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Lessons of Ahimsa and Anekānta for Contemporary Life
to other cities in northern India. Similarly, Hindu imagery took root and diversified during the period when the Ardhaphālakas were flourishing.
The art historical, epigraphical and archaeological evidence shows that the Ardhaphālaka sect of Jains in Mathura, who evidently embraced the ideals of ahimsa and anekānta, were instrumental in creating a tolerant, diverse environment in a cosmopolitan cultural center where the arts were copiously patronized, and different religions flourished alongside one another. Scholars have often wondered why Mathura was the seat of so many key religious movements and iconographic developments that significantly affected the course of history, The answer may lie in the influence exerted by the Ardhaphalaka Jain monks and their followers, who comprised a large segment of the population, and the atmosphere of inclusiveness, peace, and tolerance that they helped to create and uphold.
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