ABSTRACT
The apparent austerity of Jainism was complemented by a considerable culture-forming power, at least in certain regions of India and during certain periods. Moving from Gujarat and Rajasthan southwards in the western half of India, via Mahārāṣṭra and Kārṇāṭaka. and ending in Tamilnadu, we travel through regions which at some time or other during the last two millennia have been strongly influenced by the Jains. Thus many of the various languages spoken in these regions were actually moulded by Jains as vehicles of literary expression. The Jain literature in Tamil, Kannada and Gujarati in particular is of staggering size. Besides, the Jains continued cultivating Prakrit (in its Māhārāṣṭrī form), frequently resorted to Sanskrit and made ample use of Apabhraṃśa (a literary language derived from an early medieval vernacular of the Gujārāt/Rājasthān area). Northern Mahārāṣṭra can be regarded as a very rough dividing line between the Śvetāmbara and Digambara branches, the latter belonging to the southern part.
