Kashtha Sangh
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Kashtha Sangha (काष्ठा संघ) was a Digambar Jain monastic order once dominant in several regions of North and Western India. It is said to have originated from a town named Kashtha.
The origin of Kashtha Sangha is often attributed to Lohacharya. The Darshanasara of Devasena attributes the origin to Kumarasena in Vikram Samvat 753. Several of the Jain communites were affiliated with the Kashtha Sangha. The Agrawals were the major supporters of Kashtha Sangha.
Kashta Sangha included several orders:
- Nanditat gachchha: associated with Nanded
- Mathura Sangha: The Agrawals were associated with this order. It was founded by Ramasena according to Darshanasar. The oldest known inscription is of 1170 AD.
- Bagada gachha: associated with Vagad region of Rajasthan
- Lata-bagada gachha: associated with Vagad and Lata region of Gujarat. The 1145 AD inscription of Dubkunda mentions this order.
Kashta Sangha eventually merged into Mula Sangh. The celebrated poet and pratishthacharya Raighu was a disciple of the Kashtha Sangh Bhattarakas of Gwalior.
The rock carved Jain statues in the Gwalior fort were mostly consecreted by the Kashtha Sangh Bhattarakas, as stated in the inscriptions dated between 1441 and 1474.[1].
[edit] External links
- [Bhattarak Sampradaya, Introduction to Jain History, by Dr. K. C. Jain http://www.jainworld.org/general/prem/Chapter%20XII%20fe.htm]
[edit] References
- ^ गोपचल के जिन मंदिर एवं प्रतिमायें http://www.webdunia.com/dharm/jain/gopachal/19_gopachal9.htm
[edit] References
- Jain Dharma, Kailash Chandra Siddhanta Shastri, 1985.
