Between Forests and Oceans: The Role of Jain Merchants from Kerala in the Indian Ocean Exchange Network, Ninth–Fourteenth Centuries

This article examines the role of Jain merchants from Kerala in the Indian Ocean trade between the ninth and fourteenth centuries. Drawing on a thirteenth century Kannada inscription from the Kamal Basadi in Belagavi, which references Kerala's itinerant merchants, and Malayalam inscriptions that attest the affiliation of Jain traders in South Indian mercantile associations, the study contextualises the Jain presence in Kerala through epigraphic, architectural and sculptural evidence, emphasising their strategic position along trade routes connecting the Western Ghats to the Malabar and Coromandel coasts. Findings suggest that Jain merchants played a crucial role in the economic landscape of medieval South India, likely mediating exchanges between local and global markets. The study contributes to a broader understanding of the role of Indian communities in the Indian Ocean trade networks, and Jain economic history in the region.