Jainism in Karnataka - History, Architecture and Religion

Published: 22.09.2008
Updated: 02.12.2010


Emmy Noether Research Group

 

Alongside Hindus and Buddhist, the Jainas represent one of the oldest religious groups in India. The numerically relatively small community of the Jainas developed an entirely distinct culture (religion, art, architecture, philosophy) and looks back upon more than 2500 years of changing history. In the modern south Indian state of Karnataka, the Jainas experienced a period of great political and cultural flourishing from the 5th to the early 12th century CE, a period during which many kings and their ministers were Jainas. In the early 12th century, their influence allegedly came to a sudden end. The reasons for this abrupt and forceful change, however, have never been examined  in detail.

In this interdisciplinary research project, political changes as well as their immediate affect on religion, art and architecture will for the first time be studied together. Historically, the main questions will concern the reasons for the sudden loss of power and the procedures employed to depose the Jainas. From a religious studies point of view, the influence this had on the beliefs, the philosophy and the ritual of the Jainas will be of major concern. Art historically, the further development of certain Jaina pilgrimage centres, even after the loss of power on the one side, and the forcible conversion of Jaina into Hindu temples on the other, will also be analysed and interpreted in the light of the other two disciplines. Through a combination of results from the three different subject areas, this intriguing and so far widely neglected period in the history of south India will for the first time be presented in a more holistic and complete way, explaining the lasting importance of the Jaina community in Karnataka today.

From Left to Right: Sabine Scholz, Julia Lauer, Julia Hegewald, Pius Pinto (October 2005)

Team Members

Irene Martin Alvarez; Navina Sarma; Claudia Scheufele; Anna Shiian; Rebecca Steiner; Klaus Vettel

Publications by Team Members

   

 

Articles about the Project

For articles about the project, please click below:

Project Events

Mahamastakabhisheka 2006: Exhibition at the South Asian Institute (University of Heidelberg, June 2006)

International Conference on Jainism in Karnataka (Bangalore, February 2007)

 

Project Databases

Specialist Reading Suggestions

For specialist reading suggestions of the team members, please click below:

 

Selected Publications by Julia Hegewald

For some selected publications by Julia Hegewald, please click below:

Contact Information

For further information, please contact the head of the research group, Dr. Julia A. B. Hegewald

E-mail:

Tel: +44(0)161 306 1794

Office: Mansfield Cooper Building 3.5, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

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Some texts contain  footnotes  and  glossary  entries. To distinguish between them, the links have different colors.
  1. Bangalore
  2. Centre Of Jaina Studies
  3. Heidelberg
  4. JAINA
  5. Jaina
  6. Jaina Art
  7. Jaina Temple
  8. Jaina Temples
  9. Jainism
  10. Julia A. B. Hegewald
  11. Julia Hegewald
  12. Karnataka
  13. Khajuraho
  14. Mahamastakabhisheka
  15. Manchester
  16. SOAS
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