Joseph C. Miller Memorial Lecture by Julia A.B. Hegewald

How did Jainism rise and decline in Karnataka? Originating in East India in the sixth century BCE, Jainism reached Karnataka by the second century CE. By the fifth century CE, it gained supremacy, peaking from the eighth to eleventh centuries CE. However, by the twelfth century, its influence rapidly diminished, leading to severe dependency. This presentation explores the reasons for both the rise and fall, spanning religious, social, political, and economic factors