Faunal Knowledge and Maritime Worlds: Southeast Asia in Jain Literature

Gauri Bedekar

Jain narrative literature preserves fragmentary but significant evidence of ecological and commercial knowledge shaped by maritime interaction across the Bay of Bengal. Texts such as the Vasudevahindi (c. 6th century CE) and Samaraiccakaha (8th century CE) refer to overseas regions including Suvarṇabhūmi and Kataha-dvīpa, indicating an awareness of transoceanic geographies extending into Southeast Asia. Although these works do not present a systematic zoological description, they contain recurring references to animal-derived commodities such as danta (ivory), śaṅkha (conch), and muktā (pearls). These references point to embedded ecological knowledge associated with marine and forested environments, as well as to the integration of animal products into trade networks linking Indian mercantile communities with distant ecological zones of Southeast Asia. They also reflect how knowledge of animals and animal-derived commodities functioned within broader economic and cultural frameworks. Jain literature thus constitutes an important source for reconstructing maritime knowledge and trade in the early historic and early medieval Indian Ocean world, and this paper demonstrates its value for understanding the role and perception of animal resources in transregional exchange between India and Southeast Asia.