Chaturtha

The Jain Chaturtha (also spelled Chaturth, Chaturth Jains or Chaturtha-kālin Jains) are a Jain community primarily found in Karnataka and Maharashtra. they were originally Kannada and Marathi speakers. They follow the Digambar tradition of Jainism and are historically associated with landholding, agriculture, business, industries and village leadership. Community traditions also record them as having connections with ruling lineages that patronised Jainism in Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The Chaturtha Jains are mentioned in medieval inscriptions of Karnataka as important patrons of Jain temples and monasteries. They were among the early Digambar communities to settle in southern India after the decline of Jain political power in the north. Traditionally, their community history associates them with the Jain dynasties that ruled Karnataka and Maharashtra, including the Rashtrakutas, Gangas, Chalukyas, Hoysalas, and Kalachuris, Shilaharas, and rattas, who were noted for their patronage of Jainism in the region.

The name "Chaturtha" has been interpreted in multiple ways. One explanation links it to their settlement during the "Chaturtha-kāl" (the “fourth era” in Jain cosmology) in southern India. Another theory suggests that the term refers to them being among the earliest or “fourth-period” Jains (the “fourth era” in Jain cosmology). Similarly, A parallel belief exists among the Pancham Jains, who are traditionally regarded as migrants to South India during the Pañcam-kāl (the “fifth era”), or associated with being Jain in the pancham-kāl.

The Chaturtha Jains are regarded as one of the earliest Jain communities to have settled in Karnataka.

Historians trace their origin to North India, particularly the Magadha region (present-day Bihar), from where Jain monks and lay followers migrated to the south. According to Jain traditions, their migration is linked with the era of Bhadrabahu and the southward movement of Jain monks and communities during periods of upheaval in North India.

Epigraphic records and inscriptions indicate that Chaturthas were established in regions such as Shravanabelagola, Hassan, Mysore, Mandya, and parts of northern Karnataka including Bijapur and Banavasi region. They are considered the first Jain community to settle permanently in Karnataka.

Members of the Chaturtha Jain community are recorded as landholders and administrators, often serving as village heads (Gowdas), local chiefs (Patils and Desais), and regional officers (Nadagoudas). Some ruling lineages associated with the Gangas, Rashtrakutas, Chalukyas, and Hoysalas are traditionally believed to have been linked with the Chaturthas.

A distinctive feature of Chaturtha Jain tradition is the record-keeping maintained by the Helavas, a community historically entrusted by King Bijjala II of the Kalachuris of Kalyani. Bijjala is said to have ordered them to preserve genealogical lists of Chaturtha Jains, and even today Helavas recite ancestral records tracing lineages for about twenty generations.