- Mahavira organized the Sangha to spread his teachings
- He admitted both men and women in the Sangha, and it spread rapidly and widely in Western India and Karnataka
- Rulers and dynasties who patronized Jainism- Chandragupta Maurya, Kharvela of Kalinga and royal dynasties of south India such as the Ganges, the Kadambas, the Chalukyas and the Rashtrakutas