Social Life in Gujarat and Rajasthan in the Nineteenth Century

SURENDRA GOPAL examines a vijjiaptipatra, or vinatipatra, an invitation sent by Jaina devotees of Merta near Ajmer in Rajasthan to Acarya Vijayjinendra Suri of the Tapa-gaccha sect at Virampur near Ahmedabad in Gujarat in Samvat 1867 (1810 A.D.). The author argues that these invitation scrolls are immensely important sources for social history because they contain elaborate descriptions of persons, places, and goods, alongside paintings that portray both religious and secular motives. The original document, which lies in the possession of the Gujrati Tapagaccha Sangh Library, Calcutta, and was published in the Shri Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya Golden Jubilee Volume by Shri B. L. Nahata, is 32 ft. long, with paintings occupying 17 ft. The scroll is written partly in Sanskrit and partly in the vernacular, and is a mixture of prose and verse. The paintings depict religious scenes, a mosque, a bazar, and a dancing girl, indicating the religious tolerance and liberal attitude of the Jainas. The verses, composed by the local poet Gulvijay of Merta, can be sung in definite ragas and contain useful material for social history. Verse 5 describes the important buildings of Virampur, while verses 6-11 depict the market place, traders, vegetables, fruits, silk fabrics, and sweetmeats available. The market had lanes and bye-lanes with a vast crowd, and ladies often visited the market place, indicating their freedom to move outside their household. The fruits and vegetables mentioned include brinjal, szk, mangoes, and plantains, which were fairly cheap, while betel-nut was particularly costly. The market sold costly fabrics for the rich and ordinary blankets for the common people. The verses also mention the names of various sweets such as kharik, pista, khijura, amba, rayan, kela, meva, and samtha. Verses 12-13 describe the Jaina temples of Virampur, including those of Santinath and Parsvanath. Verse 16 refers to the Hindu gods and goddesses worshipped in the city, such as Iswar, Ganapati, Phanapati, Bhairi, Jogana, Cosath, Grahacandi, and Sivamati. Verses 1-2 describe the local ruler of Virampur, Rao Fateh Singh, who was a follower of Siva and was praised for his just and benevolent rule. Verse 19 speaks of Tokar Seth, who was the leader of the Jaina community at Merta and the sender of the present invitation on behalf of the Merta Jainas. The author also provides a description of Merta from the poet’s pen, mentioning Man Singh as the ruler of the city, who was assisted by Pancoli Gopaldas. Man Singh was a Hindu, and the town was inhabited by a large number of traders, many of whom were millionaires, but thieves were conspicuous by their absence. There were also skilled goldsmiths, tailors, shoe-makers, and beautiful and adept dancers in the city.

AI-generated summary, automatically checked against the article text.