains were incorporated into the system. On the other hand, the Jains were traditionally a mercantile and financial community, and the mansabdari system was primarily a military and administrative system. The Jains therefore occupied a distinctive position in the mansabdari hierarchy, and their participation in the system was typically limited to the higher administrative and diplomatic positions rather than the higher military positions of the empire.

The Conflict with Aurangzeb

The relations between the Jain community and the Mughal court underwent a substantial change in the later years of the reign of Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707), as the emperor took a more conservative religious stance and the policies of religious integration of the earlier Mughals were progressively reversed. The conflict between the Jain community and the Mughal court in the later years of the reign of Aurangzeb was a complex episode, involving a number of distinct developments: the reimposition of the jizya in 1679, the substantial programme of temple demolitions in the later years of the reign, the wider Hindu-Muslim tensions of the period, the rise of the Maratha, Sikh, and Jat polities in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and the broader social and economic changes of the period.

The reimposition of the jizya in 1679 was a major departure from the policy of Akbar, and it had a substantial impact on the Jain community of the empire. The jizya, the poll tax on non-Muslim adult males, was a fundamental institution of the pre-modern Muslim state, and its reimposition was a major departure from the policy of Akbar. The jizya was collected with varying rigour in the different provinces, and it was particularly heavy in the Deccan, where the campaigns of the late seventeenth century were accompanied by substantial religious violence. The jizya was collected from the Jain community, and it was a substantial burden on the Jain shravak community of the period.

The temple demolitions of Aurangzeb’s reign were particularly extensive in the Deccan, and the Jain temples of the Deccan were among the religious establishments affected. The temple demolitions of Aurangzeb’s reign are well documented in the court chronicles, and they included the demolition of a number of Jain temples in the Deccan. The temple demolitions of the later years of the reign were concentrated in the Deccan and the newly conquered territories rather than in the older provinces of the empire, and the Jain temples of the older provinces of the empire were generally not affected.

The Famous Jain Figures at the Mughal Court

The most famous Jain figure at the Mughal court was the Jain monk Hiravijaya Suri (1527–1595), who was received at the court of Akbar in the 1580s. Hiravijaya Suri was a Shvetambar Jain monk of the Tapa Gaccha lineage, and he was one of the most distinguished Jain scholars and monks of the period. The reception of Hiravijaya Suri at the court of Akbar was a major event in the history of the Jain-Mughal relations, and it was a particular expression of the policy of religious integration pursued by Akbar.

The reception of Hiravijaya Suri at the court of Akbar was marked by a number of distinct elements. Hiravijaya Suri was received at the court of Fatehpur Sikri in the 1580s, and he was a major figure of the Ibadat Khana (the “House of Worship”) at Fatehpur Sikri. Hiravijaya Suri participated in the religious discussions of the Ibadat Khana, and he was a major figure of the religious life of the imperial court. Hiravijaya Suri is also credited with influencing Akbar’s policy of religious integration, and he is reported to have persuaded Akbar to issue the mahl and khanazad reform of 1582, the prohibition of the slaughter of animals on certain days, the prohibition of the consumption of meat on certain days, and the other reforms of the period.

The Jainamat (the Jain scripture) of the period, including the Shvetambar and the Digambar traditions, were major elements of the religious and literary life of the period. The Jain scholars of the period, including Hiravijaya Suri, Vijayaprabha Suri, Bhanuchandra Upadhyaya, Meghachandra, and a substantial body of other scholars, were major figures of the religious and intellectual life of the imperial period. The Jain scholars of the period produced a substantial body of religious, philosophical, literary, and scientific works in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhramsha, and the various other languages of the Jain tradition.

The Wider Jain Community of the Imperial Period

The wider Jain community of the imperial period was a substantial religious, mercantile, and cultural community, and the Jains occupied a distinctive position in the religious, mercantile, and cultural life of the empire. The principal Jain communities of the imperial period were concentrated in Gujarat, Rajasthan, the Deccan, and the various other regions of the empire, and the Jain shravak communities of these regions were major elements of the wider religious, mercantile, and cultural life of the empire.

The principal Jain communities of the Mughal period included the Jain Agarwal community of the Gangetic plain, the Jain Oswal community of Rajasthan, the Jain Porwal community of Gujarat, the Jain Shrimal community of the Deccan, the Jain Khandelwal community of Rajasthan, the Jain Maheshwari community of the Gangetic plain, the Jain Digambar community of the Deccan, and the various other Jain communities of the imperial period. The Jain communities of the period maintained their own distinct religious establishments, their own distinct religious texts, their own distinct religious practices, and their own distinct cultural traditions, and the relations between the various Jain communities were marked by a complex mixture of cooperation, competition, and mutual recognition.

The Jain community of the imperial period also had a substantial presence in the urban life of the principal cities of the empire. The Jain shravak community of Ahmedabad, Surat, Patan, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Agra, Delhi, Lahore, Murshidabad, and the various other cities of the empire was a major element of the urban life of the period, and the Jain merchants, Jain bankers, Jain scholars, Jain artists, Jain architects, Jain physicians, and the various other Jain professionals of these cities were major figures of the urban life of the period.

The Legacy of Jain-Mughal Relations in the Modern Period

The relations between the Jain community and the Mughal court have left a substantial legacy in the modern period, and the Jain community of modern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the wider South Asian diaspora continues to be a major element of the cultural and economic life of the region. The Jain community of the modern period has preserved many of the religious, mercantile, and cultural traditions of the imperial period, and the Jain temples, Jain merchants, Jain bankers, Jain scholars, Jain artists, and the various other Jain institutions of the modern period are major elements of the cultural and economic life of the modern South Asian societies.

The Jain-Mughal relations of the imperial period have also been the subject of substantial scholarly and popular attention. The reception of Hiravijaya Suri at the court of Akbar, the patronage of the Jain community by the Mughal emperors, the position of the Jains under the mansabdari hierarchy, the conflict between the Jain community and Aurangzeb, and the various other aspects of the Jain-Mughal relations have been the subject of substantial scholarly study. The principal modern studies of the Jain-Mughal relations include the works of W. H. Moreland, Jadunath Sarkar, Satish Chandra, J. F. Richards, M. Athar Ali, S. A. A. Rizvi, Asim Kumar Chatterjee, Kristen Beecroft, and a substantial body of other modern scholarship.

The cultural memory of the Jain-Mughal relations has also been preserved in the wider cultural memory of the Jain community. The Jain community of the modern period has preserved the memory of the reception of Hiravijaya Suri at the court of Akbar, the patronage of the Jain community by the Mughal emperors, the position of the Jains under the mansabdari hierarchy, the conflict between the Jain community and Aurangzeb, and the various other aspects of the Jain-Mughal relations in the cultural memory of the community. The Jain temples of the period, the Jain texts of the period, the Jain prabhavaka (historical) texts of the period, and the various other cultural productions of the period have all contributed to the cultural memory of the Jain-Mughal relations.

Sources

John F. Richards, The Mughal Empire (NCHI I.5, 1993), pp. 56–62 on the Jains at Akbar’s court.

For the broader context of the Hindu-Muslim relations in Mughal India, see the Hindu-Muslim relations in Mughal India page. The role of the Rajputs in the Mughal polity, which was a major element of the broader Hindu-Muslim relations of the period, is treated in the entries on Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan, and on the Mughal culture overview. The economic context of the Jain merchants in the imperial economy is treated in the Mughal administration overview and the Mughal revenue pages. The trade in textiles and the role of the Jain merchants in the textile trade is treated in Mughal textiles. The religious policy of Aurangzeb, which is central to the conflict with the Jain community in the later years of the reign, is treated in the entry on Aurangzeb and on the decline - religious page. The cultural status of the Jain community in the modern period is treated in the Mughal culture overview and the Hindu-Muslim relations pages.