Jains Under the Rāṣṭrakūṭas of Deccan

Summary

Ramvallabh Somani surveys the history of the Rāṣṭrakūṭa dynasty and demonstrates how the Digambara Jain community flourished under their patronage between the seventh and tenth centuries. After tracing the dynasty’s foundation by Govinda I and the reigns of Dantidurga, Kṛṣṇarāja I, Amoghavarṣa I and Govindarāja III, he uses inscriptions such as the Sanjan copper plate to show that Jain monks like Akalaṅka were active at court. Akalaṅka’s philosophical treatises—including the Laghu‑ya‑straya, Tattvārtha‑rāja‑vṛtti and Siddhi‑viniscaya—are highlighted, as are the achievements of Virasena and Jinasena, who composed the Dhavalā, Jaya‑dhavalā and the monumental Mahāpurāṇa. Somani discusses how their disciples Guṇasena and Lokāditya compiled the Uttarapurāṇa under royal patronage and examines epic narratives like the Harivaṃśa‑Purāṇa and Ādipurāṇa. The article also surveys poets such as Pampa, whose Ādipurāṇa‑campū and Vikramārjuna‑vijaya display literary brilliance, and Somadeva Sūri, whose Yaśastilaka‑campū and Nitivākyāmṛta combine ethics with statecraft. Pushpadanta’s Mahāpurāṇa and Yaśodharacarita are used to illustrate the social upheavals of the period. Alongside literary accomplishments, Somani notes administrative innovations—such as Maṇḍapikā taxes and Paṭṭa‑Bandhan coronation rituals—that reveal how Jain values shaped governance. By weaving together royal chronicles and scholarly biographies, the article shows that the Rāṣṭrakūṭas’ tolerant and generous policies fostered a golden age of Jain scholarship and that Jain principles influenced the cultural and socio‑economic life of the Deccan.