The doctrines of Jainism recommend an extreme of self-mortification which made Mahavira and his followers a benchmark for ascetics in ancient India. Many, such as the Buddha, rejected such extreme practices, but few failed to recognise the sincerity with which Jain renouncers adhered to their harsh discipline. The question is: how could such a creed, so designedly opposed in all matters to everyday life, become a religion of ordinary people?

The short answer is that Jainism developed a code of lay practice – śrāvakācārā, literally ‘listener's deportment’. This was conceived as a diluted version of the ascetic's code, as lower steps on the ladder to true asceticism. The lay life was recognised as inferior to the ascetic's life, but at the same time a distinctly Jain identity for laymen was created. Jains were not only those who supported Jain ascetics, but also those who behaved in a particular way. In medieval India the genre of Jain śrāvakācāra literature grew to rival the Hindu dharma-śāstra literature in complexity and meticulousness, far outstripping the Buddhists' exiguous efforts in that direction. Jains may have been fierce in prescribing for their monks, but they were also expansive in prescribing for their laity.