Jainism's decline was due to strict practices, limited missionary efforts, and the rise of Hinduism. Despite this, Jainism made significant cultural contributions. With reference to this, answer the following questions:

(a) What were the reasons for Jainism's decline?

(b) Discuss Jainism's contributions to Indian art, architecture, and literature.

(a) The reasons for Jainism's decline are given below:

1. Strict rules: The rigid practices of Jainism like severe penance and extreme non-violence, were hard for common people to follow.
2. Division into sects: After Mahavira's death, Jainism split into two groups - Shwetambaras and Digambaras, which weakened unity and efforts to spread the religion.
3. Lack of missionary effort: Unlike Buddhism, Jainism did not actively spread to other countries and remained limited to certain areas in India.
4. Loss of Royal Patronage: Jainism did not receive much royal patronage compared to Buddhism, which was supported by rulers like Ashoka and Harsha.
5. Social inequality: Although Jainism promoted equality, it did not completely remove social hierarchies, which reduced its appeal.
6. Rise of Hinduism: During the Gupta period, the resurgence of Hinduism with royal patronage confined Jainism to smaller regions.

(b) Jainism's contributions to Indian art, architecture, and literature were significant.

1. They built monasteries and temples to perpetuate the memory of their saints and sages. They also decorated their buildings with stone railings, beautiful gateways, stone umbrellas and finely carved pillars.
2. They built beautiful temples and images at their sacred places like the Parasnath Hill, Pawapuri (Bihar), Rajgriha, Girnar and Mount Abu. The Dilwara Jain temple at Mount Abu in Rajasthan is a fine specimen of Jain temple architecture.
3. The Jains also cut rocks to build caves and rock-temples. The Hathi Gumpha Cave in Odisha, the Indra Sabha Cave at Ellora and the Lion Cave in Udayagiri are the fine specimens of the Jain art.
4. The colossal statue of Bahubali (Gommateswara) which is situated at Shravanbelagola in Karnataka is known for its huge height (57 feet) and grandeur. This place has become an important Jain pilgrimage site.
5. Their chief works called the Angas, are written in Prakrit. They also wrote some other texts in Apabhramsa. They also took to Sanskrit and wrote legends, fables, and several valuable books on grammar and poetics which contributed richly to the development of the Sanskrit language.