Latest / Aurangzeb: The Emperor Who Expanded and Broke the Mughal Empire — Fexingo History / Aurangzeb's Jain Edicts Revisited: The 1665 Shatrunjaya Rescript
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Aurangzeb's harder edges — the temple destructions, the jizya, the brutal Deccan wars. But there's a side of him that often gets lost in that story, a side that's frankly a bit surprising. In 1665, just a few years into his reign, he issued a formal imperial decree protecting Jain pilgrims and their temples at Shatrunjaya, a sacred hill in Gujarat. Luna: Wait, Aurangzeb protecting Jain temples? That seems like the opposite of everything we've discussed. Lucas: Exactly, and that's why it's so fascinating. The rescript, as historians call it, was a response to a request from a prominent Jain merchant named Lal Vijayji. He was a Svetambara Jain, and he'd petitioned the emperor to safeguard the pilgrimage site from interference. And Aurangzeb, at least on paper, agreed. Lucas: The decree essentially forbade any government official or soldier from harassing the Jain community, from disrupting their rituals, or from demanding unfair taxes on their religious activities. It's a remarkably specific document, naming particular villages and rights. It reads like a ruler who wants to be seen as a protector of all his subjects, not just Muslims. Luna: So what motivated him? Was this just political pragmatism, or was there some genuine tolerance there? Lucas: That's the million-dollar question. On one level, it's pure politics. Gujarat was a wealthy province, and Jain merchants were a powerful economic force. Alienating them would've been foolish. But there's also a pattern here. Historian Audrey Truschke has shown that Aurangzeb issued several similar edicts to Jain communities across the empire, often at moments when he needed local support, especially during the Deccan campaigns. Lucas: It's a reminder that the Mughal state wasn't a monolithic machine of religious persecution. It was a complex organization that often had to balance ideology with practical governance. The jizya tax, which we talked about, was real and burdensome, but it wasn't the whole story. There were also these moments of accommodation. Luna: So how did the decree actually work in practice? Did it hold up? Lucas: Well, that's the tricky part. The decree exists on paper, but we don't have great records of how strictly it was enforced on the ground. There are some later references to Jain disputes being settled in Mughal courts, and the community seems to have maintained its presence at Shatrunjaya. But there's also evidence that local officials sometimes ignored imperial orders, especially in times of war and chaos. Lucas: The maasir i alamgiri, one of the main chronicles of Aurangzeb's reign, doesn't mention Jain edicts at all. That's likely because it was written for a Muslim courtly audience, focusing on the emperor's military and religious actions that mattered to them. The edicts survive mostly in Jain records and copies kept in their temple archives, which tells us something about how important they were to the community itself. Luna: It's almost like two different versions of the same reign exist side by side. Lucas: Precisely. And that's what makes studying Aurangzeb so compelling. On one hand, you have the fatawa e alamgiri, the massive legal compendium he commissioned, which reinforced a strict Hanafi interpretation of Sharia, including the jizya. On the other, you have these pragmatic, even benevolent, decrees to Jain communities. He could be both the destroyer of temples and the protector of shrines. It's not a contradiction if you see it as different tools for maintaining Mughal authority. Lucas: I think that's the key – it's about control. He wasn't being inconsistent; he was being an emperor. And that meant sometimes giving with one hand while taking with the other. The Jain edicts don't excuse the temple demolitions, but they do complicate the simple narrative of a fanatical bigot. Luna: That makes a lot of sense. But I'm curious – what did the Jains actually think of Aurangzeb? They must have had mixed feelings. Lucas: Probably, yes. On the one hand, they had these imperial protections, which were valuable. On the other, they were still subject to the jizya and other discriminatory policies. There are Jain texts from the period that praise Aurangzeb for his justice and generosity, but they might also have been trying to stay on his good side. It's hard to know what they really felt. Lucas: But here's something interesting: the edicts often specifically exempted Jain monks and ascetics from certain taxes, which suggests they were seen as a kind of 'protected' group, similar to how Islamic law treated some 'People of the Book'. It's a fascinating gray zone. Luna: So was this a common practice, or was Lal Vijayji just really persuasive? Lucas: From what we can tell, it was part of a broader Mughal pattern. Akbar famously had Jain scholars at his court and even granted land to Jain temples. Jahangir and Shah Jahan also issued similar decrees. So Aurangzeb was continuing a family tradition, even if his overall stance was more austere and orthodox. Lucas: The edicts also served a diplomatic purpose in the Deccan, where Aurangzeb was trying to subdue the Marathas and the Shia kingdoms of Golconda and Bijapur. By showing favor to Jain communities in Gujarat, he could project an image of a just and tolerant ruler to his Hindu subjects, which might have helped reduce resistance in the south. Luna: Ah, so it was a strategic move in the larger war effort. Lucas: Exactly. The Deccan war was a massive drain on resources and manpower, and the last thing he needed was another front opening up from a disgruntled merchant class. So these edicts were a way to secure the home front while he was busy fighting in the south. Lucas: That said, we should also consider the religious dimension. Aurangzeb was deeply pious, and there's a tradition in Islam of protecting those who are not part of the faith but who live peacefully within the empire. The Quran itself has verses about not forcing conversion and allowing others to worship. So perhaps he saw this as part of his duty as a Muslim ruler, even while enforcing the jizya. Luna: It's so complex. I almost want to know more about the text of the decree itself. What did it actually say? Lucas: We have copies of it, mainly from Jain sources. It's written in Persian, the official language of the Mughal court, and it addresses the imperial officers in Gujarat, commanding them to uphold the rights of the Jain community, especially at Shatrunjaya. It mentions specific villages and rights, like the ability to build and repair temples, and the prohibition on harming monks and pilgrims. Lucas: It's a very formal document, with the imperial seal and everything. It's actually preserved in some Jain temple archives, which shows that the community valued it as a charter of their rights. They kept it safe for centuries. Luna: That's incredible. So this decree had a lasting impact. Lucas: It did. Even after Aurangzeb's death, the Jains continued to use these edicts to defend their rights in later disputes. They became a kind of precedent, a legal foundation for their protections under Mughal and even British rule. It's a remarkable example of how a single document can shape a community's fortunes for generations. Lucas: And it's a side of Aurangzeb that we rarely see in the popular imagination. He's so often reduced to a caricature of intolerance, but the historical record is far more nuanced. That's what makes him such a fascinating figure to study. Luna: Absolutely. I feel like I've learned something new today. Lucas: And honestly, that's what we hope for with every episode. You know, if today's conversation was worth a cup of coffee to you, we have a page where you can buy us one. It's at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It helps keep this show ad-free, and it means a lot to us that you'd consider it. Luna: Yeah, it really does help us keep doing this deep research. We appreciate everyone who listens. Lucas: And on that note, let's get back to the edicts. There's one more thing I want to mention – the edicts were often addressed to a specific group of Jains, like the Svetambaras, but they also covered Shvetambara monks and nuns, and they even protected Jain property outside of Gujarat, like in Rajasthan. So the reach of these decrees was wider than just one hill. Lucas: It's a reminder that the Mughal Empire, for all its flaws, was a sophisticated state that understood the value of religious pluralism in maintaining stability. And that's something we should remember when we think about Aurangzeb's legacy. Luna: It really puts a human face on him, doesn't it? Lucas: It does. He wasn't just a ruler; he was a person trying to navigate an incredibly complex political and religious landscape. And sometimes, he made choices that might surprise us.