The Jain religion has grown up simultaneously with Buddhism and bears many similarities to it and Hinduism. It was founded around 500 BC by Mahavira, the 24th and the last of the Jain prophets, known as Tirthankars or Finders of the Path. The Jains now number only about 4.5 million but are found all over India, predominantly in the west and south-west. They tend to be commercially successful and have an influence disproportionate to their actual numbers.

Originally, the religion evolved as a movement against the dominance of priests and the complicated rituals of Brahmin culture, and it rejected the caste system. The Jains believe that the universe is infinite and was not created by a deity. They also believe in reincarnation and eventual spiritual salvation, or moksha, through following the path of the Tirthankars. One factor in the search for salvation is ahimsa, or reverence for all living beings and the avoidance of injury to any thing. Due to this belief, Jains are strict vegetarians and some monks even cover their mouths with a piece of cloth to avoid the swallowing of an insect accidentally.

The Jains are divided into two sects, the white-robed Shwetambaras and the Digambaras. The Diagambaras are the more austere sect; their name literally means Sky Clad, as they do not even wear clothes as a sign of their contempt for material possessions. Digambaras are generally monks who are confined to a monastery. The famous Sravanabelagola shrine in Karnataka state, south India, is a Digambara temple.

The Jains have constructed extraordinary temple complexes, notable for the large number of similar buildings together in the one place. The temples also feature many columns, no two of which are ever similar. Their most spectacular 'temple city' is at Palitana in eastern Gujarat - a mountaintop fortress filled with hundreds of beautiful temples. Down south, Sravanabelagola in Kamataka, though only a village, is also a holy site.