CHAPTER V

BUSINESS ACTIVITIES OF JAINS: Ancient to Medieval Period

Shugan C Jain
‘In India, I found a race of mortals living upon earth, but not adhering to it, in -
habiting cities but not being fixed to them and possessing everything but pos-
sessed by nothing’.
-Appolonius Tyaneaus (Greek traveller in 1st century CE)

The present chapter, which is based on research from Jain classical text, narrative lit-
erature and historical research on medieval period, would attempt to discuss the nature of
business engagements (mercantile and trading primarily) from the ancient times till the end of
medieval period. In addition to their economic history, we shall also try to shed some light on
Value orientation, trades pursued and business practices.
A quick survey of Jain history literature suggests that its first tīrthaṅkara of the
present epoch, Ṛṣabhadevai, in fact introduced the concept of Work Culture and the dawn of
urbanisation in this country several millennia before the beginning of Christian era.
Prince Ṛṣabha was a highly endowed, farsighted and industrious individual. He had a
profound insight into the human psychology. During the reign of his father the population
was organized into random nomadic groups only. Ṛṣabhadeva reorganized them according to
their virtues, activities and professions in three communities, namely: Kṣatriya for defence,
Vaiśya for trading and professions and Śūdra for manual work. Looking at the needs of the
times and society when people were sheer consumers of natural bounties which were getting
scarce, he told them that they have to work (get busy in performing economically gainful
activities) to produce food and exchange the surplus with others and live in communities. Ac-
cordingly, he asked them to choose any one of the six types of activities, namely asi (making
and serving with weapons i.e. armed forces), masi (earn through writing/accounts etc), kṛṣi
(agriculture), vāṇijya (trade), vidhyā (education or arts teaching) and śilpa (arts and crafts by
hand)ii so that they can earn to meet their needs as well as support others. He taught them ap -
propriate skills accordingly. He also established systems of social security and penal codes.
Pottery, architecture, music, dance, and many other arts and crafts that enriched the human
society in the fields of knowledge, arts, entertainment, administration, etc. are said to be his
contributions. He also taught them the concepts of family, rules for cooperation and living in
communities, and punishment for non-compliance thereby setting up the first agriculture-
based culture. To some, he taught farming and to others the trade of storing and trading agri-
cultural produce. He invented the alphabets, language, and the numbers along with the tools
for writing. For example, he taught Brahmilipi, named after one of his daughters; and math-
ematics to his other daughter Sundari. Both were also taught seventy-two art forms. For self-
defence, he evolved martial arts and taught these to individuals with strong physique. Ac-
cordingly, historians claim that he was the founder of Urbanization in India.
The people at that time started seeing the results and began treating Ṛṣabha as their
king/leader. This was thus the beginning of setting up businesses by individuals and living as
communities in town/city units or groups of each activity. For many years Ṛṣabhadeva con-
tinued to rule his people and open new frontiers of knowledge.

1
 Later on, he started feeling that his subjects were leading a life of wellbeing. How-
ever, he felt material wellness gives you temporary pleasures/happiness. He became inquisit-
ive about true and lasting happiness. To seek this, he thought of relinquishing his worldly
activities and become free to seek the real and lasting happiness. So, he divided his kingship
equally amongst his 101 sons with the capital city going to the eldest son Bharat. He re-
nounced the worldly life and adopted the life of a recluse. After strenuous self-sacrifice and
penance, hHe attained the true insight, infinite knowledge and bliss. He then taught the
people the necessity of giving up voluntarily or sharing their material wealth for the overall
i.e., personal and social wellness of the community i.e., charity/philanthropy, nonviolence,
and a series of vows/rules to be practised based on nonviolence to stay happy. He attained
liberation from Mount Kailash.
His eldest son, Bharat, started a campaign to reunite the divided estates given to his
brothers and expand his empire to become world emperor (cakravarti). His ninety-nine broth-
ers accepted him as their ruler and renounced their worldly lives and lived with Ṛṣabhadeva
like him, i.e., as renouncers. However, his half-brother Bahubali refused to accept his rule
saying the estate was gifted by his father to him. So, both brothers announced war, but de-
cided to fight solo as it was a fight between them and avoid unnecessary killing of innocent
soldiers in their fight. Bahubali won all formats of war forcing Bharat to use the deadly
Wheel (Chakra) to kill Bahubali. Bahubali stopped that Wheel as well, put it down and said
to Bharat – ‘for this small piece of land, you want to kill your brother’. Saying so, Bahubali
forgave Bharat and gave that land to him, renounced the worldly life and meditated like Ṛṣ-
abha for a year to attain perfect knowledge (Kevalgyana)insight and later became the first lib-
erated soul of this epoch. Bharat became the first world emperor (cakravarti). India is called
as Bharat after his name. He created a fourth social group of Brahmins to perform religious
rituals to the original three created by his father. Life of Bharat wasis full of luxuries, yet he
lived a detached life. He also renounced his emperorship in favour of his eldest son, to lead
an ascetic life to meditate. In the end, he alsofinally he got liberated.
The above description sets the stage for Jain principles enunciated earlier to form the
basis for their analysis and relevance to being a successful businessman. Tri Śasti-Ślākāpur-
uṣaiii (Sixty-three luminary persons) by Acharya Hemchandra in 12th century AD gives a
comprehensive description of most important Jain luminaries from the time of Ṛṣabha till
Mahāvīra i.e. the first and last tīrthaṅkaras of the present time cycle. These illustrious per-
sons are grouped as 24 Tīrthaṅkaras (ford makers), 12 Cakravartis (universal monarchs, em-
perors of six continents), 9 Baladevas (gentle heroes), 9 Vasudevas (warrior heroes) and 9
Prativasudevas (anti-heroes).iv
The twenty-four tīrthaṅkaras are well known and we shall not discuss them here. We
will briefly discuss Cakravartis-World emperors as their life provides some guidelines for the
business leaders. Cakravartis had immense wealth, armies, queens, empire spreading over 6
sub continentssubcontinents of Bharat region etc with all types of worldly comforts and
pleasures. Even though, cakravartis, as a rule, attain liberation (8 in the same life), yet two
ascended to heaven (3rd and 4th) only while 8th and 12th i.e., Subhaumra and Brahmadatt actu-
ally descended to hell. Life stories of these, i.e. 8 th and 12th cakravartis show that theyse were
extremely obsessed with worldly pleasures i.e. did not observe (or reluctantly did so partially)
self-restraint till their death.v The life of Bharat, son of Lord Ādinātha/Ṛṣabhadeva (which we
have briefly discussed earlier) was the first cakravarti.
Similarly, narrative literature (called Puranas) of Jains is full of stories of Rama as
Padma and Krishna as Hari, along with many more important Jain businessmen cum rulers
who went abroad to amass wealth, returned home with the earned wealth to build modern day

2
towns and finally renounced and practised Jain path of purification. We also find stories, like
Rohini (see chapter III) showing how the successors were selected in Jain families and busi-
nesses.

Mahāvīra and his Social Engineering

Much of what we know about Jainism today is attributable to Mahāvīra (592-527 BC).
He himself had to perform strenuous penance to attain the true insight and the state of an all
knowing and blissful existence (Jina).
Mahāvīra was born in Kundapura in Muzzafarpur Distt of Bihar to Sidhartha, Lichhavi
ruler of Vaishali district (gaṇa) and Priyakarani Trishla, eldest daughter of King Chetak of
Vaishali. Vaishali gaṇa enjoyed a very special status due to its being republic and having dif-
ferent classes/varṇa inhabiting it. King Chetak had ten sons and seven daughters. His fifth
daughter Chelana was married to Shrenik, ruler of Magadh and the seventh one was
Chandana, the slave girl who was liberated by Mahāvīra later. All ten sons and daughters
were married to rich business peoplebusinesspeople or rulers and later became disciples of
Mahāvīravi. Thus, the society during Mahāvīra’s time was similar to what we see today, i.e.
excessive consumption and display of wealth by few rich people and masses with extremes of
poverty, slavery of women, use of violence even in religious rituals. Also, hHe realized that
in future onslaught of materialism and machine age will make people drift away further from
spirituality to materialism.
He thus made the mission/objective of his life as the development of a new creative so-
cial order for the healthiest orientation of the individuals. He emphasized strenuous effort,
nonviolence, multi-faceted truth (pluralism), reinstatement after fall, non- possession, institu-
tion of vows, classification of society and gradation of individuals according to the spiritual
progress. At the organization level, he treated the congregation (sangh) as separate from him-
self and organized it accordingly with proper hierarchy and, communication system to be
such that they are fully understood by all members. He promoted non-discrimination of mem-
bers based on gender, caste or age; defined roles of individual members and criterion for se-
lection of team and so on. He thus addressed both the organizational issues (policies, mission
etc) as well as way of life to be followed by individual members. We shall briefly discuss the
manner and some characteristics of his organizing and administering his sangh.
i. Sangh/Congregation:

He regarded the individuals and their social responsibilities as the key to the progress
of both individuals and society. He organized his congregation (saṅgh) as an organization to
propagate His creed and guide the members to lead a happier and blissful life on a long-term
basis. His saṅgh consisted of 14000 male ascetics, 36000 female ascetics, 100000 male votar-
ies/śrāvakas and 300000 female śrāvikās.vii
ii. Leadership:

As he was the leader of the saṅgh (congregation), He himself first attained the state of
Jina i.e. bBy quenching out attachment from worldly objects (Vitarāgatā), aAttaining the
Omniscience (Sarvajña) and delivering the sermons of universal welfare and wellbeing (hito-
padeśa). Because of his compassionate thoughts and actions he was venerated by all and he
was truly a role model, who envisioned an ideal society. He did not preach until he selected
his top team of eleven apostles (gaṇadharas) who could understand his experiences and doc-
trine. His interactions with the apostles and with members of the saṅgh were documented in

3
text form. Addtionally, he being the chief, avoided involvement in day to day operations of
the saṅgha and lived like a mentor/guide/ideal.

iii. Selection of his top team (eleven gaṇdharas).

He used two selection criterion as demonstrable, to select his top team i.e. experiential
knowledge and ii. leadership qualities. He did not let age, caste, creed come in the way during
this process. For example, the first four gaṇdharas were Brahmins and each of them had fol-
lowing of about five hundred disciples. Out these four gaṇdharas two of them were older
than Mahāvīra. He selected the most learned and experienced people as his disciples, with In-
drabhuti Gautam as His principal disciple.
iv. Four-fold congregation.

He realized that individuals have different capabilities and objectives and all are not
similar. Accordingly, he organized his congregation (saṅgh) in four folds, namely ascetics
(male and female) and laity (male and female). The ascetics are recluse, detached from
worldly life and spend all their time for spiritual purification. On the other hand, the laity lead
a worldly life and practice the same life style as ascetics except with limitations as per their
capabilities and intentions to enhance their worldly and spiritual wellness. The four foldfour-
fold congregation co-existed and helped each other in pursuit of their life objectives. Each
fold had a leader (selected with experience of managing each fold) to manage the fold. For ex-
ample, Chandana and Indrabhuti Gautam were leaders of female and male ascetics as they had
demonstrable qualities and experiences of ascetic life while King Shrenik and his queen
Chelana were the heads of male and female laity.
The hierarchy in the saṅgh was Ācārya (as head) responsible to maintain the sanctity
of literature, selection and the conduct of the ascetics; Upādhyāya (teacher) who is well
versed in canons and teaches other ascetics; sādhus or ascetics who practice the path of spir-
itual purification; Gaṇi or a leader of a sub saṅgh or gaṇa or highly intellectual person who
would also act as guide/reference by the ācārya on philosophical matters. Similarly, the laity
was classified as Pākṣika or beginner, Naiṣṭhika or intermediate and Sādhaka or serious. All
were encouraged and required to continuously enhance their worldly wellness as well asand
spiritual simultaneously.
v. Use of Common man’s language preaching and documentation of His ser-
mons.

His sermons are documented in twelve texts called Dvādaśaṅga by His eleven
apostles (gaṇdharas). Even though Sanskrit was used as the language of learned for Holy
texts by others, He chose to use Prakrit, common man’s language as the medium of deliver-
ing his sermonsto so that it isbe understood by one and all for transparency and universal law.
These Holy texts give His entire philosophy of reality, soul and its journey from mundane ex-
istence to the ultimate state of Mokṣa through fourteen stages called Guṇasthānas for spiritual
purification as well as the code of conduct (ethics) for laity with eleven stages for enhancing
their worldly wellness and simultaneously spiritual progress before graduating to an ascetic
life.
vi. Introduction of significant Social and Ethical changes:

4
 He got the social practice of slave trade of women abolished and gave the women the
right to practice the path of spiritual purification. He demonstrated value of renunciation over
wealth to be happy. Along with this, he accepted differences in capabilities and expectations
of individuals while establishing His four foldfour-fold saṅgh. Other major philosophical
changes introduced were: Enhancing four foldfour-fold vows to five by bifurcating Aprigraha
(non-possession) into two namely Aparigraha and Brahmacarya (celibacy). He also intro-
duced Chedopasthānīya (re-initiation after fall) as the fifth type of conduct, thereby allowing
the practitioners of vows to return to the fold after they transgressed them.
vii. Greater emphasis on Ahiṁsā (nonviolence) and Anekānta (non-absolutism)

He went to extreme details to describe the type of living beings, meaning, causes and
ill effects of violence both for spiritual as well as social wellness followed by ways of practi-
cing Ahiṁsā in day to day life. He realized reality as multi-faceted, so answered all queries
concerning it from many viewpoints (like defining cosmos from substance, mode, place and
time perspectives) to make the same all inclusive. These have been discussed earlier along
with ethics for laity.
Mahāvīra’s life, thus established the pre-requisites for being a successful leader, be it
for politics/business or any other activity. He shows the importance of the leader to be fully
knowledgeable and experienced in the activity he wants to lead; e.g. particularly the import-
ance of his first achieving omniscience and then start building his congregation, selection of
principal disciples, use of common man’s language and welfare of common men, other hier-
archy and discipline measures etc. which couldan help in developing ethical guidelines for
top management and organizational ethics as well. We can compare his congregation (saṅgh)
as a form of business organization where the mission is ‘development and maintenance of a
creative social order for the healthiest orientation of the individual to enhance his and com-
munity’s spiritual and social wellnesses’. Thus, Mahāvīra played a very important role in in-
fluencing India’s social order, economy and thought.
Seventh canon Upasakdashangasutra gives life of ten foremost householders (Śrāva-
kas) during Lord Mahāvīra’s time; who had immense wealth and managed large businesses.
Anandviii (See Annexure: 1) is the first and most important householder discussed in the scrip-
ture and discussed in some details. The common features of all ten are equal distribution of
their wealth:
i. saving (cash and gold),
ii. trade and
iii. agriculture cum household effects.
This can be translated for modern times as equivalent to providing financial services
primarily lending and savings for unforeseen risks, trading and agriculture/manufacturing.
Another businessman discussed is Shakdalputra who had 500 factories outside city limits to
manufacture earthenware and thousands of people employed to sell the earthenware on the
highways; Mahashatak who had to tolerate the vices of his principal wife Revati as she had
brought lot of dowry, and was a believer of enjoying worldly pleasures only. Similarly,
Kundakaulike’s dedication shifting from Goshalak (rival of Mahāvīra) to Mahāvīra during
the prime of his business life.
All ten were compassionate towards their associates, families and community they
lived in, helped them in personal and business matters. They all accepted the vows of volun-
tary householders while active in their business and left their business later to their elder so
nto live a semi renounced life in monasteries practising enhancing vows till death.

5
 After Mahāvīra, we find the first Cakravarti of significance i.e. Chandragupta Maurya
of 4 century BC, though not a part of such persons listed in TriŚasti-Ślākāpuruṣa. He was
th

the first Cakravarti of modern India who unified India as Greater India again under his rule.
After successful organization of his empire, he renounced the same in favour of his son
Bindusar and went to South India to live the life of a Jain ascetic till his death. His economic
and diplomacy principles, formulated by his adviser and guide Chanakaya, are still referred
by the Indian Government today.
From the above description, we find Jains were advised to work hard, perform some
economic activity as per their choice, keeping the principle of non or minimal harm to others
as guide, share their wealth with others to achieve worldly wellness with the ultimate object-
ive to renounce the same and make strenuous efforts to attain liberation for eternal happiness.
Further the discussions on some other luminary persons establish the ill effects of tainted
emotions and not retiring from business activities etc. at appropriate time.

Jain community after Mahāvīra

Jain community consisted of four folds, namely ascetics (male and female) and laity
(male and female) which co-exist. Ascetics provide spiritual and religious guidance and so-
lace to laity while laity provides them protection, food and other necessities of ascetic life.
Thus, Jain communities are formed centered around an ascetic preceptor for guidance and
temple for performing religious cum social duties.
J.C. Jain (KLC:2013-p110) writes ‘The ancient authors of Jain narrative literature
very often centred their tales around heroes whose essential task was going out in the world
to gain wealth. Far from decrying this aim in life, one might expect after perusal of some as-
cetic religious tenets of Jainism, the Jain authors lauded the goal with enthusiasm, restrained
by a proper respect for religion and eventual turn towards renunciation in the old age. How-
ever, the active pursuit of wealth by young men was considered more than honourable as it
was often viewed almost as a supreme duty.’ His statement is supported by stories of Jain
merchants and their young children yearning to make money on their own in Udyotansuri’s
Kuvalayamala, Somprabhsuri’s Kumaravala-padiboha and Haribahdra’s Samaraicckaha.
Story of Charudattaix in Vasudevahundi is an example of one such young man.
Jain texts Samaraicckaha, Kuvalayamala, Upamitibhava-prapanch-katha are some of
the important texts that shed light on economic and social life of Jains during this early pe-
riod. Samaraicckaha indicates the importance of earning wealth by laity to enjoy company of
virtuous and status in life. It even equates wealth to divinity. The four valours, namely
dharma, artha, and kāma and mokṣa are also emphasized and the necessity of performing the
first three to be able to move on to the fourth. Thus, earning lot of wealth is indicated as the
chief objective of laity’s life. Upamitibhava-prapanch-katha talks of opulent Jain agricultur-
ists called landlords (sirapati) who had even created complicated irrigation systems like
araghatta, and cultivators (karsakah), skilled supervisors (karmākarah) and their female
labourers (pariccarikah). Kuvalayamala gives names of agriculture products as rice, sugar-
cane, kidney beans and the places like Allahabad (vacca), Ayodhya, Canjeevarama and Kos-
ala where such crops were harvested. HiuenTsang mentions rice, wheat, ginger, mustard,
melons, pumpkins and kunda as agriculture products of seventh century AD. Next to agricul-
ture, spinning and weaving was the most important industry all over India with famous cen-
tres in Gujarat, Deccan and Tamil country. During 4th century BC, Kasi, Vatsa, Magadha, Ka-

6
marupa, Kalinga, Aparant and Madura were famous textile industry centres. There was a
great demand for Indian broad cloth and fine fabrics from Bengal clothes.
Narrative literature (called Puranas) of Jains is full of stories of important Jain busi-
nessmen cum rulers who went abroad to amass wealth, returned home with the earned wealth
to build modern day towns and finally renounced and practised Jain path of purification. Of
particular interest is the story of Charudatt (See Appendix: 1) that emphasizes the values like
self-effort, re-initiation, social recognition and concern for family, Rohini (chapter IV) in Jain
canons accounts the process of succession planning. Earning lot of wealth is emphasized as
the objective of laity’s life even to enjoy company of virtuous and status in life. Some even
equate wealth to divinity. The four valours, namely dharma, artha, and kāma and mokṣa are
also indicated but the fourth one was emphasized. Big Jain traders lived in cities with interna-
tional presence. They offered money lending and its transfer across states and countries and
exerted significant power with the rulers. They all donated heavily for Jain religious and so-
cial activities, like building temples and serving ascetics to earn high respectability in the
community- a very important consideration for them. Most of them did renounce worldly life
in later part of their life.
It thus seems that followers of Jainism were mostly traders as per the available narra-
tive literature. They used to travel to far flung countries to make money which further en-
hanced their knowledge of commerce. They started acting as our ambassadors to consolidate
cultural and commercial relations with those countries. There were very large traders in cities
and they had international presence, they offered money lending and transfer across states
and countries and exerted significant power with the rulers. They all also donated heavily for
Jain religious and social activities, like building temples and serving ascetics to earn high re-
spectability in the community. Most of them did renounce worldly life and practiced Jainism.
We also find a large number ofmany medium and small Jain traders groups offering similar
services but in the areas of their influence and interworking with large traders.
Trades and industries were organized as guilds. Jambudweep-prajnapti (Ref) of the
Gupta period (4th to 6th century AD) gives names of 18 guilds like potter, slab cutter, gold-
smith, cook, singer or seller of scents, barber, tailor, cobbler, tailor, printer of cloth etc. Simi-
i
Adi Purana (2 volumes) Hindi translation by Pandit Phulchand Sastri , published by Bhartiya Jnanapith Delhi P
Vol 1 page 362; Also please look at Jain Saga (3 volumes), English translation of TriŚasti-Ślākāpuruṣa? (Sixty-
three luminary persons) by Acharya Hemchandra by Helen Johnson published by Acharydev Shrimad Vijay
Ramchandra Surishwar Jain Pathshala Ahmedabad for details on Ṛṣabhadeva and Mahāvīra
ii
Adi Purana (2 volumes) Hindi translation by Pandit Phulchand Sastri, published by Bhartiya Jnanapith
Delhi P Vol 1 page 362; Also please look at Jain Saga (3 volumes), English translation of Tri Śasti-
Ślākāpuruṣa? (Sixty-three luminary persons) by Acharya Hemchandra by Helen Johnson published by
Acharydev Shrimad Vijay Ramchandra Surishwar Jain Pathshala Ahmedabad for details on Ṛṣabhadeva
and Mahāvīra
iii
Jain Saga (3 volumes), English translation of Tri Śasti-Ślākāpuruṣa? (Sixty-three luminary persons) by
Acharya Hemchandra by Helen Johnson published by Acharydev Shrimad Vijay Ramchandra Surishwar Jain
Pathshala Ahmedabad
iv
Pattanaik, Devdutt “63 worthy beings”, Mid-day, 2009-08-18, Retrieved 2014-07-15
v
Jain Legend Vol1 English translation by Shugan Jain, published by Samyakjnana Pracahrak Mandal Jaipur,
Pages 211-231.
vi
Mahāvīra, his time and philosophy by AN Upadhye,
vii
Ganini Gyanmatiji , Jain Bharati, Trilok Shodhsanthan Hastinapur U.P.
viii
Upasakdasangasutra-Jain Canon. Anand: See Appendix, chapter A.1
ix
Story of Carudutta (Jaina Economic Life by K.L. Chancharek, Dr Mahesh Jain giving details from Vasude-
vhundi (also narrated in Sanudasa katha in BKSS of Budddasamin): See Appendix, chapter A.3

7
lar guild members used to reside together and make their own rules and were intermediaries
between traders and the rulers as well. Samaraicckaha also mentions blacksmiths and potters
(who enjoyed a slightly higher status). Early middles ages (8th century AD) is marked with
temple building proving the existence of skilled craftsmen. Similarly, Jinesvarsuri in
Kathakosaprakarana (11th century AD) divided the society in two classes, the priests of dif-
ferent religions and the householders. Amongst householders, he further divided as adham or
the degraded and adhamadham or highly degraded (only cāndālas and sukarikas). He also
uses the word srenigatah for the artisans and craftsmen who were members of guilds which
helped them improve their economic status. However, the social status of craftsmen started
getting degraded in early mediaeval period (8-9th century AD) when they were degraded even
in the sūdra class due to decline in their corporate structure, trade and commerce and decay
of urban centres.
Pre-medieval time
Historians had ignored the vast impact made by Jains during and after Mahāvīra in or-
ganizing prosperous communities and the role played by its ascetics and laity as advisers,
rulers and community leaders in influencing and guiding the destinies of the people for cen-
turies. Of course, events like change in dynasties ruling the country, foreign invasions and
natural calamities along with the nature and functioning of Jain congregation affected the so-
cial and economic developments and the same did affect the Jain community also.
Till the reign of Chandragupta in 4th century BC, Jainism appears to be the state reli-
gion. However due to famine in 4th century BC, there were intra fights amongst Jain saṅgh
members. Due to these developments, there was weakening of their political power.; Soon,
Jains started migrating to Southern, Western and Central India where they created and de-
veloped massive groups of followers. Kharvela in Kalinga tried to bring Jainism to its old
glory. xThis was the golden era of India. However, Jain rulers started becoming weak due to
several reasons and they accepted junior roles of advisers and ministers.
South India was a very important Jain region in India till 9 th century AD. Reliable
sources, like engravings at Chandra hill in Shravanbelgola Karnatakaxi indicate that Jainism
was a majority religion in or of Southern India from 4th century BC when Emperor Chandrag-
upta Maurya with his guru came there and practised Jain way of life till his death AD. Pal-
lavas, Chalukyas, Gang, Hoysala and Rashtrakut dynasties ruled in Southern India till 14 th
century AD in different spatial formations. Till 7th Century AD, Jainism was the most influen-
tial religion in Southern India particularly, as evident from historical literature xii and engrav-
ings at Shravanbelgola in South. Also we see emergence of greater involvement of Jain ascet-
ics in administration as they started living in monasteries and temples instead of wandering;
beginning of the Bhattaraka tradition in 5th century AD, whereby Jain ascetics became admin-
istrators of the monastery (matha) and did liaison with government as well. During 7 th Cen-
tury AD, we see revolt by a Jainācārya Tiruappar and emergence of strong Hindu saints
Shankar and Jnansambadhar who somehow converted Jain ruler Sundar Pandya in Madurai to
Shaiva religion and converted large number of Jain temples as their shrines and killed thou-
sands of Jain ascetics. Later in 10th century AD Jainācārya Sudatta taught martial art to a
young Yadav prince Sala, named him as Poyasala, led him in the war and established him as
a ruler of Hoyasala dynasty. In the beginning of 11th century AD; Jainācārya Nemi Chandra
became teacher and adviser of Chamunda Rai who was the chief minister of king Raya
Malla-II of Gang dynasty and built the famous Gomatteshwara image in Sravanbelgola and

x
Udaigiri Khandgiri caves near Bhuwaneshwar).

8
authored several Jain texts later. All these indicate existence of large population of Jain busi-
nessmen there. However, very little is known about them from the history. Digambar Jainism
was the majority religious tradition. In late 19 th and early 20th century, a number of Marwari
Shwetambar Jains migrated to South and they started becoming a dominant force in business,
education and social service in the entire southern region. Some of the leading Jain business-
men there are Sugalchand, Chainraj Jain, Raj Lunker and international lawyer P S Surana.
Gujarat, another very important Jain centre which came under the rule of Mauryan
dynasty from 3rd century BC till their fall to Shakas (Scythians) or western Kshatrapas (130–
390CE). Shakas ruled Gujarat including Saurashtra, Kachchh, as well as the neighbouring
province of Malwa and other areas in what are now the states of Madhya Pradesh and Ra-
jasthan. From the late 4th to the late 5th century, Gujarat formed a part of the Gupta empire
who were succeeded by the Maitraka dynasty of the kingdom of Vallabhi(a great centre of
Jain, Buddhist and Vedic learning) for three centuries to be succeeded by the Gurjar Prati-
haras who ruled during the 8th and 9th centuries. They were followed shortly afterward by
the Solanki dynasty. The boundaries of Gujarat reached their farthest limits during the reign
of the Solankis, when remarkable progress was made in the economic and cultural fields.
Siddharaja Jayasimha and Kumarapala are the best-known Solanki kings whose chief adviser
was Jainācārya Hemchandra. Hemchandra’s superb treasure of Jain literature and guiding
Jain principles,Hemchandra’s superb treasure of Jain literature and guiding Jain principles
helped in construction of many Jain temples and monasteries in Palitana and elsewhere in
Gujarat. Karnadeva Vaghela, of the subsequent Vaghela dynasty, was defeated in about 1299
by Alaadin Khilji sultan of Delhi. Thus, Gujarat was conquered by Delhi sultanate and sub-
sequently ruled by the Moghuls during 17-18th centuries AD., Aafter Moghuls, the Marathas
overran the state in the early 18th century. In 17th century, Lokan Shah in Gujarat started the
Sthanakvasi sect, i.e. dwellers in halls and renouncing idol worshiping.
The Jains of Gujarat, particularly during the Solanki rule (942-1304AD) emerged
as the most homogeneous business community. The Jains interacted with the countries of
Middle East and Africa and were concentrated in Porbandar, Jamnagar, Diu and Cambay
from where they exported cotton cloth, indigo, wheat rice leather etc. to Hormuz, Mokha, Jid-
dah, Muscat, Aden and Zanzibar before the emergence of Surat in 19 th century AD. During
these periods we find great Jainācarya scholar Hemchandra (1089-1173) influencing Solanki
rulers, Vijayacandrasuri to the great merchant and minister Vastupal during the reign of
Bhimdev II, Sarvanadsuri and Jagdu Shah(1196-1266)[See Appendix …] who accumulated a
lot of Muslim wealth that he even built a mosque in Aden. Clearly Jain community had active
trading networks in the Indian Ocean region. This fact was confirmed even by British travel-
lers during 16-17th centuries AD who talk of Jains in Muscat and Zanzibar as Jain baniās who
took great care in preserving the lives even insects. However, they rarely were a part of the
political power during the Islamic rule period of the Indian subcontinent.
Rajasthan, the land of Rajput converts to Jains, brought the bravery of Rajput (warri-
ors or kṣatriya) and the Jain values together. Jainācārya Ratna Prabh Suri started this in Osia
by converting a large number of Oswals into Jainism. These Oswals now are spread through-
out India as powerful traders/merchants. During 13th -15th century AD in Rajasthan, we see
emergence of a new creed of Jain ascetics popularly known as Dadagurus who started provid-
ing religious guidance as well as protection from worldly problems to their followers and
converted eighty-four sub castes to Jainism. Magnificent Jain temple of Dilwara by Vastupal
and Tejpal in 11-13th century AD, Ranakpura Jain temple (15th century AD) by Ac Somdant-
suri, Dharana Shah and his ruler Kumha Rana are examples of influential Jains during this
xi
Jainism in South India, Justice T.K. Tukol, www.sites.fas.harvard.edu; Jains, from business to epace, from edu-
cation to service in South India, Deepti Shah www.Jainsamj.org sited on January 22, 2021

9
period. Similarly, history of Jaipur in particular and Rajasthan in general is full of instances
of the rulers using Jains as prime ministers and controllers of their treasuries.
ThusThus, the Jain saṅgh started fragmenting in several sub saṅghs called gaṇas, each
led by an Ācārya. Jain saṅgh now consists of a collection of smaller communities, each com-
munity being either temple or ascetic/ācārya centric. In worldly terms, this led Jains (both
laity and ascetics), to migrate to cities and capitals of ruling dynasties as seen by the develop-
ments in South India, Gujarat and Rajasthan earlier with greater economic activity to enhance
their wellbeing due to the presence of rulers or locational advantage (like port towns, centres
of specific trade or agriculture etc). However, in Southern India having large Jain population,
a large number ofmany Jains continued to live in villages and small towns pursuing agricul-
ture related economic activities.
Strong emphasis on ‘Ahiṁsā’ (non-violence) in Jainism did have a significant impact
on their occupational choices all along. On the grounds of non-violence Jains practically
avoided a number of other professions. According to Jainism, there are 14 such avoidable vo-
cations ‘Karmadāns’ (means those propensities that cause actions that bind us in karma)
which must be abandoned (refer to Table 1).
Table 1: Avoidable Vocation in Jainism
Karma Name Interpretation
Angar Karm Activities which involve fire
Vankarm Activities related to the plantation and
trees.
Shakat Karm Manufacturing and Selling of Vehicles
Bhatakkarm Giving vehicles or Cattle on Hire
Shoptakkarm Engaging in activities of stone breaking
and blasting
Lakshya Vanijya Business related to wax
Dant Vanijya Business related to tooth and ivory
Ras Vanijya Business relating to tasty liquids
Kesh Vanijya Business pertaining to hair and animal fur.
Vish Vanijya Business related to poisons
Yantrapilankarm Business related to machinery
Nirlanchankarm Business related to animal and birds
Dav Danav Karm Business related to burning and demoli-
tion
Asatiposhankarm Running a Brothel for livelihood. Keeping
animals, birds, etc., and showing them as
an entertainment for earning money. Car-
rying on business in meat, eggs, etc.

Source:(Bahu, 1987, p.10-11)

10
Due to such religious constraints on vocations, traditionally Jains continued to evolve as an
occupationally homogeneous community largely engaged in the business of money lending
and commodity trading.

Jain economic engagements since the medieval period to colonial era

At the beginning of 17th century, there were three prominent communities of Indians involved
in the international market, namely the Muslims of the sea-board, Chettis of the Coromandal
coast and baniās of Gujarat (Moreland 1962:229). Baniās were identified as traders, mer-
chants, brokers, peddlers (Lord 1630:83) or grain dealers (Bermer 1968:1254). They would
meet and greet newcomers on the shore, hence developed central roles in foreign trade. Thus,
xii
including four volume of research of Ac Hastimal translated in English as Jain Legend by S C Jain

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11
baniās developed the three traits of visibility, mobility and accessibility which are useful to
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(vol 9 part-I, p-70); says that Jain baniās outnumbered Hindu baniās by 334000 to 213000 in
Gujarat.
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12
oppressed the Jain community. They vandalised idols and destroyed temples or converted
them into mosques. They also burned Jain books and killed Jains.
However, there were significant exceptions such as Muldas (grandfather of Banarasi-
das) serving as a representative of Humayun in Narawa (Malwa) and even as a money lender
on the behalf of Humayun. Emperor Akbar (1542–1605) whose legendary religious tolerance,
are mentioned quite often. Hhe, out of respect for Jains, ordered the release of caged birds
and banned the killing of animals on the Jain festival of Paryusan, renovating Jain temples
and conduct of Jain pilgrimages. He conferred the title of Jagatguru on Jainācarya Hiravijay-
asuri and his successor Jainācaryas continued the close relationship with Mughal emperors.
Even Akbar’s close associates like Raja Man Singh, when posted as governor of Bengal had

Mehta, M., (2016) Merchants and Ports of Gujarat, Ahmedabad

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North Indian Village. Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Nevaskar, B. (1971) Capitalists without capitalism: The Jains of India and the Quakers of the
West. Greenwood Publishing Company.

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lishers Pvt. Ltd.

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Mittal Publications

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versity Press.

13
Mahamtya Godha, a Jain as his adviser. SimilarlySimilarly, Jaipur and Agra became centres
of Jain jewellers patronising Moghul emperors and flourishing with networks in Multan,
Lahore etc. Leading Jain traders made Agra as their home as Jas it was the capital city of
Moghuls.
We also find stories of Jain families like Banarasi Das (also author of famous Jain text
Ardhakathanak where inwherein he explains the business and social activities of Jain com-
munity in Agra and later established Terahpantha of Digambaras. Bandi Das and others who
expanded their trade towards Patna and even Gujarat and sorted out business issues using
town basedtown-based family networks. Most of the Jains here were well educated, multilin-
gual and interacted freely with the rulers. Akbar’s son Jehangir (reigned 1605–27AD) contin-
ued both his father’s administrative system and his tolerant policy to be a fairly successful
ruler. His son, Shah Jahān (reigned 1628–58AD), had a passion for buildings and Jahangir’s
tolerant and enlightened rule. However, political and religious intolerance of Aurangzeb
(reigned 1658–1707AD) laid the seeds of its decline and corresponding economic downturn-
turn down. The Moghul empire started to break up thereafter due to dynastic warfare, foreign
invasions and Maratha uprising reduced Moghul rule to a small area around Delhi and later
overruled by Indian mutiny of 1857-58.
Names like Shantidas Jauhari [See Appendix -1AP2: pp…], Virji Vora [ See Appen-
dix -1 AP2:pp…] and Jagat Seths [ See Appendix -1 AP2: pp…] and many more, during this
period are mentioned as shrewd businessmen with plentiful business acumen, and judgement
who even though had substantial differences in their business practices and scriptures, main-
tained cordial relations with Jain ascetics to get legitimacy to their actions and respect in the
community. The prominent historical example of Jain businessman was the Jagat Seth family
of Murshidabad, (City in modern day, and West Bengal state of India) who came in limelight
during the first half of the 18th century (Little, 1967). The laurels of this well-known banking
family was secured by Manik Chand, an Oswal Shwetambar Jain whose ancestors came from
Nagaur (Town in the modern day, Rajasthan state of India) and who became state banker of
the nawāb(governor) of Bengal, Siraj-al-Daula. After his death in 1722, his nephew Fateh
Chand, succeeded him., Fateh Chand was conferred with hereditary title “Jagat Seth” (Banker
of the World) in 1723 by Mughal emperor, Muhammad Shah. Fateh Chand was in fact, the
wealthiest and most powerful banker in India of his times.
Matching the Jagat Seth’s fame, in the east; an equally well-known person from the
western India was Virji Vora, an overseas merchant and banker of Surat who thrived in the
early 17th century (Mehta,2016, p.124-135). Not much was known about his caste, but it was
known that he was Shvetambar Jain who was an adherent of Lonkā Gaccha. Vora, traded in a
wide range of commodities, and his trade networks extended deep into the Indian interior and
overseas as far as the Red sea and Southeast Asia. His enormous financial strength, political
connections and shrewdness at creating monopolies; made English, Dutch and French com-
panies envious about him. During his glorious days, he was bitterest and most successful rival
to his native and foreign competitors.

Fourteenth and fifteenth centuryies AD isare significant in human history as intercon-

tinental contacts increased fast. Europeans, particularly Portuguese with Vasco da Gama first

14
arrived in Calicut in 1498. This is the period for which some organized historical details are
available. Trading, dealing in gems and jewelry and money lending were main economic ac-
tivities of Jains as such activities brought them in close contact with the rulers and were
highly profitable. Four prominent Jain traders, namely: Jagdu Shah (Kutch area), Virji Vora
(Surat), Shanti Das (Ahmedabad) and Jagat Seths (east) during period are discussed briefly.

Jagdu Shah (1196-1266) [AP2:pp…]was a maritime trader with relations in Middle

East, Red Sea and Southeast East who operated from Kutch area in Gujarat. He had strong
linkages with both the rulers and the merchant community in India and internationally. He is
known for his philanthropy which included even building temples and mosques, feeding the
entire town for three years during famine. He was a devout Jain, believed in nonviolence and
donated to Jain religious activities.

Virji Vora (Surat) [AP2: pp…] was one of the greatest traders in the seventeenth
century AD and described as a "merchant prince". He operated from the port town of Surat
(the premier port of India). He had the acumen for wholesale trade in commodities, money
lending and banking. He established relationships with those in power, be they Hindus or
Mughals in India or Europeans and ensured that the Europeans with high fire power on sea,
complied with his wishes. Like other Jains, he discharged his social responsibilities, like dis-
tributing grain during the famine of 1630-2, lavishly contributed to socio-religiousreligious-
socio functions of Jain community and serving Jain ascetics. In 1670, he renounced the world
by entrusting his business to family members and retired to a monastery.

Shantidas Jauhari (Ahmedabad) [AP2: pp…], the jeweller and merchant of 17th century.
He acted not only as a jeweller, but as a broker as well as a banker. The European factors
considered him as the most important nagarseth or Chief Merchant of Ahmedabad. Even
Shah Jahan appointed Himas an acting subahdar of Gujarat in 1636. He acted as a bridge
between the Mughal administration and the merchant communities of Ahmedabad, who even
came to his rescue during his time of financial problems. He was a devout Jain and occupied
high status among the Jains of Gujarat. He was actively involved in conducting the sanghas
and protecting the Jain pilgrimage places. He got his favourite monk, Raj Sagar as an ācārya
in 1630. He constructed the temple of Chintamani-ParsvanathParsvanatha at a huge cost in
1625. Palitana including the grass and the timber on the hill, the temples and the hill of
Girnar, under Junagadh, and of Abu, under Sirohi etc were given to him as a special favour to
him by Emperor Shah Jahan.

Jagat Seths (Mushirabad 1652-1878). [AP2: pp…] Hiranad Shah, a Jain trader from Na-
gaur Rajasthan migrated to Patna in 1652 AD, the biggest trade centre in Eastern India as
well as an important Jain centre in the past. He and his eldest son Manikchand established
good relations with British East India Company and Moghuls and prospered. Manikchand
significantly increased the prosperity of the family and became a top member of the bureau-
crats, treasurer and even owned the mint to make and supply official currency sikka in silver.
Th emperor, as a sign of respect gave the title of Seth to Manikchand (died in 1714) and later
of Jagat Seth to his adopted son Fateh Chand. Succeeding members of the Jagatseth family
were allowed to use the title Jagatseth. In the process they became mediator between the
Moghul rulers and the British East India Company, the free services for which they were re-
spected by both parties. Because of the monopoly he enjoyed and the political influence he
wielded, Fateh Chand was among the most illustrious, powerful and influential of the Jagat

15
Sheths. His palace was surrounded by more than fifty smaller palaces of Oswal Jains who
were associated with him in business. He was a true Jain in lifestyle practices who supported
construction of temples and pilgrimages to Samemdshikhar in Bihar then. The title of nagar-
seth continued for three more generations till Marathas looted Murshidabadshirabad (their
place) and later the British transferred the state treasury from Murshidabad to Calcutta. In
1912, almost nothing was left of the once mighty Jagat Sheths except perhaps the rebuilt
house at Mahimapur, the Kathgola Palace and the Adinath Temple within it which were dev-
astated by the great floods.

Jain Entrepreneurs in Semi-urban and Rural Areas

So farfar, we have discussed Jain entrepreneurial activities mainly at the level of big
trading centres and/or metropolitan cities only. In semi-urban and rural areas also, the Jains
were not only engaged in trading, banking, money-lending and other commercial activities,
but some of them also showed entrepreneurial skills and accumulated wealth., Apart from
earning money they were also ahead in spending money on various philanthropic activities
including religious rituals and functions. A recently published study of the Jain community of
Bundelkhand, a regional-linguistic area in Central India clearly brings forth this point (Jain,
P. C., 2020: 51-57). Before we elaborate further, a brief introduction of the Bundelkhand Jain
community would be in necessary.

The Jain population in Bundelkhand was enumerated at about 150,000 persons in

2011 census. Historically, the Jains have constituted a flourishing business community in the
region for at least a millennium now. They have been mainly into the whole-sale and retail
trade and recently into professions and services. The overwhelming majority of Jains in
Bundelkhand belong to a sub-sect of Digambar Jainism, called Terapanth. It is perhaps the
most orthodox one. Besides Terapanth, another sub-sect of Digambar Jainism present here is
TaaranPanth whose followers constitute a small minority and are also locally known as
Samaiyas. Two main Jain castes of Bundelkhand, each with a history of about a millennium
are Parwar and Golapurav. Bundelkhand has been an economically backward region and
therefore correspondingly the Bundelkhand Jain community too was not a well-off one
compared to its counterparts elsewhere in the country. In spite ofDespite this however, a
significant number of Jain entrepreneurs existed in the region even during the late 19th
century as would be discussed shortly.

An unique interplay between wealth and religion obtained in Bundelkhand Jain

community whereby economic elites could socially spend their wealth on religious rituals
like Panch-kalyanak/Gajrathmahotsava, Vedipratishtha and construction of a new temple,
etc. In turn, the local Jain community would reward them with the honorific titles such as
Singhai and Seth. The family that sponsored one Panch-kalyanak/Gajrath was given the title
Singhai, a Bundeli word distorted from the Sanskrit word Sanghpati. In the case of two
Panch-kalyanak/Gajrath the title was Sawai/Singhai, in the case of three the title was
Deodhria (deorhe Singhai), in the case of four it was Seth and in the case of five the title
given was Shrimant Seth or Sawai Seth. These titles happened to be hereditary and
cumulative in the family. According to reliable sources there were 1,022 Singhais, 161 Sawai
Singhais and, 130 Seths in the Parwar caste of Bundelkhand in 1924. Comparable figures for
the Golapurav caste for the year 1941 were: Singhais 1,183, Sawai Singhais 281, Seths 478
and Sawai Seths 8 (Jain 2020: 54).

16
 Some of the luminary Jains of Bundelkhand like Raibahadur Seth Mohan Lal Jain of
Khurai (1863-1926), Seth Laxmi Chand of Bamrana/Sadumal (1856-1920), Seth Mathura
Das Taraiya of Lalitpur (1972-1920), Shrimant Seth Bhagwandas of Sagar (1899- ?),
Nagarseth Gulabchand of Damoh and others followed similar business practices as the big
Jain business leaders discussed earlier. They were all highly religious, and valued education.
Almost all of them established Jain Sanskrit pathshalas/vidyalayas in or around their native
places where Jain students were provided with free tuition, boarding and lodging.

Inspired by social reformer and ascetic Kshullak Ganesh Prasad Varni (1874-1961), a
Hindu convert to Jainism, most of these Jain leaders established a number of Jain Sanskrit
pathshalas/vidyalayas at Varanasi, Sagar, Morena, Sadumal, Lalitpur, Bina, Baruasagar and
other places in the beginning of the 20thcentury. Besides educating a sizeable Jain population
of the region, these vidyalayas also produced hundreds of Jain pundits/scholars who studied,
translated, edited, interpreted and got published a vast amount of ancient Jain philosophical
and other literature preserved in Jain temples and libraries. All this is undoubtedly the
greatest contribution of the Jain community of Bundelkhand to the Jain communities at large.
Needless to say, more research work is required on various aspects of the regional/local Jain
communities in India.

Analysis
Dominating Values as propagated by Jains since beginning and which continue to be so:
i. Essentiality of work ethics/culture and urbanization to meet one’s needs and stay as
community for security and wellness etc
ii. Ahimsa is the most important doctrine to be kept in mind
iii. Analysis of sixty-three luminary persons, show, the attributes of a successful leader,
ethics followed by him at personal and social level (like renunciation and gentleness
desirable ones while engagement in worldly activities and practice of nonviolence
did result in social and personal unhappiness. Gentle hero warriors are good classifi-
cation to demonstrate the preferred ones and the values thereof which show personal
as well as social wellness with ultimate renunciation and liberation of the leader.
(growth from economic to legal responsibility)
Mahavira saw a fully developed urban system with emphasis on material wellness in-
creasing with associated unhappiness. There were ills of wasteful display of wealth, eco-
nomic disparities, violence in religious rituals and discrimination against women. SoSo,
he enhanced the Jain ethics and way of life primarily accordingly, laying heavy stress on
renunciation, equality of all, abstinence from violence and curb lust towards worldly pos-
sessions and women (Aparigraha and Brahmacharya). Life of ten leading householders in
Upasakadashanga show the growth to ethical responsibility, like welfare of their com-
munity and business members, distribution of their own wealth, practicing Jain ethics
and finally renunciation. Going overseas to make money, tTrade, financial services and
agriculture were the main business engagements as these involved least violence and
maximum knowledge and vision.
During the period from Mahavira’s time (527BC) till 1st century BC, Jain rulers played a
big roule in uniting greater India with Chandragupta being the leading emperor who even

17
 had his adviser Chanakya/Kautilya who had prepared economic and administrative
guidelines for effective administration of the state. He renounced emperorship and be-
came a monk later in his life. His grandson, Emperor Ashok, who adopted Buddhism,
later implemented religion-based rule as ethics to be observed by his subjects through en-
gravings on pillars, rocks etc throughout India. He also led a semi monk life as a ruler.
This was the golden era of India. However, Jain rulers started becoming weak due to sev-
eral reasons and they accepted junior roles of advisers and ministers. A number of influ-
ential Jains focused on trading, finance and to some extent gems and jeweleryjewellery
business only. Some characteristics of Jain business leaders during this period as evident
are:
i. Jain business leaders considered access to rulers or people in power for trade essen-
tial as seen by theirs being involved in trade, financial services and gems and jew-
elry. The result is that Jains have become mostly an urban community which even
though a very small minority community in India, accounts for a major share of eco-
nomic activities of India. Some studies indicate that Jains, though Jains are 0.4% of
the population but they account for 2% of the Indian GDP.
ii. Even during the peak of their business, they practiced and preached austerities for
self-purification as an ideal. So, large parts of their profits were not ploughed back in
the business or enhancing knowledge on worldly and business matters. Oon the con-
trary, they spent lavishly on constructing large temples and serving ascetics and the
community they lived in.
iii. The hold of religion in their mind was so great that they did not accept worldly wise
successful men as their leader unless he was equally involved in religious activities.
(Shantidas sought favours from Mughal emperors to build the famous Chintamani
Parasnath temple near Ahmedabad).
iv. Adherence to minor religious rituals without modifying them with the existing situa-
tion.

Conclusion
The historical account,The historical account testifies that Jains persistently evolved as mer-
chants over period of timea period and they certainly dominated major economic affairs of
India. Eventually, they emerged as an economically powerful community by diffusing and
spreading their community networks throughout India and off-lateoff late in foreign locations
as well. Staying in tuneDrawing parallel’ with contemporary times many Jains have also
adopted new age occupations and demonstrated their flexible visionary approach.
It can be easily inferred that in case of Jains entrenchment and interdependence of their social
network, along with common religious faith helped them in creating inimitable tangible and
intangible resources, which supported them in achieving their commercial goals with ad-
equate restriction as prescribed by their religion. Due to high degree of social cohesion
among Jains they were able to form strategic groups, interconnected with each other based on
their shared religion (Jainism) and shared social (language and territories) affiliations. Apart
from these common factors, kinship and close family networks helped them in leveraging so-
cial capital. Thus, social capital generated by Jains is a form of accumulated history, with di-
ligent investment in social relations and compassionate behaviour with all living beings

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across time. Emphasizing on major tenet of non-violence Jains indeed compromised on their
social status (from Kṣatriya to Vaishayas) but at the same time they were responsible for the
rise of urban mercantile class in the Indian social structures characterised by their tolerant and
nonaggressive philosophies in the cities.
Thus, it is evident from the mercantile behavior of Jains from past till 1900, that they did
have deep rooted philosophies, ideologies and value systems mainly based on their non-vio-
lent conviction. While many oriental scholars attribute Jain’s relative economic affluence to
their strong adherence with religious practices; but at the same time there are multiple non-
theological aspects through which Jains economic success can be explained i.e. their ability
to negotiate, capability to mix and adopt the local customs and rituals, their competence to
acclimatize at faster pace in changing political situations etc. These non-theological charac-
teristics are largely regional and, individualistic in nature . aAs there may be variance in so-
cial behavior of a Jain who resides in Gujarat from the one who resides in West-Bengal.
In addition to their innate mercantile abilities and strength, Jains did have many shortcom-
ings. Ddue to their historical evolution as traders and merchants they acted as intermediaries
in the business networks and acquired knowledge of business. However, they were a little
slow in identifying the incoming industrial revolution.

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