Ahmedabad. Religious and political activities Shantidas was a devout Jain who gave generously to the Gujarati Jain community. He spent a substantial amount of money on conducting the sanghas and protecting Jain temples. He helped the monks in setting up pathshalas (schools). A contemporary Sanskrit language document states that he took great interest in maintaining manuscripts, and encouraged the monks to develop literature. In 1622, Shantidas started the construction of the Chintamani Parshvanath temple at Saraspur, Ahmedabad. The construction was completed in 1638, and cost Rs. 900,000 (900,000). The temple has been described in the writings of the foreign travellers such as the German adventurer Johan Albrecht de Mandelslo. His philanthropy does not appear to have extended beyond his own Jain community. Shantidas also participated in the contemporary religious politics. At that time, there were several Jain factions (gachhas) within the Svetambara Jain sect, and Shantidas belonged to the Sagar gaccha. Muktisagar, a monk of the Sagar gaccha was a close friend of Shantidas, and in 1625, he had installed an idol in the Chintamani Parshawanath temple constructed by him. Shantidas wanted to see Muktisagar become an acharya (the highest leader of a Jain order), but the request was declined by Vijayadeva Suri, a senior acharya belonging to the Tapa gachha. Shantidas sought the help of Shrimalla, a merchant from Cambay, who had played an important role in Vijayadeva's promotion to the acharya post in 1601. With his influence, Muktisagar was appointed as an acharya in 1630, under the name "Rajsagar". Later, Shantidas planned a shastrartha (religious debate) between Vijayadeva Suri and Muktisagar (Rajsagar Suri) in Jalore. His intention was to raise the prestige of his faction (and perhaps, to increase his own influence), but Muktisagar lost courage and backed out of the debate before it began. Shantidas also led a boycott against the Lonka gaccha, which criticised idol worship (something that Shantidas's own gachha accepted). In September 1644, he exerted his influence to enforcing a ban against the Lonkas, with respect to inter-marrying and inter-dining. The Lonkas of Ahmedabad complained to the Emperor Shah Jahan, but the Emperor refused to intervene in the matter. As the Subahdar (Governor) of Gujarat, Shah Jahan's son Murad Baksh granted the village of Palitana to Shantidas Jhaveri in 1656. Palitana later emerged as a major pilgrimage centre for the Jains. Legacy Khushalchand (1680–1748), the grandson of Shantidas, was also a prominent merchant, and