Saṅghpatis and Middle-Class Jain Pilgrimage

Contemporary Jain laymen take great pride in their organisation of pilgrimages. To plan a pilgrimage is to partake in the actions associated with the great saṅghpatis of old, whose lavish and extraordinary pilgrimage arrangements are the stuff of legend. But even for lower-middle and middle-class Jain laymen, saṅghpati narratives create a template of Jain masculinity from which Jain laymen draw inspiration for their choice of Jain participation. Contemporary laymen used this term in the abstract to describe men who led pilgrimages and made arrangements for Jain processions. The saṅghpati illuminates the merchant skills of diplomacy, management and organisation, knowledge of resources, maintaining a network of connections, and strategic planning. But these skills matter not just for garnering the coveted status as a saṅghpati but also as a mark of masculine leadership and management skills. Thus, Jain pilgrimage provides a site for the creation of a new form of saṅghpati.