Jain Matrimony in India: find Jain brides and grooms across the country

India is home to roughly 4.45 million Jains, and they are not spread evenly. Seven states hold about nine in ten Jain families, each with its own sect, mother tongue and customs. This page explains where the community is concentrated and how to search for a Jain life partner across state lines on JainBandhu, free of charge.

Where Jain families live in India

The 2011 Census counted 4,451,753 Jains in India, about 0.37% of the population. The distribution matters for matchmaking, because it tells you where a search is likely to find profiles and which mother tongue and sect you are most likely to meet.

• Maharashtra — around 1.4 million, the largest Jain population of any state, roughly 31% of all Jains in India. Strong Digambar presence in Vidarbha, Marathwada and Kolhapur, with Shwetambar families concentrated in Mumbai and Pune.
• Rajasthan — around 622,000. Historically the heartland of several Shwetambar traditions, with Oswal, Porwal and Khandelwal families spread across Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur.
• Gujarat — about 13% of India's Jains, heavily Shwetambar, with Ahmedabad, Surat and Rajkot as the main centres.
• Madhya Pradesh — around 567,000, largely Digambar, particularly in Bundelkhand and around Indore.
• Karnataka — around 440,000, overwhelmingly Digambar, concentrated in the north of the state and in Bengaluru.
• Uttar Pradesh and Delhi — together with the five above, these account for roughly 90% of Jains in India.

Sect and region go together

Because sect and geography overlap so closely, a search that fixes both can be very narrow. A Digambar family in north Karnataka looking only within their own district may see very few profiles, while the same search widened to Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh opens up considerably. On JainBandhu the sect filter and the city filter are separate, so you can hold one steady and relax the other.

Digambar Jain matrimony

Digambar families are concentrated in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bundelkhand and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Mother tongues vary widely across that spread — Kannada, Marathi, Hindi and Bundeli — which is often a more practical consideration for daily family life than the distance itself.

Shwetambar Jain matrimony

Shwetambar families are concentrated in Gujarat, Rajasthan and the cities of Maharashtra, with Murtipujak, Sthanakvasi and Terapanth traditions each having their own practices. Families usually look within their own tradition, so it is worth setting this on your profile rather than leaving it open.

Searching across states

A cross-state match is common in Jain families and always has been — trading communities have married across regions for generations. What tends to decide it in practice is language at home and how far the families are willing to travel. When you set up your profile, filling in native place and mother tongue carefully does more to produce good matches than widening the age range.

• Set sect and sub-caste accurately — these are the filters most families use first.
• Enter gotra, since many families rule out a match on this before anything else.
• Add horoscope details if your family will ask for a kundli match. The site gives an indicative 36 guna score.
• Mention your diet honestly, including whether you avoid root vegetables.

Jain matrimony in specific cities

Common questions