History of Jainism Timeline

The earliest structural Jain temple complexes appeared at Deogarh in the sixth century. The site later became known for numerous Sahastrakuta, or thousand-Jina, pillars erected in the thirteenth century.

Chalukya patronage led to the dedication of Badami Cave Temple 4 around the seventh century. It became the earliest major Jain rock-cut temple in the Deccan.

Jainism flourished in Tamil Nadu around the eighth and ninth centuries under Pandya patronage, adding southern India to the religion's major medieval centers.

Image source: Jainism in Tamil Nadu

The eighth through thirteenth centuries marked the zenith of Jain institutional power. Jain communities benefited from royal patronage, wealthy merchants, temples, monasteries, and pilgrimage networks.

From the eighth to eleventh centuries, Jainism became deeply embedded in the mercantile ethos of Rajasthan, where merchant communities supported temples, teachers, and literary activity.

Under Rashtrakuta patronage in the ninth century, new Jain caves were excavated at the Nasik Caves, continuing the pattern of adding Jain monuments to older religious sites.

In Bundelkhand, Chandela rulers commissioned Jain temples at Khajuraho during the tenth and eleventh centuries. Their architecture shares the distinctive style of the site's Hindu temples.

Image source: Khajuraho Group of Monuments

Western Indian Jain temple building flourished through the patronage of ministers and merchant elites. The Vimala Vasahi, commissioned by Vimala Shah in 1031, and the Luna Vasahi, built around 1230 by Vastupala and Tejapala, are prominent examples.

Image source: Dilwara Temples

From the twelfth century, Jainism faced challenges from devotional movements such as Lingayatism and from Islamic invasions. Temple destruction and disruption of pilgrimage centers affected several Jain regions.

Jain communities benefited from powerful patrons and wealthy ministers, including Vastupala and Tejapala of the Vaghela court and the thirteenth-century shipping magnate Jagadu Shah.

The twelfth-century Bawangaja monolith in the Satpura Range attests to Jain prominence in central India. The eighty-four-foot statue of Rishabhanatha was carved directly into the mountain.

According to accounts cited by Helmuth von Glasenapp, Basava, a minister to Kalachuri king Bijjala II, converted numerous Jains to Lingayatism during the eleventh century. Legends also describe Jain temples being destroyed or converted to Shaivite use.

Image source: Basava

After the twelfth century, Jain temples, pilgrimage centers, and parts of the Digambara tradition faced persecution during periods of Muslim rule, although conditions varied considerably by region and ruler.

The Gwalior Fort became a major center for Digambara Jainism, with nearly one hundred rock-cut monuments created between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

From the fourteenth century onward, the Digambara tradition developed the Bhattarakas, a specialized clerical class that helped administer religious institutions and preserve the tradition.

Jain communities faced persecution during Lingayat movements in Telugu- and Kannada-speaking territories, including areas ruled by the Wodeyars of Mysore, Ummatur, and the Nayaks of Keladi.

Inscriptions credit the Tomara kings with supporting Jain excavations at Gwalior. The monuments include the massive Siddhachal and Gopachal colossi.

Image source: Gwalior Fort

The Siddhachal caves were completed by 1473, but many of the Jain statues were defaced around 1527 on the orders of Mughal emperor Babur.

Influenced by the Śvetāmbara monk Hiravijaya, Akbar ordered the release of caged birds and banned animal killing during the Jain festival of Paryushana, providing a temporary period of imperial support.

Image source: Akbar

In 1683, the lingam symbol was stamped in the main temple complex of the Jains at Halebidu, an episode associated with the religious conflict affecting Jain sites.

A scripturalist movement initiated by the fifteenth-century scribe Lonka Shah crystallized into the Sthanakvasi sect by the seventeenth century. It challenged image worship and emphasized scriptural and ascetic practice.

By the mid-seventeenth century, Jain civilization underwent intense internal scrutiny. Reform movements challenged established ritualism and encouraged renewed attention to doctrine and discipline.

Hemraj Pande composed the Chaurasi Bol in 1652, a later text summarizing differences among Jain traditions and sectarian positions.

In the eighteenth century, Jain merchant influence peaked with the House of Jagat Seth, a group of Marwari-Oswal bankers whose financial power extended across Bengal.

The Digambara community in North India saw the rise of the Adhyatma, or Spiritual, movement in Jaipur under the lay scholar Pandit Todarmal, who emphasized philosophical and spiritual study.

According to von Glasenapp's 1925 account, British colonial rule allowed Jains to pursue their religion with fewer of the persecutions they had experienced under some earlier regimes.

Alienated by the policies of the Nawab of Bengal, the Jagat Seths financed Robert Clive's forces before the Battle of Plassey. Their support helped facilitate the transition from Mughal to British rule in eastern India.

Image source: Battle of Plassey

Around 1760, Acharya Bhikshu established a strict hierarchical monastic order focused on ascetic discipline rather than temple management. The movement became the Terapanth tradition.

The Dharmanatha temple was built in Ahmedabad in 1848, illustrating the continued construction of Jain religious institutions during the colonial era.

Seth Hukamchand used industrial wealth to construct the Kanch Mandir in Indore and sponsor publication of ancient Jain scripture, exemplifying modern Jain mercantile patronage.

Image source: Hukam Chand Kachwai

Walchand Hirachand pioneered indigenous Indian shipping through Scindia Steam, aviation through Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and automobiles through Premier Automobiles Limited.

British census figures reported a decline in the Jain population from 1.417 million in 1891 to 1.179 million in 1921, though interpretations of colonial demographic and economic change differ.

Virchand Gandhi served as the official Jain delegate to the first World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, presenting Jainism to an international audience.

Image source: Virchand Gandhi

Kshullak Ganeshprasad Varni established Syadvad Mahavidyalaya at Varanasi in 1905. The institution helped reintroduce traditional Jain logic and philosophy into modern higher education.

Digambara monk Shantisagar entered Bombay, now Mumbai, in 1927. Authorities forced him to cover his body, highlighting tensions between traditional Jain ascetic practice and colonial public regulations.

Following Indian independence, Jains moved from navigating colonial legal frameworks to establishing a distinct religious identity within a secular democracy while expanding their global diaspora.

The late twentieth century saw the professionalization of Jain mercantile influence through international networking bodies, connecting Jain communities across national borders.

In the twenty-first century, Jainism has increasingly contributed to global discussions of ecology and bioethics, drawing on its principles of nonviolence and respect for living beings.

Jains were notified as a National Minority in 2014. The recognition provided rights connected with the independent management of educational institutions and religious trusts.