Glimpses of Jaina Vestiges in Andhradesa

Author(s): H Sarkar
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GLIMPSES OF JAINA VESTIGES IN ANDHRADESA H. Sarkar Much has been written about the contribution of Andhradesa to the development of the Buddhist thought as well as art and Architecture from about the third century B.C. onwards. The coming to light of the foundations of over a score of Brahminical temples at Nagarjunakonda (District Guntur), datable to c century A. D., apart from the famous Linga (c. 1st cent. B.C.) in the Gudimallam temple (near Renigunta in District Chittoor) as well as the temple of Kapotesvara at Cejjarla (District Guntur), offered indubitable proof of the rise of Brahminical cults here during the early centuries of the Christian era. On the other hand, little is known about the growth and spread of Jainism here because of the lack of any systematic study of the scattered remains of this faith in Andhra Pradesh'. In this paper an attempt is therefore made to show, on the basis of a brief survey of Jaina vestiges in this region, that this religion, too, had gained a foothold here alongside the other cults and faiths. In point of fact, archaeological vestiges of Jaina images and buildings have been. discovered practically from all parts of Andhradesa. Gopalkrishna Murthy has listed over 80 sites which have yielded images of Tirthankaras or some related material as evidence. For the sake of convenience, these sites may be divided into two geographical units: (i) those situated along the fertile coastal tracts mainly covering the Godavari-Krsna basins; and (ii) those located in the Rayalsima and Telingana regions which for the greater part border the Karnataka plateau and Maharashtra. Understandably, the latter represents an extension of Jainism that flourished in Karnataka and Maharashtra. However, there seems a concentration of Jaina sites in the Godavari basin. But how to justify the existence of a nucleus here? On the basis of the literary traditions, scholars say that Jainism penetrated into Andhradesa in the fourth and third century B.C.3; but one has to assess critically all literary, epigraphical, and archeological data before admitting this as an established fact. Archaeological vestiges and epigraphical data in the present stage of research do not seem to take back the history of Jainism in Andhradesa to such remoter past as there is nothing very specific to date a flourishing phase for Jainism before the seventh century A. D. or thereabout. At the same time, one must not assume that Jainism was not there at all before the seventh century, for theoretically speaking, one cannot rule out the possibility of its spread from Kalinga when the Mahameghavahana rulers like Kharavela, who were champions of Jainism, had been holding sway over parts of what is now the northern Andhra Pradesh. Further, some movement of the Jaina missionaries may have taken place in the pre-Christian times as can be postulated from the occurrence of innumerable rockshelters for Jaina monks all along the Coromondal coast from Nellore southwards,

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66 H. Sarkar Nirgrantha some of the rock-shelters in Tamilnadu arguably dating back to the third-second century B.C. The seventh century, then, may be looked upon as the resurgence of Jainism in the Godavari basin and it coincided with the conquest of the region by the Calukya monarch Pulakesi II, this was about A. D. 631. After annexing the area, he placed his brother Kubja Visnuvardhana as the king to rule the conquered territory. Kubja Visnuvardhana was the founder of the collateral branch of the Calukyas, known to the modern historians as Eastern Calukyas with their capital at Pistapura (Pithapuram). We know that, in the Calukyan kingdom in Karnataka, Jainism had been in a flourishing state as evidenced by the Jaina cave-temple at Badami (Cave IV) and at aihole (Mina basadi) (both c. late 6th cent. A. D.) as well as the Meguti temple (A. D. 634) at the last-noted place. Jainism, by analogy, and there is in fact sufficient evidence, also began to flourish in the newly established Calukyan domains in Andhradesa. Kubja Visnuvardhana's consort Ayyana Mahadevi, for example, extended support to Jainism as is evident from her gift, as recorded in an inscription, to a Jaina temple, the Nedumbi vasati at Bijavada, of the village of Musinikunda. The place may be identified with the present Vijayavada in District Krishna, which has revealed the remains of a Jaina establishment as indicated by the presence of Jaina sculptures. It appears that the Nedumbi vasati was built by the queen herself". The Vijayavada Museum has a figure of standing caturmukha image which might have once graced the sanctum of a sarvatobhadra shrine. Stylistically, the sculpture may be dated to the ninth century A. D. (plate 1). However nothing is known about the actual location of this Jaina establishment'. The Krsna basin is as fertile as the Godavari delta where Vengi is situated and it is, therefore, no wonder that the Jaina settlements would come up all along the coastal belt. There is one other epigraph indicating Vijayvada's importance as the centre of Jainism: The Masulipatnam inscription of Ammaraja II', which opens with the invocation to the god Visnu, records a charity to the Jaina religion. A Jaina pontiff (acarya) is referred to as the preceptor of the two noblemen, Bhima and Naravahana II. This acarya was the renowned Jayasena, bearing the surname Nathasena and was the disciple of Candrasena. The record mentions that Jayasena was a master of all the sastras and was well-versed in the Siddhanta (i.e. Jaina doctrine). He is said to have "attained proficiency in para-samaya" or the dogmas of other religious sects. The inscription also records the fact that acarya Jayasena, bearing the surname Nathasena, was honoured by sravakas (Jaina lay followers), ksapanakas (Jaina ascetics or yatis according to the Digambaras), Ksullakas (sravakas of a high order belonging to the ninth degree, the 11th being ailaka and the next higher order is muni or acarya), and ajjakas or ajjikas (aryikas or nuns). Two Jaina temples (Jina-bhavanas) were constructed at Vijayavatika (Vijayavada) for the benefit of this celebrated Jaina acarya. The king Ammaraja granted the village

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Vol. II-1996 Glimpses of.... of Pedda-Galidiparru and made it a deva-bhoga exempting it from all kinds of encumbrances and taxes. In this connection mention may be made of the renewal of the gift by Visnuvardhana III', a later member of the Eastern Calukyan line of rulers, to the establishment set up or patronized by Ayyana Mahadevi. These facts clearly show that Jainism had a firm foothold in the Vijayavada region in the Krsna delta during the seventh and eighth century A. D. On the basis of the aforementioned sculpture in the Vijayawada Museum, we may extend the date to at least up to the ninth century A. D. (plate 1). Yet another sculpture of the Jaina Tirthankara from the same area may be dated still later perhaps to the 12th century (Plate 2). The Eastern Calukyas had their real power centre in the Godavari basin rather than in the Krsna delta which of course had been a part of their kingdom. From Pistapura, the seat of governance was transferred to the ancient city of Vengi, this was prior to its next transfer to Rajamahendri (modern Rajamundry) founded by Amma II (A. D. 945-970). The Kalucumbarru grant of Amma [110 registers the gift of the village Kalacumbarru in the Attilinandu province to a Jaina teacher named Arhanandi belonging to the Valahari-gana and Addakali-gaccha for the purpose of providing for repairs to the charitable dinning hall of a Jaina temple called Sarvolokasraya-Jinabhavana. Attilinandu is modern Attili in Tanuka Taluka of the Godavari delta. That the Godavari basin was an important centre of Jainism may easily be surmised from a good number of places which had yielded Jaina images. They come, to cite a few instances, from Aryavatam, Atreyapuram, Biccavolu, Kakinada, Kajulur, Pedaminam, Pithapuram, and a few other places". These images date from the 11th to the 14th century on stylistic grounds, one of these will be noticed here. The seated image of Tirthankara from Biccavolu (Plate 3), now in the Government Museum, Madras, is ascribable to the 11th century. It is well known that Biccavolu or Birudankarayaprolu has two important groups of temples of the times of the Eastern Calukyas and they date from the beginning of the ninth to the first half of the 11th century. Of these, the earlier series which includes a Jaina temple (Plate 4), on the outskirts of the village, came into existence during the rule of Gunaga Vijayaditya (848-892). There are also several sites in the District Visakhapatnam with remains of Jaina establishment. For example, Jaina images have been noticed at Bhogapuram, Gunanupuram, Lakkavarapukota, Ramatirtham, etc. "An inscription at Ramatirtham near Vijianagaram", says Pusalkar, "indicates that Jainism continued to flourish till the beginning of the eleventh century, and that the Ramatirtham hill was regarded as a place of pilgrimage by the Jains since early days. A Kannada inscription of the reign of king Vimaladitya states that Trikalayogin Siddhantadevamuni, Acarya of Desigana, who was a guru of the king, paid respects to the Ramatirtham hill. With the reign of Rajarajanarendra, son and successor of Vimaladitya, Jainism lost royal patronage and sympathy". 12 Ramatirtham was an important Buddhist centre

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H. Sarkar Nirgrantha also, and here one finds rock shelters of the type common in the Coromondal coastal area. On the Guru-Bhatakonda (Gurubhakta hill), about a kilometer away from Ramatirtham proper, a large boulder of overhanging rock forms a natural cave. A seated figure of Tirthankara is carved on a slab, now broken into two pieces. Rea identifies it as the ninth Tirthankara Suvidhinatha or Puspadanta, because of the presence of makara carved on the pedestal"3. It is said that Gunaga Vijayaditya, the ruler of Vengi, was for some time a feudatory of the Rastrakuta monarch Amoghavarsa (814-878) and Jainism had received a strong fillip under his patronage. He treated all creeds with equal respect and he imbibed in himself what was best in Brahmanism and Jainism. Be that as may have been, apart from Jina figures standing in the kayotsarga pose, one of them being Parsvanatha with the snake-hood over the head, there are seated Tirthankara images of Rrsabhanatha with bull as the insignia on the pedestal, next Padmaprabha and others. Most probably the Jaina establishment at Ramatirtham originally had the figures of all the 24 Tirthankaras. Many Jaina sites in the coastal tracts were situated close to the deserted Buddhist establishments. Mutilated or discarded figures of Tirthankaras have been seen at Amaravati, Gudivada, Baptla, Nagarjunakonda, Tenali, Dharmavaram, and so forth. On the Nagarjunakonda hill there are two Jaina temples, the superstructures of which are now lost. Built of dry stone masonry they may be dated to circa the 14th century. Two mutilated figures of Tirthankaras in black stone are also ascribable to the same period. One of the temples has a pedestal bearing the figures of two stylized lions, flanking a leonine figure; perhaps the pedestal belonged to Vardhamana. Simultaneously, with the introduction of stone sculptures and Jaina shrines, one finds the use of metal sculptures as is attested by the discovery of hoards at Baptla, in District Guntur, and Mediconda in District Mehboonagar. U.P. Shah has published photographs of several of the metal images including those from Lingasoor (Lingasur) in District Raichur'. One of the bronzes from Lingasoor (no. 16 of Shah), has been dated by him to the sixth century; however, it will be safer to date it to the ninth on stylistic considerations. Shah dates some of the Baptla images (his nos. 17-19) to the seventh or eighth century though they may in reality be ascribed to the tenth. Most of the Mediconda images (nos. 23, 3132, 45, 47-51 of Shah) are ascribable to the 12th century. The image from Buddhapada, also published by Shah (his no. 62), is an example of the tenth or the 11th century. An interesting feature of these bronzes is their affinity with a strain of the northern tradition. One notices the same northern features in the rock carvings (Plate 5 and 6) from Hanamkonda (Anamkonda) in District Warangal. These rock-cut Tirthankara figures may be dated to the 11th century and may have come into existence during the Later Calukyan rule over the Warangal area. Kulpak, ancient Kollipakkai, which

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Vol. II-1996 Glimpses of.... 69 was taken through a conquest by Rajendra Cola from Calukya Satyasraya (A. D. 997-1008), has an ancient Jaina temple now under the control of the Svetambaras. On a hillock to the south of Hanamkonda stands the small temple of Padmaksi, which, unlike other buildings of the Kakatiya times, is devoid of any architectural pretensions. The rock, close to which the temple stands, bears sculptures of Jaina images seated in a row. In front of the temple is implanted an inscribed pillar with a relief of a Jina figure on the top of each face. It seems, from this inscription, of Prola (dated to A. D. 1117), that originally the temple was dedicated to the Jaina goddess Kadalalaya". Incidentally, the Jaina rock carvings are also noticed in the Vallimalai Hills in District Chittoor. It is said that Racamalla, a western Ganga prince, founded a Jaina establishment here in A. D. 820". Chittoor, in point of truth, is a part of Rayalsima which is contiguous to Karnataka. Besides Vallimalai, there is another important site at Danavulapada which laid bare a Jaina settlement. It is located in the Jammalamadugu Taluk of the District Cuddapah and was excavated by Rea in 1904-1905; the report was published in the subsequent year. Situated on the left bank of the river Pennar, the Danavulapadu (the village of danavas or raksasas) stood on a high and extensive mound. As a result of excavations, an extensive paved courtyard, a square brickbuilt shrine, with a tall but mutilated Jaina image (9' 7.5"ht.), fronted by antechamber and two stone built temples with antarala and gudhamandapa besides a portico, came to light. It seems that the brick-built shrine was earlier in date than the other (Plate 7) two. Among the sculptures (Plates 8, 9 and 10), made of imported limestone, mention may be made of a standing image of Parsvanatha, Yaksis, and seated caturmukha figure flanked on all the four sides by standing Yaksis, vahanas; it has a sculptured round base or panvattam bearing sculptured images like the four Lokapalas, namely Kubera, Varuna, Isana, Yama, and a few others. Other material includes several plain and moulded stones, a number of sculptured and inscribed panels, a torso of a female figure, a pranala held by a seated figure of a lion, and so on. Some of the sculptures of Tirthankaras may be dated to the tenth century A. D. Danavulapadu has revealed a good number of inscriptions", of which majority are nisidhis or memorials. Of these, the most important is the inscription engraved on the three faces of the sculptured pillar, now in the Government Museum, Madras. It records the military prowess of the dandanayaka Srivijaya bearing cognomens like Arivingoja, Anupamakavi, and perhaps Sarvavikramatunga. One of the faces of the inscription opens with an invocatory clause which proclaims glory to the prosperous doctrine of Jina. On the whole, Srivijaya has been described both as a great warrior as well as a matchless poet. H. Krishna Sastri, while editing the inscription, writes20: "It thus appears from an examination of the contents that the only name in the record which may be of historical interest is that king Indra (or Narendra) whose subordinate was the dandanayaka Srivijaya.

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70 H. Sarkar Nirgrantha And to judge from the characters, king Indra will have to be identified with the Rastrakuta Nityavarsa Indra III, for whom we have the dates A. D. 915 and 9167 or with Indra IV, the grandson of Krsna III who died in A. D. 982. Before attempting to decide which of the two kings could be intended here, it may be useful to mention the existence of a record of the Rastrakuta king Nityavarsa in the Jaina ruins of Danavulapadu, quite close to where the subjoined pillar was dug. It is engraved round the rim of a stone pedestal and consists of a single Sanskrit verse...." Sastri is inclined to identify the king with Indra III; in other words, both the epigraphs belong to the beginning of the tenth century A. D. This inscribed pillar surmounted by a kalasa appears to be a nisidhi and bears three bas-reliefs (Plate 11); the lowest has a horse with a rider together with an umbrella-bearer standing behind; the central one shows a kneeling worshipper; and the upper panel bears a seated Tirthankara with a Yaksa and Yaksi on each side, besides three lions. The stone pedestal referred to in the quotation above is a fine piece of caturmukha sculpture (Plate 12). The circular base or panivattam is finely sculptured and bears an inscription the purport of which is that Nityavarsa (Indra III) caused this pitham for the bathing ceremony of santinatha, the 16th Tirthankara. There are about half a dozen nisidhis here2l, each of which bears an inscription (Plates 13 and 14). One such memorial refers to Kanakakirtideva, a preceptor of Adisetti, while the other mentions one Adi(setti), son of Ballava Simgisetti of Penugonde. Another pillar divided into two panels-lower one showing a worshipper and the upper seated Tirthankara-mentions the burial as of Mamgava, daughter of Vijayanna, a vaisya of Penumgonda. This Penumgonda or Penugonde is modern Penukonda in District Anantapur and was famous as one of the vidyasthanas or seat of leaning of the Digambara Jainas of Karnataka. These epigraphs may belong to the 14th century. It is thus evident from the foregoing discussion that Jainism flourished in Andhradesa from the seventh to about the 14th century. There were Jaina settlements all over the coastal areas and in Telingana and Rayalsima regions. Impetus came not only from Karnataka but also from Maharashtra and Central India; the plastic tradition betrays virtually np influence of the Tamil country.

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Vol. 11-1996 Glimpses of.... ANNOTATIONS : 1. There is no separate chapter or sub-section on Jaina art and architecture in Andhradesa in the two major publications : Jaina Art and Architecture in three volumes, ed. A. Ghosh, New Delhi 1974; and Aspects of Jaina Art and Architecture, eds. U.P. Shah and M.A. Dhaky, Ahmedabad 1975, the last-noted volume was the result of the seminar convened in Ahmedabad during the 2500th Anniversary of Bhagavan Mahavira Nirvana. 2. S. Gopalkrishna Murthy, Jaina Vestiges in Andhra, Hyderabad 1963, pp.ii and iii at the end of the text. (Places like Bhubaneswar, Hampi, Hyderabad, Madras, etc. have been, in the context of this paper, excluded from his list.) 3. P. B. Desai, Jainism in South india and Some Jaina Epigraphs, Sholapur 1957, pp. 3. 15. Here he analyzes the tradition recorded in the 11th asvasa or chapter of the Jaina work Dharmamrita by Nayasena. Says Desai (p. 5): "Dharmamrita, the receptacle of this story, is a Kannada poetic work composed in the Champu style. Its author Nayasena hailed from Mulgunda in the Dharwar District of the Bombay State. He was a distinguished scholar and a reputed teacher of the Jaina faith. He wrote this book in A. D. 1112." Another version of Nayasena's narrative is met with in an earlier Jaina work, the Brhat-kathakosa of Harisena (A. D. 933). Desai has also tried to make use of the local kaifiyats or village chronicles to deduce therefrom some historical elements. 4. The Stupa excavated in recent years at Vaddhamana has been claimed to be of Jaina affiliation. Though it is not unlikely, this is to be so proven beyond doubt and hence left out of consideration here. 5. The classical Age, R.C. Majumdar et al, (eds.), Volume III, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Series, Bombay 1970, pp. 250-251. The date A. D. 624 is taken by many scholars as the beginning of the rule of Kubja-Visnuvardhana in Andhradesa. 6. The temple belonged to the Kavururi gana and Saingha anvaya and the gift was bequeathed by the queen Ayyana Mahadevi to the Jaina teacher Kalibhadracarya. See Desai, Jainism., p.19. 7. According to Gopalkrishna Murthy (cf. his p. 20), "The queen Ayanamhadevi of the first Eastern chalukyan monarch donated a village Musinikonda to a Jaina temple Nadumbi Vasadi of Vijayawada in A. D. 627. This Vasadi, the first dated Jaina establishment in Andhra, was most probably on the Mallikarjuna hill." 8. B.V. Krishna Rao, "Masulipatam Plates of Ammaraja II," Epigraphia Indica XXIV, pp. 286 ff. 9. The Musinikonda Charter of A. D. 726, records the gift of a village to the same Jaina temple. It was issued by king Visnuvardhana III but was executed by the queen. Although Visnuvardhana III abdicated the throne in about A. D. 746, he probably lived up to A. D. 762. It is quite likely that the grant was issued by his successor. 10. J.F. Fleet, "Kaluchumbarru, Grant of Vijayaditya II," Epigraphia Indica, VII (1902-03), p.

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H. Sarkar Nirgrantha 179. 11. For illustrations, see Gopalkrishna Murthy, Jaina vestiges. 12. A. D. Pusalkar in the Age of Imperial Kanauj, R.C. Majumdar et al (eds.), Bharatiya Bhavan Series, Volume IV, Bombay 1955, p. 290. 13. A. Rea, "Buddhist Monasteries on the Guru Bhatakkonda and Durgakonda Hills at Ramatirtham," Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India 1910-11, Calcutta 1914, pp. 78-87. See there plates XLIII, 3 to 8. 14. H. Sarkar & B.N. Misra, Nagarjunakonda, New Delhi 1980, p. 53. 15. U.P. Shah, "Jaina Bronzes--a brief survey" in Aspects of Jaina Art and Architecture, eds. U.P. Shah and M.A. Dhaky, Ahmedabad 1975, pp. 269-298. 16. Gopalkrishna Murthy, Jaina vestiges., p. 24. 17. H. krishna Sastri, "Anmakonda Inscription of Prolu," Epigraphia Indica, ix, pp. 256 267. 18. A. Rea "Buried Jaina Remains at Danavulapad," Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India 1905-06, Calcutta 1909, pp. 120-127. 19. Annual Report on South Indian Epigraphy 1905, nos 330-338. 20. H. Krishna Sastri, "Danavulapadu Pillar Inscription of Srivijaya," Epigraphia Indica, x, 1909-1910, pp. 147-153. Identification of Srivijya is rather uncertain. 21. Nisidhi is a memorial either in the form of an independent tablet or a portion of a shrine, or a pillar or a doorway or even a mandapa. For its meaning see A.N. Upadhye, "Nisidhi -- Its Meaning", Memorial Stones, eds. S. Settar and Gunther D. Sontheimer, Dharwar 1982, pp. 45-46. This volume also contains other articles dealing with the subject of Nisidhi.

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1. Caturmaukha Jina image. Vijayvada, Andhra Pradesh, c. 9th Cent. A. D., Vijayawada Museum. (Courtesy, Archaeological Survey of India.) 2. Jina, seated. Andhra Pradesh, 12th century; Vijayawada Museum. (Courtesy Archaeological Survey of India.) 3. Jina, seated. Biccavolu, Andhra Pradesh, 11th cent. A. D. Government Museum, Madras. For Private & Personal Use Onli

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4. Biccavolu, Andhra Pradesh. Jaina temple. c. 9th cent. A. D. (Courtesy Archaeological survey of India). 5. Hanamkonda, Andhra Pradesh. Rock-cut Jina and associated figures, c. 11th cent. A. D. (Courtesy Archaeological survey of India.) E ersoalous Oy

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6. Hanamkonda, Andhra Pradesh. Rock cut figure of Parsvanatha. c. 11th cent. A. D. (Courtesy, Archaeological Survey of India.) 8. Danavulapadu. Jina Parsvanatha. c. 10th cent. A. D. (Courtesy, Archaeological Survey of India.) 7. Danavulapadu, Andhra Pradesh. Excavated remains. (Courtesy, Archaeological Survey of India.)

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9. Danavulapadu. Jina Parsvanatha. c. 10th cent. A. D. 10. Danavulapadu. Yaksi, c. 10th cent. A. D.

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11. Danavulapadu. Carved pillar, c. 10th cent. A. D. 12. Danavulapadu. Suparsvanatha in Caumukha, inscribed, c. 10th cent. A. D.

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13. Danavulapadu, sculptured epitaph. c. 14th cent. A. D. GEOBOGouis Gn562UOG 6661&ous ? 4. Danavulapadu, another sculptured epitaph. c. 14th cent. A. D. For Private & P the brary org