History of Rastrakutas of Malkhed and Jainism

Author(s): Nagarajaiah Hampa
Publisher: Ankita Pustak
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/006719/1

Page #1
A HISTORY OF THE RASTRAKUTAS OF MALKHED AND JAINISM NAGARAJAIAH, HAMPA BRONZE IMAGE OF MANIKYA JINA COMMISSIONED BY KUNDANARASI IN C.E.960 DAUGHTER OF GANGA BUTUGA (C.E. 935-61)

Page #2
About the Author Prof. Nagarajaiah, Hampa one of the major literatteurs of Karnataka, has authored more than 70 Books in Kannada and English, on varied subjects including Linguistics, History and Epigraphy, Textual Criticism, Folklore, Biography, Translation, Children Literature and Jainism. Some of his books have been translated to English, Hindi, Marathi and Telugu. He has taught under-graduate and post-graduate classes for 371/2 years. He has served Kannada Sahitya Parishat as Secretary, (8yrs) and as President (8 yrs). With 'hampana' as his nom de plume he is a recipient of a number of state and national awards. Contemporary men of letters have honoured him by presenting five felicitatory volumes. Dr. Nagarajaiah has presented papers at the National and Inter-National congress and delivered endowment lectures at various Universities. His contribution to the study of Jainology is voluminous and significant.

Page #3

Page #4
A HISTORY OF THE RASTRAKUTAS OF MALKHED AND JAINISM Prof. Nagarajaiah, Hampa (Former Professor of Bangalore University) yota ANKITA PUSTAKA 53, Shamsingh Complex, Gandhi Bazar Main Road Basavanagudi, Bangalore - 560 004 Karnataka, INDIA 699 2014(0) 652 6134 (R)

Page #5
A HISTORY OF THE RASTRAKUTAS OF MALKHED AND JAINISM by Dr. Nagarajaiah, Hampa Published by Ankita Pustaka, 53, Shamsingh Complex Gandhi Bazar Main Road, Basavanagudi Bangalore-560 004, Karnataka, INDIA. (c) 699 2014(0) 652 6134 (R) Price : Rs. 350/- $ 40 $20 Pages : XVI + 44 pages illustrations + 312 First Impression : 2000 (c) Author Cover Page : Makali ISBN: 81-87321-37-7 Published by Ankita Pustaka 53, Shamsingh Complex Gandhi Bazar Main Road Basavanagudi Bangalore-560 004 Karnataka, INDIA 699 2014(0) 652 6134 (R) Printed at kmudrnnaaly LARSKO KUDRA MALAYA Chamarajpet Bangalore - 560 018 6613123, 6618752

Page #6
Dedicated to SRI VIDYACHAND KOTHARI founder of VIDYA VINIYA PRATISHTANA Gulbarga

Page #7
AVANT PROPOS Hampa. Nagarajaiah KSR T' 0.1. This is the sixth in the series of books in English, that I have proposed to publish on different topics apropos to Jainism, with an emphasis on its historical aspect. 0.2. Main aim of this book is to record the character, position, genesis and chronicler of Jainism as it prevailed in the Rastrakuta age. Major sources of this book are epigraphs and corroborative literary works of the eon. Proper care is bestowed to shift the grain from the husk, leaving aside the legends and exaggeration. Without loading the writing with too many technical terms, of either Jaina religion or architectural details, I have endeavoured to delineate the history of the Rastrakutas and Jainism. 0.3. Sri. Vidyachand Kothari, a born trader and burgher of Gulbarga city, in the evening of his life, had withdrawn from terrestrial interests, devoting most of his time for a deep study on Jainology. His personal library, containing thousands of books on art, architecture, religion and literature, is one Monolith Column Ellora

Page #8
of the best individual libraries in the state. It was his cherished ambition that I should author a book on 'A History of the Rastrakutas of Malkhed and Jainism'. 0.4. When everything was going well, all of a sudden death snatched away Mr. Vidyachand Kothari, leaving his imprints on the socio-cultural ethos of Gulbarga. It is so unfortunate that he could not see his wish was accomplished. I pay homage to the departed soul by dedicating the work to his memory. 0.5. After the sad demise of Sri Vidyachand Kothari, his wife Smt. Kothariji persisted that I should fulfill the last desire of her husband. I express my deep sense of gratitude to Mrs. Kothariji, for her generous assistance and enlightened concern. 0.6. The author acknowledges help and encouragement received from: * Trustees of Vidya Vinaya Pratishthana. * Prof. M. A. Dhaky, Prof. Kamala Hampana, D. N. Akki, V. G. Andani, S. K. Aruni. Prakash Kambattalli (publisher - Ankita Pustaka), Makali (artist), Ashok Kumar (Printers) American Institute of Indian Studies - for permitting to make use of their photos and to quote the paragraphs from the volume of Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture [(eds) Michael W. Meister and M. A. Dhaky). A. V. Nagnoor (ASI, Dharwada), A. B. Pandit, J. V. Vardhaman, Subhashcandra Babu and Vijaya kumar Kivade. 23 January 2000 SCINA Se Teutre P PIHITA Tyagada Brahmmadeva Pillar Sravanabelagola

Page #9

Page #10
Avant Propos Illustrations 1. The Rastrakuta Monarchs - A/1 2. The Rastrakuta Monarchs - B/19 3. The Rastrakuta Feudatories/45 4. Sanskrit Literature / 61 5. Kannada Literature / 108 6. Prakrit Literature / 166 7. Jaina Sangha / 192 8. CONTENTS Art and Architecture/212 Appendix / 256 * * Maps * Index Opinion

Page #11

Page #12
ABBREVIATIONS AKT: Aradhana Karnata Tika C. E.: Current Era Cent. : Century C'Raya : Camundaraya Comm. : Commentary Dt: District EC: Epigraphia Carnatika Volumes EI : Epigraphia Indica Volumes EITA : Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture ed(s): Editor (s) IA : Indian Antiquary Volumes IAP : Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh ibid : ibidem, same as above "Intro" : Introduction KI: Karnatak Inscription Volumes MAR: Mysore Archaeological Report Pk: Prakrit pp : pages SB : Sravanabelagola SII : South Indian Inscription Volumes Sk : Sanskrit

Page #13

Page #14
3

Page #15
6

Page #16
7

Page #17
9 11 10

Page #18
12 14 13 15

Page #19
16 17

Page #20
19

Page #21
22

Page #22
23 25 670 24

Page #23
26 27

Page #24
29 28 30

Page #25

Page #26
33 34

Page #27
35 36

Page #28
37 38 on

Page #29
39 41

Page #30
45 44

Page #31
46 47

Page #32
49 50

Page #33
51 52

Page #34
UNE w 54

Page #35
55 56

Page #36
57 58

Page #37
59 60

Page #38
61 63

Page #39
64

Page #40
www . 67

Page #41
83 68

Page #42
73 72

Page #43
75 76 78

Page #44
79

Page #45
80 81

Page #46

Page #47
84 85 86

Page #48
87 89 88

Page #49
90 92 FOSTERE 91

Page #50
93 95

Page #51
96 97

Page #52
98 99 100

Page #53
F.5 10 15 20 Kambadahalli. Pancakuta-basti, plan. (Courtesy: Department of Archaeology, Karnataka.) 101

Page #54
-- +*N Sravana Belagola. Camundaraya-basti.plan. (Courtesy: Department of Archaeology. Karnataka.) 102

Page #55
9462999 ITMI F. 50 Sravana Belago!a. Candragupta-basti, elevation. (Courtesy: Department of Archaeology. Karnataka.)

Page #56
104 ESECEI GATTA T here ALA LLLL 1 Sravana Belago!a. Camundaraya-basti, side elevation. (Courtesy: Department of Archaeology, Karnataka.)

Page #57
NAVODA wwser DORADO W AVUMILITIAVE IND . Waumas GRAVIDA month . F.OU Ellora. Indrasabha cave, monolithic column. 105

Page #58
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. DETAILS OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS Earliest Jina Parsva image with five-hooded canopy, at Mallasamudra (Gadag Dt): early 8th cent. Jina Parsva image in the Jinalaya at Gadi-Kesvara : late 7th or early 8th cent. Gadi-Kesvara Navaranga Pillar details Bankesa Jinalaya at Konnur (Gadag Dt); C. E. 860: Vimana, back-side Garbhagrha doorframe details with lalata Jinabimba, Konnur Slab containing charter of C. E. 860, inside sabhamandapa Arhat Parsva image at the spot where the broken cupola of the shrine had fallen from the top 8. Front-view of the shrine as it exists now 9. Mahavira Jina at Mallasamudra : early 9th cent. 10. Jina from Harasur; mid 9th cent. (Govt. Museum, Gulbarga) 11. Neminatha Jina, Harijanvada: mid 9th cent. 12. Pillar details 13. Arhat Parsva in trikuta-Jinalaya at Mulgunda, C. E. 902-03 14. Mulgunda inscription of C. E. 902 and sculuptural details 15. Decorated elephant, Mulgunda, east vimana 16. Decorated elephant, Mulgunda, west vimana 17. Yadrami (Jevargi Tk) crumbled Jaina temple ruins of 10th cent. 18. Bankur Jaina vestiges of early 10th cent. 19. Kalasapura Jina image: 10th cent. 20. Kalasapura: aged ruins of Yaksi and caumukha 21. Kalasapura: Tall image of Jina 22. Kalasapura: Nisidhi sculptures 23. Jina images at Aland: early 10th cent.

Page #59
24. Huge Arhat Parsva mutilated figure at Mangalagi : late 9th cent. 25. Ruined Temple site 26. Vacant cushion (behind seated Jina) 27. Trikuta - Jinalaya, Kalagi : early 10th cent. front-view 28. Kalagi Jinalaya Vimana 29. Arhat Parsva mutilated, Kalagi 30. Brhmakanta - simhapada class of column at Jevargi-Jinalaya (now Marutiguli): late 9th cent. 31. Brahmakanta - simhapada pillar 32. Makara-torana above the columns 33. Dilapidated dvitala Jaina shrine at Dandoti, 10th cent. 34. Ruined basadi at Sedam : early 10th cent. 35. Padmabbarasi basadi at Naregal, C. E. 950. Vimana, south east 36. Pillar details 37. Padmasila in the ceiling 38. Gudhamandapa door-frame, Harasur 39. Torso of Yaksa at Gadi-Kesvara, 7th_gth cent. 40. Sarvahna Yaksa, Bankur, mid 9th cent. 41. Sarvahna Yaksa, Kollur, mid 9th cent. 42. Kusmandi Yaksi, in the vestibule, early gth cent. at Harijanvala 43. Amra Yaksi inside Bankur Jinalaya, mid 9th cent. 44. Pediment shaped Amra Yaksi at Aland basadi, mid. 9th cent. 45. Amra with aureola at Malkhed, late 9th cent. 46. Dharanendra in the sanctum at Mangalagi, late 9th cent. 47. Srutadevi, seated on lotus placed on swanpedestal, at Tadakal 48. Arampart inside the fort with its reareside entrance; late 10th cent.; Malkhel 49. Arhat-Parsva figure at the lalata, as tutelary figure of the entrace door frame of the palace: Tailapa-II period : Malkhed 50. Kagina river on the backside of the fortress : Malkhel

Page #60
51. Ellara, Indra Sabha, Jaina cave 32 52. Ellora, Jagannatha Sabha, Jaina cave 33 53. Jagannatha Sabha ground floor 54. Homage to Bahabali, Ellora 55. Sarvahna Yaksa, Jagannatha Sabha 56. Ambika Yaksi, Jagannatha Sabha 57. Indra Sabha, upper floor 58. Jaina shrine, Biccavolu (A. P.): c. 9th cent. 59. Caturmukha Jina image, Vijayavada (Museum): 9th cent. 60. Excavated remains at Danavulapadu (AP), early 10th cent. 61. Arhat Parsva, Danavulapalu 62. Carved pillar, Danavulapadu 63. Suparsvanatha in Caumukha, inscribed, Rastrakuta Nityavarsa period Danavulapadu 64. Sarvahna, Indrasabha Upper Storey Verandah of the Main Hall, Ellora 65. Ambika, Indra Sabha South wall, Ellara 66. Yaksa at Kelsuru, renovated 67. Mahavira-Jina, Kambadahalli 68. Bahubali and Parsva, A pillar in Bogarabasadi, Hombuja 69. Kuge Brahmmadeva Pillar, Candragiri 70. Camundaraya basadi, Vimana 71. Parsva shrine, Vimana, Hombuja 72. Dhavala-Saras, Sravanabelagola 73. Jina Parsva in Makkala basadi, Hombuja 74. Arhad Parsva at Hombuja 75. Earliest five-hooded Parsva, Mallasamudra 76. Jina-Parsva, Hombuja 77. Parava stele, upper portion details 78. Parsva stele, Hombuja 79. C'Raya Temple, Candragiri 80. Votive Caumukha, Laksmesvara 81. Pancakuta basadi, Kambadahalli

Page #61
82. Nisidhi Pillar of Indra-IV, C. E. 982, Candragiri 83. Hasti-hasta banister, Mulgunda 84. Seated Jina, Are-Tippur 85. Jaina Vestiges, Are-Tippur 86. Camaradhara, Kambadahalli 87. Pillar at Hale - Belagola 88. Vidyadevi, Saligrama 89. Maleyur Jinalaya Vimana 90. Bronze sculpture of Bahubali, 9th cent., Prince of Wales Mu seum, Bombay 91. Bahubali on the crest of a Hill, Are-Tippur 92. Cikka - Hanasoge Jinalaya 93. Koppala Fort 94. Gommatesvara of World Heritage 95. A seated diety at Kambadahalli 96. Jina sculpture on the Hill, Koppala 97. A panoramic view of the Candragiri Hill 98. Jina sculpture, Gavimatha, Koppala 99. Jina sculpture, Candrama Rock, Koppala 100. Trikuta-basadi, Vimana, Kambadahalli 101. Kambadahalli basadi plan 102. Camundaraya basadi plan 103. Camundaraya basadi, elevation 104. Camundaraya basadi, side elevation 105. Ellora, Monolithic column

Page #62
CHAPTER - 1 THE RASTRAKUTA MONARCHS - A 1.1. The origin of the Rastrakutas has been traced to Latur (Lattalur/Lattanur/Rattanur), a town in modern Osmanabad Dt, in the Marathvada region of the modern Maharastra. Latur situated in between Ellora and Malkhed lends support to this theory. Some epigraphs contain the expression of Lattalura - Puravaradhisa, lord of the city Lattalur. It is suggested that the imperial family name Rastrakuta'was professional designation meaning, the head of territorial division of Rastra'. 1.1.1. But, difference of opinion regarding the original home and the location of their capital, still persists. Available data suggests that Govindaraja (C. 611 C.E.), the probable progenitor of the Rastrakuta dynasty, was a vassal of Budharaja, the Kalacuri monarch, settled in Elapura (Ellara) area. Govinda migrated to south only after Pulakesin-II accorded him a fief in C.E. 611, accepting the Calukya suzerainty. For nearely a hundred years or more, they remained loyal to the Calukyas of Badami (Sk. Vatapi), till Dantidurga became their chief. Thus, the period between C. E. 620 and 730 was unconsequential. Gokak Plates 1.2. Gokak copper plates mention the name of Dejja Maharaja of the Rastrakuta dynasty. It states that

Page #63
2/The Rastrakutas and Jainism Indranandi of Sendrakas, Duke of Jambukhandi under Dejja Maharaja, alloted 50 nivartanas of land in the village Jalara of Kasmandi-Visaya, for the worship of Arhanta, 'one who has attained omniscience and worthy of worship'. The donee was Aryanandi of Jambukhanda gana, a cohort of Jaina friars. This donation was made in the year C.E. 532-33. 1.2.1. The earliest known incription of the Rastrakuta's are Samanagada charter of Dantidurga (? 753 C.E) and Pune epigraph of Krsna-1 (C.E. 758), in the south. In the Madhya Pradesh, Tivarkhed copper plate of Nannaraja and Undikavatika epigraph of Abhimanyu are of the same period as the Gokak plate of Dejja Maharaja. But the name of Dejja does not appear in the known genealogy of the Rastrakutas of Malkhed. 1.2.1.1. It is presumed to have been that, the Rastrakutas, of the first phase in the south, were subjugated by the Calukyas of Badami in the mid sixth century, and the defeated Rastrakutas migrated to Elapura region. Again, after they were extended a refuge, they imigrated southward to mobilise under the aegis of the Calukyas. In the mid eighth century, once again the Rastrakutas emerged victorious to reign for over two hundred years as the greatest imperial dynasty, far greater than the Calukyas who were their overlords. This would be their second phase, if Dejja Maharaja's authenticity is accepted. Albeit, as history repeated once again, the Rastrakutas were heavily crushed, never to soar again, by the same branch of the Calukyas, who opened their second phase more brilliantly than their first phase, to rule far greater empire for another two hundred years. 1.2.2. Towards the end of sixth century, in the south, the Kadamba power was on decline giving room for the Calukyas of Badami to consolidate their political might. By the beginning of eighth century, the Rastrakutas were slowly

Page #64
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - A/3 but steadily gaining prominence. Manaka was in possession of Vidarbha and Asmaka, seized from the Vakatakas. The weakened potence of the Calukyas gave fresh impetus to the Rastrakutas might that was in abeyance. They gained firm foot hold and held their sway extended from Manpur in Malva to Pandurangapalli in the south. 1.2.3. After vanquishing the Calukyas of Badami (Sk. Vatapi), the Rastrakutas, the greatest of India's imperial dynasties, like the Mauryas and the Guptas, founded a great empire, vaster than any before their times, which included not only Karnataka but also most of the Daksinapatha. 1.2.3.1. Subordinates usurping the throne of their overlords is proverbial in history. The Rastrakutas who had remained faithful to the Calukyas of Badami, their masters, from the time of Govindaraja-I (C.E. 611) to the later period of Dantidurga, who routed Kirtivarma-II in C. E. 753, himself assuming sovereign titles. His uncle Krsna-I did the rest of subjugating the imperial Calukyas on one side and quelling the Gangas on the other side. 1.2.3.2. Thus, Dantidurga and Krsna-I successfully completed their conquests by ejecting the Calukyas, the provine of Valabhi, and Khetakahara-Visaya (Kaira Dt). With the acquisition of the dominions held by the Badami Calukyas and a large extent of adjacent territory, the Rastrakutas stamped their supermacy over greater portion of south India. Dantidurga assumed the imperial epithet of Raja Paramesvara. By then, as stated above, the Ganga sway had ceased and their sovereignty was methodically wrested from them by the Rastrakutas, who went on consolidating their political strength. 1.2.4. By the time of Amoghavarsa-I the Rastrakutas had virtually become Daksina-pathesvaras, the masters of large parts of southern and western India. They were considered on par with other imperial dynasties like the

Page #65
4 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Mauryas and the Guptas. As will be seen, during the reign of Govindaraja-III (794-814), they successfully marched upto Kanauj and the river Ganga. Pulakesi was the first of Karnataka kings to be recognised as Daksina-pathesvara. But it was left to the era of Rastrakuta kingdom to cross the laksmana-rekha of Daksinapatha to knock the strong walls of Uttara patha monarchs. Daksinapatha extends from the Godavari in the north down to Kaveri in the south, bordered on the west by the Arabian sea and in the east extending approximately to 780 longitude. 1.2.4.1. Puligere (Laksmesvara), Onkunda, Kopana and Kisuvolal (Pattadakal) - were the main nerve centres where Kannada was spoken in all its purity, during this period. Vanavasi (Banavasi, Vijaya-Vaijayanti) Visaya - 12,000, to the east of Konkana, Kalvappu, Pannata, Gangavadi - 96,000, Kuhundi-mandala-3000, Puligere-300, Belvola-300, Panungal-500, Santalige-1000, Mandali-1000 and many other nadus, Kampanas in the northern region were included in the vast empire. From its dawning as imperial power in around C. E. 757 to its downfall by C. E. 973/79, the Rastrakutas were in complete sway over all these minor and major administrative units. 1.2.4.2. Subhatunga Indra, father of Dantidurga and duchy of Lata, who had heavy leanings to wards Jaina faith, commissioned Subhatunga-vasati in Vatagrama (Vatanagara/Vadner: Nasik Dt), a famous Jaina settlement. Svami Virasena of Panca stupanvaya and Jinasenacarya lived in the cloister at Vatagrama. Before taking the stupendous commentary on the Satkhandagama, JinasenaII completed Parsvabhyudaya, poem in Sanskrit, in C. E. 782, which has been referred in Harivamsa-purana of Jinasena-I (C. E. 784). Since the period of Amoghavarsa-I was the pivot and peak of the imperial dynasty and Jainism, it deserves an in extenso discussion.

Page #66
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - A/5 1.2.5. During the reign of Govinda-III, the Rastrakuta kingdom had expanded on all the four cardinal directions. Srivijaya (C.E. 850) states that the Kaveri and the Godavari had demarcated the southern and northern boundaries, in the north it extended for beyound the Godavari upto Narmada. His work Kavirajamarga (CE. 850) is silent about the western and eastern boundaries of the state. The Rastrakuta dominion stretched as for as the Arabian sea in the west and the tracts of Warrangal and Cuddapah in the east. In toto, the Rastrakutas held sway over the present Maharastra and Karnataka, parts of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu. Even when the rest of India was not included in its territory, reputation of the kingdom traversed from Mount Himalaya to Kanyakumari, asetu Himacala, and from Saurastra to Kamarupa. 1.3. Racamalla-I (C.E.816-43), the Ganga king, seething with discontent, was allowed to rule over only the southern part of the vast Gangavadi - 96000. Bankesa was governing the northern portion. Racamalla-I made a futile attempt to recover the whole Gangavadi territory, and was thwarted by the gallant Bankarasa. The Gangas persisted their attempt, met with a brief success, when Nitimarga annexed the much wanted northern part of the Gangavadi, ceasing the opportunity of the nonresidence of the general Bankarasa who had left for Gurjaradesa to quell a rebellion. 1.3.1. At the behest of the emperor Amoghavarsa-I, Gunaga Vijayaditya of Vengi, grandson of Vijayaditya-II, rushed to the spot to crush the unruly bellingerent, and the Ganga king had to sue for peace. For the Gangas, that was the end of their independent rule, and the years that followed was of sugar plum subordination. Bankesa captured Kaidala, on the outskirts of the modern Tumkur, and Talavanapura. As a reward Bankeya obtained Banavasi - 12000. 1.4. It was the same period when there was such a

Page #67
6/The Rastrakutas and Jainism cordial relationship between Gujarat and Karnataka. The royalty has close contacts with Gujarata, and a seperate, rather an independent Rastrakuta principality was established in Gujarata, at the time of Kakkaraja-II, uncle of Amoghavarsa-I. 1.4.1. The cheering that Nirgrantha creed received in medieval Gujarat during the period of the Rasstrakutas, i.e., between C. E. 808-88, deserves attention and encomium : "some copper-plate records of the Rastrakuta period mention the existence of certain groups in the Jaina church. For instance, a copper plate grant of 821, belonging to the period of Karkaraja Suvarnavarsa, mentions the existence of the Jaina monastic community of the sena and the Mulasanghas along with a Jaina temple and a monastery at Nagasarika, identified with modern Navsari" [Ghosh, A. (ed): vol. 1.:31, EI. XXI. pp. 136-44, C. E. 821]. It is interessing to note that the Rastrakutas of Gujarat have used Kannada for the signmanual in the Sanskrit records. 1.4.2. Jaina acaryas, their congregation and cohorts moved freely between Karnataka and Gujarata. Prominent to migrate from Kittur, metropolis city of Punnata country in Karnataka, was Punnata - samgha. Both Jinasena-I who wrote the Jaina Epic Harivamsapurana in C. E. 783 at Vardhamanapura (Wardhvan Kathaiwar). Harisena composed his magnum opus narrative kavya Brhat-katha-kos in 931-32 at the same place. Vinayapala alias Vinayakapala of the Gurjara Pratihara dynasty of Kanauj was on the throne. Jinasena-I, Harisena and Vinayapala were disciples of Punnata-samgha. King Indraraja of Kanauj was ruling in the north, Srivallabha alias Govinda-II (son of Krsnanrpa-I in the south, Vatsaraja, king of Avanti, in the East, and Vira Janavaraha in the West ruling over the Sauramandala, i.e., Saurastra. Therefore, indirectly speaking, the works of Jinasena-I and Harisena may be considered as the literary product of Karnataka and of Rastrakuta age.

Page #68
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - A/7 1.4.3. Jainism proceeded on the path of all round prosperity. It sprang to unprecedented grandeur. Jinasena (-I and -II), Virasena, Mahaviracarya, Sakatayana, Gunabhadra, Asaga, and many more monk-scholars belonged to Kannada stock. Their association with Karnataka is not accidental, where as Gollacarya from Golladesa, Puspadanta from north, Nemicandra Siddhanta Cakravartti from Tamilnadu is worth consideration. During the hey days of the Rastrakutas, Karnataka had become the melting pot of creative genius and other talents. The roads of opportunity for the glow of gift and knack were connected to the Rastrakuta avenue. 1.4.4. Wether the Rastrakutas were Jains ab initio like the Gangas, is not definite. Some of them were Jains ad libitum, at one's pleasure. Like all royal dynasties, the Rastrakutas had developed a sense of liberality and catholicism. Whatever be the creed they had adopted as their own, the Rastrakutas willingly conceeded to others a similar freedom of choice and action. Many are instances illustrating this phenomenon. All religions and faiths were treated with exemplary tolerance and equal respect to large extent with the following dictum permeating in the kingdom: God is one His names are many The goal of spiritualism is one The paths leading to it are numerous 1.4.5. Jaina institution has passed through ages. Its growth and survival has had its wax and wane. De facto advancement of Jainism was from the beginning tied to the fortunes of various ruling houses. Jainas, both the patriarchs and their laics, had remarkable ability of repeatedly being amicus curiae, friend of the court, actively supporting local monarchs. Drawing upon the literary and epigraphical

Page #69
8/The Rastrakutas and Jainism premises of specific periods and localities, Jaina community appears to have sailed safe in the Rastrakuta eon. The period of Jaina ascendancy was fast drawing to its zenith, when the throne was occupied by Amoghavarsa-I, the Rastrakuta's greatest king and an ardent follower - benefactor of Jainism. He had grown in the bon vivant, good companion of eminent Jainas de novo, from the beginning, which will be explained in the appropriate context. 1.4.6. Similar to other ruling families that preceeded, the Rastrakutas actively befriended Jaina faith. Recently, new sculptures and inscriptions have been discovered which prove the popularity of Jaina faith during the time of the Rastrakutas. 1.4.7. Without landing in the controversy of whether it was Malkhed or Morkhand (Nasik Dt), or Markhandi (Chanda Dt), or Kandara (Nanded Dt), or Ellara or Acalapura (Maharastra) that was the main capitol of the Rastrakuta empire, this monograph subscribes to the largely accepted suggestion of the historians that Malkhed was their metropolis. 1.4.8. It is presumed that Amoghavarsa developed Malkhed (Sk. Manyakheta) into a royal residence. But, the distinction of improving the city into celebrity, goes to Govindraja-III, who as the first maker of Malkhed, laid a robust foundation and expanded it into an official seat of the state. Making use of the infrastructure, Amoghavarsa fortified and glorified the place to become the greater capitol of a prosperous monarchy. 1.5. Starting from the period of Govinda-III and Amoghavarsa-I Manyakheta (Malkhed, Malayakheda), majestic capitol of an ancient kingdom, was the pivotal city of Jaina activities. Virasena, Jinasena, Srivijaya, sakatayana, Mahaviracarya, Indranandi, Ponna, Puspadanta, Asaga, Kavi-Paramesvara, Gunabhadra and

Page #70
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - A/9 host of Jaina authors, scholars, preceptors had their base at the capitol city of Malkhed. Rastrakutas shifted their imperial seat to Manyakheta, (which was already a nerve centre of Nirgranta movement), on the suggession of Jaina pontiffs. 1.5.1. Bhatta - Akalankadeva (C. 730-50) had earned greater fame for himself and for the city. One of the biggest Jaina-mathas was at Malkhed. These men of letters produced monumental works in the theological field too. Satkhanda-agama in Prakrit was the axis of rotation that augmented major commentaries. Under the patronage of Govinda-III and Amoghavarsa-I, exhaustive and authoritative commentaries were initiated. Most distinguished dual of guru-sisya, the teacher and pupil, Virasena and Jinasena jointly shouldered the completion of gigantic commentaries popularly known as Dhavala and Jaya-Dhavala, together running to a stupendous volume of one lakh and ninety six thousand slokas, a great feat of the Rastrakuta empire. 1.5.2. Manyakheta and Svetambara sect Manyakheta, capitol of the Rastrakutas, had become a major settlement of Jaina assembly. According to Haribhadrasuri, when Padalipatacarya, Svetambara Jaina pontiff, entered the southern region, Svetambara lay votaries were found in and around Manyakheta [MAR. 1923. pp. 10-11]. The early Kadambas of Banavasi had endowed for the sustenance of the Svetapatas (svetambaras). It is clearely recorded, in the fifth cen. C. E. copper plates, that Mrgesavarma, the Kadamba king had donated gifts to Svetapata-Maha-sramana-sangha' [IA. VII. p. 37]. 1.5.3. These allotment go to establish the entity of Svetambara cloister of monks and their followers in a sizable number. Prasnottara-Ratnamalika of Nrpatunga, who had

Page #71
10/The Rastrakutas and Jainism Amoghavarsa as his second name, was attributed to Vimaladitya, said to be a Svetambara ascetic [Govinda Pai, M: Nrpatunga Matavicara - article in Kannada Sahitya Parishat Patrike, vol. XII-4]. There is nothing to substantiate this assumption. On the other hand, available evidences go in favour of Nrpatunga alias Amoghavarsa as the probable author of the above work, which has been discussed elsewhere in this monogrash. The only other later reference to Svetambara sect' comes from a lithic record of Sravanabelagola (EC. II (R) 254, C. E. 1318] in denunciation of the sect. 1.5.4. Elsewhere in the south, reliable medieval references speak of the subsistence of Svetambara house holders in the neighbouring Andhradesa. Hence the possibility of the presence of Svetambara adherents in the northern region of Karnataka, including Malkhed, can not be over ruled. Still, in the south, as shown earlier, the Svetambaras and their frairs did flourish in the reign of the early Kadambas. 1.5.6. Malkhed had flowered into a marvellous city which could put to shame even the city of gods. But, king Siyaka of the Parmara dynasty of Malva had sacked and destroyed Manyakheta towards the end of 969-70 C. E. Again it was renovated and restored to old glory by Tailapa in C. E. 974. However, now it does not possess anything vital than a Jaina shrine and a moderate fortress. Yet the township is not archaeologically barren. The well planned fort on the bank of river Kagina, geniune archeaological ruins, marvellous temple, and literary evidences attest to the widely prevalent theory. The present Jaina fortress, with Jina Parsva as its lalatabimba, was reshaped during the regency of Tailapa-II (973-98). The remains of the fort confirm that it was a spacious royal palace having different gates, and one of them being a rajadvara for the members of the palace and of the seraglio.

Page #72
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - A/11 1.6. The Rastrakutas were king of kings. None of the dynasties and monarchs during that time were so powerful as the Rastrakutas. In the mid eighth cent. they inflicted a major defeat on the then potential Gangas and vanquished the puissant Calukyas of Badami. Whether they were friend or foe, it is curious to note that all these three dynasties favoured the cause of predominant Jaina faith. The Rastrakuta monarchs carried further the chariot of Jinadharma from where the Gangas and Badami Calukyas had left it. Rastrakutas defeated Calukyas politically, but the Jainism of Calukyas defeated the Rastrakutas. 1.6.1. In C. E. 754, Dantivarma spearheaded an invasion on Kirtivarma (745-57), the Calukya king and crushed a heavy defeat on him. Wherewith, it was Krsna-I, a war like prince who carried out several expeditions and superseded the Calukya kingdom in C.E. 757 to seal their fate. Even though Krsna could not wipe out the Gangas, he frustrated them, subjugated the recalcitrant feudatory, took Sivamara, the Ganga prince, captive. 1.6.2. Thus, the Rastrakutas had crossed swords with the Gangas, initially for a stretched period of over a century. As the political wisdom prevailed, cordial relationship developed between the two houses and was further cemented by marriage alliances, primarily motivated by political consideration. Once more, it was Jainism, a common religion, that opened the flood gates of friendship. After inevitably accepting the suzerainty, the Gangas faithfully stood by their overlords. Butuga-II and his sons, definitely the valiant Marasimha, successfully lead the Rastrakuta army against their formidable foe. 1.6.2. The imperial Rastrakutas, who replaced the Calukyas of Badami (Vatapi) holding up the southern expansion of the Pallavas on the bank of river Kaveri, continued unabated in power from 8th to 10th cent. C.E., With

Page #73
12/The Rastrakutas and Jainism their metropolis at Malkhed from the very beginning of ninth cent. "Gangas, Pallavas of Kanchi and the Rastrakutas of Malkhed were staunch Jains" [Krishna Rao, M. V.: 193 and 198]. The period of interrugnum between Sivamara-II and his father Sripurusa (son of Sripurusa-I), Kambaraja, Rastrakuta king, ruled the Gangavadi, region. It was during this time that Beneyetti, a lay lady votary endowed the field of Kalvappu and Pergalvappu to a Jaina monk. Some mandalikas also alloted the village Govindapadi in Belgola-12. 1.6.3. The powerful Dantidurga (C. 735-56), son of Govindaraja-I, after conquering the shaky Calukyas, invaded northern India, seized Avanti, where he performed Hiranyagarbha-yajna. But the mention of Pratihara, king of Avanti, being made a door keeper appears to be an exaggeration, making pun on the nomen of the king. 1.6.4. The famous Nirgrantha dialectician Bhatta - Akalanka who authored some prominent works on Jaina epistemology and logic, was a contemporary of both Dantidurga and his successor Krsnaraja-I (C. 756-74). Like their predecessors, these two monarchs initiated alliances with Jaina faith in the form of generous patronage. 1.6.5. Kaviparamesvara alias Kaviparamesthi, the illustrious Jaina connoisseur, had begun his magnum opus Vagartha-samgraha during this generation. He completed it in the reign of Prabhutavarsa. Govinda-II. In the series to follow, Vagartha-samgraha was one of the early Mahapuranas in Sanskrit language. Though the work today is unavailable, yet some of its verses are quoted in Camundarayapurana (C. E. 978). Since only verses in metrical composition are quoted there, scholars are tempted to consider Vagartha-samgraha as a poem in verses. But Gunabhadracarya (C. 880) had mentioned in unambiguous terms that the above work was a gadya-katha, a prose

Page #74
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - A/13 narrative. This lends support to ruminate the possibility of the work being a campu-kavya. 1.6.5.1. Srinandi had writtenJaina Mahapurana in the time of Dharavarsa Dhruva and Kucibhattaraka in the period of Jagattunga Govinda. Thus, Kaviparamesthi was the third author to write on the same subject. But, none of the three works are available. 1.6.6. However, Mahapurana, a full -blooded master piece in Sanskrit, co-authored by Jinasena-Gunabhadra acaryas is extant. Jinasena (758-848) wrote the first part, Adipurana, addressing it to his favourite king disciple Amoghavarsa. As the apostle Indrabhuti Gautama (Pk. Indabui-Goyama) directs king Srenika (Pk. Seniya) in the proper behaviour of a king, so does the patriarch Jinasena educates Amoghavarsa. (fruitful showerer'). He preferred to entertain religious propensities to expansionist tendencies, often giving vent to the scholar and composer in him. His great leanings towards sramana dharma made Amoghavarsa to pass some days in retirement and contemplation in the company of his Jaina ascetics, placing the yuvaraja, heir apparent or the ministry in charge of state administration [Altekar, A. S: 88-89]. "(Amoghavarsa) was a pious king, and in the years after A.D. 860 he was more and more inclined to practicing the tenets of Jainism: [Soundara Rajan, K. V. in EITA: 1986: 107: (eds) Meister and Dhaky]. 1.6.7. Prasnottara-Ratna-malika, a concise and honeyed Jaina philosophical lyric in Sanskrit echos the king's thought and muse over the values of life. It has the invocatory passage of 'Pranipatya-Vardhmanasya'. This short poem with religion oriented verses in Arya metre is in the form of prasna-, questions, and uttara, answers, all woven together like a malika garland. This work being sometimes wrongly attributed to Vimala or Sankaracarya or some unknown author, reflects the universal application of the work.

Page #75
14/ The Rastrakutas and Jainism 1.7. Prabhutavarsa Govinda-II (774-80), elder son of Krsna-I, made several incursion on the northern India. Govinda, an able fighter, actively participated in the triumphant battles against the Gangas in the south and Vengi Calukyas in the east. Unfortunately, soon he had exhausted all his flaire for a political career. Realising elan vital, the essence of life, he had the magnanimity of gracefully transferring the much coveted throne to Dhruva, his younger brother. Historians have differed on the interpretation of the exact reasons for the political shift.. 1.7.1. Though, how exactly Govinda-II ended his life is unknown, a possiblity of his accepting sallekhana needs consideration, based on the circumstantial evidences. His association with Vengi, a major seat of Jainsim, his close contact with the Gangas, staunch followers of Jainism, weighs in this assumption. Dhruva, his ambitious brother planned to seize the throne for himself had caused agony, puts an extra stich to the supposition. Easy going monarch Govinda, disgusted with the political evils, must have preferred to willing submission to the inevitable. 1.7.2. Dhruva (780-93) carved a niche in the hall of Rastrakuta's fame, by his remarkable achievements of land mark in the span of over a decade. Success smiled on Dhruva Nirupama ('nonpareil') who had undefatigable steel arms in the form of his two sons, Govinda-III and Indra-II. Dhruva ('eternal') undertook the conquest of North, defeated Vatsaraja, Gurjara Pratihara monarch, and Dharmapala of Pala-Vamsa (Bengal). Jinasena-I, an epic poet of the age, authored Harivamsapurana, of which the first recension was completed in C. E. 783-84. 1.7.3. The spirit of adventure and political ambition animated Jagattunga ('Prominent in the world') Govindara-III (783-814), unbeaten potentate. Till then, the southern sovereigns, however strong and valiant, had mainly

Page #76
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - A/15 concentrated on defending the northern invasions. Pulakesin, so powerful to defeat the uttarapathesvara, was content to be called daksinapathesvara, and refrained to go beyond Narmada. Govindara-III, mightiest of all the southern monarchs, made the north taste the warlike virtues, strength and glory of Karnataka army, generously eulogised by the adroit Rajasekhara, Sanskrit poet. Consolidating his resources, Govindara embarked on a career of conquest, ushering in a period of unflinching valour and political supremacy for the Rastrakuta monarchy. 1.7.4. Govindaraja spear headed an invasion to defeat Gurjara, Malava, Vengi, Odraganga, Kalinga, Kanauj, Kosala, Hahala, Cola, Pandya, Pallava, and even kings of Lanka, and put the Rastrakuta kingdom on the political map of India. His horses bathed in the holy river Ganga and the sound of their hoof, khuraputa-dhavani echoed in the slopes of mount Himalayas. He virtually augmented the real glory of the dynasty and the Rastrakuta monarchy attained imperial status, with Karnataka. 1.7.5. Imperial Karnataka accomplishing the rank of Govinda, credited with providing the best of infrastructure for the syadvada mata to leap with joy. Jaina monastery at Malkhed had become a nest of singing birds and an abode of great patriarchs of unparalleled eminence. Govinda had recognised the primacy and majesty of the system of education imparted in the cloisters of Jaina monks, and allowed his son Amoghavarsa to spend his childhood in the company of great masters of the age. He created a congenial atmosphere for the Jaina lamasery to take up the most serious and scholarly work of writing commentary on the basic canons, a need of the hour. 1.7.6. Fortunately, most illustrious mentors of the age, Virasena and Jinasena acaryas were thoroughly trained and equipped for undertaking such specialised work. Under the

Page #77
16/ The Rastrakutas and Jainism benediction of the learned patriarchs and the benefaction of the monarch the huge task of drafting voluminous Dhavala ('the luminary') commentary on the Satkhanda-agama, Jaina canon in six parts, took off in the first decade of ninth century C. E. It was the first recension on the primordial text of Digambara philosophy. 1.8. Imperial preference boosted the steady overall growth of Jaina Institution. Govinda gave contribution to impeccable Arkakirti, Jaina pontiff of Yapaniya sangha, for warding off the evil influence of Saturn from Vimaladitya of the Calukya dynasty and son of Yasovarma. Cakiraja, adhiraja, chief-ruler of the entire Ganga-mandala was brother-in-law of Yasovarma, and thus, Vimaladitya was Cakiraja's sister's son, who was enjoying a fief of Kuningal principality. On the application of his vassal Cakiraja, the Vallabhendra, Rastrakuta monarch, residing in his victorious camp at Mayurkhandi, gave the village named Jalamangalam situated within the Idagur-visaya in C. E. 812-13. The allotment was for the Jinendra shrine at Saligrama, the ornament on the western side of the Manyapura [EC. XII (old) Gubbi. 61. C. E. 812. Kadaba plate. pp. 84 ff.). 1.8.1. Srivijaya senadhipati, commander-in-chief of the army of Lokatrinetra Marasima-I (C.E. 796), a feudatory, had commissioned a lofty, grand, and imposing Jinabhavana at Manne (Sk. Manyapura), and granted an endowment of the village Kiruvakkur in C. E. 798, with boundaries marked [Nagarajaiah, Hampa: 1999-A:24-25]. This Jaina house of worship was also patronised by Govinda in C. E. 802. [EC. IX (old) NI. 61). 1.8.2. Manne was one of the metropolis of the Gangas and the Jaina temple had the name of Vijaya-Jinalaya. Prince Ranavaloka Kambhadeva (Sk. Stambhadeva), governor of Gangavadi, donated the village Vadanaguppe in

Page #78
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - A/17 C. E. 808, for the maintenance of the Vijayavasati of Talaikkadu (Sk. Talavanapura). The donee of the allotment was Vardhamanaguru of Kondakundanvaya. 1.8.3. In order to authenticate the role of the Jaina elitist class in the establishment of the Malkhed as superior to the previous capitols, we should look at the supportive circumstantial evidences. Amoghavarsa, eversince was a lad on the lap of his father, had maintained a close affinity with the Jaina church. After succeeding to the throne and assuming the imperial power, he entrusted the state responsibility, under the prevailing influence of his Jaina officials, to Karkka-I his elder uncle till he could come of age to shoulder the responsibility. Thus, Karkka-I became kingregent during the minority of Amoghavarsa. 1.9. The period of Amoghavarsa was the heyday of Jaina creed. Nrpatunga ('paramount king'), Amoghavarsa ('fruitful showerer'), Vira-Narayana (Valorous god Narayana), Atisaya-dhavala ('exceedingly pure') and many more titles befittingly adorned the emperor. Sarva, his first name, obviously receeded making room for his other appellations to be used more frequently. 1.9.1. A charter dated C. E. 860, from Ranebennur (Haveri Dt) of the later period of Amoghavarsa, mentions the allotment of lands to Naganandi-acarya of Simhavuragana. He had granted land to the Jinalaya at the request of Bankesa, his feudatory and general [EI. VI. No. 4]. 1.9.2. Broadly speaking, Amoghavarsa or his predecessors did not build the city of Malkhed. The city was there, long before these sovereigns settled there. For centuries it was thriving as a Jaina settlement. It was formally extended and embellished to become a metropolis, to suit the imperial designs of a vast empire by Govindaraja-III.

Page #79
18/ The Rastrakutas and Jainism 1.9.2.1. Ascetics of the Jaina monastery, hierarchy of influential Jaina officials and merchants were mainly responsible for the transfer of royal residence from Ellapura (Ellora) or some other pre-Malkhed capital to the Malkhed. The city bloomed even to surpass the state house of Indra : Indrapuradadhikam (IA. XII. p. 263]. 1.9.3. It is said that Virasena christened his commentary as Dhavala after the title of Tribhuvana Dhavala, 'of unsullied glory in the three worlds', of king Govinda-III. His other special birudas: Prabhutavarsa, 'the abundant rainer', Srivallabha, 'the favourite of goddess of fortune', Janavallabha, 'the favourite of the people', and Kirti-Narayana 'a very Narayana in respect of fame'. Kannada epigraphs mention his name as Goyinda, evidently a Prakrit form of Sanskrit Govinda. His queen consort's name was Gamundabbe, a typical Kannada nomen.

Page #80
CHAPTER - 2 THE RASTRAKUTA MONARCHS - B 2.1. Amoghavarsa, the Asoka of Jainas, was a tiny tot and a precious child of fourteen years when he ascended the throne of an imperial dynasty. But having grown segacious, nurtured in the learned Jaina monastery at Malkhed, he was sensitive, possessing an independent spirit. His star was in the ascendant. 2.1.1. "The Rastrakuta monarchs... were particularly interested in Jainism... Amoghavarsa-I was more a Jaina than a Hindu. His chief preceptor was Jinasena, and he had appointed Gunabhadra as the preceptor for his son, Krsna-II. Amoghavarsa is also said to be the originator of the ritual of the Jaina monasteries at Banavasi. An exact contemporary work Ganita-sara-samgraha of Mahaviracarya, graphically describes Amoghavarsa's initiation to Jainism" [Majumdar, A. K. : Concise History of Ancient India, vol. III : 1983 : 289-90). 2.1.2. The Rastrakuta kingdom was so vast during this period that it was considered as one of the four major kingdoms in the world, according to Suleman(C.E. 851), the famous Arabbi travellor (the other three being Arab, China, and Constantenople). "Yet another contemporary Jain writer viz., Ugraditya, the author of the medical treatise Kalyanakaraka, which was composed on mount Ramagiri, situated in the level plains of Vengi in the country of

Page #81
20/The Rastrakutas and Jainism Trikalinga, refers to the fact that he delivered a discourse on the uselessness of meat diet in the court of Sri Nrpatunga Vallabha Maharajadhiraja, who is no other than Amoghavarsa-I" [Chatterji A.K.: 205]. 2.1.2.1. It is the loyalty and didication of such persons of high rank and distinction like Bankesa that the morale of the king and kingdom was boosted. In the history, instances of the palace becoming the home of lawless, for want of discipline, are not lacking. Luckily Nrpatunga, 'Paramount king', had an easy access to the wise counselling of the sages. He was trained under great masters of his times. Many brilliant gems adorned his court. 2.1.2.2. Amoghavarsa was sitting pretty on the throne for longer duration sufficient enough to irk his son. Great expectation warped Krsna-I who could not wait any more to succeed the throne. He lost his patience and came out openly claiming his legitamate right to the throne. For an aged father of over seventy, it was too much to gulp, but for the overgrown and long awaited son, this was the question of now or never. Peculiar situation of the prince revolting against the crown would have been fatal to Amoghavarsa but for the timely intervention of Bankeya, reliabe as always. 2.1.2.3. Bankaraja very tactfully handled the aggravated and complex situation. With his political wisdom he could bridge the gulf and save the prestige of both the king and prince. Bankarasa was amply rewarded by the overwhelmed emperor who showered bounties. The modern Bankapura town was named after Bankaraja. Lokate alias Lokaditya, worthy son of Bankarasa, was made the duchy of a province. Bankesa, chief of the Rastrakuta army, was also Duke of Banavasi, a Jaina dominated region for over a millenium. 2.1.3. In his royal edict of Konnur, which opens with an invocation of Jina, Amoghavarsa has acclaimed Bankarasa

Page #82
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - B/21 as : madiyo vitata jyotirnisito sirivaparah "like another scintillating sharp sword of mine". As commander of the hereditary forces, Bankesa has uprooted, like trees, my adversaries. By my favour he has received and rules the thirty-thousand villages of which Vanavasi is the foremost, never ceasing to prosper. At the request of this my dear servant Bankeya, I have given the village of Taleyura to Devendra, who has been appointed to take care of the Jaina sanctuary founded by Barkeya. Devendra, chief of ascetics, disciple of Trikalayogisa, born from the Pustaka gaccha of the Desiyagana of the Mulasangha, for any new work connected with the sanctuary, for future repairs, for the cleaning, plastering, maintaing of it, and for other acts of piety (boundaries stipulated). I also have given twelve nivartanas of land at Kalanura itself and at each of the following thirty villages within its bhukti (names of the 30 villages mentioned)" (EI. VI. No. 4. pp. 24-38). This cakravartidatti, endowment of the emperor, replete with historical significance, was authored by Vatsaraja, a bard of eminence and trained in Jaina tradition. 2.2. Amoghavarsa, the Asoka of Jaina sangha, worked for the spread of sramana culture. "During the reign of Amoghavarsa-I special activity was displayed in temple building, particularly Jaina ones, as he was a great patron of that sect, if, indeed he was not a convert to that religion. Jainism was at the zenith of prosperity during his long reign. He became so religiously inclined that he is said to have eventually abdicated the throne 'in consequence of the growth of the ascetic spirit in him', and several religious works are attributed to him' [Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. I. part-II, p.201): "His son, who succeeded him, was Akalavarsha or Krishna-II during whose reign there is mention of Jaina temples being built and grants being alloted to them" (ibid: 10).

Page #83
22/ The Rastrakutas and Jainism 2.1.4. Amoghavarsa was a lover of literature, both religious and secular. He was himself a litterateur, proficient in Kannada, Sanskrit and Prakrit. As discussed elsewhere, he was authored Prasnottara-ratnamala in Sankrit, after abdicating the throne in the evening of his life. The opening stanzas of Ganitasara-samgraha, of the dexterous Mahaviracarya, also substantiate that the monarch had renunciated his terrestrial interests and had partiality towards syadvada philosophy (Jaina Siddhanta Bhaskara, vol. IX, part. I. pp. 1-8]. Dhavala-Tika (C. E. 816). Jaya-dhavala-Tika (C. E. 837), Parsvabhyudaya (825), Caupannamahapurisa-cariya (Silacarya, C. E. 869), Jambudiva pannatti (Padmanandi) and other works of this period created ripples of fresh impetus and stimulus in the Jaina Church. 2.1.5. The best connoisseurs during his time were his court-scholars. Great luminaries of classical Sanskrit like Asaga, the brilliant exponent, and Jinasina-II the nestor. Of sastra literature like Sakatayana (Palyakirti) the felicitous grammarian and Mahaviracarya, the skilled arithmetician; of Prakrti literature like Virasina, Jinasena and Puspadanta the epic writers, of Kannada literature like Srivijaya, Bhrajisnu, Gunavarma-I, Pampa and Ponna- lived at this epoch. The dimension and visage of their contribution needs in extenso coverage and will be taken up at the appropriate place. (Vide the chapter on literature). 2.1.6. Famous Jaina settlements like Biccavolu [AP:East Godavari Dt], and Ramatirtham [AP : Vishakapatnam Dt] received plenteous patronage from Amoghavarsa. Sila, consort of Kalivisnuvardhana, and daughter of Karka, a regent of Amoghavarsa, commissioned the east Godavari Biccavol Vardhamana temple at Biccavol [Birudankaraya prolu). Fortunately the Jina idol of this shrine is recovered and is now in the Madras Museum. 2.2.1. The reign of Akalavarsa Krsna-II (878-914) saw

Page #84
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - B/23 mixed fortunes, with serious troubles erupting from all sides. He lost Acalapura, Kiranapura and Malava. Adding insult to the injury, Bhojaraja of Kanauj and Gunaga Vinayaditya of the Eastern Calukyas had disturbed the empire. Luckily for Krsna, he could muster timely support from the chiefs of Lata, Cedi and Vemulavada. 2.2.2. Krsna-II exhibited a difinite leaning towards the creed of Arhats. He was a disciple of his preceptor Gunabhadradeva. Jinasena-II, mentor of Amoghavarsa had composed Adipurana, first part of Mahapurana, a Jaina epic, of 20,000 stanzas, during the age of his pupil on the throne. Gunabhadra composed the last five cantos of Adipurana and the entire Uttarapurana, second part of Mahapurana, in the reign of his pupil. It was completed at Bankapura when Lokasena, who had the aliases of Lokaditya and Lokate (Lokateyarasa), son of Bankesa (Bankaraja/Bankarasa/ Bankeya) was governor of Bankapura. Uttarapurana was consecrated on June 23 of C. E. 897, as recorded in the prasasti, colophon. It contains hundreds of stories, big and small, rotating round the pivot of 23 Tirthankaras, 11 Cakravartins, 9 Baladevas, 9 Vasudevas (Narayanas) and 9 prati-Vasudevas (Prati-Narayanas). Abridged versions of the two immortal epics of Ramayana and Maha-Bharata, long narrative sotries of Jivandhara, Vasudeva and Candanabala, find a prominent place in Uttarapurana. Lokaditya was also incharge of Bandalike (Sk. Bandhavanagara) which boomed into a Jaina tirtha, sacred seat, during this time. 2.2.2.1. Lokaditya, Krsna's feudatory and son of Bankesa, founded shrines to Jina, Hari, Hara and Buddha, and a reservoir after his name, Lokasamudra, at Lokapura, a town bearing his name (Bijapur Dt, Mudho! Tk) in C. E. 890. 2.2.3. During the time of Krsna-II, Jainism flickered into greater brilliance. Mulgunda, with sanctuaries and

Page #85
24 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism monasteries, had become a prominent Jaina settlement. Aryasena, teacher of Ajitasena, Kumarasena, Virasena and other monks at Mulgunda cloister were at the peak of their fame. These ascetics belonged to the line of Candrikavata of Sena vaya. Preceptor Kumarasena accepted the rite of sallekhan) at Mulgunda and left for Kopana- tirtha, another great seat for Jaina pilgrim, to breathe his last on the sepulchral hillock there. , 2.2.3.1. Krsna-II endowed Mulgunda Jinalaya with taxfree grants (JBBRAS, X. p. 192]. Paravadimalla, (C.E. 880) a famous monk-scholar, lived in the age of Krsna-II. A medieval inscription mentions that great minister Kammata Macayya, superintendent of ceremonies, who together with his father-in-law Ballayya, donated the tax on oil mills for the Paravadimalla Jinalaya in Kumbeyanahalli (EC(old) V. cn. 151. C. 1200. p. 193]. This temple might have been commissioned in the name of the same mendicant. 2.2.3.1.1. Cikarya, son of Candraya, a leading burgher and tradesman (vara-vaisya), had commissioned a Jaina triple-shrine. Arasarya, son of Cikarya and brother of Nagarya, proficient in the Nayavada(view point) and Agama, donated garden and lands to this temple in C.E. 902-03, and the donee was Kanakasena muni. Arasarya Acarya consecrated the image of Kamathopasarga Jina-Parsva in the temple founded by his father (pitr karita-jinalayaya). It was my fortune that this unique bas-relief sculpture, with significant iconographic details, and seven lines of a Sanskrit inscription, both dated C. E. 902, were discovered by me in early 1999. 2.2.3.2. Candiyabbe, wife of Kannara founded a Jaina house of worship at Nandavara, dedicated it her preceptor Padmanandi-acarya in C. E. 932, and made suitable provision for its sustenance. . 2.2.4. An epigraph, of Parsvanatha basadi at o

Page #86
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - B/25 Sravanabelagola, had recorded an incident of historical import, which took place in the court of the Rastrakuta king Krsna-II. Paravadimalla, Jaina patriarch was skilled in many chains of arguments, and eloquent among the learned, 'doubtless a god' When asked for his name by the emperor Krsnaraja, Paravadimalla gave out to the king the following derivation of his name: 'the position other than the one taken up is para, the other. Those who maintain it are paravadinah, maintainers of the other. He who wrestles with them is Paravadimalla, the wrestler with the maintainers of other. This name, good men say, is my name'. While commenting on this, B. A. Saletore remarks - "We do not know what reward the astounded monarch gave this remarkable Jaina teacher. This ruler, it may be noted in passing, has been identified with Kssna-II" [Saletore : 39). 2.2.4.1. King Prithvivarma son of Merada of SaunadattiRatta house and a collateral branch, constructed a Jinalaya at Saundatti, his metropolis (Belgaum Dt), at the instance of Mullabhattaraka, pupil of Gunakirti, Patriarch of Mailapa-tirtha, a cohort of Yapaniya samgha in C. E. 875-76 [SII. XX. No. 13]. Saundatti Rattas, governors of high rank, after the fall of the Rastrakutas, shifted their allegiance to the Calukyas of Kalyana. Nalgavundi Jakkiyabbe, a zealot lady votary (sravika/upasaki), who was made to supplant Sattara-Nagarjunayya, her deceased husband, as the chief of Nagarakhanda fief, courted ritual death by abstinence from all kinds of food. [EC. VII-i (BLR) Sk. 213, C. E. 918] in the Jaina basadi at Balligave (Shimoga Dt), a major Jaina centre of the time. Krsna's samantas of cikka-Magadi (Shimoga Dt, Shikaripura Tk) also were fervent followers of Jainism. 2.2.6. Vikrama Santara alias Vikramaditya [895-935] of Santara dynasty, had emerged as a powerful feudatory of Krsna in the south. He founded a magnificent Jaina shrine

Page #87
26 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism in C. E. 898, a Kama-jinalaya, on the crest of the hill at Hombuja (Pombulca/Pomburca, Shimoga Dt) in stone and dedicated it to his preceptor Mauni-bhatara. [Nagarajaiah, Hampa : 1997 42-44). 2.2.6.1. Paliyakka, spouse of Vikrama Santara and daughter of the palace-cook, who met her death with equanimity, commissioned two Jaina temples in C.E. 898. Of the two shrines, the one built in stone and dedicated to Arhat Parsva, the 23rd Tirthankara, continues to exist in good condition. (ibid; 176-77). 2.2.7. Gunanandi (circa 880 C. E.) completed Sabdarnava, 'an ocean of grammar', a gloss on Devanandi Pujyapada's Jainendra-Vyakarana (late 6th cent.). Gunanandi, logician - grammarian and a poet, had a learned pupil in Devendra Munindra (C. E. 900), who was the preceptor of Adikavi Pampa (C. E. 941), the greatest of Kannada men of letters. 2.3. Indra-III (914-29), son of Kssna-II, sucessfully captured the Pratihara rajadhani and the king Mahipala had to flee for shelter. 2.3.1. Srivijaya, general of Indra-III, made Danavulapadu (AP: Cuddapah Dt, Jammalamadugu Tk) a nerve centre of Jainism. Srivijaya, like the author of Kavirajamarga, of the some name, was a poet and had studied Jaina scriptures. Lendeyarasa, a governor, donated Vutavura village to a Jaina establishment in C. E. 916. 2.3.2. Preceptor Candraprabha Bhatara, chief of Dhora Jinalaya and Bankapura diocese, was also administering Pasundi (Asundi). An inscription dated C. E. 925 from Asundi (Gadag Dt) of the reign of Nityavarsa Govinda-IV, registers an endowment of land made by Nagayya to the Jinalaya founded by him [SII. XI-i. 34. C. E. 925. Asundi. p. 20). 2.3.3. A basadi called Indra-Jinalaya founded in the

Page #88
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - B/27 name of Indra-III continued to receive donations for centuries. Dandanayaka Padmanabhayya, a general of Vikramaditya-V (1008-14), emperor of Calukyas of Kalyana, made a grant of land in C. E. 1012 to the Annal-Atisaya Parsvadeva of the Indra-Jinalaya, pratibaddha, attached to Antara-vasati of Cilakuru [Pillar inscription of Cilur; EA. Vol. II. pp. 50 ff. C. E. 1012]. Both the adjectives of annal and atisaya require an explanation: annal is a Dravidian word equivalent to the Sanskrit Arhat/Jina, and atisaya is a Sanskrit word signifying benign power and extraordinary glory phenomena of the Parsva image. 2.3.4. Indra-III, a devout Jaina, alloted two villages for fostering of Amoghavasati built in Candanapuripattana (Nasik Dt) in C. E. 915. He also gifted six villages for the Urimma-vasati Jaina temple at Badaner-pattana (Vadner). In both the above endowments, the donee was Vardhamanaguru, Jaina pontiff. Indra-III extended his patronisation to Jainism like his predecessors, as is evidenced by his commissioning a stone pedestal for the bathing ceremony of Santinatha Tirthankara at Danavulapadu (AP). 2.3.5. An inscription of Trailokyamalla Ahavamalla Somesvara-I (1042-68), dated C. E. 1056, clearely states that the capital of the Rastrakuta emperor Indravallabha alias Nityavarsa Indra-III was Bodhan, now a taluka headquarters in Nizamabad Dt of A. P. : "The mosque known by the significant name Deval Masjid here must have been originally a Jaina temple. This fact is evident from its pillars bearing the figures of Tirthankaras carved on them" [Desai, P. B: 102]. 2.4. Amoghavarsa-II (929-30) hardly ruled for one year, because he was ejected by Govinda-IV (930-34), his younger brother, who in turn also could not reign for a longer period. According to the Gokak copper-plates of Indranandi,

Page #89
28/The Rastrakutas and Jainism Aryanandi of Jambukhandi-gana, a cohort of the Jaina friars and nuns, was the donee of a grant of fifty nivartanas of land. This donation had the official consent of Gojja (Gojjiga/ Govinda), in the year C. E. 923. Evidently Govinda-IV, as prince, was placed in charge of the Gokak sub-division [Karnatak Historical Review, vol. I-ii. pp. 43 ff.]. 2.4.1. Govindaraja, according to Dandapura charter had the epithet of Prabutavarsa [IA. XII. P. 223], where as Kalasapura [Gadag Dt] epigraph refers to him with the title of Suvarnavarsa [IA. vol. XII. p. 250. C. E. 933]. His daughter was married to Butuga-II, scion of the Ganga dynasty, and a victor of many battles, who actively assisted his overlords for over a period of three decades. 2.4.2. Recently, in the period of 1998-99, I had the fortune of discovering Jaina mounuments of Govinda's period at Kalasapura, which flourished as a seat of Jaina faith. Either a trikuta-Jinalaya, triple shrine with a manastambha, characteristic Jaina pillar, mounted with a caturmukha votive, or three independent basadis existed at Kalasapura, built around C. E. 930. - 2.4.3. A Jaina shrine was commissioned during the reign of Baddega Amoghavarsa and was named after him as Baddega Jinalaya, in the town of Ujjivolal, the modern Ujjili [AP.: Mahbubnagar Dt]. The mulanayaka, presiding deity of the sanctuary was Cenna-Parsvadeva and renewed grants were made to the temple in saka 888, corresponding to C. E. 966-67 [APGAS. No. 6.; I AP-Warangal No. 26. pp. 71 ff.]. The donee was Indrasena Panditacarya. 2.5. In the political feud, with the might and wisdom of the two faithful feudatories, Butuga-II of Gangavadi and Arikesari-II of Vemulavada, the aged Baddega Amoghavarsa-III (934-36) was brought back from his fatherin law's court in Cedi country, and was formally throned. In a reciprocative move, Amoghavarsa extended support to

Page #90
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - B/29 Butuga and deputed yuvaraja, crown-prince Kssna-III, to oust Racamalla-II, brother of Butuga. Rajamalla-II died on the battlefield. 2.5.1. Illustrious successor Krsna-III (936-67) alias Kannaradeva, Samprati Candragupta of Jainas, heralded lustrous epoch, retrived the lost glory. Giving a new dimension to the empire, he embarked on career of conquest on Cedi, Pratihara, Lalleya, Cola and Pandya. Many biruda including Tanjaikkonda and Kancikkonda kaccega, acquirer of Tanjavur and Kanchi, adorned the emperor who set up his jayastambha at Ramesvaram in the extreeme south. His other epithets, like Anevedanga, vana mada-gajamalla, ankatrinetra and bhuvanaikarama - mirror his prowess Anevedanga and Anevinnani are equivalents in the local Kannada dialect of the Sanskrit Gaja-sastra-nipunaha. The Gangas and later, after their model, the Rastrakutas were reputed for a proverbial army of more elephants. Krsna-III had immense regard to the learned Jaina scholar Vadighangala Bhatta. It is because of this ascetics advice that Krsna was able to conquer all regions, as recorder in the Kudlur plates of Marasimha. 2.5.1.1. In the times of Krsna-III, Jainism reached greater stature of patronage and popularity. Krsna had more intimacy with and affection for the Gangas. His attachment to the family members of Butuga, Parama-Jaina, a passionate Jaina votary, is recorded in many inscriptions. Butuga gained much importance for valid reasons. Gunaduttaranga and Jayaduttaranga Butuga was extended highest regarded and honor which was equalled by a similar treatment meted out to another Jaina feudatory after a time gap of a century. Nanni Santara (Goggiga/Govindara), Duke of Santaligenadu, gained greater distinction than even Butuga. Because, Vikramaditya-VI (1076-1126) came half way to meet Nanni-Santara, and giving him half the seat on

Page #91
30/ The Rastrakutas and Jainism his metal throne, the Calukya emperor placed the valiant vassal at his side [EC. VII-i (BLR) Nagara. 35. C. E. 1077. Hombuja (Shimoga Dt)]. Butuga and his sons were close associates which lead to marriage allainces between the two houses. Butuga was brother-in-law of Krsna and the latter was son-in-law of the former. 2.5.2. Verily, prominent among the contemporary stalwarts who rendered yoemen service to the spread of Nirgrantha faith was Sankaraganda. He started his illustrious career as a loyal warrior of Indra-III, and remained to serve Indra's two sons, Amoghavarsa-II and Govinda-IV, and stayed to assist Indra's breother Amoghavarsa-III and finally Krsna-III. Sankaraganda was elevated to the status of chief of the Rastrakuta army and a grandee of a province. During C. E. 924, Banavasi-12000 was divided into two divisions and was being administered by Bankeya-II and Sankaraganda (ARIE 1947-48. No. 203. C. E. 924. p. 25]. 2.5.3. Sankaraganda became a celebrity during his life time by founding some stately and splendid Jaina shrines, commissioning superb monasteries attached to the temples. and endowing liberal grants to the sustenance of holy centres. He was a patron of religion and literature. He promoted art and architecture. Sankaraganda had become a legend of his age. 2.5.4 Sankaraganda had many epithets of which bhuvanaikarama was widely prevalent. Curiously, emperor Krsna also had similar cognomen which is mentioned in the Prakrit poem as Bhuvanekkaramu (Sk. Bhuvanaikarama). Poet Ponna, poet-laureate of Krsna, who honored the author with the title of Kavi-cakravartti, has composed BhuvanaikaRamabhyudaya an epic of 14 cantos in campu style in Kannada. Except for some stray verses, quoted in the later anthologies, this work is not extant. In the nonavailability

Page #92
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - B/31 of the complete poem, scholars are debating on the density of the hero of this epic, whether it is the emperor Krsna or his subordinate Sankaraganda. For arguments sake, critics on either side are equipped with convincing facts and figures! 2.5.4.1. Sankaraganda had another popular epithet of Jayadhira. An inscription from Uppina-Betageri (Koppa! Dt) reveals that he commissioned a Jaina shrine called Jayadhira-Jinalaya, apparently named after his cognomen, in C. E. 964. Ranna, Kavi-cakravarti, poet-laureate of Tailapa-II, also a protege of the illustrious Attimabbe, has included the name of Sankaraganda along with Butuga-II, Maruladeva, Marasimha-II, and Camundaraya as the matchless celebrities of 10th cent., in one of his verses in the Ajitapurana (C. E. 993). He has the highest compliment in his title Rattara-meru, 'Mount-Meru of the Rastrakutas'. 2.5.4.2. Among the Rastrakuta monarchs, Gunavaloka Nannaraja's son (C. 8th cent.) and Rana valuka Kambadeva's son (early 9th cent.) had the name of Sankaragana. Under the influence of the names of their liegelords, the parents of Sankaraganda must have christened him as Sankaragana which in course of time assumed the popular nomenclature of Sankaraganda. 2.5.5. Most celebrated Vadighangala, who had Munjarya as his first name, a Brahmana of Parasara gotra, migrated from Varatadesa of the North, had proselytized to Jainamata to 'worship the lotus feet of Jinesvara', mastered the dogmas of syadvada and anekanta theory. Vadighangala had become so proficient in Jaina philosophy that he was a recognised Jaina scholar - teacher in the Jaina convent. He was adroit in Lokayata, Sankhya, Vedanta, Bauddha and Jaina philosophy. His eloquence in the exposition of literature made Ganga Gangeya Satyavakya alias ButugaII, a cuckoo in the grove of delighters of all learning, his pupil. Krsna-III had heighest regard for Vadighanghala alias

Page #93
32 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Munjarya, felicitons scholar teacher. Marasimha-II dedicated Bagiyur, a village, to Vadighanghala, his religious teacher as a token of Srutaguru daksina in March 963 C. E. Bagiyur had an income of 20 gadyana and the village was a part of Badagare - 300 of the Punadu-6000 included in Gangavaai - 96,000 (Sk. Gangapati) (MAR 1921, pp. 18 ff. C. E. 963). 2.5.6. Regarding , the identification of Padiyara Dhorapayya figuring in Kadur charter of C. E. 971, B. L. Rice takes him to be the same as Dhorappa, the father-inlaw of Vaddiga-I (C. 935-70), follower of Krsnaraja-III. Vaddiga-I was of the Seuna dynasty. Padmabbe, sister of Butuga-II and consort of Padiyara Dhorapayya, breathed her last, after observing a prolonged penance of three decades. Rice interprets that, after the death of Dorapayya in C. E. 941, his widowed wife Pambabbe alias Padmabbe renounced the profane life and took to the life of Jaina nunhood. 2.6. Butuga was most influential and conspicuous in the duration of Krsna-III. Manalera, a subordinate of Butuga, belonged to Sagara olim Manalera house of devoted Jains. Manalera, an intrepid Spartan, fought with Celas, in front of his master, so gallantly that he attacked the mighty elephant which was like a fort of the Cala (Colana-kote), and instantly hit hard on the head of the huge elephant in rut that it was smashed (sindhura siragramam biriye poyidam). With the act of valor, Manalera's titles of KadanaikaSudraka, 'the only Sudraka in the battle ground and ammana-gandha-varana, 'father's (master's) elephant in rut, were appropriated. His immediate lord Butuga, gallant as ever, smite down Rajaditya, with the howdah, an uncovered chair upon an elephant, itself becoming the scene of battle. 2.6.1. Great chivalry has its rewards too! The mettlesome Butuga was rewarded with the Dukeship of

Page #94
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - B/33 Banavase 12,000, Belvola-300, Purigere-300, Kisukadu-70 and Bagenad-70. Butuga's ancesteral Gangavadi-96,000 was also rested with him since he had slayed Racamalla, son of Ereyappa. In turn, pleased with the spirited Manalera, Butuga honored him with Atakur-12 and Kadiyur in Belvola. [EI. VI. pp. 180; MAR 1910-II para-77; Nagarajaiah, Hampa 1995: 45-52; IWG: No. 135; EC. VII (R) Maddur. 42. C. E. 949-50]. 2.6.2. Krsna-III had conquered Uttarapatha and Kusasthala [Kusasthalam pathayati panthayat yuttara patnam-Halayudha Kavi-Rahasya]. but, he was yet to establish his stamp of supremacy on the south. After despatching Cola Rajadity at Takkola, Kannaradeva (Krsnaraja) was on his victorious march. Manalera, hero of the battle, obtained Kali, a female hunting dog, the best of dogs in the army of Krsna. 2.6.2.1. Once, Kali, the ferocious dog, attacked a big boar near Belatur in Kalalenadu (Mandya Dt, Malavalli tk). In the horrendons fight both Kali and the boar were deprived of life. Manalera, a typical Jaina house holder (sravaka) cremated the dog with full honor and gave two khandugas of land in memory of Kali. It was a unique instance of showing respect and gratitude to the departed soul, whether human or animal. In the final analysis, the event is nothing short of the frequent practice of paroksavinaya, causing a basadi or a dehara, a Jaina monument, for the merit of the departed. 2.6.2.2. Maruladeva, eldest son of Butuga and son-inlaw of Krsna-III, was honored with the distinguished royal parasol called Madanavatara. In the history of Karnataka, poet Ranna (C. E. 993) was the only other person to be awarded Madana vatara parasol. Maruladeva alias Puneseya Marula [Kamada/Kaliyuga Bhima etc] had defeated Magadhas, the Kalingas, the Colas and Pandyas. It was a pity that he passed away in the prime of his youth.

Page #95
34/ The Rastrakutas and Jainism 2.6.3. A good number of epigraphs of this period bear testimony to the construction of Jaina edifices by Butuga-II (936-61), and other members of his family: his four consorts, five sons, two daughters and many grand and great-grand children. Butuga Permmadi, (Butayya, Butarya, Butuga Narendra, Bhutayya, Butugendra) had exterminated Dantivarmma (Bijja) and Rajaditya of Emaganduga, assasinated Kakka, king of Acalapura and extorted the white parasol, horse and the throne from Lalleya, infavour of his over lord Krsna-III. He had wrested Citrakuta, Dahala, Calamandala, Kalanjara and Pudumandala. Butuga ruled Gangavadi-96,000, upto the border of river Krsna (Ka. Perdore olim Doddahole] in the north, inclusive of Belvola300 and Puligere-300. 2.6.3.1. Butuga, famous Duke of the age, commissioned excellent Jinalayas at Annigere and number of other places that were destroyed by his foe Pandya Cala [EI. XV. 23. 107172. Gavarivada (Gadag Dt)]. He had alloted tax free endowments of Mudageri, Gummangola, Ittage, Gavirivada and other villages to the abbot Gunkirti Pandita and others. Butuga had Ganga-Gangeya ('the Bhisma in the Ganga dynasty') Koneya-Ganga, Ganga-Permmadi, GangaNarayana ("the protector of the Ganga family'); Jayaduttaranga, Nanniya (Sk. Satyavakya) Ganga, ('the Ganga (king) in truth') and other epithets. These appellations, therefore, establish that Butuga was a person pre-eminently excellent. He was brother-in-law of Kannaradeva alias Krsna-III [Nagarajaiah, Hampa : 1997A: 36-37), as noted before. 2.6.3.2. Butuga had four spouses of whom Revakanimadi was daughter of Baddega Amoghavarsa-III. Padmavati (Padmabbe, Paddabbarasi), his second wife has been penegyrized as mananayana vallabhe, 'sweet-heart', and kalikala pratyaksa Gowri-Laksmi; 'goddess Laksmi and

Page #96
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - B/35 Gowri of the present eon'. She had founded a basadi and danasale at Naregal town (Gadag Dt) in C. E. 950. Divalamba, third wife of Butuga, had founded a Jinalaya at Sudi and her spouse Butuga made a donation of land in C. E. 938. Kallaba was his fourth consort. Revakanimmadi and Padmavati died at Koppala, willingly submitting themselves to the inevitable death by performing the rite of sallekhana [Nagarajaiah, Hampa : 1999-C : 56-57]. 2.6.3.3. An inscription from Kuragallu states that Paramabbe, consort of Ganga Permmali Butuga, was ruling Kuragallu in Konganadu - 8000. If Paramabbe can be identified with Paddabbarasi (Padmavati), then the chances of considering her as a different person and a fifth wife a Butuga are remote; otherwise, she figures as the fifth consort. 2.6.4. Kundanarasi alias Kundana Samidevi, elder daughter of Butuga and elder sister of Marasimha-II, a perfect treasure trove, pioneered the cause of supporting Jainism of unparalleled magnitude. She installed a Manikyajina bronze icon in C. E. 970. Luckily this image, discovered in the estate of crawford saheb, is preserved in the Jaina matha of Sravanabelago!a. Kundanarasi breathed her last at Koppala by the ritual rite of sanyasana. Recently discovered Koppala inscription has recorded the following encomium: 'with the death of people like Kundanasamidevi, kind words of charitable disposition like dana-dharma, bounteousness and righteousness, vanished from the world [Nagarajaiah, Hampa : 1999-A : 39 and 1999-C] Contemporary charters profusely panegyrize Kundanasami's talents and virtues. She was the first poetess of Karnataka. 2.6.5. Of the other two stalwarts, Camundaraya and Marasimha, so much writing has been published. Therefore, their description in this monograph is restricted to a concise but comprohensive account. Brawny Camundaraya,

Page #97
36/The Rastrakutas and Jainism affectionately referred as Raya and Anna, had a number of appellations repeated in the epigraphs and literary works. Virtually, Butuga, Raya, Marasimha and Sankaraganda formed the strong rampart of the Rastrakuta fort and also they were the true manastambha pillars of the Jaina church. 2.6.5.1. Raya, a wise minister and a brave warrior of very many decisive battles, erected the huge 58' monolith colossus of Gommatesvara on the crest of larger hill at Sravanabelagola. His service to Jainism is multifacet. He founded Camundaraya basadi on the smaller hill at Sravanabelagola and on top of it his son Jinadevana erected another abode of worship. Early life of Raya was devoted to wars in favour of the Rastrakutas, and the later life was dedicated to religious activities. He was a lay votary of Ajitasena and Nemicandra acaryas. He wrote Caritrasara in Sanskrit and rendered Sanskrit Mahapurana into Kannada in prose in C. E. 978. Viramartandi, his third work, supposed to be a commentary on Gommatsara, is not available. Raya has patronised Ranna, his comrade, who migrated to Malkhed to become the poet-laureate of the later Calukyas. Ranna and Raya fast friends have left their autograph on Candragiri. Raya's younger sister Pullabba met her end by the vow of sallekhana in the Candranatha basadi at Vijayamangalam [TN: Periyar Dt, Erode tk]. 2.6.6. Camundaraya has recorded that the husky Marasimha was his master. Marasimha (961-74) became immediate successor of his father, because his elder brother, Maruladeva, first son of Butuga, had died a premature death, perhaps even before his father. Marasimha, spirited Duke and crest-jewel of the Ganga dynasty, was crowned by KrsnaIII, the emperor himself. Marasimha was like his father Butuga, was incharge Puligere -300 and Belvola-300 put together popularly known as the "Two Three Hundred', and Gangava di-96,000. He commissioned 'Ganga-Kandarpa

Page #98
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - B/37 Jinendra-Mandira' in Puligere (Laksmesvara Gadag Dt, Sirahatti Tk) and gave it a grant of land [SII. XII. 244] 45, C. E. 968-69]. He also founded one more Ganga-KandarpaJinalaya at Annigere [Dharwar Dt, Navalgund Tk) in memory of his parents, Butuga and Revakanimmadi. Marasimha constructed Santinatha basadi at Hungund [SII. XI-i. 122. C. 10th cent. pp. 141-42]. 2.6.6.1. A charter reports his granting of land to a Jaina shrine built by his step-mother Padmabbarasi alias Padmavati of Konguladesa. Similar instances vociferously speak in defence of the statement made in the kuge Brahmadeva column on the Candragiri hill at Sravanabelagola, that Marasimha caused to be made several Jaina temples and many manastambhas [EC.II (R) 64 (59) C. 974-75 pp. 20-23]. 2.6.6.2. He had a number of titles of which the following mentioned by Camundaraya are conspicuous: Ganga Kulacalasikhara - sekhara, 'a sun shining bright on the mountain of the Ganga family', Ganga-Cudamani, 'a crestjewel of Gangas', Jagadekavira, 'the sole hero of the world', dharmmavatara, 'the incarnation of the religion', and Nolamba-Kulantakadeva, 'the death of the family of the Nolambas (Pallavas)'. These and other appellations, repeated in several records, settle that Marasimha had held high rank in the reign of Krsna. The relationship between them was not confined to the ruler and ruled jurisdiction. It was cordial and worthy of reverence. Krsna had taken Marasimha into complete confidence and considered him as an intimate friend. Major role of Marasimha continued during the period of Krsna's successors. 2.6.7. Kannada, Sanskrit and Prakrit languages were patronised and flourished on par and on such a large scale, in quality and quantity, that such a thing never happened again. Particularly for Prakrit, it was the period of climax

Page #99
38/The Rastrakutas and Jainism and what followed after that was only an anticlimax. Virtually the language and literature of Prakrit did not witness an author of the stature of Puspadanta again. In other words the language and literatre of Prakrit and its variants receeded to a state of oblivion. Krsna-III took special interest in rejuvenating the religious activities of the Jaina sangha. 2.6.8. The grandeur and glory of the empire reached its acme in this eon and what followed after Krsna's epoch was only dark days descending in quick succession. Krsna had given Tailapa-II, carte blanche, unlimited authority by making him maha-samanta, the governor of Tardavadi, which finally turned out to be faux pas, a false step. Under Krsna's weak successors, particularly during C. E. 966-73, deterioration, anarchy and confusion were rampant in the political, economic and social spheres. 2.7. Khottiga alias Khotika (967-71), half brother of Krsna-III, succeeded to the throne as regent for Indra-IV. But, those were very bad days and veritably the dynasty was rushing to its decline. Khottiga, a dissolute and incompetent ruler, lacked statesmanship. Rastrakuta administration slackened and deteriorated, and only fomented trouble for the very existence of the empire. 2.7.1. Neither did Karkka-II alias Kakkala (971-73), his nephew, fared any better. He tried to over power the outside enemies like the Gurjaras, the Hunas, the Pallavas and the Pandyas. But he could not check the invasions of formidable adversary. He had neither the willing followers nor the strong supporter. The Paramaras and other foe, seething with discontent and hatred against the Rastrakuta authority, rebelled and rushed with turbulent force. Incessant warfare continued and the kingdom suffered severely from several plundering expeditions from outside. 2.7.2. Paramara Siyaka Harsa of Malava, waiting on the lurk to wreak and square his old humiliating defeat got

Page #100
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - B/39 the opportune. Sparing no time to invade, he and his army, defeating the feeble Rastrakuta forces on the banks of river Narmada, rushed to sack and burn the capital. "They ruthlessly plundered Malkhed in C. E. 971-72. Entire kingdom faced adversity; scattered corpses, bones and other parts of human bodies were visible everywhere" [Poet Puspadanta Jasahara cariu (Sk. yasodhara-carita) : C. E. 972-73]. 2.7.3. Marasimha, who did not like to jump on the bandwagon stood alone on the burning deck of the unprotected Rastrakuta cruiser. Like his father, Marasimha shone with great brilliance on the Rastrakuta firmament. By placing Indra-IV, (grand)son of Krsna-III on the throne, the everfaithful Gangas tried to stop serious incursion. Marasimha moved earth and heaven to re-establish the Rastrakuta power, but in vain. Indra-IV, very versatile in playing polo, but certainly not proficient in waging war! 2.7.4. It was Tailapa-II, who knew how to fish in troubled waters, hit the last nail on the coffin. The loyal turned foe, Tailapa, powerful duchy of Tardavadi, left Indra in the lurch and leapt in the dark to usurp the kingdom. Most suprisingly he directed his army towards the capital Malkhed, seized the empty throne and proclaimed himself as the new emperor. In 973-74 Tailapa extricated and resurrected his Calukya dynasty from the suzerainty of the Rastrakutas, without giving any room, either for Indra-IV or for Marasimha, to recover from the sudden shock. 2.7.5. Indra and Marasimha not withstanding coup d'etat, were forced to abandon the warfield and flee to Bankapura to find refuge in the Jaina monastery. Ajitasenacarya advised Indra-IV to proceed to Sravanabelgola, the only place of safety under the watchful eye of Camundaraya, his pupil. Marasimha died by voluntary starvation at the feet of his guru Ajitasinacarya, in C. E. 974.

Page #101
40/The Rastrakutas and Jainism There were none in the Ganga family to wield influence in imperial politics after Marasimha. 2.7.6. After the death of Marasimha, held in high regard, a veil of uncertainty overcast the glorious history of the Gangas. However, the Gangas soon recovered from the calamity submitting to the new overlords of the later Calukyas, and continued to flourish in Mandali-Thousand division [Nagarajaiah, Hampa: 1999-B]. 2.7.7. During the last years of the empire, amidst political turbulence, theological and pious activities had continued. Jainism possessed its status quo ante. A broken slab in the compound of the Kalamesvara temple at Kolivada (Gadag Dt), bears the sculpture of Jina at the top. A rare invocatory, Sanskrit verse in praise of Jina, states the importance of the place as a Jaina settlement. This inscription belongs to the rule of Khottiga, the penultimate emperor [KI. V. No. 5. C. E. 971-72]. 2.7.8. "We have a few Jaina inscriptions of the reign of Khottiga, the brother and successor of Krsna-III. An inscription from Chitaldrug district dated 968 A. D. mentions the fact that Jakki Sundari, the wife of Pandayya, a Calukyan feudatory of Khottiga, built a Jaina temple for which her husband gave a grant. Another inscription, praising the Jain religion, of his reign has been discovered from Dharwar district" [Chatterji, A. K.: 210]. "Khottiga Nityavarsa, who seems to have been also a Jaina by persuation" [Saletore: 40]. Puspadanta composed his two narrative Apabhramsa poems, Jasaharacariu and Nayakumaracariu, in the reign of Khottiga. Nanna, son of Bharata, was the minister of Khottiga. 2.7.9. Ankabbarasi, daughter of Danarnava (970-73), monarch of the Eastern Calukyas, and queen consort of Marasimha, was governing Pullungur, modern Hulgur, in C. E. 972. She had Ganga Mahadevi as her second name.

Page #102
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - B/41 Hulgur charter of C. E. 972 [EI. XXXIV. No. 12. 972. pp. 59-62] validates that Marasimha, as feudatory of Khottiga, was still ruling Gangavadi-96,000, Kisukadu-70, Purigere and Belvala 'Three-Hundred each'and proves his Jaina faith. 2.8. Indra-IV, grand son of Krsna-III and son of Kannaradeva and Gangamahadevi the daughter of GangaGangEya, on the counsel of his preceptor Ajitasenacarya, stayed at the outskirts of Sravanabelagola called Indranapalya after his name, between C. E. 974 and 982. No sooner did he reach Sravanabelagola from Bankapura, Indra erected a huge column cum Manastambha in 974-75 for the merit of Marasimha, his mentor. Indra searched the dim vista of his childhood, and slowly realised that the kingdom and the throne was beyond his reach. Totally devoid of zest in life, he had lost all the radiance of life. Having subdued the senses, Indra impulsively opted for slow starvation olim samadhi-marana as elan vital for all the times, and for the summum bonum of the eternal soul. 2.8.1. "The influence of Jainism on the Rastrakutas is testified by the fact that, the last prince Indra, a grand son of Krishna-III, after failing to reign his kingdom with the help of his uncle, the Ganga king Marasimha-III, turned ascetic, and like Marasimha.... gave up his life by the sallekhana vow" (Majumdar, A. K. : Concise History of Ancient India, Vol. III : 1983 : 290]. Indraraja crowned his life with the highest sacrifice a Jaina may hope to offer to his faith, viz., Jaina rite of withholding food, on the crest of Candragiri, the smaller hillock at Sravanabelagola, on saka 904 citrabhanu Bahula Astami tuesday, corresponding to C. E. 802.".. he died like a true Jain... we are told that as a believer in the doctrine of Mahavira, he never uttered a falsehood" (Chatterji, A. K. : 210). The same expression that Indra Raja acquired the power of the king of gods (Indra) is found in the epigraph from Sira in Tumkur Dt.

Page #103
42/The Rastrakutas and Jainism 2.8.1. Indra's post-mortem epigraph refers to him with the cognomen of Rajamartanda, 'a very sun of a king', Rattakandarpa, 'the Ratta cupid', and Kirti-Narayana, 'the famous Narayana'. It may be noted that Indra-III, son of Krsna-II had these epithets. It is not known as to who administered the vow of sallekhana, who authored the epitaph and who erected the post-obitum slab. "Evidently the celebrated example set by the Emperor Candragupta Maurya was not forgotten by the Karnataka monarchs even in the tenth century A. D." [Saletore 40]. Thus, the rajyasri, 'goddess of the kingdom' of the Rastrakutas disappeared from the face of earth. 2.8.3. Political panorama had changed in quick succession as Tailapa-II (973-998) had opened up new vistas to his ambition, but Jainism does not seem to have suffered by the change. It had taken firm roots throughout the empire, grown powerful succeeded in winning over the royal aegis of the immediate successor. Thus, Jaina sangha continued to retain its support and the chief strongholds of Jainism were undisturbed. 2.9. Considering the extent of extensive imperial auspices, popular support and the rich harvest of Jaina literature in the Rastrakuta age, A. S. Altekar's observation appears to be free from exaggeration : 'about one-third of the population of the present Andhra-Karnataka professed Jainism during the heydays of the Rastrakutas. It is to be noted that Jaina leaders ceased to be merely exponents of dogmas and turned themselves into leaders of people and guides of princes" [Altekar: 313]. 2.9.1. "It is, indeed, interesting to note that successful generals of the Rastrakutas were Jainas by persuation. Their regard for the gospel of Mahavira does not seem to have very much affected their participation in the wars. It is not therefore unlikely that during the Rastrakuta period the

Page #104
The Rastrakutas Monarchs - B/43 gospel of ahimsa in its extreme was not intended for laymen, but only for monks and nuns, because the Rastrakuta rulers and their generals were continuously participating in their sanguinary battles even though they had embraced Jainism" [Jawaharlal, G: 48]. 2.9.2. Jainism is by no means just pacifist. With its thrust on ahimsa, non-violence, Jainism did not strongly denounce militarism. Somadevasuri endorsed worldaffirming philosophy in harmony with Pan-Indian tradition of political thinking. Jaina kings have executed their worldly duties of shielding their kingdoms, their subjects, and their faith. Jainism has produced not merely pious and strict adherents who could perform the orthodox duties and gain for themsleves liberation by the rite of self-mortification, but valiant generals of armies. Those warriors were simultaneously sincere Jainas and also freed their countries from its hostiles. Jaina faith was not an impediment to nation's liberation. Instead, it was an adjunct to active freedom both in the field of religion and in the field of politics. Bankesa, Srivijaya, Butuga, Marasimha and Camundaraya, Sankaraganda, great celebrities of the Rastrakuta age illustrate the synthesis of war and peace, and reconciliation of himsa and ahimsa. They were powerful and at the same time faithful. The king was prabhusakti and these men of valor and wisdom were utsaha-sakti and mantrasakti. The Rastrakuta monarchs were lucky to get loyal Dukes who served and sacrificed their might with honesty to the core. 2.9.3. Jaina seers did not live in utopia. They participated in the wordly affairs, like the drop of water on the lotus-leaf, maintaining the distance and striking a via media between the delicate boundary of ahimsa and himsa. Involvement of the Jaina abbey in the political fortunes of the nation echoes true in the instances of Simhanandin, Sudattacarya, Jinasenacarya, Somadevasuri, Nemicandra

Page #105
44/The Rastrakutas and Jainism Siddhanta cakravarti etc. Jainism, primarily advocating non-injury does not rule out the inevitable warfare, is a tested case of religious doctrine coming to terms with social and political reality. Some of the steadfast supporters of the Jaina faith in Karnataka were military men who were not excoriated for participating in many battles, a fotiori, all the more, they were honoured with status and peerage. 2.9.4. The fact is that Jaina church has made a marginal provision for practicing their profession to its adherents, as is crystal clear by the commandments laid down by Simhanandin for his Ganga protege. The Rastrakutas adopted this way of life in toto, as it came so handy to them. Because of the preponderance and sway of Jaina faith on the state, none of the Rastrakuta monarchs, ab initio to ad finem, performed horse sacrifice. From Dantidurga to IndraIV, all the emperors abandoned rituals involving animal sacrifice and strictly adhered the tenets of Jainism: 'Jainism was extremely popular.... one can even say that the cultural life of Karnataka in those days was dominated by the Jains... In fact, it is a period of cultural ascendancy of the Jainas in Karnataka history" [Kamath, Suryanath : 1997: 92].

Page #106
CHAPTER - 3 THE RASTRAKUTA FEUDATORIES 3.1. 'The Rastrakutas did not directly rule the vast territory they had conquered; some of their vassal chieftains were thoroughbred Kannadigas, fully imbued with the spirit and culture of Karnatadesa. The buildings raised during the Rastrakuta hegemony in their territories, therefore, show many surviving and thriving local elements'[Soundararajan, K. V: EITA: 1986: 109]. A concise study of some of the Jaina feudatories will very much substantiate the reality of this statement. 3.1.1. A study of collateral line of the Rastrakuta dynasty also confirms, once more that, the Jaina faith had rooted deep in the length and breadth of the empire. A number of epigraphs and verses commend their varied accomplishments to a state of prosperity that Jainism was able to reach. 3.1.2. The lesser kingdoms were wedged in between the major states acting as buffers. These smaller political allies had their own share of contributions to the artistic and literary traditions of Jaina church. Total attainments of the Rastrakuta times were shared by minor monarchs. Jaina creed received further boom in the courts of smaller states, which resulted in the increase of a sizable percentage of Jaina population. The fillip that Jainism received in Karnataka under the Rastrakutas and their subordinate houses, has

Page #107
46/The Rastrakutas and Jainism left a permanent effect on the succeeding royal families. The patronage Jainism acquired in the courts of the Santaras of Pomburca, Calukyas of Vemulavada and Vengi, the Rattas of Saundatti, the Callaketanas, the Manaleras, the Senavaras, the Sendrakas et cetera, is of no smaller measure. The Senavaras 3.2. The Senavaras of Kacara-vamsa, who ruled between C. E. 690 and 1150, as the feudatories of the Rastrakutas, were Jains ab initio. Marekkeyarasa of the Senavaras (senavara/senavara), a Duchy under Dhruva and Krsna-I, ruled Banavasi-mandala between 760 and 782 C. E. Senavaras have introduced themselves as 'Padmavaticarana-saroja-bhranga', 'bee of the lotus feet of Padmavati (Yaksi of Jina Parsva)'. They ruled mainly the province around the modern Kadur, Cikka-Magalur, and NagaraKhanda. It is of historical significance to note that the system of Gosasa, gifting a herd of cows to the priests of Jaina church, started during this period. It was initiated for the Jaina friars by the Senavaras. Marakke, a Jaina and Duchy of BanavasiVisaya, endowed the cowherd to the Jaina clerics called Devasena Pandita and Adityasena Pandita in C. E. 760. 3.3. The governors of Cikka-Magadi ruled between C. E. 902 and 1256, as vassals of the Rastrakutas, the later Calukyas and the Hoysalas. This Jaina family of Anduvamsa, a collateral branch of Sattara (Santara), Nagarjunayya, a county sheriff of Nagarakhanda and spouse of Jakkiyabbe the Jaina lady who succeeded her husband to rule Nagarakhanda-70, under the orders of Krsna-II. She was a devout Jaina lady votary and died in the premises of Jaina temple at Bandalike by the vow of sallekhana in C. E. 918. An epitaph authored by Nagavarma, a gifted bard, has recorded an entrancing vivid picture of Jakkiyabbe's spiritual accomplishment.

Page #108
The Rastrakutas Feudatories / 47 3.4. The Silaharas of Basavura (Hangal Tk) belonged to the lineage of Jimutavahana vamsa and khacarakula. They were the devotes of goddess Padmavati. Kaliyammarasa, a county sheriff in the reign of Amoghavarsa-I, in C. E. 850, his successors also served the later Calukyas. The Callaketanas 3.5. The Callaketanas, (Cellaketanas) an indigenous Jaina dynasty with its origin in the milieu of Bandalike in Nagarakhanda (Shimoga Dt), projected as a distinguished family during this period. In their history of 175 years, the Callaketanas served as vassals de novo and remained loyal to the plighted word ad finem. Callaketanas may be collateral family of Kellas, another Jaina house figuring prominently in many epigraphs spread over a span of a millenium. 3.5.1. Dhora-I, Kolanuradhipa 'Lord of Kolanur', (i.e. Konnur) a general of the Rastrakutas, had earned the goodwill of Govinda-III. Dhora-I shifted his residence to Barkapura, where he caused to be made a Jaina temple in C. E. 800, named after him as Dhorajinalaya. From then on Bankapura became the base of operations for Callaketanas. Kalivitta-I, son of Lokate alias Lokaditya, constructed another Jaina house of prayer called Kalivita jinalaya in C. E. 914 at Bankapura, and this was the same temple that Hulla dandadhipa, Lord of the Hoysala treasury, renovated in C. E. 1159. 3.5.2. Callaketana family, entitled for the honor of five great sounds, reached its acme in the days of Bankeya (Bankaraja, Bankesa) son of Dhora-I, a trusted feudatory and a fidus Achates of Amoghavarsa-I. He was a dandanayaka placed incharge of the chief capitol and some other places. Bankeya was made the Duke of Banavasi12,000, Belagali-300, Kundarage-70, Kundur-500 and

Page #109
48 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Purigere-300. Kundatte, his eldest son was placed in charge of Nidugundage-12. Krsna-II had married the daughter of Bankeya. Barkarasa commissioned a magnificent Jaina temple at Konnur (Kolanur) and another Jinalaya at Vadavatti. 3.5.3. He selected Konnur, because his father Dhora was chief of that town. Catholic disposition of Callaketanas is mirrored in their liberal approach. Bankesa founded Callesvara temples at Atakur (Mandya Dt) and at Bankapura. Emperor Amoghavarsa donated the village Taleyur to the Jaina temple of Konnur. 3.5.4. Loyalty of the Callaketanas was so transperent that even a common religion did not come in the way between them and the Gangas, both the dynasties being Jainas. The truly great man Bankesa pitched his battle against the formidable Gangas who were going stouthearted. He successfully lead the Rastrakuta army and skillfully manouvered tough situations. 3.5.5. The devotion and support that Bankesa extended can only be compared to the prowess and nonpareil loyalty o dandanayaka Gangaraja extended to Hoysala Visnuvardhana. This comparison is so apt that it can be extended to the other members of the two families, politically and culturally. Callaketanas were Jains and so were the Gangas. 3.5.6. Bankarasa and Tailakabbe, his spouse, had four sons - Kundatte (Kundate, Kundayya setti), Lokate (Lokaditya), Dhora-II, Bankeya-II and Dhonda. Of the four sons, Kundate, the eldest one, died a typical Jaina holy death 'by the rite of sallekhana. Observing the vow of sanyasana for 30 days in the Jaina monastery at Henjeru or Penjeru (AP : Madakasira tk, Anantapur Dt), Kundate died in circa 860 C. E.

Page #110
The Rastrakutas Feudatories / 49 3.5.7. The glory of Callaketanas reached its pinnacle once again during the period of Lokate alias Lokaditya, second son of Bankeya. Lokaditya was ruling 31102 badas (villages) as adelantado, governor under Krsna-II. Lokate was a confident of Krsna, as was Bankesa, his father, to Amoghavarsa, father of Krsna. Lokate commissioned a Jinalaya, Lokamahesvara devalaya, a tank called Lokasamudra sarovara, and a town named Lokapura (Bijapur Dt), Hari-Hara-Buddha-Jinalaya, in C. E. 902. It is during this epoch that the adept Gunabhadra completed the last cantos of Uttara Purana at Bankapura Jinalaya in C. E. 897-98. 3.5.7.1. Callaketana's sway over the Jaina chiefs of Bharangi is attested by epigraphic evidences. Bittayya a Perggade, 'a head man/minister' under Lokateyarasa alias Lokaditya, founded a Jaina shrine at Bandalike in C. E. 902. Bittayya's consort and a gavundi, 'county sheriff of Bharangi, commissioned Mahavira Jinalaya at Bharangi in C. E. 904. 3.5.7.2. Kalivitta-I, Dhora-III, Bankiya-III, the three sons of Lokate, and Kalivitta-II (928-46), grand son of Lokate, continued to serve their overlords. It is curious to note the historical coincidence that, with the exit of the imperial Rastrakuta dynasty, the Callaketanas and the Vemulavada Calukyas, both faithful feudatories, vanquished into a state of political limbo. 3.5.8. Jina Parsva temple at Konnur, Lokapura basadi, Bandalike basadi of santinatha Jina, Mahavira Jinalaya at Bharangi, Dhora Jinalaya, Uripattayana basadi, Kalivita Jinalaya, Konti Mahadevi basadi, Nittasingi basadi and another basadi at Bandanike built by Bittayya in C. E. 902 for which Lokateyarasa donated the village Dandapalli - were some of the Jaina shrines that flourished with the refuge of Callaketanas. There are Jaina temples elsewhere at Chabbi, Halasangi and other places with the name of

Page #111
50 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Dhora-Jinalaya as at Bankapura, all recorded in the epigraphs. The Calukyas of Vemulavada 3.6. The nomenclature Vemulavada has different variants : Vemulavada, Lemulavada, Lembulapataka, Lembulavada and Lembulavataka. Of these variants, preference to Vemulavada is based on historians inclination. Geographically and politically the area of Vemulavada principality, to the north-east of Maleyakheda, Rastrakuta imperial seat, was nearer to the capitol than either Sravanabelagola or Pomburca or Talavanapura in the extreme south. 3.6.1. Vemulavada Calukyas ruled a dominion consisting of sapada-laksa ksiti-pradesa, i.e., 11/4 lakh area (Dahala), as an egregious feudals of the Rastrakutas. Which included the present day Karimnagar and Nizamabad region. Arikesari-I, succedding Yuddhamalla, rose to prominence in the reign of Nirupama Dhruva. Bhadradeva (Baddega), son of Arikesari-I, captured his powerful enemy Bhima in battle, as though he would catch an alligator in water. Narasimha-II alias Naraga, grand son of Baddega waged successful wars conquering seven Malawas, repulsed Gurjara king, drove away Mahipala, bathed his horses in the Ganges, and set up a Vijayastambha, pillar of victory at Kalapriya. Arikesari-II, son of Naraga and Jakavve, extended the boundaries by defeating hostile governors. 3.6.2. Ariga alias Arikesari was the best of Dukes that ruled Vemulavada, and was head of all feudatories. He guarded Vijayaditya from the wrath of the emperor Gojjiga (Govindara). He was entitled from to the five great musical instruments. Arikesari had many titles : Ammanagandhavarana 'fathers's elephant in rut, Gunarnava 'ocean of virtues', Tribhuvanamalla 'Wrestler of the three world',

Page #112
The Rastrakutas Feudatories / 51 Maruvakkadallanaterror of the foe', and samanta-cudamani 'crest jewel of the vassals'. Till he ascended the throne, Bodhana (Podhana) was the metropolis of the state. Arikesari-II shifted his capitol to Vemulavada. Bodhana/ Podhona/Bahudhanyapura was a nerve centre of sramanatirtha from 7th to 13th centuries. 3.6.3. Jakavve, mother of Arikesari (930-55), was the daughter of Indra-III. Arikesari had married two princesses of the Rastrakuta family, Revakanimmadi and Lokambika, the former being the daughter of emperor Indra-III. Arikesari 'had grown powerful enough to take part in the Vengi politics of succession and had given asylum to the Eastern Calukya prince Vijayaditya-V. In the Rastrakuta family feuds, he assisted Baddega Amoghavarsa-III, against the wayward and wicked Govinda-IV, who had as a result, sent one of his feudatories to counter as well as punish Arikesari, but his attack was successfully repulsed. In A. D. 936, Govinda was dethroned and replaced by Amoghavarsa' [Dhaky, M. A. : EITA, vol. I. part. III : 1996 : 415]. 3.6.4. Arikesari's court was graced by Pampa, who had by that time authored Adipurana: "The poet also composed one other master piece of Kannada literature, the Vikramarjunavijaya, which sings the glory of the Calukya dynasty and of the exploits of its scions including his patron Arikesari for whom he composed this epic. Arikesari, in recognition of the poet's merits, bestowed on him the gift of the village Dharmavur. Pampa's brother Jinavallabha founded Tribhuvanatilaka Jinalaya on Visabhadri (Bommalagutta) near Kurkiyala village. 3.6.5. Jinavallabha's wife Bhagiyabbe had setup a metal caturvinsatipatta image of a Jina, now in Nahar Museum, Calcutta, and had also founded a basadi named after her as known from the Jina metal image in the Government Museum, Madras (ibid, 415) Jinavallabha a pupil of

Page #113
52 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Jayanandi Siddhanta Bhatara has authored an inscription, composed in Sanskrit, Kannada and Telugu, in C. E. 950 on the huge boulder of Bommalagutta. 3.6.6. Bhaddega-II (C.959-60), step brother of Vagaraja (955-65), assisted Jaina sangha to a greater extent. He commissioned Subhadhama Jinalaya in the capitol Lemubulapataka, and dedicated it to Somadevasuri, a celebrity of his time and author of Yasastilaka and Nitivakyamrta. The Parabhani charter of C. E. 966, giving these details, open with a Sanskrit verse in praise of the Jaina faith and the text of the incription was composed by poet Peddanabhatta. Subhadhama-Jinalaya was endowed with the gift of village Kuttumvsitti-Vamkatupalu situated in the middle of the Repaka-12, in Sabbi-1000, on 7th April 966. Arikesari founded a Jaina temple and alloted lands to the Jaina chapels at Ganupalli. Yuddhamalla-II (825-50) had constructed a Jaina temple, named after him as Yuddhamalla Jinalaya. Repaka inscription records that Vujaya constructed a Jaina temple in C. E. 966 and donated lands (IAP. Kr. No. 5). Thus, the Calukyas of Vemulavada were great benefactors of Jaina faith like their overlords. The Rattas of Saundatti 3.7. Some native dynasties who ruled small principalities favoured Jainism without being intolerant to other creeds. Among them the Rattas of Saundatti and the Sanataras of Santa?ge-1000 on the west-coastal territory deserve acolade. 3.7.1. The Rattas of Saundatti zealously contributed to the revival of Jaina creed. Jainism marched in the feudal state of Saundatti without let. It was the wont of the Rattas to faithfully follow their Jaina faith. Jainism as a common creed of the rulers and the ruled alike, had once a very great hold on Saundatti. The very etymology of the place name

Page #114
The Rastrakutas Feudatories / 53 also approves the statements made in their rock edicts. The word sramanadatti, endowment (area) of the sramanas, 'the Jaina friars', after undergoing the usual phonetic changes, has become Saundatti, and Sugundhavartti is its Sanskritized version. It was an important settlement of Jaina sangha. Saudatti was a seat of Maila pa-tirtha, a branch of Yapaniya sangha. Many princesses who were disciples of Mailapatirtha were named after it as Mailaladevi. 3.7.2. The political region of the Rattas in Kuntaladesa was called Kuhundi-mandala or Kundi-3000. It is believed that the Rattas hailed from Rattanur/Lattanur/Latur, and one branch migrated to Malkhed to later flower into an imperial dynasty, and another branch reached Saudatti to be called as the Rattas of Saudatti. The word Ratta is connected to Rastrakuta though, a branch of a common stalk, they were the governors under the Rastrakutas, and later under Calukyas, when they shifted their metropolis to Belgaum (Venugrarama, Venupuri). 3.7.3. Prithvirama, son of Merada, a royal Duke of Krsna-II, caused a Jinendra bhavana in C. E. 875-76 at Saundatti. This Jaina temple had allotments from emperor. Kartavirya (Katta), chief of the Rattas, and his senior queen, Bhagalambika, once again confirmed the donation gifted earlier by the imperials. The donee, a pupil of Indrakirtisvamin, who in turn was a disciple of Gunakirti and Mullabhattaraka of Mailapatirtha, Kareyagana [Nagarajaiah, Hampa : Candrakode: 1997-B:34-39]. Rattas had founded their Pattajinalaya on the hillock at Saudatti dedicated Jina Parsva and goddess Padmavatidevi. 3.7.4. The Rattas were the worshippers of the lotus feet of Jina. Santivarma, Ratta king, founded another Jaina sanctuary at the same place, Saundatti, their residence, and granted land in C. E. 981. Santivarma, a subordinate of

Page #115
54 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Khottliga, was the earliest to become a vassal and acknowledge the suzerainty of Tailapa-II. The Rattas persisted to favour Jaina art, architecture, literature, sanctuary and monastery for a prolonged period. The Santaras 3.7.5. The Santaras, one of the minor hereditory chiefs of provinces, were governing their own particular principality, with all authority of petty rulers. The tiny principality of the Santaras started as feudatories of the Calukyas of Badami. Vikramaditya-I(C.E.654-81) won over the Santaras to his side by confirming Pombu!ca as a fief to Jinadatta, who seemingly was the progenitor of the Santara olim Maha Ugravamsa dynasty, an ancient clan of Jina Parsva, the 23rd Tirthankara. 3.7.5.1. Jinadatta, first maker of Pomburcapura, launched the Santara's political career sometime in mid seventh century, and wiped out the local petti chiefs. He usurped some areas from the hold of the Alupas, Pombulca in particular, and fortified it by conquering the border villages, during the reign of Aluvarasa-I alias Gunasagara Alupendra (C. E. 650-80). Whatever be his mother tongue before he developed provincial affiliation, Jinadatta and all his successors most willingly adopted Kannada for all practical and official purposes. 3.7.5.2. It is amazing to note that with so much of vigor, vitality and innovation, politically and otherwise, the Santaras were not ambitious to widen their territories beyond a particular line of control of their own. Santaligenadu, a division of the larger Banavasi-12,000 province, had stipulated boundaries of the Gangavadi to the East, extensive coastal land strip of the Alupas to the south, Kadambavadi of the Kadambas to the North. After they completely established their hold on Pombulca, they made

Page #116
The Rastrakutas Feudatories / 55 it their official residence. From then on, the Santaras never looked back, grew from strength to strength, but never aspiring to become themselves overlords. 3.7.6. Jagesi alias Jayakesi was a feudatory of Amoghavarsa-I. His successor Vikrama Santara alias Vikramaditya (895-935), emerged as a powerful vassal of Krsna-II, in the south. He assumed the title of Tolapurusa Santara, symbolising his outstanding attribute of charity. Vikrama Santara promoted art and religious edifices. He founded magnificent Jaina shrine, a Kama-Jinalaya on the crown of the Hill at Hombuja, and dedicated it to his preceptor Mauni Bhatara, in C. E. 897-98 [Nagarajaiah, Hampa: The Santaras - A study: 1997 - A). 3.7.6.1. Vikrama Santara, valorous warrior, placed his family in the position of a prestigious ruling dynasty and ushered in a eventful period. Krsna-II, his overlord, proved favourable to him in his political endeavours. His records recount a list of conquests which he accomplished. He performed Hiranyagarbha sacrifice. His successors did not defy the suzerainty of the imperial Rastrakuta dynasty. Cagi Santara had married Jakaladevi, daughter of Adeyura santivarma. Vira Santara's consort Enjaladevi was daughter of Alupa king Rananjaya. Kannara Santara bore the epithet of Kannara alias Krsna-III. All the three successors of Vikrama Santara did not wield any authority of consequence. The real glory of Santara dynasty reached its zenith once again in the period of the Calukyas of Kalyana. 3.7.7. The Santaras were devout Jainas, from the beginning to the end. Without facing any dynastic feud, they ruled with Patti-Pombulcapura, 'city of gold', the modern Hombuja (Shimoga Dt, Hosanagara Tk), a forest-clad town as their capital, forover a thousand years, unobtrusively. Hombuja was a seat of Panca-matha, monasteries of the five dominant sects of the period. A glowing description of the

Page #117
56/ The Rastrakutas and Jainism fertility of the Santaranadu, recorded in the epigraphs, explains their liberal outlook. Their pledge to Jaina faith did not hamper liberality to other creeds. Jaina monastery at Hombuja was a seat of learning. The savant patriarchs and friars of Arungalanvaya, a schism of original congregation, were profusely patronised. 3.7.8. The Santara dynasty, a bulwark to the Jaina creed, took pleasure in gifts of food, shelter, medicine and learning. They commissioned many beautiful Jinalayas. Nokkiyabbe olim Padmavatidevi-gudi, earliest of their temples, commissioned by Jinadatta, progenitor of the Santaras, in the late seventh century, has been completely restructured. The architectural style evolved under the aegis of the Santaras vies with, and in some instances eclipses, that of the Mandalinad. Women of the Santara harem actively shared alike in cultural activities. Architecture and sculpture of Bagara basadi, Parsva basadi, Guddada basadi, Sule basadi, Makkala basadi etc of the Rastrakuta age deserve a special mention. A detailed discussion of these and other Jaina edifices will be taken up again in the chapter number eight on architecture. The Gangas 3.8. Under the protection and patronage of the Gangas, Jainism flourished in the south without hindrance. The Gangas belonged to Jaina faith and they remained fervent Jainas ab initio ad finem, from the beginning to the end. Epigraphs endorse that the Gangas were born to champion the cause of Jinadharma of the Kailasa Mountain - Kailasa saila Jinadharmma suraksanartham. Kailasa is sacred because Ksabha, the first Ford Maker attained release from bondage on the summit. 3.8.1. It is the Gangas, a native and martial race, who made the history of Jainism an integral, and not the least

Page #118
The Rastrakutas Feudatories / 57 interesting part of the history of south. It blossomed into full bloom with the sustained refuge of the Gangas and it reached its summit in the reign of the Rastrakutas. Gangavaoi had the reputation of being the land of Jaina sanctuaries and lamasery. 3.8.2. When the Rastrakutas became the overall suzerians of Karnatadesa, prominent princely family of the Gangas who were ruling for over four hundred years, came under their sway. While examining the position of the Gangas in the age of the Rastrakutas, leaving aside their early and later history, it becomes clear that they were accorded far higher rank among all the vassals of the imperial Rastrakutas. Inscriptions have extolled the cordial and cardinal relationship that prevailed between the Gangas and their overlords, demonstrated by other literary records. 3.8.3. Amoghavarsa-I, the Asoka of Jainas, worked for the spread of Jainism with the help of the Gangas. The period of Gangas with the Rastrakutas, which spans a long epoch of two centuries, was the unequalled age of prominence for Jainism in south. Jaina art, architecture, literature, sanctuary and monastery reached its climax. Archaelogical remains of historical consequence, unearthed so far, has provided required corroborative evidences to prove the Ganga's earnest dedication to sramanadharma. As revealed in the epigraphs of this time, free, handed bounty flowed to the Jaina temples, monks, nuns, holymen, to the lustral ceremony of Jina, to the sustenance of monasteries and men of letters. 3.8.3.1. Gangavadi-96,000 had included many minor sub-divisions like Gangasasira, Punnadu-6000, Kongannadu-8000, Male-1000, Mandali-1000, Kolara-300, Edenadu-70, Aridalike-70, Beddoregere-70, Nirgunda-300, serinadu, Bayalnadu etc. Geographical boundaries of Gangavadi (sannavati sahasra, srirajya, Gangiyarajya,

Page #119
58/The Rastrakutas and Jainism Ganga sasira - are other variants): Marandale to the North, Tondaninadu to the East, Ceranadu and the sea to the west, and Kongunadu to the south. Therefore, the modern Kolar, Mandya, Mysore, Bangalore, Cikkamagalur and some parts of Shimoga formed Gangavadi. In addition to this, during the period of the later Rastrakutas, Butuga and his son Marasimha ruled Puligere-300, Belvola-300, Banavase12,000 Kisukadu-70 and Bagenadu-70. 3.8.4. The Rastrakuta hegemony was completely cast on the Gangavadi-96,000, in the reign of Saigotta SivamaraII, who threw open all avenues for the furtherence of Jaina influence. Candranatha basadi at Sravanabelagola, Kummadavada basadi in Belgaum Dt, Duggamara Koyil basadi at Hebbalaguppe (Mysore Dt) were his contributions. Rajamalla-I founded Jaina cave at Vallimalai (TN: North Arcot Dt), Rajamalla-II founded two temples dedicated to Arhats at Siyamomgalam [TN: North Arcot Dt, Wandiwash TkJ. Nitimarga Ereyappa patronised Gunavarma, one of the earliest of poets in Karnataka, who rendered the famous Harivamsapurana into Kannada. 3.8.5. Marital and political alliances between the Gangas and the Rastrakutas had brought them nearer. They had a shared goal to achieve and a common faith to follow. Some of the Gangas chiefs were allowed Carte blanche, unlimited authority to exercise. This mutual relationship was so wellknit that they had to stand or fall together. The irony of it was that in C. E. 973-74, together they sank as the ship carrying them was shattered to wreck before they could realise what was happening to them. 3.8.6. Karnataka is one of the oldest inhabited regions by sramana cult with pre-Aryan elements in it. For an active expansion of this transmarine movement, Karnataka provided a bedrock base. The boom of Jainism started in south around the very end of B. C., and the beginning of

Page #120
The Rastrakutas Feudatories / 59 C. E. Definitely.it set out in the last centuries of B. C. in Tamilnadu, and from the early centuries of C.E. in Karnataka. The early Gangas and their coevals AdiKadambas of Banavasi, and the Adi-Calukyas of Badami prepared a brawny infrastructure for Nirgrantha creed to take off. Obviously it was left to the Rastrakutas to reap a rich harvest and enjoy the fruits of Anekantamata. 3.8.6.1. The Mauryas, the Satavahanas, the Cutus - were all alien to the soil of Karnataka. They employed either Prakrit or Sanskrit as their language of administration. Indigenous dynasties like the Gangas, early and later Calukyas and the Rastrakutas employed and encouraged languages of the inhabitants of the region. Adi-Kadambas, though a native family, adopted Prakrit and more prominently Sanskrit as their official language. 3.8.7. A salient feature worth musing is the mutual influence of the Rastrakutas and the Gangas. Preponderance of the Rastrakutas on the Gangas operated on two levels. One, personal names like Govinda (Govindara, Govindaradeva and its corrupt forms of Goggi, Gojjiga etc) and the biruda like Jayaduttaranga. Secondly, the Gangas started restructuring their old temples and erecting new basadis, using stone instead of wood and brick, with which they were familiar. This shift in the material used, from wood and brick to stone, was because of the weight of the Rastrakutas stone structures, in particular Ellora. It is possible that the planners and artisans of the major monuments of the Gangas were familiar with the magnificent monuments at Aihole, Pattadakal, Badami and Ellara (Nagarajaiah, Hampa : 1999-B : 54). 3.8.8. On the other hand, the influence of the Gangas on their superior, the Rastrakutas, was in the field of religion and language, in other words Jainism and Kannada. Many of the emperors of the Rastrakuta royal house faithfully

Page #121
60 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism followed Jaina church because of the impact of the Gangas. Kannada became the official language and adopted as their mother tongue, thanks to the Gangas. Following is the statistics and distribution of the Rastrakuta inscriptions, as I have worked out: out of 516 charters, 340 are in Kannada, 90 are in Sanskrit, 104 are in Tamil, 7 are in Telugu and only one in Marathi, out of 90 Sanskrit epigraphs 19 are bilingual of which 17 are in Sanskrit and Kannada. This predominence of Kannada was due to the power exerted by the Gangas. [Nagarajaiah, Hampa : 1999-B : 54-55). 3.9. The Nolambas of Hemavati (C. E. 850-1000), as subordinates to the imperial Rastrakutas, extended patronage to Jainism. Donation of gifts to Jaina shrines by Mahendra-I (860-95), a staunch Jaina by faith, has been recorded in the charters at Hemavati and Dharmapuri. He had founded a basadi in the village limits of Kamagondanahalli and Pattanayakanahalli, in the late ninth century, of which only a seated Sarvahna yaksa sculpture has outlasted. King Mahendra had also commissioned another basadi at Tagadur (TN: Dharmapuri) and made provision for its maintenance. A tumbledown temple near the Anehonda, 'elephants pond', on the hill at Nieugal, of Mahendra's period appears to be a typical Jaina temple with vacant devakosthas inside.

Page #122
CHAPTER - 4 SANSKRIT LITERATURE 4.1. Jaina literature is by no means pacifist. For a proper perspective of the age-old heritage of Indian culture, a study of Indian art, architecture, language, literature and religion is highly essential. Jaina works, both literary and epigraphical records, afford a well-documented details of the Rastrakuta dynasty, their vassals, forts, battles, improtant cities and persons, rivers, dominions, authors, religious customs, patriarchs and preceptors, nuns, shrines and monasteries, rituals etc in the Daksinapatha. In brief, the literature of this age, in whichever language it may be, not only mirrors the religious liberalism, but also reflects the military strength, immense wealth, religious catholicity, cultural opulance, literary affluence, and love of art and architecture. Jaina works have become an essential component of Indian culture. . 4.1.1. Motivating spirit of Jaina literature of this period had been both spiritual and social, though much of it is essentially religious in disposition. Jains, from time immemorial, have nurtured tastes and tendencies conducive to the development of art, architecture and literature. Jaina monasteries were the house of scholars and monks of letters. Jaina tradition has attached great importance to the copying, reciation and worship of sacred texts. There are Vidyadevis, goddesses exclusively of learning, besides Sarasvati,

Page #123
62 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism presiding deity of knowledge, associated with sacred manuscripts. 4.1.2. The veneration of the Holy scripture Dhavala, Jayadhavala and similar canonical texts is often alluded to the grace of saints who had the spell of divinity. Historical truth embedded in the works and inscriptions of Jaina order is established in the light of corroborative evidence supplied from other contemporary lithic records. Incidental references of historical personages, men and women, are abundant. Epics and classics, Pan-jaina or otherwise, often contain panegyric stanzas recording incidents of historical consequence. Thanks to the scholarly pursuits of outstanding authors, immense vitality has pervaded the Jaina tradition. 4.1.2.1. Jaina literature of the period under discussion has stressed the sanctity of life and implanted a strong sense of enviornment-consciousness. The learned acaryas have emphasised the utility and purity of animals, water, trees and many other aspects of the enviornment. Jaina writers, whether a recluse or a house holder, did not lack required historical sense. Major authors like Srivijaya, Jinasena-II, Gunabhadra, Pampa, Ponna, Mahaviracarya, Sakatayana, and Camundaraya possessed a robust and reliable historical knowlege. Thus all of them have contributed to the authentic reconstruction of the political, socio-cultural chronicle of Karnataka. The historicle fragments embedded in the Jaina works has attracted the attention of chronicler. 4.2. The Rastrakuta era ushered in palmy days for Jaina literary renaissance. Many Jaina authors in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Kannada heralded a series of epics and classics. A chronicle of the Jaina authors, composing in lucid Sanskrit in Karnataka, starts from Ravikirti. He was the earliest poetlaureate of Karnataka. In his celebrated Aihole charter in Sanskrit, Ravikirti has recorded the political achievements of the illustrious Pulakesin-II (609-42), who had the cognomen of daksina-pathesvara.

Page #124
Sanskrit Literature / 63 4.2.1. Ravikirti's composition of poetic - excellence has been acclaimed as a Khanda-kavya, a short poem of historical improtance. His intimacy with the king reminds of similar close association that Pampa had with Arikesari-II, that Ranna had with Satyasarya Irivabedanga, and all of them were poet-laureates. Ravikirti founded an excellent Jaina shrine. His mention of the name of Kalidasa has helped the Sanskrit scholars to suggest a probable and positive upper limit in fixing the date of Kalidasa. 4.2.2. To counter balance the traditional Jaina denial of a theistic creation and Brahmanic supremacy, in either spiritual or secular realm, 'Jaina teachers had to develop a system that would not violate these basic tenets. This feat was accomplished largely through the ingenuity and literary skill of the acarya Jinasena, whose massive Adipurana was nothing less than a Jaina version of the history of the world. Exploiting the rich potentialities in the tale of Rsabha, the first king and the first Tirthankara, Jinasena made of this figure a virtual "Jaina Brahma", one who pronounced a set of "Jaina Vedas", and, most germane to the present discussion, instituted the division of castes. Rsabha's status, reflected in such epithets as prajapati (lord of creatures) and adi-deva (first lord), became that of "creator" in a sense acceptable to Jaina tradition; he was not held to have made the world, but he did supposedly create the organisation of human society" [Padmanabh S. Jaini: 288]. 4.2.3. Adipurana, based on vast canvas, has wide spectrum covering the pros and cons of Jaina church, is an integrated net-work, Adoration and worship of Jinas and recitation of hymns, followed with rites, rituals, was sanctified in Mahapurana. To strengthen the force of lay disciple, Jinasena described that the Jinas do grant the desired results : 'A man who wants wealth and prosperity should concentrate his mind on the Jinas who are described

Page #125
64 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism as the giver of the heaven. The devotee can rid himself of the disease and bondage and can free himself from the clutches of lion, snake and fire. King Bharata is said to have marched against his enemies in the south direction after offering worship to the Jina... Like his predecessor, Jinasena too describes the Jina as Brahma, Visnu, and Svayambhu. Almost all the epithets and names, expressive of his qualities, functions and associations, are liberally ascribed to the Jinas with some explanation. Rsabhadeva is again compared with Samkara.... Jina is spoken of as the creator and destroyer of the universe... Jinasena explains the ten incarnations of the First Jina, and tries to prove that he represents Krsna and Visnu" [Singh RBP: 30-31). 4.2.3. Jinasena-II adverts to the recitation of Jaina litany. He declares that a person, with pure ancestry, who bears virtues and not devoid of physical deficiency is entitled to initiation into monkhood. There are understandable traits of a metamorphic shift of Jaina customs and beliefs from its original Dravidian grip to Aryan fold, making room for fourfold varna system. 4.2.3.1. No epic material drops from Utopia. The theme of a poem, major or minor, develops gradually with its roots some where in the folk literature and takes the final shape, recast in the mould of the poet's genius. So is the case with Jaina narrative literature. Mahapurana is one such major work. It has a long drawn continuity in Jaina purana kavya tradition. Srinandi, Kucibhattaraka, Kavi-paramesthi, Silanka, Jinasena-II, Gunabhadra, Puspadanta, Camunda raya, Mallisena (1049) and other prolific men of letters flourished to chisel Mahapurana, time and again. 4.2.3.2. Mahapurana, biographies of 63 'great men', distinguished authors in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Kannada, during the epoch of the Rastrakutas. It is a beacon light for flashing the message of peace and non-injury, a

Page #126
Sanskrit Literature / 65 documentation of the voice of the victors' and Makers of River Crossing. This great work of the great empire can rightly be considered as a discovery of Jaina ethos. Etiquette of Jaina community as a whole, et hoc genus omne, and everything of this and other similar features, find their best and symbolic expression in Mahapurana. It is a miniature Jaina world. It became a roller-coaster for many poets in Karnataka, who let their creative juices flow in the local languages. Mahapurana continued to inspire the resurgence of new generation. Those who sought recharges for their imagination from roots of their religion, would avail of this epic of perennial interest. 4.2.3.3. Mahapurana, a holy classic for ceremonial reading, is recited at festival and special occassions in Jaina shrines and public places. It is quite common to find Mahapurana, either in Sanskrit or in other lanugages, text tied into a cloth, sitting on Jaina puja altars, in Jaina sanctuaries, monasteries and houses. 4.2.3.4. The Rastrakuta monarchs created a congenial atmosphere for the Jaina genius to flourish. It was a rare coincidence that Jaina epics appeared in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Tamil and Kannada languages during this time. CivakaCintamani by Tiruttakka-tevar, Digambara Jaina savant saint of Circa 9th cent. C. E., has the distinction of being one of the 'aimperun-kappiyanka", "Five Great Epics', in Tamil literature. Similarly, pre-eminent Jaina commentators, particularly of Digambara sect, wrote authoritative commentaries on canonical texts. 4.2.3.5. The Rastrakutas extended the same liberal stand to the field of religion. Their catholicity is attested by the condescension stretched to all isms of the state. Siva, Visnu and Jina are invoked in the beginning of the Rastrakuta charters, testifying to their liberality of their religious leanings.

Page #127
66 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism 4.3. Kaviparamesthi(C. 750 C.E.), a copiously credited Sanskrit author of the age of Rastrakutas, is known by two other aliases of Kaviparamesvara and Kavisvara. Though, applauds are profusely heaped on him, his work has not directly come down to us. 4.3.1. Camundaraya (C.E. 978) categorically affirms that Kaviparamesthi was the third litterateur to author on the theme of Trisasti-salakapurusa-purana or Mahapurana as it is familarly known. Kucibhattaraka and Srinandi were the other two recognised predecessors to compose Mahapurana in Sanskrit. 4.3.1.1. Unfortunately, except for the patchy statement of C'Raya, nothing comes forth about the life, works and date of the last two men of letters. A solitary reference of Kuciacarya, chief patriarch of Yapaniya Nandisangha PunnagaVIksamula gana and preceptor of Vijayakirti, comes from an inscription of C. E. 812, a coeval record of svami Virasena. Kuciacarya, revered by the assembly of learned monks, flourished in the mid eighth century C.E. The date and locality suit the identification of Kuci-acarya with Kuchibhattaraka, author of Mahapurana, mentioned by C'Raya. 4.3.1.2. Therefore, Srinandi, second author in the sequence of Mahapurana, and Kaviparamesti, third in the order, must have prospered in late eighth century. Srinandi can difinitely be recognised as the same scholar-monk, who was the preceptor of Ugraditya (770-840) of Kalyanakaraka, treatise on the science of medicine. This possibility agrees and explains the chronological sequence of the authorship of Mahapurana, in temporal terms. Evidently, these three acaryas were the protegee of the Ganga and Rastrakuta monarchs. 4.3.2. Fortunately, Kaviparamesthi (Kaviparames vara), who succeeded Kucibhattaraka and Srinandi, is known through some later complimentary references.

Page #128
Sanskrit Literature / 67 According to CRaya, Kaviparamesvara attained matchless fame by authoring the unparalleled Trisasti-salaka-purusapurana, a biography of 63 great men, celebrities of the Jaina Church, in Sanskrit. The illustrious Jinasena-II (C. E. 825) was the earliest to respectfully advert the Vagrathasamgraha of Kavipaparamesthi. Gunabhadracarya, sisya, pupil of Jinasena-II, who completed Uttarapurana on 23rd June 897, records that the above work of Kavisvara was a gadya-katha, a prose-narrative. 4.3.2.1. Commencing from Pampa (C. E. 941) to Doddayya (C. E. 1600), many Kannada men of letters respectfully mention Kaviparamesthi. C'Raya had direct access to this purana-kavya, legendary poem, and has quoted some Sanskrit verses in a metrical form, which subscribe to the reliance that the work was in Sanskrit, and a campu in its form. Since he is ranked with Samantabhadradeva and Pujyapada, Kaviparamesthi's individuality stands as that of a famed, worthy and authoritative author. 4.3.2.2. Based on the circumstantial evidence, it can be said that Kucibhattaraka and Srinandi composed Mahapurana in the time of Prabhutavarsa Govinda-II (C. E. 774-80) and Kaviparamesthi during the reign of Dhruva (C. 780-93). In the light of this discussion, a possibility of Kavisvara, mentioned by Srivijaya in Kavirajamarga (C. E. 850), being identical with the celebrated Kaviparamesthi or Kaviparamesvara can be contemplated. Another statement, worth pondering in this context, comes from (a Kannada poet) of post medieval period. Doddayya (C. E. 1600) states that the work of KaviParamesthi consisted of 1,25,000 granthas. A grantha is an unit of 36 letters. This amounts to suggest the huge volume of Kavi-Paramesthi's work. 4.3.3. Bhatta-Akalankadeva (C. E. 720-80) had profuesly authored most enduring works. He has endowed the field of Indian logic affluent with his luxuriant works.

Page #129
68/ The Rastrakutas and Jainism He is famous for his captivating arguments, ravishing style, and enchanting illustrations. Akalanka had the aliasas of Bhatta-Akalanka, Akalankadeva, and Akalankacandra. The probity of systematizing Jaina canonical edification into an integrated philosophical school belongs to apostle Umasvati and his magnum opus Tattvartha-sutra, recognised as authoritative by both the Jaina sects. Of the early Digambara glosses, Bhatta-Akalankadeva's Raja varttika stands sui generis, befitting its title. Chronologically, and in disposition Rajavarttika is only next to Sarvarthasiddhi, an encyclopedic commentary of Devanandi alias Pujyapada (late 6th and early 7th cent.) (Tattvartha). Rajavarttika-bhasya is voluminous and has as much bearing on the Jaina doctrinal system. Though this work has the stamp of Pujpada, Akalanka's work is not just the echo of a cave. It has a distinctive originality of its own. 4.3.3.1. Akalanka is credited with the authorship of several Sanskrit texts which together form the paramount textual material used by advanced scholars in the Jaina cloisters. Akalanka had become a legend during his lifetime. Like many other ascetics Akalanka, an astute philosopher and dialectiacian has remained silent about his biographical details, not even mentioning his coeval rulers. Luckily, some information is coming forth from Katha-kasa and other literary sources. 4.3.3.2. Different versions : 1) Peterson has credited, with authenticity, Jaina tradition of equating Akalanka with the son of Subhatunga alias Krsnaraja-I (753-75). It is said that Akalanka and Niskalanka were sons of Subhatunga, and Akalanka, elder of the two sons, renunciated the life of palace and accepted the monknood. 2) Purusottama and Padmavati were the parents of Akalanka Purusottama was a minister of Subhatunga. 3) Mallisena prasasti inscription of Sravanabelago!a, states that Akalanka was prestigious

Page #130
scholar in the court of Sahasatunga: 'there was no other grandeur king like Krsnaraja alias Sahasatunga on earth'. 4) Akalanka was a priest at Sravanabelagola from where he proceeded to the court of Himasitala, a Pallava king of Kanci, and drove the Bauddha disputants to Kandy in Ceylon. While defeating the opponents, Akalanka proclaims that he did it out of clemency and not out of arrogance or malice: Sanskrit Literature / 69 nahankara vasikrtena manasa na dvesina kevalam karunya buddhya maya 4.3.3.3. Scholars have agreed on one point, that Akalanka was a native of Manyakheta and he lived during the sway of Sahasatunga Dantidurga Khadgavaloka (C. 74256), Subhatunga Krsna-I Akalavarsa (C. E. 756-73) and his son Prabhutavarsa Govinda-II Vikramavaloka (773-80). Undoubtedly, Akalanka was a tarkkika, dialectician of unequalled eminence. He had challenged the vadis in a dialectical disputation at the court of Sahasatunga Dantidurga, who was ruling from his capital at Elapura (Ellora). 1. 4.3.3.4. Akalanka has authored basic texts on varied subjects including Jaina epistomology, logic and metaphysics : Tattvartha - Rajavarthika a lucid commentary on Tattvartha - sutra of Umasvati, has made the latter more comprohensible. 2. Astasati is an erudite and extensive gloss on Samantabhadradeva's Aptamimamsa (Devagama stotra), an examination of the perfect teacher. 3. Siddhiviniscaya Pramana-samgraha (with vivriti modelled on Dinnaga's Nyayapravesa and Pramana Varttika of Dharmakirti), still enjoy a highly venerated place in the learned circle.

Page #131
70 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism 4.3.4. Akalanka, an ardent advocate of syadvada theory was a poet too. His devotional work, Akalarkastotra, though contains some interpolated stanzas, is read and recited with devotion. Pramana-samgraha with 871/2 verses has nine cantos and an auto-gloss. Hundred's of inscriptions of Karnataka open with the Sanskrit invocatory verse of Akalanka taken from his brilliant work Pramanasamgraha : Srimat-parama gambhira syadvadamogha lanchanam jiyat trailokya nathasya sasanam Jinasasanam May the doctrine of Jina be victorious - the doctrine of the Lord of the three worlds, the unfailing characteristic of which is the glorious and most profound syadvada, the doctrine of qualified assertion. 4.3.4.1. Akalanka's works divulge his scintillating intellect and incisive insight of a master genius. He was the protagonist who laid solid foundation for greater progress achieved by later Jaina logicians. The following verse from Akalanka carita, employing the metaphor of pun, is worth meditating: kim vadyo bhagavan=ameya mahima diva=akalankah kalau kale yo janatasu dharma nihito devo=akalanko jinah 4.3.5. Ugraditya (C.E. 770-840) has made robust contribution to the science of medicine. Primarily advocating vegetarianism, his wealth of prescription has more relevance to the modern world. Ugraditya Pandita has authored a perennial Jaina medical text called Kalyanakaraka, "means to prosperity.

Page #132
Sanskrit Literature / 71 4.3.5.1. Kalyanakaraka, a medical work, was completed at Ramagiri, the level plains in Vengimandala of Trikalinga visaya (AP : Visakapatnam Dt), the modern Ramakonda. Ugraditya was a disciple of Srinandi acarya, worshipped by Srivisnuraja alias Visnuvardhana-IV (772808) of Eastern Calukya dynasty, who gave his daughter Silabhattarika in marriage to Dharavarsa Dhruva. Srivisnuraja, his son Vijayaditya-II (808-47) extended their support. Particularly Visnuvardhana-IV, a rajadhiraja, king of kings, was a patron of anekantamata, like his forefathers. Ugraditya has mentioned the names of Lalitakirti, Devacandra and Dayapala, famed friars of his period. For compiling Kalyanakaraka, a treatise on medicine, Ugraditya states that Meghanada, Simhanada, Pujyapada, Samantabhadra, Siddhasena and Patrasvami were his authorities. 4.3.5.2. The great royal physician, in the tradition of Pujyapada Devanandi, Ugraditya, a confere of Lalitakirti acarya, visited the Rastrakuta court of Amoghavarsa-I, in about C. E. 830, where he delivered a discourse on meatless diet and advocated the solemnity of vegetarianism for a healthy and spiritual progress. 4.3.5.3. Ugraditya was a recluse of Mulasamgha, original congregation, Desiga gana pustakagaccha Panasoge vali, a cohort of Jaina abbots. in the line of Acarya Kondakunda. Srinandi, his professor and founder of the Jaina monastic order at Ramagiri, is, as I have pointed out elsewhere, identical with Srinandi, the author of Mahapurana, mentioned by Camundaraya in his Trisastilaksana-Mahapurana (C. E. 978). 4.3.5.4. Kalyanakaraka is a comprohensive and original exposition on the science of medicine composed in Sanskrit verse. The work consisting of 25 chapters is divided into two parts, devoted to the cause of diseases and treatment of

Page #133
72 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism diseases, with an appendix on the subject of fatal symptoms, and an additional chapter, on meatless diet, in the end. A succinct sketch of the origins of Pranavadapurva of the original canon which covered medicine and diagnosis. T. V. G. Sastry observes : "The text has no sectarian touch and is purely scientific and technical in treatment. It also has quotes from both the Jaina and non-Jaina authors. In the puspikas found at the end of each chapter, there are references to the family pedigree of Ugraditya's gurus, his contemporary collegues and others. Thus the work provides information to fix the date for the work. In an additional chapter, published at the end of the text, there is reference to Ugraditya's discourse on 'Hitahita Adhyaya', delivered in the presence of Rastrakuta emperor Amoghavarsa who ruled between A. D. 815-877 A. D. Ugraditya also mentions the name of Patrakesari (C. A. D. 575-650), a celebrated surgeon of the times". [Jinamanjari, 10-2, october 1994 : p. 53). 4.3.5.5. Srinandi, author of Mahapurana, Ugraditya, Lalitakirti and other Jaina saints conducted austerities at Ramagiri monastery and made it a famous Jaina settlement. 4.3.5.6. Ugraditya has mentioned the name of Patrakesari (C. E. 575-650), a celebrated surgeon. JinsenaII has also mentioned Patrakesari as Patrasvami. Pujyapada, preceptor of king Durvinita, and Patrakesari were contemporary luminaries who were famous doctors of their age. 4.4. Svami Virasena (735-820) of Pancastupa anvaya, a posterity of original congregation of Jaina monks. He was skilled in Jaina doctrine, prosody, astrology, grammar, Jaina epistomology and logic. To top his proficiency in varied discipline, he was an expert in the lore of Satkhanda-agama. He was a profound scholar of kasaya-Prabrta knowledge. In brief he a was a wizard of savior-faire knowledge of what to do.

Page #134
Sanskrit Literature / 73 4.4.1. Adept Virasena had the benifit of being the student of wise Elacarya. Indranandi (930) has explicitly recorded in his Srutavatara that Virasena had the benifit of councilling from his versatile master Elacarya. The region of Ponnur (Sk. Hemagrama) and Nilagiri hills was known as Maleyadesa, the zone of mountains where lived Elacarya, an enlightened monk : Daksinadese maleya Hemagrame munirmahatmasit Elacarya namna Dravida ganadhisodhiman 4.4.2. It is hard to fix up the identity of Elacarya. Veteran Kondakundacarya (Circa 2nd cent.) had the cognomen of Elacarya. Indranandi (930) refers to a miracle performed by one Elacarya who lived in the Hemagrama refered above, vide his work Jvalinikalpa. Some epigraphs speak of the austerity of accomplished Elacarya, a pupil of Sridharadeva [EC. V (R) K. R. Nagara. 36 (XIV Ye 84) C. 10th cent. Cikka-Hanasoge, p. 23; ibid. No. 33]. Therefore, it can only be said that the revered guru of Virasena lived in the mid eighth century. 4.4.3. Svami Virasena has authored three works on Jaina philosophy: 1. Dhavala-Tika, 2. Jaya-Dhavala-Tika, and 3. Siddha-Bhu-Paddhati-Tika. Of the three Books, the last one is not extant, except that it has been duly mentioned in Uttarapurana of Gunabhadra, in the colophon. The very title suggests that the text had incorporated material dealing with Jaina concept of the science of computation and Cosmography and ksetra-ganita. 4.4.3.1. During the last years of SahasatungaDantidurga and in the reign of Krsna-I and his two sons, Prabhutavarsa Govinda-II and Nirupama Dhruva, Acarya Virasena, on the advice of his teacher Elacarya, left Citrakuta monastery to join the illustrions cloister at Vatagrama. With an orchestra of scholar-mendicants, like Dasaratha,

Page #135
74/ The Rastrakutas and Jainism Vinayasena, Jayasena and (Jinasena-I) and Jinasena-II the brilliant pupil of Virasena, the Jaina Magha of Vatagrama attained the status of a celebrated university. 4.4.3.2. In the age of Jagattunga Govinda-III, Virasena commenced Dhavala-Tika, in the year C. E. 792 and completed the chef d'oeuvre, master piece on gth october 816 C. E. in the reign of Amoghavarsa-I. Its colophon Bhattarena ?ika Vihiyesa Virasenena, states that Bhattaraka Virasena composed the commentary. Acarya Bhutabali and acarya Puspadanta (circa late 5th cent. and early 6th cent. C. E.), clairvoyants of early current Era, had the knowledge of the 24 chapters of Mahakarma-Praksti. It was preserved and transmitted earlier by the brilliant mendicant Dharasena (C. 156 C. E.), earliest redactor of the canon, with an intention of again transmitting the traditional store of canonical knowledge to the successive generation of scholar anchorite. Bhutabali and Puspadanta, later redactors of canon, had co-authored Satkhandagama, 'Scripture in six parts', in sutra style, i.e., aphoristic mode of presenting the canonical scriptures, which resembles curni-type of work. That was the earliest written scripture of veneration of the Jainas. 4.4.3.3. Redaction of the canon was continued by Gunadhara's (C. late 2nd cent. C. E.) Kasaya prabhrta (Pk. Kasaya pahuda) not in sutras but in verses, containing 233 original gathas, dealing with theories of bondage of the soul. Aryamumuksu (Aryamaksu), Nagahasti, Uccharanacarya (Vrttisutra) and Yati-Vrsabha (Curnisutra of 6000 granthas) - has authored extensive glosses, opening the flood gates for the luxuriant literary activity of the erudite men of letters. A vast and varied exegetical literature like the glosses and commentraries, opulent independent works on different subjects, were produced. 4.4.3.4. A number of leading commentaries on Satkhandagama text, written between 2nd and 7th centuries,

Page #136
Sanskrit Literature / 75 are not available. Virasena's Dhavala commentary throws some light on the early works. It is evident that he has composed his gloss with the help of Bappadevaguru's Vyakhya-prajnapti, an earlier commentary. Virasena has increased the prominence and utility of his gloss by quoting principal Digambara authors. He has also comprohensively quoted from the canonical literature such as the Acaranga, the BIhatkalpa sutra, the Dasavaikalika, the Anuyogadvara, the Avasyaka Niryukti and others. 4.4.3.5. Above all, a note worthy point of Virasena's Dhavala commentary is that he has referred to two different pratipattis, assertions that existed before gth century. Of the two assertions known as uttara-pratipatti and daksinapratipatti, Virasena mentions that the latter was direct and traditional, whereas the former was perverse and untraditional. Virasena does not hesitate to point out that the teachings of Nagahastin was pavaijjanta, traditional, and those of Arya Manksu (Mangu) apavaijjamanu, untraditional. Virasena's acumen is so sharp that he has recorded diverge variants of the texts, deviation of opinions among early masters, and often tried to illustrate them. All this substantiate that Virasena was a scholar of class, equipped with the knowledge of all the early attempts and their settled variations. In the modern terminology, Virasena was the earliest to have possessed a fair knowledge of textual criticism, of noting different recensions. 4.4.3.6. Monach Virasena composed and merrily completed, single handed, a voluminous commentary of Dhavala-Tika 'the luminous' commentary of the size of 72,000 verses, on Satkhandagama. His coup de maitre, master stroke continued. He once again launched on a similar work, christening it, Jaya-Dhavala-Tika, 'the victoriously luminous', commentary on Kasayaprabrta. This time, patriarch-scholar Virasena could compose 20,000

Page #137
76/The Rastrakutas and Jainism granthagras, and his student Jinasena composing the remaining 40,000 granthagras, completed in C. E. 837-38. Thus, the two commentaries run altogether to 132,000 verses, massive feat of human intelligence. This entire literature has been critically edited and published in 38 volumes. 4.4.3.6.1. Jinasena has said that Virasena, his noble teacher was a debater, most knowledgeable orator, poet immaculate with proficiecny in spiritual wisdom, and kavicakravarti. The last epithet may appear to be an exxaggeration, but categorically svami Virasena was an agama-cakravarti. 4.4.3.7. Acarya Virasena belonged to the pedigree of panca stupanvaya, the monachs of eastern school, who were the custodians of the Jaina ancient karma (a form of matter) lore. All his pupil belonged to Senagana, a cohort of monks and nuns of Mulasamgha, the original Digambara congregation. Virasena was the last of Pancastupanvaya ascetics. With Jinasena and others, Senagana, replaceing Pancastupanvaya, thrived to greater prominence. 4.4.3.8. To abbreviate, illustrious Virasena, a manastambha of the time of the Rastrakutas, was the first and best commentator and crystalizer of Satkhandagama and kasayaprabhrta. In the apt words of Jinasena-II, 'Acarya Virasena had put Vacaspati, god Brahma, to silence, with his ocean of knowledge!'. Adroit in the philosophy of nonabsolutism, connoisseur in the doctrine of manifold aspects, abbot of a mendicant group, felicitous in canonical literature, a specialist in Sanskrit and Prakrit languages, a monkscholar and spiritual leader, Virasena was verily a VidyaVacastpati. Thanks to the Dhavala, Jaya-Dhavala commentaries, the vital flow of the Tirthankara's teachings has sustained through so many centuries. 4.4.3.9. Emanating as marvels of human authorship,

Page #138
Sanskrit Literature / 77 Dhavala, Jayadhavala as spiritual revealation to man, have had an epic tradition of verbal bequest much preceding their codifications by the austere anchorite. In a bid to salvage the near extinct knowledge of canons, Virasena and Jinasena, monk-scholars of Jaina scriptures from the Rastrakuta empire, embarked upon restoring it for posterity. It was a marathon enterprise spanning more than forty years of tapasya, painstaking commitment. 4.4.4. Dhananjaya (C. late 8th cent.), a poet of eminence also pioneered Jaina literature in Sanskrit during the reign Nirupama Dhruva. Details of his biography are obscure. His Jiterary accomplishment has won laurels. Acarya Virasena has quoted, a sloka of Anekartha-Nanamala of Dhananjaya, in Dhavala commentary (C. E. 816-17). Since Dasaratha was the preceptor of Dhananjaya, he was a senior co-student of Jinasena. But Dhananjaya was not a monk. He remained an house holder observing the six vows prescribed for a Jaina votary. 4.4.4.1. Dhananjaya has authored some works out of which a peom, a lexicon and a stotra kavya, peom of orison. Visapahara-stotra, a short peom containing only 39 verses, deals with the remarkable effect of prayer to god. A person charged with intense devotion will not succumb even to deadly poison of a snake. The verses of this short poem are composed in Indravajra metre. . 4.4.4.2. Dhananjaya-Namamala or AnekarthaNamamala is a small lexicon. It contains 200 stanzas of synonyms, with an appendix of homonyms in 46 verses in the end, both composed in easy flowing style, facilitating to learning by rote. 4.4.4.3. Dhananjaya is remembered forever for his masterpiece Dvisandhana Mahakavya also known as Raghava-Pandaviya, which has embodied his poetic imagination and rich vocabulory. His amazing craftmanship,

Page #139
78/ The Rastrakutas and Jainism fancy, mastery in Sanskrit language are unique. That too, delineating in the frame of each verse, the sotry of Rama and Pandavas, of Ramayana and Maha-Bharata simulataneously, is a feat rarely achieved. Cleverely manipulating and chiseling the structure of each stanza Dhananjaya is able to drive Ramakatha and Krsnakatha at the some time, in the same poem. 4.4.4.4. Dhananjaya does it, not by legerdemain but by his dexterity in regulating the language and composition of each stanza. He is rated a peerless poet by the critics and the two commentators, (Acarya Padmacandra's disciple) Nemicandra and kavi-Devara, son of Paravadigharatta Ramacandra, who have composed glosses on Dvisandhanakavya in Sanskrit. A salient feature of this poem is that the poet Dhananjaya has not in the least attempted to bring any Jaina elements. 4.4.4.5. Vadiraja (C. E. 1020) greatfully remembers Matisagara, Hemasena and Dayapala in his magnum opus Nyayaviniscayavivarana, a philosophical work. Of these poets, Hemasena has been identified with Dhananjaya. But, Vadiraja has indubitably mentioned Dhananjaya in his Parsvanatha carita : anekabheda samdhanah khanante hrdaye muhuh Bana Dhananjayonmuktah Karnasyeva priyah katham Poet Vadiraja has made use of the pun, figure of speech, of verbal equivocation - of Arjuna and poet Dhananja, and of Karna (son of kunti) and the ear. 4.5. Jinasena-II (755-855), most illustrious partiarch revered by the Jaina church, gifted with unquestionable literary flair, has authored prominent works of extraordinary merit, both in Prakrit and Sanskrit. By any standard,

Page #140
Sanskrit Literature / 79 undoubtedly, Jinasena was the uncrowned monarch of the Jaina literary world of the Rastrakuta age. His works are revered as tour de force, feat of skill, with a stamp of permanency on them. 4.5.1. Nestor Jinasena is said to have lived the full circle of 'centurian' for his 'swan song in and around C. E. 855. But, before breathing his last, Jinasena had become immortal by his unique achievements. He has been attributed divinity. Jaina men of letters and Jaina church as a whole, refer to him with the honorary epithet as 'Bhagavad Jinasena'. Jinasena of Bihat Punnata sangha, a senior contemporary and author of Jaina epic poem Harivamsapurana (C. E. 783) is recognised as Jinasena-I. Jinasena of Sena sangha, author of Adipurana and other works is identified as Jinasean-II. Jinasena-I completed Harivamsapurana in the Nannaraja, basadi, a Jina Parsva temple, in saka 705 corresponding to C. E.783. The Upasakas and upasakis, Jaina adherents of Daustatika joined to worship this work of religious merit at the temple of santinatha. Jinasena-I has mentioned the names of Virasena, Kirtisena and Jinasena-II. 4.5.1.1. Most revered svami Virasena acarya tutored Jinasena-II. He had his religious initiation from the adept Jayasena acarya in the prestigeous cloister of Malkhed. In the last quarter of eighth cent. and in the early 9th cent., Jaina monastery of Manyakheta had become a den of great recluse and a coterie of eminent monk-scholars. Aryanandi, Virasena, Jayasena, Jinasena, Lokasena, Dasarathamuni, Gunabhadra, Ekacattuga - a band of prominent patriarch pandits, Jinagama experts had converted the Jaina lamasory into a hammock of goddess of learning. Among the group of genius, Jinasena-II was in the front rank. 4.5.2. It is said that Jinasena-II was initiated into monkhood as a bala-brahmacari and he continued to lead

Page #141
80/The Rastrakutas and Jainism the life of celibacy. He was wedded to greater cause of serving religion and mankind. He had complete mastery in Prakrit and Sankrit. His knowledge of cononical literature was extraordinary and his observation of human nature is out standing. Dimension of his vast reading is evident from the list of galaxy of brilliant scholars that he has recorded: Siddhasena, Samantabhadradeva, Sridatta, Yasobhadra, Prabhacandra of Nyayakumuda-candrodaya, Sivakoti of Aradhana (Mularadhana/Brhadaradhana/BhagavatiAradhana), Jatacarya (Jatasimhanandi Varanga-carita), Kanabiksu of Kathalamkara, Bhatt-Akalanka, Sripala, Patrakesari, Vadisimha, Virasena, Jayasena and KaviParamesvara of Vagartha-samgraha. 4.5.3. In the field of religion, Jinasena was the keyman, head of the Jaina church. In the sphere of literature, he is undoutedly the best of men of letters in the Rastrakuta empire. He was a gifted scholar of eminence. His creative faculty, pratibha, was playing the second fiddle, because he chose to write on the theme of spiritual experience. Albeit, at times, his genius raises to greater heights in Adipurana (Purvapurana, i.e., early part of Mahapurana). 4.5.4. Jinasena aspired to compose and complete Trisasti-laksana-Purusa-purana (Mahapurana), i.e., biographies of 63 'Great men' in the Jaina mythology. The list of 63 excellent men includes 24 Tirthankaras and their contemporaries, 12 Cakravartins ('rulers of the world'), Baladevas, Vasudevas and Prativasudevas, the last three are 9 each in number. Trisastilaksanapurana or caritas, are a favourite subject in Jaina literature. Jinasena, inspite of his ambition to author the entire Mahapurana himself (Puranam samgrahisyami Trisasti purusasritam), he could compose only Adipurana portion, containing 10,380 verses in 42 parvas and 3 slokas in the 43rd parva. Gunabhadra, his gifted pupil, continued to complete the epic by composing

Page #142
Sanskrit Literature/81 1620 verses in Adipurana of 47 parvas, and uttarapurana, containing 9500 verses. Adipurana narrates mainly the story of Rsabha, the first Ford Maker, Bharata, the first ruler of the universe, and Bahubali, the first Kamadeva, the god of love in the Jaina tradition. 4.5.4.1. Before a critical assessment of the scope and prominence of Adipurana, it should be said to the credit of Jinasena that the greatest teacher had the benifit of Amoghavarsa-I, one of the greatest emperor, being his pupil. Amoghavarsa had his paramount veneration for his teacher Jinasena. Having joyously prostrated and kneeled before Jinasena the monarch would congratulate himself: "The king Amoghavarsa remembered himself to have been purified that day, when the lustre of the gems was heightened in consequence of his diadem becoming reddish by the dust pollen of Jinasena's foot-lotuses appearing in the stream of waterlike lustre, flowing from the collection of the brilliant rays of his nails; - enough - that prosperous Jinasena with the worshipful and revered feet is the blessing of the world" [Gunabhadra : Uttarapurana). Jinasena describes himself in the Parsvabhyudaya, his earliest poem, as the paramaguru, chief preceptor, of Amoghavarsa. Sanjan plates makes it clear that Amoghavarsa did abdicate the throne, not once, but several times, temporarily as a retreat, to lead the life of an ascetic. 4.5.4.2. As noted earlier, his flaire for religious literature and attachment to Jaina creed was an accalaimed fact. Titles like Dhavala of Govinda, Atisaya-Dhavala of Amoghavarsa possess an aureola of Jaina lustre, since the connotation of this biruda has an historical background. It was during the reign of Govinda that svami, Virasena commenced composing Dhavala, 'Luminous' commentary of 72,000 slokas on Satkhandagama, the primordial canonical text of Jaina surrogate and completed in the times of Amoghavarsa,

Page #143
82 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism in C. E. 816-17. Further, Jinasena completed Jaya-Dhavala, 'victoriously luminous'in C. E. 836-37. To commemorate the two auspicious events of the successful completion of Dhavala and Jaya-Dhavala glosses, the ruling emperor was blessed by the Jaina assemblage with the extraordinary singular biruda of Atisaya-Dhavala, 'exceedingly pure', who was also a disciple of Jinasena. 4.5.4.3. Veritable Jaina saint Jinasena, accomplished completion of Jaya-Dhavala by composing another 40,000 slokas to the 20,000 slokas composed earlier by his teacher Virasena, on kasaya prabhrta of Gunadhara, a connoisseur in Jaina tenet. Jayadhavala-Tika was completed on Saka 759 phalguna suddha Dasami Nandisvara, a Jaina festival day, at Vatagrama in the jurisdiction of Gurjarajya.Jinasena again refers to his dear pupil Amoghavarsa with the epithet of Gurjara Narendra, in his Jaya-Dhavala commentary. That means to prove that Amoghavarsa was ruling Gujarat in C. E. 836-37. Vatagramapura olim Vatanagara (Vadner in Nasik Dt) was a nerve centre of Jaina church in 8th and 9th cent, and Subhatunga Indra had commissioned a Jaina shrine, named after him, called Subhatunga-vasati. 4.5.4.4. Taking advantage of the charisma of Meghasandesa ('cloud messenger') of Kalidasa, Jinasena attempted - Parsvabhyudaya kavya. 4.5.4.4.1. Parsvabhyudaya, a vestita-kavya, minor a famous poem of 364 verses in manda-kranta metre, has been one of the curiosities of Sanskrit literature. It exhibits the poetic talent and the rich imagination of Jinasena. He has proficiently managed to propagate the biography of Jina Parsva and the Jaina doctrine by employing Meghasandesa paradigm, a work of mass appeal. Jinasena has sincerely acknowledged his debt to Kalidasa : kavyam vyadhayi parivestita-meghadutam. Parsvabhyudaya kavya was his first poem composed at the instance of Vinayasena, in C. E.

Page #144
Sanskrit Literature / 83 780, when Jinasena was in the prime of youth, and the exuberance of creative grace flows freely with lyrical elegance. 4.5.4.4.2. Adopting verbatim, generally the last line of Kalidasa's Megha-sandesa, and adding the first three lines of his own composition, Jinasena has achieved remarkable exultation. Students of textual criticism find it useful that abovt 400 padas, original lines of Kalidasa are preserved here as it existed in eighth century. In the stylistic variations of samasyapurtis in Padavestita (taking any one line from Meghaduta stanza), Ardhavestita (taking any two lines) and Antaritavestita (employing either first and fourth, or second and fourth, or first and third, or second and third lines). Thus, Jinasena chiselled and redefined original Meghasandesa and enhanced the glory of Sanskrit poetry. But the fact remains that Jinasena's Parsvabhyudaya kovya is a better poem, but Kalidasa's Meghasandesa is the best poem. 4.5.4.4.3. If Parsvabhyudaya was a better poem of a youngman, Adipurana was the best poem of a nestor author. Jinasena composed it at his very old age of above 90, perhaps in C. E. 845-50. 4.5.4.4.4. In Adipurana, a biography of Rsabha, the first Ford Maker, while enumerating the conquests of Bharata, son of Rsabha and the first universal emperor, Jinasena has mentioned a number of his contemporary southern kingdoms, big and small: Antara Pandya, Ausa, Cora, kachandhra, Karnataka, Kerala, Kutastha-Aulika (Aluka?), Mahisaka, Mekura, Pandya, Pratara, Punnata and Trikalinga. Bharata after crossing the river Godavari, defeated Karnataka. According to Jinasena, the people of Karnataka wore strange dress and fond of turmeric and betel leaves, which is very true of the Maharastrians also. Finally Bharata came to Vaijayanta-mahadvara near the sea, which is the modern Banavasi. Decidedly Adipurana is a popular

Page #145
84 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism composition of the period which provides valuable sociohistorical material. 4.5.4.4.5. Undoubtedly Jinasena's Adipurana is one of the greatest epics. Its theme has a lovely and moving saga of a soul in quest of highest sublimity. The story is a mixture of romance, of tenderest pathos and similar moving human emotions. Adipurana has a popular appeal. It is ornate poetry. No Jaina purana can bear comparison with Jinasena's Adipurana in Sanskrit and with Pampa's Adipurana in Kannada, for their poetic excellence. Both Jinasena-II and Pampa stand out as litterateurs of the utmost poetic accomplishment. Jinasena's command of language, metre, alankaras, rasabhavas, poetic competency and descriptive skill-are remarkably praise worthy. However, in the display of the wealth of peotic craftsmanship, in the flights of poetic fancy soaring to sublime altitude, which are refreshingly novel, Pampa is superior. Adopting the some theme of Jinasena-II in toto, has not only made it his own, but has made it superior. In Jinasena, the ascetic in him often over-rides his poem; in Pampa, the poet in him inundates his poem. 4.5.4.4.5.1. In short, Adipurana or for that matter, the entire Mahapurana is a fine specimen of classical Sanskrit peom. Interpretation of dreams, treatise on town planning, duties of the warrior, and the art of governing the state - are some of the interesting portions, perhaps specially intended for the wise consideration of Amoghavarsa, the Rastrakuta monarch. 4.5.5. Vidyananda (900-50), philosopher, epistemologist, commentator, was another author of height and repute in this period. 4.5.5.1. This survey would be complete by introducing Vidyananda, early 9th cent. scholiast and commentator, as brilliant as Akalanka. He composed the Tattvartha-sloka

Page #146
Sanskrit Literature / 85 varttika, the Astasahasri, the Yuktyanusasanalankara, the Vidyananda-mahodaya, the Apta-pariksa, the Satyasasanapariksa, and the Sripura-Parsvanatha-stotra. 4.5.5.2. Vidyananda has carved a niche in the hall of fame by his substantial contribution. Even a bird's eye view of his noteworthy works will call the attention of the learned. With his comprohensive and deep command over the Jaina doctrinal subtle distinction that he could speak ex cathedra, with authority. Tattvarthailokavarttika, a voluminous commentary on Tattvarthasutra of Umasvati (350-75), is a continuity of southern adoption of Umasvati's work, in the same line of thought and approach of Pujyapada and BhattaAkalanka, his predecessors. Astasahasri, his celebrated work, is a commentary on the Aptamimamsa of Svami Samantabhadradeva (575-625). Vidyananda has developed his commentary on the model of Akalanka's Astasati, (73080) and both are extnensive and scholarly treatises. Yuktyanusasanalarkara is again a commentary on the Yukyanusasana of Samantabhadra. 4.5.5.3. This work mirrors the reasoning power of Vidyananda. He has used the epithet of satyavakyadhipa in the last stanza. Based on this, it is said that Vidyananda lived during the reign of the Ganga king Rajamalla Satyavakya. But, recent evidences prove that Satyavakya referred here is not Rajamalla, but indubitably MarasimhaII (962-74). Aptapariksa is an attempt at defining the virtues of Apta, i.e., god, inspired by Sarvarthasidhi-tika by Pujayapada (early 7th cent.). Patrapariksa deals with the consultation between a complainant and a respondent. It provides information about the characteristic of patras, charters drafted. Pramana-pariksa is a inspired by Akalankadeva's Pramanasamgraha. 4.5.5.4. Till recently, the date of Mahavadi Vidyananda was almost convincingly fixed to circa C. E. 775-840 by Darbarilal Kothiya in his introduction to Apatapariksa. But,

Page #147
86/ The Rastrakutas and Jainism of late Prof. M. A. Dhaky has established unambiguously, based on literary and epigraphical evidence, the temporal bracket of Vidyananda as C. E. 900 and 950. Dhaky has firmly ascertained that the great Digambara epistemologist Vidyananda belonged to Mulasangha-nandi-sangha V(B)alagara-gana, and that he was a contemporary of Ganga Permali alias Marasimha-II who founded a Jaina shrine at Annigere in memory of his father Butuga-II [Dhaky, M. A.; in Nirgrantha, vol. 2; 1996 : 25-28]. 4.5.5.5. Vidyananda is a sharp critic of Buddhist doctrines and other schools of philosophy. He is gifted with facile poetic style in Sanskrit which flows like a river on the plane. He has made of some the Jaina philosophical points more sharp. He has been influenced by Samantabhadra, Pujyapada and Akalanka more than by any of his other predecessors. Syadvada-Ratnakara of Vadidevasuri, a later author of 13th cent., alludes to Vidyananda-Mahodaya, as another work of Vidyananda, but it is not extant. 4.5.6. Gunabhadra (820-98) au courant, an uptodate author of greater merit has the repute of executing and completing his teacher's dream. He had the singular distinction of being a brilliant pupil of rare masters of the Rastrakuta age. Jinasena-II and Dasaratha guru were his instructors who trained Gunabahdra in a scholastic and academic atmosphere. He had the best tution and at the some time he had the guidance of sparkling confreres like Lokasena. 4.5.6.1. While his educator Jinasena-II was a spiritual professor of Amoghavarsa, Gunabhadra was the preacher of Krsna-II. Thus, the teacher and disciple, Jinasena and Gunabhadra, had implanted the seeds of sramana dharma along with enlightening rajadharma in father and son, Amoghavarsa and Kssna.

Page #148
Sanskrit Literature / 87 4.5.6.2. Hermit Gunabhadra had mastered, grammar, poetics, the doctrine of non-absolutism and was an fait, well informed. Jinasena had fulfulled his teacher Virasena's nonexecuted Jaya-Dhavala Tika. Gunabhadra also accomplished his apostle Jinasena's half measured Mahapurana composition. De'facto, infact, it was destined that Gunabhadra should achieve the goal, before the final glory of the Rastrakuta empire comes to an end. Anchorite Virasena had embarked Dhavala-Tika during the reign of Govinda-III, and finished it in the time of Amoghavarsa, Govinda's son. Mahapurana was initiated in the epoch of Amoghavarsa and terminated during the period of Krsna-II, son of Amoghavarsa. Thus, somehow, a combination of father and son, and teacher and pupil running parallel can be noted. 4.5.6.3. Adept Jinasena almost completed Adipurana, first part of Mahapurana. When he could not continue any further, at the age of 95, Jinasena knew that his end was drawing near. He asked his diligent and intelligent pupils to describe a withered tree standing before them. One of them described the arid tree- 'suskam kastam tisthatyagre. Jinasena, unimpressed with the unimagi- native pedantry, asked Gunabhadra to describe the parched tree. Gunabhadra characterized: Nirasa taruriha vilasati puratah!. Convinced with his imaginative power to handle the epic theme, Jinasena entrusted Gunabhadra the work of completing Uttarapurana. Gunabhadra justified Jinasena's choice, by efficiently handling the vast theme. 4.5.6.4. Bankapura, a moderate town in Shiggaon taluka of Dharwar Dt, was a fief given to conscientious Bankesa, grandee of Banavasi, by Amoghavarsa. Lokaditya, son of Bankesa, was made the governor of Bankapura, by Krsna-II, son of Amoghavarsa. The Rastrakutas had ameliorated Bankapura into a majestic Jaina nucleus.

Page #149
88 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Gunabhadra, a celebrity of late ninth century, was deservedly entrusted with the stupendous task of Uttarapurana. He continued the epic in and around C. E. 850, and completed it at Bankapura, in 8000 slokas. He first completed the remaining four chapters in Adipurana composing 1620 verses. Later, the poem could not progress as fast as was expected. The story of Bharata and Bahubali, their conflict and battle over establishing supreme suzerainty on six parts of the universe - has found its best expression in the graphic description of Gunabhadra. 4.5.6.5. Jinasena had provided an infrastructure for his pupil. But Gunabhadra had intricate challenges of abbreviating the biographies of 61 'Great persons in the frame of uttarapurana. His humility was endless. With his unpretentiousness, acarya Gunabhadra confesses that if his poem is laudable, it is the grace of his great teacher Jinasena : "Because for the sweetness of fruits it is the tree that is responsible. Words descent from the heart and my heart is an abode of my learned master who is refining each and everyword. With Jinasena's vouchsafement it is not at all difficult for me to complete Uttarapurana. While his disciples are easily crossing the ocean of worldly life with the help of Jinasena's Adipurana, how can it be difficult for me to reach the shore of this Mahapurana"? 4.5.6.5.1. Gunabhadra's contribution is plenteous and luxurious. Atmanusasana and Jinadattacarita are his other poems, composed in simple and fluent style. Atmanusasana, designed on the specimen of Vairagya-sataka, centum of poet Bhartshari, has its theme relating to the soul, advocating disinterest in worldly matters. This short poem containing 272 stanzas, with its blooming tender style, wields influence on the readers. Acarya Prabhacandra has written a gloss in Sanskrit. There are commentaries in Kannada and Hindi also. These commentaries go to prove the popularity and prominence of Atmanusasana.

Page #150
Sanskrit Literature/89 4.5.6.5.2. Jinadatta-carita, composed in Anustup metre, is a short-poem in nine cantos. The poem with its enchanting story, enshouded by incidents of and surprise, has a graceful style, and the readers find it curious. 4.5.6.5.3. It is believed that Gunabhadra also authored another short work called Bhava-Samgrah of which nothing more is known so far. 4.5.6.5.4. Gunabhadradeva had equal regard for his another teacher, Dasaratha: "As the moon has the distinctive quality of the sun, so was Dasaratha, the wise mendicant a co-student-monk of Jinasena. Entire scriptural knowledge had settled in the words of Dasarathaguru. Moonshine emitting from his mellifluous words had pervaded everywhere." 4.5.6.5.5. Speaking of his own self he has these details: "Gunabhadra was proficient in learning, had crossed the ocean of canons, had sharp wisdom, specialist in nayavada and pramana, ocean of virtues, considering that 'the goddess of fortune conducts herself most obidiently before him', tapolakshmi goddess of austerity (i.e. prayer and meditation), a friend of moksalakshmi goddess of eternal bliss (salvasion) cheerfully presented herself. KaviParamesvara composed Mahapurana in prose, Jinasena composed Purudevacarita metrically. The rest was composed by Gunabhadrasuri. Lokasenamuni, pupil of Gunabhadra, versatile in all sciences, is a poet. Lokasena of good conduct has rendered his assistence in composing Mahapurana. Men of rectitude have honoured Lokasena". 4.5.6.5.6. "Lokaditya, a feudatory of Akalavarsa Klsna-II, had earned dotless renown person of radiant personality, affluent Lokasena, annihilating his enemies had been the proud possessor of Mayura-dhvaja, 'parasol of the peacock'. He is the younger brother of Celladhvaja and son of Cellaketana (Bankarasa)".

Page #151
90 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism 4.5.6.5.7. "Lokaditya has been the light of Jaina faith. His father (Bankaraja) has the alias of Vanka in whose name Barkapura was built. With his residence at Bankapura, he ruled Banavasidesa for a long period". 4.5.6.5.8. "When Akalavarsa was on the throne, Lokaditya, his vassal, administering the whole of Banavasidesa, on saka 820 Pingala samvatsara Jyestha sukla pancami Thursday (i.e. 23.6.897), Uttarapurana was completed. The devout worshipped this hallowed poem, composed by Gunabhadra, excellent of poets" (Uttarapurana : Prasasti (colophon) verses). 4.5.6.6. Jinasena-II and Gunabhadra seem to have largely followed the Mahapurana version of KaviParamesthi. Rama story of Gunabhadra differs markedly from Vimalasuri's Paumacariya in regard to story elements, characterisation etcetera. Surprisingly, Gunabhadra has not followed Ravisena (C. E. 678), his Digambara predecessor. Padmapurana (Padma-carita) of Ravisena of sena-gana was the first Jaina Ramayana poem in Sanskrit. Since, Jinasena and Gunabhadra deviated from other extant works and known traditions, it is all the more confirmed that they largely followed Kaviparamesthi for whom both of them had elevated veneration. It is the Kaviparamesthi school of Mahapurana that has pervaded Jaina puranas in Sanskrit and Kannada, including CRaya, Nagacandra and others. Apabhramsa Mahapurana of Puspadanta also has employed and developed the same tradition. Thus, the Mahapurana of Kaviparamesthi has both perforated and proliferated in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Kannada literature. 4.5.6.7. In the analysis of Jaina Puranas, a salient feature to be noted is that many a time the words Purana and katha are used as synonyms to historical knowledge as conceived in the Jaina tradition. It is often said that Jaina version of Ramayana and Mahabharata are distorted

Page #152
Sanskrit Literature/91 versions of Valmiki and Vyasa. "In case we accept the opinion that Padmacarita was composed in the year V. S. 734 (A. D. 677) then we have to accept that it is earlier than any known manuscript of the Ramayana of Valmiki. Thus in case of Ramakatha, etc., it would be wrong to say that Jains were trying to debunk the Brahmanical history and myth" [Singh, Y. B.: The Historical Traditions in Jain Puranas - A study of their Nature and purpose - in Jainism and Prakrit in Ancient and medieval India, ed. Bhattacharyya, N. N.:1994 : 288]. 4.5.6.8. "... Jains had details about Krsna-katha too. And they have tried present it in an objective way. Not this alone. The Jain account tries to present certain episodes of Mahabharata even in a much more sobre way. Gunabhadra, while describing the birth of Karna, says that he was born because of the pre-marital sex relations of Pandu and Kunti. He does not say that Pandu was not the father of Pandavas. He aslo says that Karna was found by Raja of Champa and his queen Radha accepted him as her own son. 4.5.6.9. Thus, the Jain Puranas nowhere try to denigrate the heroes of Brahmanical texts.... However, the Jain authors always tried to narrate only those events of the past which were fit to provide models to the masses. The concept of history which can bring good to all the people has a deep rooted tradition in India. It continued in later years and its reflection is found even in the Ramacaritamanasa of saint poet Tulsidasa. He states that eulogy, poetry and material possessions are good only if they do good to each and every person.... they (the Jains) did not ignore the facts and therefore, the distortion of past episodes is absent. The changes which they made, were in relation to the importance and antiquity of the Jain religion" (ibid : 289-90). 4.6. Palyakirti Sakatayana (C. 840 C. E.), reputed scholar grammarian of the Rastrakuta period lived in the court of Amoghavarsa. Jaina grammatical system had two famous exponents in Pujyapada and Sakatayana. The latter

Page #153
92/ The Rastrakutas and Jainism was also, like the former, an expert in Jaina philosophy. Palyakirti Sakatayana is held in high esteem by the learned class : kutastya tasya sa saktih palyakirtirmahaujasah sripadasravanam yasya sabdikan kurutejanan 4.6.1. Sakatayana, who had Palyakirti as his first name is equally respected in both the Jaina sects of Digambara and Svetambara. Palyakirti alias sakatayana belonged to the Yapaniya sect which was popular in the years of the Rastrakutas. He was a pupil of Arkakirti, an abbot of Yapaniya diocese. 4.6.2. Sakatayana completed his grammar Sabdanusasana, as a court-scholar-monk of Amoghavarsa. He composed Vrtti, an auto - commentary, on his grammatical work Sabdanusasana and rightly termed it, in honor of his patron, as Amogha-Vrtti. In his Sabdanusasana, though a grammatical treatise, sakatayana has attempted to embellish the sastra-krti with pearls of his contemporary history. To cite an example, while illustrating the anadyatana-bhuta tense, Sakatayana refers to the conquest of his overlord Amoghavarsa over the Pandyas and the burning of the enemies : bhute anadyatane.. arunaddevaha pandyam adahad=amoghavarso= aratin (sabda musasana : VI - 3- 202] Historians also suggest that a governor of Gujarat was crushed a heavy defeat by Amoghavarsa when he attempted a coup d'etat. 4.6.3. Sakatayana system of Sanskrit grammar is equally famous as Jainendra system, both the school of

Page #154
Sanskrit Literature/93 grammar being founded in Karnataka. Sakatayana, a protege of Amoghavarsa, has compressed Panini and Jainendra in convenient form. Sakatayana, a fore runner in arrangement of sutras topic-wise, a model later followed by other grammarians. 4.6.4. Acarya Palyakirti, who had Sakatayana as his second name, occupied a place of worship by successive generations. Author of Sakatayana prakriya-samgraha has addressed Palyakirti as Munindra, 'chief of saints', and Jinesvara, 'victor'. Yaksavarma, composer of Cintamanicommentary on Sabdannsasana, has referred to Sakatayana as 'saphala-jnana samrajyapadam=aptavan'. Cidananda, Kannada poet, has given a glowing tribute : "Benediction to Acarya Palyakirti reflecting the ocean of canonical knowledge with the Mandara Mountain of his percipience Palyakirti has brought out the nector of grammar and earned endless name and fame". 4.6.5. Amogha-Vrtti, sakatayana-nyasa (Prabha candra), Cintamani-Tika (Yaksavarma), Maniprakasika (Ajitasena), Prakriya-samgrah (Abhayacandra), Sakatayana-Tika (Bhavasena-Traividya), Rupasiddhi (Dayapala)- et cetera glosses on this work approve the merit of Sakatayana. In defence of the salvation of woman, against the Digambara doctrinal position, Palyakirti has also authored another work of 34 karikas, called Strimukti - prakarana and Kevalibhukti. 4.6.5.1. The role of nudity in the holy life of a monach is an issue between the Jaina schisms. Digambaras, more conservative, emphasise nudity as an absolute prerequisite to the mendicant path, and hence a woman must be born as a man to attain salvation. Svetambaras, more liberal and pragmatic, admit that clothing per se is not an obstacle to salvation, and hence women are capable, in the present life

Page #155
94 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism time, of the same spiritual accomplishments as men. Malli, the 19th Tirthankara, was a woman. Marudevi, mother of Bharata and Bahubali, attained salvation in her present life. With this polemics in the background, Sakatayana's work strimukti stands significant. Its exposition is in averment of the theory that clothing per se is not an impediment to maksa. Sakatayana very well justifies the policy of Yapaniya school of philosophy 4.6.6. Jaina grammatical tradition was prevelant before Panini (C. 5th cent. B. C.), the greatest grammarian ever known. Saddapahuda (Sk. Sabdaprabhita), in the group of Purvas (C. 8-7th cent. B. C.) had discussed sthana and prayatna words with their definitions and illustrations. Bopadeva has mentioned eight grammarians of Indra, Candra, Kasakrtsna, Apisali, sakatayana-I, Panini, Amara and Jainendra. Pujyapada avers six Jaina Vaiyakaranas, not traceable. Jainendrabuddhinyasa of Pujyapada (late 6th cent. C. E.), earliest availabe Jaina grammar, consists of 5 chapters, 20 padas and 2067 sutras. It has two recensions of north and south, and many commentaries. 4.6.7. Sakatayana-I has been mentioned by Panini (Astadhyayi : 3. 4. 11 and 8. 6. 18), and Bopadeva. Sakatayana-II is the author of Sabdanusasana and Amoghavstti. Bhagchandra Jain has provided a synopsis of the innovations of Sakatayana (Palyakirti): 1. Sakatayana's grammar sabdanusasana along with its commentary, is divided into four chapters. Each of them contains four padas with sutras. 2. He gives no rules on acents. He also omits every reference to the language of the Veda. 3. He discusses nine types of sutras 4. In comparison with Panini's terminology, sakatayana can be divided into three groups.

Page #156
Sanskrit Literature / 95 5. It appears that Sakatayana employs different terms belonging to different systems of grammar such as Panini, Candra and Jainendra. 6. He accepted 10 Upakaras Some of the innovations of the Amoghavitti may be enumerated as follows: 1. It contains everything except Ganapatha, Dhatupatha, Linganusasana and Unadi. 2. It does not possess the Unadi prakarana, which is found in the Brhadvstti. 3. Amoghavrtti enumerated all the Ganas except the Idhadigana. 4. It follows more or less the Kasika. 5. Sakatayana informs in the sutra 2.4.182, that Pre Panini grammarian Apasala's vyakarana was divided into eight chapters [Jinamanjari, ed. S. A. Bhuvanendra kumar, 12-2-, octo. 1995 : pp. 80-81). 4.7. Mahaviracarya (C. 850 C. E.) of Ganitasara - samgraha, a protege of Amoghavarsa-I, was the principal mathematician of not only the Rastrakuta times, but also of Karnataka. 4.7.1. It is believed that Mahaviracarya was also one of the tutors of Amoghavarsa. In the Gaaitasara-samgraha of Mahaviracarya it is stated that the subjects under the rule of Amoghavarsa were happy, and the land yielded plenty of grain. The author has this benediction : 'may the kingdom of this king (NTpatunga-Amoghavarsa), the follower of Jainism ever increase far the wide'. Amoghavarsa had Sarva as his first name and Nrpatunga, Deva, Cakrika-bhanjana were his other aliases. 4.7.1.1. Mahaviracarya has given an account of some coins, weights and measures of the Rastrakuta time which is invaluable record for the students of history. He has

Page #157
96 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism mentioned different varieties of weights and measures where grain, gold, silver and metal were used with the terms that were current during mid 9th cent. C. E. Mahaviracarya says that two Draksus(Drachma-a Greek name), were quavalent to one Dinara (Dinarieus - a Roman coin), and two Dinaras were equal to one statera (stater). 4.7.2. Ganitasara samgraha is an exceptional work on Indian Mathematics, simpler than the work of Brahmagupta. It deals with geometrical progression. Mahaviracarya has vividly specified the universal utility of mathematics : In all transactions which relate to worldly, vedic, or other similar religious affairs, calculation is of most use. In the science of love, in economics, in music and in drama, in the science of cooking, in medical science, in architecture, in prosody, poetiecs and poetry, in logic and grammar, and in relation to all that constitutes the peculiar value of the arts, the mathematics is held in most high esteem. In relation to the movements of the sun and other planets, in eclipses, in conjunction of the planets, in problems related to direction, position, once time, in the moon's phases, indeed in all these, the use of mathematics is most accepted. The number, the diameter, and the perimeter of islands, oceans, and mountains; the dimensions of the habitations and halls belonging to the inhabitants of the world, between the worlds, of the jyotirluka, of the world of gods and of hell-dwellers and other miscellaneous measurements etc.. - all these are known through mathematics. The configuration of living beings, the span of their lives, their journeys and dwelling together, etc., are all dependent upon mathematics. What is the use of saying much? Whatever there is in all the three worlds with living or moving and non-moving beings cannot be comprohended without mathematics. [Jinamanjari, vol. 19. No. 1. April 1999, special number on Jaina mathematics theme guest ed. Padmavatamma. Gupta, R.C., Intro' to Jaina Mathematics).

Page #158
Sanskrit Literature/97 4.7.3. Ganitasara - samgraha establishes the existence of the Jaina School of Mathematics in South India. Prof. L. C. Jain and Padmavatamma substantiate it : "(Ganitasara-samgraha) was full book on practical mathematics. He (Mahaviracarya) was the first mathematician in the world to recognise the imaginary qualities. Most of his formulae may be seen in other forms in the Digambara Jaina texts on the karma theory. Formulae given in the commentary of the suryprajnapti deserve special attention" [Jain Journal: 19-1, April 1999: pp. 22-23]. 4.8. Indranandi (C. E. 930), an ascetic - scholar of greater eminence, has authored some works in Sanskrit. As a native of Manyakheta, he studied and stayed at Malkhed Jaina lamasery, which was truly a nursery of productive talents of the age of Rastrakutas. 4.8.1. Indranandi has authored the following works in Sanskrit Samayabhusana, Srutavatara, Nitisara, Srutapancami, and Jvalamalini-kalpa. Among these works Srutavatara is in wide circulation, because it has chronologically recorded an authentic list of the pontiffs of Jaina order. For a study of the details regarding Jaina monachism, Indranandi's work is a must. So, Srutavatara has an important place of honor in the history of Jainism. 4.8.2. Indranandi was so felicitous in Jaina philosophy of non-absolutism that Nemicandra Siddanti, noble Pope of the Jaina Vatican Sravanabelagola, has referred to Indranandi with a distinct epithet of 'Srutasagara-paragami", proficient in Jaina scriptures. 4.8.2.1. Jvalamalini-kalpa his last work was completed at Manyakheta in saka 861 on the Aksaya trtiya tithi corresponding to C. E. 939, when Krsnaraja-III was on his throne. Indranandi has made this point clear in the prasasti colophon :

Page #159
98/ The Rastrakutas and Jainism astasatasaika sasti pramana saka samvatsarespatitesu sri Manyakheta katake parvanyaksaya tatiyayam satadala sahita catussata parinama grantha racanayayuktam sri Krsnaraja rajye samapta= metanmatam devyaha 4.8.2.2. Indranandi was the preceptor of Ponna (C.E. 965), poet-laureate of Krsna-III, and one of the 'three gems' of Kannada literature. Ponna proudly recalls that he was a student of celebrated Indranandi, from whom he learnt the art of poesy and dexterity in debate, in one of his stanzas of Santipurana. Indranandi was adept in Prakrit, Sanskrit, and Kannada. He lived and wrote during the period of Indra-III, Amoghavarsa-II, Govinda-IV, Amoghavarsa-III and Krsna-III. 4.8.2.3. Jvalamalinikalpa has a Kannada commentary supposed to be an auto-commentary of Indranandi : "The work is a rare specimen of an early Sanskrit work commented upon in Kannada. The name of the commentator is not disclosed, but it is not impossible that Indranandi himself added a Kannada commentary'[Pancamukhi, R. S.: Progress of Kannada Research in Bombay province from 1941-46 : p.25]. 4.8.2.4. Of his other earlier works, Indranandi composed the famous Srutavatara in C. E. 930. 4.8.3. Kandarpa and Gunandai, were Indranandi's senior preceptors teaching in the monastery of Malkhed, who were active in C. E. 900. During their discourses, Kandarpa erudite scholar preceptor, narrated to his pupil cum confrere Gunanandi the theme of Jvalinikalpa. Indranandi, a junior to them, had the benifit of listening the converse, which prompted him to put it in writing.

Page #160
Sanskrit Literature/99 4.8.4. "The Jvalini-kalpa gives an interesting story of the beginning of this cult. It states that Helacarya of the famous Dravida sangha first started her worship on the summit of the Nilgiri hill near Hemagrama in the south in order to remove the bad influence of an evil spirit, known as Brahmaraksasa who had overpowered his lady disciple Kamalasri. After continuous meditation for a number of days he succeeded on the 7th day, when the goddess appeared and asked him to write an incantation on a sheet of iron to imancipate her from the influence of evil spirit. She also advised him to systematise the occult practices for achieving all the earthly and heavenly blessings" (Singh, R. B. P.:1975:53). 4.8.5. Jvalini-kalpa, a tantric text, specifies the forinulae and spells invoking the deity to rest in an image to receive worship. Goddess Jvalini after invoked with proper worship is supposed to bestow the worshippers superhuman powers by which a person could be controlled, enmity evoked/ eradicated, an evil could be averted et cetera. Thus, Indranandi is primarily responsible for a methodical exposition of the occultlore in Karnataka through this treatise. Mallisena and other men or letters were influenced by the line of thought of Indranandi. 4.8.6. Indranandi has recorded some orthodox and heterodox Jaina schools and sects. According to him the authors, mentioned beneath, represent orthodox school of thought : Bhadrabahu, Sricandra, Jinacandra, Gsdhrapincha, Lahacarya, Elacarya, Pujyapada, Simha nandin, Jinasena, Virasena, Gunanandi, Samantabhadra. Kumbha, Sivakoti, Sivayana, Visnsena, Gunabhadra, Akalanka, Somadeva, Prabhacandra, Nemicandra etc. 4.8.7. Indranandi's mention of five sub-sects of the Jaina church in his Nitisara is or historical significance : Gopucchakah svetavasa Dravido Yapaniyakah Nihpicchasceti pancaite Jainabhasah prakirtitah

Page #161
100 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism It gives an idea of how the contemporary sects and subsects, within the fold of their own religion, reacted to one another. It provides valuable data about the Yapaniya sangha that was prevalent and enjoying high status in the Rastrakuta empire. 4.9. Somadevasuri, distinguished productive talent of the age, was a monk disciple of Nemadeva of Deva-samgha, a cohort of Mula-samgha the original congregation, and one of the four ecclesiastical orders of the Digambara synod in the south. Mahendradeva was his elder brother in the sense of a senior confrere. Monk Mahendra is the selfsame Mahendra Pandita of Kondakunda anvaya and Desiga -gana who figures in an inscription of C. E. 950, from Naregal [Gadag Dt. SII. XI-i. 38. 950. p. 23). Somadeva has provided bits of information in the prasasti, the colophon, about his life, lineage, teachers, benefactors and patrons. He started his career as a court-scholar of Mahendrapala-II, the Pratihara monarch of Kanauj, where he authored the Nitivakyamota in C. E. 957, and the Trivarga- Mahendra - Matali-Jalpa. On the request of Baddega, the duchy of Vemulavada, Somadeva migrated to south. 4.9.1. Somadevasui composed Yasastilaka of surpassing excellence in saka 881, siddharti caitra Madana-Trayodasi, corresponding to C. E. 959-60, the date synchronising the Rastrakuta emperor's victorious camp at Melpati (Melpadi: North Arcot/Citoor Dt.). Krsna-III, repulsing the Pandyas, the Simhala, the Auca, the Cerama etc, had camped at Melpati. Baddega-II (C. E.955-65), elder son of Arikesari-II (C. E. 930-55), crest jewel of the mandalikas, Dukes under the Rastrakutas, commissioned the work of Yasastilaka (Yasodhara-carita), an unmatched classic of its type, composed in chaste Sanskrit. It was composed and completed at Gangadharam (AP : Karimnagar Dt) olim Gangadhara, a subsidiary metropolis, near the Vrsabhadri, more widely

Page #162
Sanskrit Literature / 101 known as Bommalagutta. Handiqui's identification of Gangadhara with Gangavati in the Raicur Dt of Karnataka is not correct. 4.9.2. Somadeva flourished as a court-poet of the Calukyas of Vemulavada olim Lemulavada (Sk. Lemula pataka/Lembulapataka/Lemulavataka) feudatories of the Rastrakutas. Yasastilaka, composed in campu style on the model of Prakrit Jaina works, stands unsurpassed in many respects. Exploiting the creative dimensions of campu style and form, the standard Yasastilaka, in prose and verse, Somadeva took it to sublime heights: 'It represents a lively picture of India at a time when the Buddhist, Jaina and Brahminical religions were still engaged in a contest that drew towards it the attention, and well-nigh absorbed the intellectual energies of all thinking men' [Peterson's Report, 1., p. 33]. It is said that his prose vies with Bana and his poetry with that of Magha. 4.9.3. Yasastilaka, a maha-ka vya, great-poem, portrayed on a broad canvas of eight parts dealing with various subjects. The story of prince Yasodhara and his cycle of births, most popular theme in Jaina narrative lore, is the nucleus of the epic. Befittingly, this portion is popular as Yasodhara-maharaja-carita. The character of Amrtamati, queen-consort of Yasodhara is portrayed in such a way that it turns out to be the core of the story. Ever since K. K. Handiqui published his researcher on the historical and cultural importance in his famous work Yasastilaka and Indian culture', Somadevasuri is very often referred cum lande, with the highest praise, by the Sanskrit scholars and philosophers: 'Somadeva has shown an encyclopaedic genius that a scholar to-day could reconstruct all shades of Vedic, Agamic, Tantric and popular thought and wisdom current in the time by dint of patient research on this work. There is nothing secular or religious, social or political, that escapes the far

Page #163
102 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism flung net of the great author. It can be regarded as a unique work in Sanskrit literature'.. [Krishnamoorthy, in - The Rastrakutas of Malkhed, (ed). Gopal. B. R. : 1994 : 395]. 4.9.3.1. The last chapters, six to eight, of Yasastilaka are known as Upasakadhyana, 'readings for lay men', i.e., an authentic text for the lay votaries of Diagambara tradition, enjoying the status of an independent text. While denouncing the delusion pertaining gods, Somadevasuri criticizes the alleged divinity of the popular gods. He shuns superstitious practices such as making food offerings to the manes, worshipping trees, touching the tail of a cow with the belief that such acts avert disasters. He adverts to the different methods of uttering the Jaina formula, including the popular one, consisting of 35 letters. 4.9.3.2. Niti-Vakyamsta, nectar of political sayings, exhaustive treatise of polity in 32 chapters in sutras, easily stands on par with Artha sastra of Kautilya (Cankya/ Visnugupta?). Yasastilaka can be considered as the coup demaitre, master stroke, and Nitivakyamota can be regarded as coup d'etat, political stroke of poet Somadevasuri. Incidentally, it may be mentioned here that S. R. Goyal has argued that Artha-sastra is a work of a Jaina monk. Somadeva's cognition on Indian niti, polity, or rajadharma, statecraft, is amazing. His wealth of material has made the work a notable contribution to the theory and science of politics, and the political significance of the work needs no exaggeration. This political treatise deals with neither on Jaina ethics nor on syadvada philosophy, the doctrine of qualified assertion, though authored by a Jaina litterateur. Critics have voted Niti-Vakyamota as the chef d'oeuvre, masterpiece of Somadeva. 4.9.4. Somadevasuri authored the famous Nitivakyamsta, avowedly nonsectarian work, to advice princes like Krsna, Baddega-II Arikesari-III (966-75), and

Page #164
Sanskrit Literature / 103 Marasimha-II, on how best to govern their kingdoms. The author has the following benediction about the work : this righteous policy brings forth the fruits of all efforts of human existence, fulfillment of worldly needs, desires and attainment to salvation. His predecessors, Jinasena-II and Gunabhadra of Mahapurana fame, and Hemacandra of Laghvarahaniti, had bestowed thought on political philosophy. However, it is Somadevasuri who summed up the current political wisdom in a striking manner, furnishing many valuable details of administrative setup, such as the appointment of ministers, Talaraksas, and astadasaPradhanas. Local taxes were collected by the mandalikas; at the time of coronation of the raja king and yuvaraja, the heir-apparent, patta-bandhan was done. 4.9.5. Scholars have emphasised the significance of the work and its sutras in which Somadevacarya has contrived to amalgamate utmost concision with considerable perspicacity of expression. Nitivakyamota has been translated into Italian. Famous Kannada authors Brahmasiva (C. E. 1175) and Cidananda (C. E. 1680) have been deeply influenced by this work. Neminatha (C. 13th cent.) has written a Kannada commentary on Nitivakyameta. It deals with the values of life, the saptangas, the seven limbs of the state, diplomacy, general envoy, spy, the minister, judiciary, preceptor, war and peace - which go to confirm that Somadeva was an author of extraordinary genius. 4.9.5.1. Somadeva was a prolific author. His other extant works are the Sanvati-prakarana, the Trivarga mahendra - Matali-jalpa, the Yukti-cintamani-stava. Of these, Trivarga-mahendra-matalisanjalpa is in the form of a dialogue between Indra and his charioteer Matali on dharma, artha, and kama, a work on the science of polity which can be considered as an appendix to Nitivakyamota.

Page #165
104 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism The Sindhura-prakarana, the Adhyatma-Tarangini, the Syadvadapanisat and Siddhiprada - are the other works either not extant or still hidden in bhandaras. Thus, Somadevasuri was a poet, philosopher, epistemologist, pontiff, well-known in the theory of political, science, and a dialectician of considerable merit. 4.9.6. Analogus to Jinasena, Gunabhadra, and Ajitasena, a contemporary patriarch, Somadeva exerted deep and erudite influence upon the ruling monarchs. During the three productive decades between C. E. 950 and 980, Somadeva was considered as the egregious political thinker. He was to Krsna, the Rastrakuta emperor, what Jinasena was to Amoghavarsa-I. Thus, his influence was not confined to the courts of the lieges only. His preponderance extended from Manyakheta the metropolis, to Vemulavada in the east and to Gangavadi in the south. 4.9.6.1. According to the authentic details recorded in the Koppal inscription No. 34, discovered and edited by me, Somadeva lived to see both the wax and wane of the Rastrakuta kingdom which was liquidated in C. E. 973-74. The above Sanskrit epigraph in two parts, has the following information : 1. Somadeva had the cognomen of vak-kallola-payonidhi, kaviraja-kunjara, gadya-padya vidyadhara-cakravartti, vadindra-kalanala, tarkika-cakravartti. 2. Nemideva and Mahendradeva were his spiritual frairs. 3. He was versatile in poetics, dramaturgy, poetry, grammar and state craft. 4. He was praised by Krsna-III and Nolambantaka, i.e., Marasimha-II (961-73/74). Somadeva panditadeva died on 2.10.984 Thursday at Koppala by the rite of sallekhana [Nagarajaiah, Hampa: Jaina Corpus of Kopala inscriptions x rayed : 1999].

Page #166
Sanskrit Literature / 105 4.9.7. Some scholars are of the opinion that Somadevasuri was originally a saint from Bengal, since it is mentioned in an inscription that he belongs to the Gauda samgha. But this suggestion lacks substantive evidence either from epigraphy or from literature. 4.9.7.1. Three eminent literary luminaries, Ponna (C. E. 960), poet-laureate of Krsna, Puspadanta, a mahakavi of Apabhramsa literature, and Vadigangala Bhatta, courtier, statesman-scholar and a grammarian of the Gangavadi principality, were contemporaneous to Somadeva. Vadiraja and Vadibhasimha, illustrious Jaina ascetics and authors, were disciples of Somadeva; the former has authored Yasodhara-carita in Sanskrit and the latter ksatra-cudamani also in Sanskrit, both the works bearing the stamp of their revered guru. 4.9.8. Baddega (Vaddega/Vadyega/Bhadradeva) a scion of the Calukyas of Vemulavada and son of Arikesari-II, was samanta (governor).of sapada-laksa-ksiti country, i.e., Vemulavada. At the instance of his teacher Somadevasuri of the Gauda-samgha, Baddega, calukya-kula-bhaskara, founded a Jaina shrine called Subhadhama-Jinalaya exclusively for Somadevasuri at Lembula pataka, his metropolis. For the maintenance of the sanctuary, Somadevasuri, poet of surpassing excellence, was endowed with Vanikatupulu village in Kuttumvstti which belonged to Repaka-12 of Sabbisahasra division by Arikesari-III. Somadeva continued to live during the reign of ArikesariIII, son of Baddega, who granted the author a village of the name of Vanikatupula for the up keep and repairs of Subhadhama-Jinalaya built by his father, in C. E.966. There are no traces of this Jinalaya at present at Vemulavada, excepte the broken pillars and statues of the old temple which are now kept in the Rajarajesvara temple. On the pedestal of a Jaina image, kept in this temple, an inscription of king Baddega is engraved [ARIE 1945 - 52, p.4).

Page #167
106 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism 4.9.8.1. The post-obitum epitaph of Indra-IV dated C. E. 982, composed in standard Sankrit language, erected on the crest of Candragiri hill at Sravanabelagola, may have been authored by Somadevasuri; circumstantial premises lend support to this conjecture. 4.9.8.2. Scholars have lauded Somadeva profusely with encomiums worth quoting : 1. "The Yasastilaka is in itself a work of true poetical merit, which nothing but the bitterness of theological hatred would have excluded so long from the list of the classics of India" [Peterson). "Much bloodshed would have been avoided and Europe would have been spared infinite misery, if during the last years Somadeva's wise rule had always been followed - Military authorities should not be authorities in (political) counsels" (M. Winternitz]. "He is one of the most versatile talents in the history of Indian literature, and his masterpiece Yasastilaka reveals the manifold aspects of his genius. He is a master of prose and verse, a profound scholar with a wellstocked memory, an authority on Jaina dogma, and a critic of contemporary philosophical systems. He is a close student of the art of the government, and in this respect his Yasastilaka and Nitivakyameta supplement each other. He is a redactor of ancient folktale and religious stories and at times shows himself an adept in dramatic dialogue. 4.9. Last but not least, he is a keen observer of men and manners. The position of Somadeva is, indeed, unique in Sanskrit literature. [K. K. Handiqui]. his poems disprove the general misconception that Jaina works are a literature of philosophy and religion and establish that Jaina poems are of pure literature. 3.

Page #168
Sanskrit Literature / 107 4.9.1. There were many other frias scholars who had made the Rastrakuta eon an El Dorado, heaven on earth, for Jainism. Prabhacandra-I (C. 800 C. E.), pupil of Akalanka, Manikyanandi and Padmanandi. He composed Candrodaya-Martanda, which is cited by Jinasena-II. Prabhacandra-II, a later author was contemporaneous of king Bhoja and Avidhakarna Padmanandi. 4. "Somadeva was a great Sanskrit writer. Besides his famous Yasastilaka champu, he wrote many other works including a tratise on rajaniti called the Nitivakyamtitam. Somadeva cultivated a highly ornate style replete with Sabda and artha alankararas. Somadeva's Yasastilaka is well stocked with interesting information on all possible subjects which makes it an in dispensable aid to the historian of mediaeval Inida" [Venkataramanayya, N: 1953 : 46).

Page #169
CHAPTER-5 KANNADA LITERATURE 5.1. "There is scarcely any province of Indian literature in which the Jains have not been able to hold their own. Above all, they have developed a voluminous narrative literature, they have written epics and novels, they have composed dramas and hymns; sometimes, they have written in the simple language of the people, at other times they have competed, in highly elaborate poems, with the best masters of ornate court poetry, and they have also produced important works of scholarship". [Winternitz, M: History of Indian Literature, vol. II. 1933: 483]. 5.1.1. The above statement holds good and appropriately sums up the attempts of Jaina authors in Kannada, Sanskrit and Prakrit literature in the years of Rastrakuta rule. Infact, a brief chronicle of Jaina literature will be in defense or an expansion of the above statement. Jainism had deeprooted in the fertile soil of Karnataka, under very favourable circumstances, before the Rastrakuta's could become the sovereigns. Jains had become the warp and the woof of all fields. In brief, they had contributed immensely to the enrichmentment of Karnataka's heritage in various branches of knowledge. The inspiration generated by Jainism and Jaina intelligence has been a factor of inestimable value in the out growth of language and literature, both religious and secular.

Page #170
Kannada Literature / 109 5.1.2. In addition to the Jaina literature in Kannada language being very extensive and cover a wide range of subjects, highest number of Jaina works and inscriptions are found in Karnataka. Kannada language, spoken by about 40 million, is one of the 26 Dravidian languages in the south. It possess oldest literature, perhaps as ancient as Tamil, and in the temporal terms only next to Sanskrit and Prakrit. The development of Kannada language, literature, and literary forms, both religious and secular, owes its allegiance to the works of Jaina scholars of yore. A strong impetus to Kannada literature came from the language and literature of the north, both Sanskrit and the dialects of Prakrit being notable. Generally, the incentive originated from the works of both Jaina and non-Jaina authors. But, mainly the authors of Jaina church and the works for the propagation of the creed, motivated Kannada poets. 5.1.3. Kannada language in the early epigraphs of the period of the Gangas, the Calukyas of Badami, and the Rastrakutas, of which specimens are extant from fifth to the tenth century in particular, was not the same as that of the present day. Language of the literary works, availabe from the early ninth century, and onwards upto 12th cent., has also changed considerably. Kannada language of the early period is called old-Kannada and the ancient authors were profficient in old-Kannada and its literary style. For the sake of convenience to assess its changes in the course of its annals which stretches over a millenium and half, literary scholars, based on the linguistic evidences, have marked four stages : Pre-old Kannada period : from the beginning of the fifth cent. C. E. to the end of gth cent. Old-Kannada : from the beginning of ninth cent. C. E. to the end of 12th cent. Post-Old Kannada or Middle-Kannada period : from 12th cent. to 18th cent. Modern Kannada period : from 18th cent. onwards.

Page #171
110 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism 5.1.4. A characteristic of the literary style of the authors of the period of Old Kannada was its extraordinary amount of polish and refinement. All the authors were Jains, who had Prakrit and Sanskrit literature as their prototype.The period upto fifth century was the period of ploughing the firtile land of Kannada language, up to eighth cent. was the period of sowing the seed, and ninth cent. onwards was the age of longeval dynamism of reaping a rich harvest. The magnitude of Kannada literature can not be comprohensively condensed in a few pages. Only succinct account of Nirgrantha literature of the Rastrakuta epoch is attempted in the following pages. 5.1.5. Kannada literature of this eon was completely dominated by the connoisseurship of Jaina authors without any exception. Jaina authors did not confine to the traditional religious literature of their own faith. With their typical catholicity they were alive to the best from all quarters and sources. They had greater regard for Valmiki, Vyasa, Bhasa, Gunadhya, Kalidasa, Bhavabhuti, Bana, Magha, Bharavi, Bhatta-Narayana and a host of major and minor talents. Jaina men of letters did not hesitate to imbibe and emulate these intellectual giants or even freely translate/adopt the works of Sansrit into Kannada. Kavirajamarga (C. E. 850), second earliest work extant, betrays clear traces of Sanskrit Ka vyadarsa (Dandin) and Kavyalankarah (Bhamaha), in the idiom of Kannada, a Dravidian language. 5.1.6. In the field of general literature of non-sectarian nature, works of Jaina authors are of high rank. Among such works, Vikramarjuna-vijayam (Pampa), BhuvanaikaRamabhyudyam (Ponna), and Sahasa-Bhima-vijayam (Ranna) are most outstanding. A broad survey of Jaina literature of the Rastrakuta age would indicate that royal patronage and religious fervour proved to be two primary factors that promoted and prompted the literary animation.

Page #172
Kannada Literature/111 Geographically, the region of the modern North Karnataka was more prolific of the sramana faculty during this period. 5.2. Jaina authors of this age were equally proficient in all three languages of Prakrit, Sanskrit and Kannada. Jaina authors had a number of titles too. Most of them are recorded in their works. Some of the prasastis were common. But, each poet had distinct and peculiar birudas of his own. The epithet of ubhaya-bhasa-visarada was not unusual, whereas kavi-cakravartti was rare. Only four poets-Ponna, Ranna, Janna and Brhamasiva had this unique distinction and all of them were Jains. A few of them like Pampa, Ponna, Jinavallabha, son of Pampa, were versed in Telugu also. It is said that Ponna has authored the earliest work in Telugu language. Pampa was poet-laureate of Vemulavada kings who were holding Telugu speaking area also as their fief. Therefore, Pampa was obviously conversant in Telugu. This assumption is ratified by the fact that Jinavallabha, his younger brother, has composed the famous charter of Gangadharam in C. E. 950, in three languages of Sanskrit, Kannada and Telugu, perhaps the only poet to do so. From inscriptions it is established that there were few Jaina families in Andhradesa who had Telugu as their mothertongue. Besides, those who were placed in the bilingual border regions were freely knowledgeable in both Telugu and Kannada, whichever of the two be there mother-tongue. Vengi, a buffer region, was a sweet-home of many Jaina families of warriors and of authors, during the Rastrakuta times. Pampa, Ponna, Nagavarma originally belonged to Venigi-Visaya, but preferred to author in the pure and plithy Kannada, that too in the dialect spoken in and around Puligere, the modern Laksmesvara. 5.2.1. In the Rastrakuta period some memorable Brahmin families accepted Jaina faith on their own accord, mostly in the region of Kamme-nadu in Vengi-visaya. Among

Page #173
112 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism them, Nagamayya, lord of Punganur, was prominent. Nagamayya of Kaundinya gotra, knowledgeable and trained in many discipline, was an ardent follower of Jinacandra muni, an accomplished Jaina saint. His two sons, Mallapayya (Mallapa) and Punnamayya, started their career as officers in the Rastrakuta army and later they shifted their loyalty to Tailapa-II. Danacintamani Attimabbe, a celebrity, was the daughter of Mallapa and grand daughter of Nagamayya. Bhimapayya, father of Adi-kavi Pampa, and Joyisasingha, father-in-law of Bhimapayya, both were neophytes to Jainism. Vadighanghala alias Munjarya, a savant and protege of Butuga and Marasimha, a proselyte, was versatile Jaina scholar. Puspadanta, one of the greatest of Prakrit authors, was a Jaina convert. Kannada literature was on the threshold of steppingout of the commentary phase. The period of writing commentaries on Tattvartha sutra of Umasvati had preceeded the stage of classical literature in Kannada language. By the time AmoghavarsaI could succeed to the throne in the early decades of ninth cent. C. E., Kannada literature had entered the plane of epics and classics, with Sanskrit and Prakrit as its backdrop. Kannada authors ransacked the literary riches of Sanskrit and the opulence of Prakrit poems, that was easily obtainable at their doors. 5.2.2. Jaina authors of this period made most valuable contribution to Sanskrit and Prakrit literature. Jainas had by this time opted to Sanskrit and the regional languages, by consigning Prakrit to secondary place. Ever since the skillful Umasvati wrote Tattvarthasutra and Jatasimha nandi composed Varanga caritam in Sankrit, Jaina literatary genius authored some important polemical works also. The Rastrakuta empire was a nest of singing birds comprising illustrious Jainas. This is indicative of the flourishing state of sramana dharma in this age. Jaina men of letters could

Page #174
spread their gospel through Kannada language of the state. The main theme of Ramayana, Maha-Bharata, Brhat-katha (Gunadhya), Aradhana (Sivakoti) and Mahapurana was initiated into texture of Kannada fabric by the Jainas who were radical in their approach. Epic, classic, prose, verse and works of other genre was their model. Kannada Literature / 113 5.2.3. The period of Amoghavarsa was the golden age for the Rastrakutas which augmented palmy days for Jainism. Virasenacarya completed Dhavala-Tika, his chef d'oeuvre, masterpiece, in C. E. 816. As a consequence of it Nrpatunga got the cognomen of Atisaya-Dhavala. Jinasena-II was the respected partriarch whose holy feet were worhipped by Amoghavarsa. Jinasena continued and completed his commentary Jayadhavala on the JainaAgama, authored Adipuranam, first part of the greater Mahapurana, and Parsvabhyudaya. The royal court of Amoghavarsa was adorned with Sakatayana, eminent grammarian and Mahaviracarya, renowned mathematician. They were the masters who moulded the monarch's religious life. Amoghavarsa found solace by retiring to a Jaina monastery more than once in the course of his long reign [Sastry, K. A. N.: 1958: 426, Altekar, A. S.: 1934: 89]. He also authored a small Jaina catechism entitled Prasnottararatnamalika, jewel wreath of question and answers. 5.2.3.1. Some of the Jaina authors were savya-sacis, equally at ease, both on the war field and to drive a quill. Pampa, Ranna, Santinatha and Janna started their career as soldiers and shifted their genius and creative faculties to compose copiously creditable works and poems, and rose to the status of poet-laureateship. Jaina authors elevated Kannada to a literary level not previously achieved. Abundently admirable Jaina generals like Srivijaya, Butuga, Sankaraganda, Bankesa, Marasimha, Camundaraya,

Page #175
114/The Rastrakutas and Jainism Gangaraja placed Karnataka on a pedestal that was held in high deference. 5.2.4. The Rastrakutas ruled greater Karnataka, the expansion of which was their own achievement. With their political will, dazzling victories, dauntless courage, Karnataka stood as a territorial unit. Political sway and cultural impact of Karnataka, during this epoch, extended to the regions beyond her geographical boundaries. Karnataka culture traversed to the rivers Narmada and Godavari belt. Definitely, in the matters of scholarly pursuits, religious faiths, and philosophical thoughts, the wake of political expansion followed other influences. Impact on the socio-economic life, cultural factors, expanded in all directions of the of vast kingdom. Kannada from its initial stage. Its Rastrakuta dynasty was in the grip Kannada affinity was cemented after their association with the Gangas. 5.2.4.1. Very many lithic records of the Rastrakutas are written in Kannada script, and many of them are in Kannada language also. Their love of Kannada was so deep rooted that they were not embarrassed to fix their Kannada epigraphs beyond the boundaries of Karnataka. An inscription of Krsna-III, composed in ornate Sanskrit literary style, engraved in Kannada found at Jura [Maharastra: Jabalpur Dt] validate their zeal for Kannada. The Rastrakuta's of Gujarat have used Kannada for the sign - manual in the Sanskrit records. Personal names like Ariga, Asaga, Baddega, Khottiga, Gojjiga, Naraga, Govindara, Kannara, Revakanimmadi et cetara, substantiate the influence of Kannada in this age. There are other corroborative evidences to prove it beyond doubt. Early Agama literature in Kannada 5.3. A proper understanding of the scope and

Page #176
Kannada Literature/115 significance of Dhavala Tika that appeared in the Rastrakuta eon, needs a brief introduction of its background. Therefore, with an intention of facilitating the novice, following material is provided. 5.3.1. The volume of Jaina-agama, canonical literature that developed in Sanskrit and Kannada, in Karnataka is very vast and can not be reviewed here in its entirety, except noting the names of the major authors/commentators. The literature of syadvada philosophy, the doctrine of qualified assertion, takes off from the great Umasvati's Tattvarthasutra, the best known digest among the manuals of Jainism. There are three score and more commentaries on this ancient primordial text. So far published portion itself covers over 5000 pages. The early commentaries were in prose and the verse was yet to follow. 5.3.1. The task of writing comm. on Tattvartha-sutra, refining and restating the doctrines enunciated earlier, went on slowly but steadily from generation to generation. The most significant and best known works in the later derivative literature are from Karnataka. Umasvati is held in high regard by the Nirgranthologists, and Tattvarthasutra has widely influenced for over a thousand years. Gandha-hastimahabhasya, the earliest and fore runner of the commentaries, attributed to Samantabhadradeva is not extant, but some of the later authors have sought in their own way to determine the size of the lost text as of 96,000 verses. 5.3.1.2. Among the extant works, outstanding being the classic expositions of Pujyapada, Akalanka and Vidyananda. These esteemed and elaborate commentaries are in Sanskrit. The period between C. E. 350-950 was the age of many celebrated commentaries by eloquent scholars. The learned pontiffs in the reign of the Ganga kings had scholar pupil who became authors of repute.

Page #177
116 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism 5.3.1.3. The earliest works known in Kannada language belong to this group of Jaina commentaries. Fixing the exact date of some of the early acaryas and authors has posed certain problems. Without going into the details of those scholastic discussions, I have chosen to mention the nearest and reasonably a safe date, wherever such controverseries are involved. 5.3.2. Tumbaluracarya wrote a vlouminous comm. Cudamani, the head-jewel, consisting of 84 thousand verses in Kannada language; and, an appendix for the sixth part, called the maha-bandha, of ubhayasiddhanta, consisting of another 7000 verses. Totally this Cudamani comm. on ubhaya-siddhanta consisted of (84+7) 91,000 verses, by any standard is a great feat of an author, who achieved it in Kannada language, in and around 4th - 6th cent. C. E. Indranandi in his Sstavatara (C. E. 930), Camundaraya in his Camundaraya-purana (C. E. 978), Devancandra in his Rajavali-Kathasara (19th cent.) and Pujyapadacarite (19th cent.), chronologically, narrate the tradition and history of how the redaction of the primordial scripture took place. Bhatta-Akalanka, in his sabdanusasana, a Kannada grammar written in Sanskrit language (early 16th cent.) has considered Cudamani the greatest work in Kannada language. 5.3.2.1. Srivardhadeva, an author of about 6th - 7th cent. different from Samakunda and Tumbaluracarya, definitely a later author to both of them, also wrote a Culamani olim Cudamani. What is important is that it was a kavya, a peom and not a comm. Its title has lead the scholars into confusion, as a consequence of which, some have even mistaken Tumbaluracarya and Srivardhadeva to be one and the same. But the three nomens are variants. 5.3.2.2. Following is the verbaitem English translation of the portion of an inscription [EC. 11(R) 77(67) C. E. 1129.

Page #178
Kannada Literature / 117 p. 44.] which has relevance to the discussion: 'How is it possible not to praise the noble chief of sages, Cintamani, who composed for use in every house, the Cintamani, which contains fine thoughts on virtue, wealth, pleasure and solution, for men who are (thereby) enjoying sweet happiness? A crest - jewel of poets and the author of a worthy poem named Culamani, Srivardhadeva alone was possessed of sufficient merit to acquire fame. He was thus praised by Dandi: 'Siva bore Jahnu's daughter (Ganga) on the top of his matted hair; O Srivadhadeva, you bear Sarasvati on the tip of your tongue' [ibid, p. 385]. 5.3.2.3. It is clear that Srivardhadeva was a poet per excellence and his work Culamani olim Cudamani was a classic so well received by his contemporary and later poets of Sanskrti language. Srivardhadeva is chronologically placed after Samantabhadra, Kumarasena and Cintamani. He got Chintamani, as his second name because of his authorship of Culamani; - la -, and-da-being interchangeable according to the phonetic law. Another suggestion that Tolamolideva (Tolamol-Tevar), author of Sulamani olim Cudamani, a Jaina work in Tamil language (C. 7th - 10th cent.), and Srivardhadeva are identical has not been accepted. The very fact that a Sanskrit author of the eminence of Dandin, has extoled Srivardhadeva confirms that he wrote Cudamani sevya-kavya in Sanskrit or in Prakrit, as it is doubtful whether Dandin knew Kannada language, though he was from the south. Unless and untill it is proved beyond doubt, that Dandi also knew Kannada language, it can not be even suggested that Srivardhadeva wrote his Cudamani in Kannada. His name also does not figure in the list of early authors of Kannada mentioned in Kavirajamarga, 'poet's avenue' (C. E. 850). 5.3.3. Many mendicants who had memorized major portions of the original canons, the agamas, perished in the

Page #179
118 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism great famine of twelve long years in the mid 4th cent. B. C. The Jaina community, both mendicant and lay votaries, scattered to distant places of safety. During the migration of monks and nuns to south and other parts, Nirgranthism suffered a major set back and loss of its traditionally well preserved texts. A close contact of the acaryas, the leaders of the mendicant community, who possessed a sound knowledge of the basic texts and who had an easy access to the-source material, became difficult. This created a void, a wide gap of communication and subsequent isolation from the main stalk. The patriarchate who survived the calamity felt the necessity of resurrection in the slackened Jaina order and immediately swung into action, convened the synods at regular intervals and that was the period of redaction. 5.3.3.1. It was under these circumstances, that a large bulk of the friars and nuns entered Karnataka, where Jainism had already footed firmly with its followers. Jainism did not spread in a continous process, but in a series of waves of migrations to different regions in India. In this spread, it could get royal as well as popular support which had beneficial as well as adverse effects on its organisation and monastic life (DEO, S. B.: 1956 : 577). At this juncture the Digambara apostle Dharasena transmitted (c. 156 B. C.) to his two disciples Puspadanta and Bhutabali (C. 500 A. D.) who compiled Satkhanda-agama, scriputre in six parts [Jivathana, Khudda-bandha, bandha svamitva-vicaya, vedana, vargana and maha-bandha). Gunadhara alias Gunabhadra-I, compiled, kasaya-pahuda (Sk. kasayaprabhita) olim Pejja-dosa-pahuda (Sk. preyas dvesaprabhita 'Love and Malice') dealing with the theories of bondage of the soul. Of course, the topics of these two agama works are comprehensive mostly to the advanced scholars and mendicants. 5.3.3.2. Pontiff svami Virasena (A. D. 816) of Panca

Page #180
Kannada Literature / 119 stupa-anvaya, of Karnataka wrote Dhavala, the luminous, a lucid comm. on Sat-khanda-agama of Prathama Srtaskanda. Adept Jinasena (A. D. 820) wrote Jayadhavala, the victoriously lumnious, a comm. on kasaya-pahuda of Dvitiya srtaskanda. A mendicant possessing full knowledge of these two premordial siddhanta, canonical works, was honoured with title of 'siddhanta-cakravartti', which explains that even for the ascetics these works were not so easy to digest. Therefore, many monks used to devote more time to master these works. So many rsis bear the title siddhantadeva, siddhantacarya siddhanti, traividyadeva. A possessor of the knowledge of the first three sections viz., jiva-sthana, ksudraka-bandha and bandha svamitva-vicaya is called traividyadeva. But, sabdagama, yuktyagama and paramagama are also considered as traividyas. 5.3.3.3. Kamma-pahuda (karma-prabhrta) olim the Satkhandagama and kasaya-pahuda (kasayaprabhrta) are popularly referred to as ubhaya-siddhanta. These basic agama works were preserved intact in their original form in Karnataka, with glosses and commentaries written by celebrated acaryas who had the inborn gift of digesting the original and passing it to the successive generations, with lucid commentaries, giving the quintessence of the sutras. Yati-Vrsabha's curni-sutra, Uccaranacaya's uccarana-sutra, Konda-kunda-acarya's Parikarma.on the first three parts of sat-khanda-agama, are a unique feat of master minds. Of the Kannada commentators Samakunda (C. 4-6 cent.) being one of the ealriest, deserves a prominent place. He wrote on satkhand-agama's first five parts (leaving maha-bandha, the sixth part) and on kasaya-pahuda a comm. of 12,000 granthapramana in a language of combination of Sanskrit, Prakrit and Kannada. According to the opinion of Hiralal Jain, the learned Nirgranthologist, Samakunda wrote his comm. on the glosses of Parikarma of Kondakundacarya and curni

Page #181
120 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism vitti of Yati-Vrsabha. Since the comm. of Samakunda is perhaps lost once for all, nothing difinitely could be said. The method of Samakunda's comm., according to the statement ofJinasena acarya made in Jaya-dhavala, is called paddhati : Vitti-sutta-visamapaya bhanjie vivaranae paddhai vava esado. It is an explanation for the difficult words that occur in the gloss and sutra. 5.3.4. In some ways Karnataka occupied, from the beginning, a special position as regards the commentarial literature on Prakritagamas and Sanskrit Tattvartha-sutra and its learning. Jaina institutions became more apparent from the 4th and 5th cent. A. D., when the Gangas were powerful rulers of Gangavadi 9600. This flourishing state of the Niragrantha faith attracted Jaina scholars, friars and nuns from different parts. 5.3.4.1. Early commentators developed a quaint style called manipravalam, crystal and coral, loaded with Sanskrit and Prakrit words, not easily understood outside the limited learned circle. But, these extensive commentaries hugging the original text, have also assumed the proportion of independent treatise. The fine literary flavour of the commentaries is yet to be assessed properly. What is the real development from one comm. to the other is to be carefully examined, and such a study will enable the reader to discern the progress achieved. 5.3.4.2. As mentioned earlier, the early commentaries were composed at a period when the Gangas were profusely patronising their Jaina faith as guided by their preceptors. Of the Kannada commentaries it is widely believed that cudamani is the earliest (C. 6th cent.). On the basis of inscriptional evidences, it is suggested that Aryadeva of about 4th cent. C. E. composed a comm. on Tattvarthasutra, in which case he may be the author of Cudamani. This suggession needs a serious consideration. Thus, cudamani

Page #182
Kannada Literature / 121 marks an improtant stage of take off in the history of Kannada literature, though not even a fragment of this learned exposition has been traced so far. Pujyapada's Sarvartha-siddhi is one of the oldest commentaries, so far known from south India. The gloss has given unmsitakable evidence of the commentator's originality and dialectical skill, with a stress on the tenets of Digambara sect. On internal and external evidences, and on linguistic grounds, Pujyapada's work is assigned by critics to the period of C. E. 530-80 (it may be possible to bring down the peirod to an earlier date-is immaterial). Pujyapada, supposed to be a preceptor of Durvinita, the Ganga king, has some more works to his credit. Samantabhadradeva and Akalanka-acarya were keen controversialists and travelled incessantly to hold religious disputations, where as Pujyapada was mainly limited to his writing. His influence on Kannada commentators is obvious. Divakaranandi (1060) and Balacandradeva faithfully follow his sarvartha-siddhi commentary. 5.3.5. While a gradual and constant development was taking place in the sphere of religion, a parallel growth could be seen in the domain of literature also, which saw a spring time efflorescence, during the period of tenth and eleventh centuries. Jaina literature of the eight and ninth centuries, except for the two extant work, is, for want of material, very vague. Regarding the content, contribution, significance and literary status of Jain a literature, an in extenso discussion will follow, which corroborate the flourishing state of Jainism in Karnataka. Since, frequent allusion to Punnadu, a Dravidian nomen equivalent to Sanskrit Punnatadesa, occurs its location may be cleared in this context. Punnata had included the area of the modern coimbatore Dt in Tamilnadu. Punnata was a part and parcel of Karnataka, and it was situated to the south-west region of Mysore Dt,

Page #183
122/The Rastrakutas and Jainism with Kittur (Sk. Kirtipura) of the modern Heggada devanakote tk, as its metropolis. Geographist Ptolemy (150 B. C) has mentioned this country as Paunnata. Apabhramsa poet Puspadanta (C. E. 965) had mentioned Dravida, Gavuda, Kannada, Baradavi, Parasa, Pariyaya, Punnadavi and other regions in Mahapurana. Poet Harisena (C. E. 931) in his poem Brhat-kathakosa states in the Bhadrabahukatha : anekasaha samghopi samasto guruvakyatah Daksinapatha desastha Punnatavisayam yayau 5.3.5.1. Inscriptional references are not lacking. Punnata samgha and Kitturu samgha, are one and the same. It originated from Punnadu and Kitturu. Jinasena-I, Harisena and some other prominent authors and ascetics of this period were affiliated to Punnata. 5.3.5.2. Punnadu samgha monk-authors also stayed at Vardhamanapura, a prominant seat of Jaina church in the period of 8th and 10th centuries, which had intimate tie with Karnataka. Acarya Jinasena-I of Punnata samgha commensed composing his renowned epic Harivamsapurana in the Jina Parsva temple at Vardhamanapura, which was founded by Nannraja [Jinasena: Harivamsa: verse No. 55 in the prasasti 'colophon']. In C. E. 783, Jinasena-I completed the above poem in the Santinatha shrine commissioned by the Jaina votraries of Daustatika. [Epic Harivamsapurana is a voluminous poem with 66 cantos and 12,000 slokas, containing verses composed in drutavilambita, vasantalilaka, sardulavikridita metres]. Acarya Harisena composed Brhatkatha kosa 'voluminous treasury of stories', in C. E. 931, at Vardhamanapura. An epigraph of C. E. 1234, from Ellora cave also mentions Vardhamanapura. 5.3.5.3. The following pages vividly demonstrate as to how the Rastrakuta era ushered in the golden age of

Page #184
Kannada Literature / 123 Kannada literary renaissance. Jaina authors heralded a series of epics and classiscs of exceptional accomplishments which vies with that of Prakrit and Tamil, and in some instances eclipses that of Sanskrit classics. Aradhana-Karnata-Tika 5.4. In Jaina narrative literatre there are anumber of stories and anthologies of stories (katha-kosa) which belong to the tradition of Aradhana, a treatise on the superior and the inferior varieties of death, authored by Sivakoti alias Sivarya (Pk. Sivajja). The Aradhana olim Mulara dhana, also called Bhagavati-Aradhana and Brhadaradhana, in Jaina Sauraseni Prakrit, containing about 2170 gathas, is one of the very early texts (C. 1-2nd cent. C. E.), which belongs to the tradition of Loharya alias Lohacarya. Aradhana has been a primordial Nirgrantha surrogate of Dravyanuyoga canonical text for both the major sects for more than a thousand years. Among its commentators Bhrajisnu (C. 800 C. E.) has composed a Kannada comm., perhaps even earlier to Vijayodayatika of Aparajitasuri (C. 9th cent) and definitely earlier to Brhat-katha-kosa of Harisena (C. 930). 5.4.1. Aparajitasuri is said to be a Yapaniya, where as Mularadhana-Darpana of Asadhara Pandita is Digambara. Aradhana is respected by both the traditions. Aradhana - KarnataTika, the Kannada Comm. of Bhrajisnu, was fairly a voluminous work consisting of not less than of about 175 tales, practically covering the whole range of Aradhana text. Albeit, only a bunch of 19 tales apropos of the 'Kavaca'section has come down to us. The word Kavaca is of greater significance; it is an armour of spiritual protection to the aradhaka, the person who is committed to emaciation of body and passions through external and internal penances. Like the kavaca, coat of armour, protecting a soldier, here the kavaca, in the form of exhortation by illustration of stories

Page #185
124 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism of religious martyrs who boldly sustained the calamities and the visiting afflictions. It is a sort of psychological morale boosting to take more courage, to make the aradhaka more determined to face the vertibale death. 5.4.2.1. Bhrajisnu is totally unknown enitity in the entire corpus of the known patriarchs and pontiffs and authors of Karnataka. But still, Bharajisnu is not an unusual name. It is mentioned in the list of 1008 names for Tirthankaras. Therefore, it is a pakka typical nomen of the Jina tradition. One and only author, in the whole body of Jaina literature, to mention the name of Bhrajisnu and his work Aradhana Karnata Tika was Ramacandramumksu (C. 10th cent.), friar and a Sanskrit author of PunyasravaKathakosa, an anthology of tales of wholesome Karmic influx. Ramacandra also admits that he borrowed the theme and model, in narrating the story of Srenika, from Bhrajisnu's AKT. From this statement two things become clear : i. Bhrajisnu's work was so famous and popular that even the Sanskrit author had the inspiration to immitate its model. ii. Ramacandramumuksu was well-versed in Kannada. 5.4.3. Bhrajisnu (C. 800 C. E.) is one of the earliest authors of Kannada literature. Of the extant works, Aradhana Karnata Tika olim Voddaradhane is the first work, in temporal terms. No other work, prose or poetry, earlier to this has survived in Kannada. Bhrajisnu comes from Pallikheda, modern Hallikheda in Bidar district. He lived and wrote at Malkhed (Manyakheta), the capital of Rastrakutas during the reign of Govinda-III (793-814). The work is composed mostly in the pre-old Kannada style that existed before ninth century C. E. 5.4.4. The great luminary Bhrajisnu was felicitous in Prakrit, adroit in Sanskrit and an adept in Kannada. His theme is religion and philosophy in which he is a connoisseur.

Page #186
Kannada Literature/125 Basically, Bhrajisnu is gifted with poetic craftsmanship. A born genius, he conferred literary dignity on the spoken dialect of Kannada language by adopting it to the highest purposes of literay art. Pondering on the vanity of riches, the uncertainty of life, the spiritual previleges of Nirgrantha philosophy, Bhrajisnu effectively drives the reader to live lives of detachment and sobriety, and to turn to introspection. The call to give up the terrestrial interests is so powerfully portrayed, with illustrations of the ideal life of the ascetics, that it has the unmatched tranquilizing effect on the reader. 5.4.5. When most of the authors around him were busy in writing their works in Sanskrit, Bhrajisnu opted to write in Kannada. When his contemporary authors were after the verses in different metres, Bhrajisnu preferred prose, that. too a pithy Kannada which has no match to it in the entire hoard of Kannada works. Kannada prose saw its apogee in this work. The author has exploited the grandeur, brilliance, elegance and other possibilities of Kannada prose; it is almost a work of prose-poem. 5.4.5.1. Even piquant situations, like the wife or mother lamenting over the seperation of her husband or son, the prince leaving the entire property and accepting the vows of an ascetic, are carved to perfection in chaste Kannada language. For Bhrajisnu language is tool, a brush to paint, a chisel to carve the wax and wane of the profane life, which can be used as a ladder to reach a state of eternal bliss. It does not mean that there are no limitations in the work. For example there are repetitions, which are justifiable. If every story is treated as a seperate entity, the question of repitition does not arise. There are some portions, often an entire paragraph, loaded with religious sermons and with Prakrit gathas and Sanskrit slakas. On the whole, Bhrajisnu's style is less Sanskrit - ridden and more Prakrit oriented. 5.4.5.2. Following is the format of Aradhana Karnata -

Page #187
126/The Rastrakutas and Jainism Tika (Vaddaradhane): the text opens with the invocatory Sanskrit sloka of Ratnakaranda sravakacara, attributed to Samantabhadradeva; (namah sri vardhamanaya nirdhuta) followed by a prose passage, which surves the purpose of introductory remarks for the whole comm. cum gloss. At the end of this preamble, Bhrajisnu states that thereafter he is going to narrate the tales of all-redeeming personalities, the maha-purusas. Accordingly, he starts telling the stories of 19 eminent personages, one by one. Each story opens with a Prakrit gatha. All the 19 gathas, one each at the beginning of each tale, are taken from the Aradhana of Sivarya, corresponding to gathas Nos. 1539 to 1557 of the text. Each gatha is literally explained in Kannada by giving word to word meaning and immediately after that follows the detailed narration which expands the encoded gist of the (Aradhana) gatha. 5.4.5.3. In the body of each story also, often Prakrit and Sanskrit verses are quoted. Wherever the dogmatical discourses are prominently discussed to focuss the spiritutal aspect, the quotations abound in number and sometimes it covers the whole page. The felicitous Bhrajisnu is easily at home in Kannada, Prakrit and Sanskrit, as stated earlier. His reading is vast, his catholicity outstanding, he quotes from Bhavabhuti also. The format of each story is so well defined and framed, from the opening line to the closing paragraph that very soon the reader will be familiarised with the pattern. 5.4.6. It is evident that Bhrajisnu has not followed Harisena (C. 930) or Prabhacandra or any of the extant Sanskrit commentaries which are all later to AKT., in temporal terms. AKT is definitely based on a Prakrit source. For instance it very much resembles the kaha-kosu (kathakosa) of Siricanda (Sricandra) in Apabhramsa; in the narrative format and in content there is so much similarity

Page #188
Kannada Literature / 127 that Bhrajisnu and Sricandra have followed a common Prakrit comm. of Aradhana text, which is not extant. It should be said to the credit of Bhrajisnu, Sricandra and of course Harisena that they have elaborated the stories in their own way, keeping the outline and the motive, as envisaged by the original author, in tact. 5.4.6.1. The depth and dimension of the AKT has a wide range which includes religious, social, cultural, political, historical and literary aspects, only the three stories of Bhadrabahu, Cilataputra and Canakya are quasi-historical, containing historical allusions to the period of the Maurya dynasty. Rest of the stories are purely legendary, studded with folk motifs and socio-cultural elements. Bhrajisnu's insight and knowledge of his contemporary life, the animal world, the royal house, the merchant community, and above all the Jaina monachism is remarkable. The author is so meticulous that he vividly portrays the minor characters also with appropriate details. The wisdom and timely action of womankind is personified even in minor characters like Birdi, Gambire and Sumati. 5.4.7. Though the title of the comm. cum gloss of the work is Aradhana-Karnata-Tika, it is more popular and familiar in Karnataka as Vaddaradhane. Voddaradhane, a nomen derived from or equivalent to Sanskrit Brhadaradhana. The etymology of the word Vaddaradhane is worth pondering, because it has the connotation and denotation of Nirgrantha tradition. Vaddaradhane is a compound word consisting of Vadda+aradhane, two noun forms. Vadda-, the first part of the word is a cognate of Prakrit Vadda, meaning 'great'. Aradhane, the second part of the compound, is the nomen of Mularadhana of the adept Sivakoti alias Sivarya, as suggeted in the beginning. Therefore, literal meaning of the compound word Vaddaradhane is - 'the great Aradhana text', highly respected

Page #189
128/The Rastrakutas and Jainism as a holy book. Another suggestion as a probable title of the work is upasarga kevali stories, a variant of maha-purusa stories. But these are all innovations of later period. The title of the work, as intended by its author, is Aradhana-KarnataTika. 5.4.8. Till recently the work was wrongly attributed to the authorship of Sivakotimuni. Of all the commentaries on Aradhana, and of all the katha-kosas of the Aradhana tradition including that of Harisena and Sricandra (kahakosu), the best is Bhrajisnu's Aradhana-Karnata-Tika. Bhrajisnu's monastic or cognomenic appellation is not known. But the supremacy of AKT, a work of soaring ambition, is that it was written at a transition period of Kannada language. Exactly that was the stage when the preold Kannada language was slipping away making room for the familiar old Kannada phase. From the beginning of ninth cent. onwards and upto the end of eleventh cent., oldKannada dominated the scene of Kannada literature. The traits of modification of pre-old Kannada into old-Kannada are explicitly seen in Vaddaradhane. Bhrajisnu is facile in different Prakrit languages such as Ardhamagadhi, Apabhramsa, Sauraseni and Jaina Maharastri: grama-nagara-madamba-pattana-dronamukha, types i. of villages and towns. ii. grame eka-ratram nagare-panca-ratram atavya dasaratram, a standard phraseology prescribed for the stay and movement of Jaina friars and nuns in the canonical literature. iii. Vata-pitta-slesma-svasa-khasa-jara-aruci-cardi etc, the names of seven hundred diseases. 5.4.8.1. Such other descriptive and enumerative repititions often found in different storeis of AKT, is the influence of Ardhamagadhi prose style. This confirms that

Page #190
Kannada Literature / 129 the author was well acquainted with Ardhamagadhi canonical texts. 5.4.9. Though the present edited texts of AKT have given prominence to the manuscripts with the opening of Sanskrit sloka of 'namah sri Vardhamanaya; as they belong to the recension of a particular group of preserving the text intact, equal weightage should be given to the other manuscripts which open with three Prakrit gathas of one each of the invocatory gathas from PrakritNirvanabhakti, Pravacanasara and Pancastikaya of the adept Kondakundacarya. Actully commencing the AKT with the Prakrit - gathas is in tone with the disposition of the author and the text. The Sanskrit sloka has been interpolated and substituted by the later copyists. [AKT : Aradhana Karnata Tika]. 5.5. Srivijaya (C. E. 850) is one of the earliest Kannada authors of greater significance. He is the first poet-laureate among Kannada men of letters. Gunavarma-I, Pampa and Ponna being the second, third and fourth to attain the status of court - poets. After Bhrajisnu and his Aradhana-KarnataTika, Srivijaya is the second earliest author, and his Kavirajamarga, a work on rhetoric and poetics, is the second oldest Kannada work that is extant. For over a period of three score and more years, Kannada scholarship was under the belief that, Nrpatunga alias Amoghavarsa-I (814-78), the Rastrakuta emperor authored Kavirajamarga which had Nrpatungabhyudaya as its second name. But, a doubt was often expressed that the work was inspired, and not actually composed by the king, its ostensible author. J. F. Fleet had suggested as far back as in 1911 that Kavisvara was the author. Recently the myth has been exploded. It has been finally settled that the author is Srivijaya, who composed the work at the instance of his benefactor Nepatunga who had Amoghavarsa as his second name. 5.5.1. Some scholars have suggested that Srivijaya, the

Page #191
130 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism author of Kavirajamarga, and Srivijaya, a feudatory of Ganga Marasimha-I and Govinda-III of the Rastrakuta mentioned in the Manne plates, are one and the same. Srivijaya, the latter, had built an Arhadayatana, a Jaina chapel at Manne (Sk. Manyapura). This proposal needs further consideration. 5.5.2. Kavirajamarga is not a poem. It is a work on poetics, a poetic treatise dealing with the art of poesy, in Kannada. The work is mainly based on Dandin's Kavyadarsa, and in part on Bhamaha's Kavyalankara. There are three cantos in the work : dosanuvarnana-nirnaya, sabdalankara and arthalankara. After explaining the distinctive characteristic of the works of prose and verse, as a paradigm Srivijaya mentions the names of some Sanskrit and Kannada authors. Of the Sanskrit authors Bana (Kadambari and Harsacarita), Gunasuri, Narayana, Bharavi, Kalidasa and Magha figure. Of the Kannada litterateurs Vimala + Udaya, Nagarjuna, Jayabandhu, Durvinita (who wrote prose works), the supreme Srivijaya, Kavisvara, + Pandita + Candra, Lokapala (authors of poems) - are mentioned. Unfortunately only the names are preserved and nothing is known abovt their works and the theme. 5.5.2.1. Scholars have discussed at length regarding the identity of the above Kannada authors. There are several problems in the issue. It is hard to say whether Vimalodaya is one unit or a compound of two names or an adjective qualifying Nagarjuna. Similarly, the word Kavisvara may the another appeallation of Srivijaya, like parama 'the supreme', meaning 'lord of poets'. Therefore, I prefer to keep away from the controversies involved in the discussion, which is quite unnecessary in this monograh. 5.5.2.2. The identity of Durvinita with Ganga king of that name, has justification. It is known that Kaviparamesthi had the aliases of Kavisvara and Kaviparamesvara, who was even earlier to Jinasena-II (C. E. 825). It is possible to equate

Page #192
Kannada Literature/131 Kavisvara with Kaviparamesthi. Srivijaya has composed his other two works, Candraprabhapuranam and Raghuvamsapuranam, based on the material from Kaviparamesthi's Vagarthasamgraha (C. late 8th cent.). After perusal of these two early poems of Srivijaya, Amoghavarsa commissioned him to author Kavirajamarga. 5.5.2.3. While illustrating the rules of poetry, Srivijaya has cited examples from the works of his period. There are some stanzas which belong to Ramayana of Jaina tradition. His quotations are from old-Kannada poems. Srivijaya has composed totally three works : Kavirajamarga, Candraprabhapuranam on the life of Candraprabha, the eight Tirthankara, and Raghuvamsapuranam, a Jaina version of Ramayana. The stanzas on the theme of Ramayana, quoted in the Kavirajamarga, are evidently from Raghuvamsapurana, his own work on Ramayana. As a laukika kavya in Raghuvamsa-puranam, Srivijaya, has identified Amoghavarsa with Rama and the Rastrakuta dynasty with Raghu-vamsa. Candraprabhapuranam, a agamika-kavya, deals with the illustrious life of Candraprabha, the Tirthankara, exalted teacher propagator of Jaina faith and maker of River Crossing. Kavirajamarga is neither a laukika work nor an agamika purana, since it is a sastra-krti, It has so much in common with Tolkappiyam, a Tamil work authored by a Jaina litterateur, Tolakkappiyar. 5.5.3. Srivijaya was a trend setter. He inaugurated the tradition of authoring a poem of laukika, profane theme and another work agamika, religious theme. This model was advanced by Gunavarma-I, Pampa, Ponna and Ranna, but it found its acme in Pampa. The honor of composing Ramayana and Candraprabha-purana for the first time in Kannada goes to Srivijaya. He has so many 'firsts' to his name. His work is also the first grammar and first treatise on the poetics. Thus he is a premier and paramount author

Page #193
132 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism who heralded a new era by opening a flood-gate for a rich harvest in all genre. Under the prevailing circumstances, where the beginnings of Kannada literature are enveloped in dusk, Kavirajamarga proclaims that a considerable volume of prose and poetry existed before C. E. 850. It is astonishing that he has not mentioned the names of Virasena and Jinasena-II, his senior contemporaries or the name of Asaga and Gunabhadra, his contemporaries. Chronology of his composition could easily be traced in the sequel of Candraprabha-purana, Raghuvamsa-purana and Kavirajamarga. Amoghavarsa, after a careful perusal of the early two works, commissioned Srivijaya to author the third work. Srivijaya was the first Jaina author to depart from the traditional tract of composing commentaries. Instead, he preferred to write creative poems. 5.5.3.1. Srivijaya's interests cover a wide spectrum, from religion to literature and socio-culture, from politics to ancient history. An all-embracing quintessence of the anthology of Kannada people over centuries has been brilliantly recorded in the frame of just a few stanzas, poetlaureate commends the heriosm of Karnataka and Rastrakuta warriors who were more virulent but never cruel, ferocious but generous, daredevil but compassionate. This vivid description of the Karnataka fighters largely and neatly agrees with the statement of Rajasekhara, a north Indian Sanskrit litterateur, complimenting the Karnatas as born veterans in the craft of fighting in the theatres of war, and dexterous in military strategy. 5.5.3.2. Kavirajamarga is compendium of encyclopaedic nature, dealing on prosody, poetics, grammar, linguistics, dialects, stylistics, folk-lore, socio-culture, philosophy, religion, the people, important cities and rivers, geography, politics et cetera, on varied subjects of human interest. 5.5.3.2. Kavirajamarga, a Tolkappiyam of Kannada literature, is widely quoted more for its stanzas speaking of

Page #194
Kannada Literature /133 Kannada and Karnataka, the language, the land and its people. Srivijaya has defined 1150 years ago, the range and principal seats of Karnataka, where Kannada was the lanugage of the Rastrakuta empire. The vast area in between two rivers of the Kaveri in the extreme south and the Godavari in the north, was the firtile Kannada country. In this vast area were the famous cities of Kisvolal (Pattadakal) near Aihole, the well-known great Kopananagara (koppa!), Puligere (Laksmesvar), the highly praised Onkunda (Okkunda) near Palasige (Halsi), a residence of Banavasi Kadambas, and the area in the midst of these towns and cities was the kernel of Kannada country. It is rightly said that these were the boundaries of the well of pure Kannada undefied. Srivijaya's statements are corroborated by linguistic data and cultural vestiges. The shrinking of the political and cultural border of Kannada speaking area took place only in the post-medieval period. 5.5.3.4. Eventually, the above mentioned places were the nerve centres of Jainism and its culture for over a millenium. Jaina men of letters, patriarchs and the lay votaries of this region, had nurtured and developed Kannada language, along with Sanskrit and Prakrit, into a full bloomed literary and classical vehicle, during the period of Rastrakuta imperialism. Under the circumstances, it is to be noted that Srivijaya was the earliest author in Kannada literature to speak about stylistics. He was aware of the various dialetcs, different styles of language, such as Northern style and Southern style. 5.5.3.4.1. As a result of successful military expeditions, Rastrakutas stretched their political supremacy upto the river Narmada in the north and beyond Kaveri in the south. One may wonder, how Srivijaya, brilliant author, restricted the northern and southern boundaries of Karnataka only to the banks of river Godavari from Kaveri basin. Srivijaya meant mainly the principal Kannada speaking area.

Page #195
134/The Rastrakutas and Jainism 5.5.3.4.2. 'What is gold?', poet Srivijaya, advancing this million pound question, defines it with his matured consideration. According to his balanced judgement, 'gold is not just the yellow metal that glitters. On the other hand, it is the virtue to be accomplished that is more valuable. If one can forbear the philosophy and tenor of argument, and endure the religious observance and line of thinking of others, geniunly that is precious gold'. Srivijaya has crystellized the gist of anekantavada and syadvada, i.e., respectfully appreciating other's point of view. 5.5.3.4.3. As pointed out earlier, the work is not a direct adoption of Sanskrit works on poetics, Srivijaya could conveniently envelope different aspects. In addition to the marga and vastuka elements of Sanskrit classical literature, Kavirajamarga has imbided and embedded the Desi and varnaka local indigenous features. 5.5.3.5. The impact of Srivijaya and Sakatayana on later grammarians is explicit in the works of Nagavarma-I (C. 1011th cent.), Nagavarma-II (C. 11th cent.), Kesiraja (C. E. 1235) and Bhatta-Akalanka (C. 16th cent.). Nagavarma-I has specifically stated: Sanskrtam-Prakrtam Apabhramsakam Paisacikamemba murvare bhasegalol puttuvavellam Dravidandhra Karnatadi satpancasat sarva visaya bhasa-jatigalakkum [Chandombhudhi, chapt. 1., prose after verse No. 46]. It is considerable that Nagavarma-I has referred to three different Prakrit languages of Apabhramsa, Paisacika and Ardha-Magadhi. He has used the nomen of Paisacika in the sense of Sauraseni language. 5.5.3.6. A new school of Jaina grammar began in Karnataka very early, as far back as in mid-ninth cent. which flourished in the Rastrakuta period. Sakatayana was the

Page #196
Kannada Literature / 135 doyen of grammar school in the south for all the languages. Sakatayana, prima donna of grammar school in the Rastrakuta court of Amoghavarsa-I, authored Sabdanusasana of four chapters in Sanskrit. Interessingly he also composed a self-commentary. He has named his autocommentary after his patron as Amoghavrtti. 5.5.3.7. Amoghavarsa-I, himself a distinguished pandit, emulating the legendary Vikramaditya of Ujjain who had 'nine gems' of authors adoring his court, encouraged and gathered brilliant men of letters. In this constellation Sakatayana, Srivijaya, Mahaviracarya, Viresena, Jinasena and Gunabhadra stood out very prominently. Ugraditya had also visited his court. They were great writers in their own field. Works of every one of them have survived to this day. Never has the royal court or the reign of any other monarch, either before or after, has seen a literary galaxy of this calibre in Karnataka. 5.5.3.8. Among these gems, who produced belles-letters, fine literature and a star of the first magnitude in the literary firmament, was Jinasena acarya, a polymath. Savant Jinasena adorned everything he touched. His celebrated epic Adipurana one of the best of Jinapuranas in Sanskrit sings the glory of Rsabhadeva. His other works are also meritorious. Virasena composed the commentary DhavalaTika of greater magnitude. To the above list of contemporary luminiferous persona grata can be added Vira Bankesa, the trustworthy Duke and general, and his son Lokate (Lokaditya) of Callaketana house, who made the reign of Amoghavarsa look very much Jaina oriented and a minute replica of samavarsarana, assembly hall of Jaina audience. 5.5.4. Gunavarma-I (C. 900 C. E.), an author of note, completed two maha-kavyas, epics of praise worthy significance, during the reign of Krsna-II. These two epics, the Sudraka and the Harivamsa, both in campu style, of

Page #197
136/ The Rastrakutas and Jainism soaring ambition, though not extant in full length, have survived in patches. In particular, many verses from these two epics are included in schematic anthologies of Mallikarjuna's Suktisudharnava (C. E. 1240 A. D) and Abhinava Vadi-Vidyananda's Kavyasara (C. 1533 A.D). Some citations are also found in Sabdamani-darpana, a jewel-mirror-of Kannada grammar, of Kesiraja (C. E. 1275 A. D). 5.5.4.1. Quite a good number of stanzas, quoted in the later anthologies, clearely betray the remarkable creative ability of Gunavarma. He is the second poet, in temporal terms, to compose two classics/epics, on the set pattern of some Jaina litterateurs who wrote two classics, with the theme of the earth (laukika) and heaven (agamika) respectively. Srivijaya was the first author to conceive such an idea of making a sharp and transperant distinction of a laukika-kavya, poem of worldly theme, and agamika-kavya, poem with the theme of world above or the world of Jaina religion. 5.5.4.2. Since there are two poets in Kannada literature of the name of Gunavarma, the earlier Gunavarma is referred as Adi-Gunavarma or Gunavarma-I, and the author of Puspadantapurana (1215) as Gunavarma-II. Based on the subject and quality of fragments of quoted verses now extant, a broad assessment of the poet's accomplishment is possible. Harivamsa, in campu style, is evidently a Kannada rendering of the Sanskrit epic of the some title, Harivamsa of Jinasena-I of Punnata samgha, completed in C. E. 784. 5.5.4.3. Digambara Jaina tradition has recognised five ksatriyas, (the second of the four castes/the warrior dynasties): Puru, Natha, Ugra, Hari and Kuru. In the Harivamsa Kavya, the story of the last two dynasties, of Hari and Kuru, are fused together, and the theme of Bharata finds a prominent place. The legend of Krsna is merged with

Page #198
Kannada Literature / 137 Harivamsa, and the story of Bharata and Neminatha run parallel to each other. Jinasena-I had popularised this topic in Sanskrit. Adi-Gunavarma made it acceptable and famous in the context of Kannada literature. All the later works of Karnaparya (C. 1145), Bandhuvarma (C. 1165), Nemicandra (C. 1185) and others are indebted directly to Gunavarma-I, and indirectly to Jinasena-I. 5.5.4.4. Decidedly Sudraka was a maha-ka vya of greater merit. So far about 75 verses are traced of the non-extant Sudraka epic. It has the distinction of being the first in the series of quasi-historical works in Kannada. The Ganga monarch Ereyappa, (887-919) who had the cognomen of Mahendrantaka and Pratirupa Sudraka, the important character in the poem, has been identified with Sudraka, legendary king of surpassing excellence. Some of the synchronous epigraphical evidences substantiate the remarkable achievements of Ereyappa who had squeezed Mahendra of Nolamba Pallava dynasty in C. E. 897-98. Therefore, it is evident that the poem of historical note was composed in C. E. 900. Gunavarma-I was the earliest known poet-laureate of the Gangas. King Ereyappa (literally meaning the lord') had another title of Bhuvanaikavira, an epithet which adorned Krsna-III and Sankaraganda, incourse of time that prompted Ponna to author a poem of the same biruda. As far as the source of Gunanandi's poem is concerned, it remains to be blurred because there many Sanskrit and Prakrit references to Sudraka. 5.5.5. Gunanandi (C. 900), a celebrated preceptor of the period of the Rastrakutas, was a scholar, grammarian, chief of 300 friars. Devendramuni, prominent among his pupil, was the preceptor of Adikavi Pampa (941), the spanking of all Kannada men of letters. Nanjunda (1525), while listing the early Kannada authors, has prominently included the name of Gunandi. According to him Gunanandi

Page #199
138 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism was famous for his poem full of melody, echoing with the waves of nine rasas, accepted poetic sentiments. Mallikarjuna and Mallakavi, anthologists, have quoted his stanzas. Kesiraja (1275), reputed grammarian, quotes a protion of a stanza from an unknown campu kavya of Gunanandi, in his sabda-mani-darpana. Gunanandi has authored Sabdarnava or Prakriyavatara, a gloss on Pujyapada Devanandi's (late 6th cent.) Jainendra vyakarana. Gunanandi, a prominent patriarch, figures in inscriptions with the important cognomen of caritacakresvara ('emperor of right conduct'), tarka-vyakaranasastra-nipuna (dexterous in logic, grammar, (and) sciences"), sahitya-vidyapati (`Lord of literary equipment'). 5.5.6. Indranandi (C. E. 930), illustrious preceptor of poet Ponna (C. E. 960), states in his Sanskrit work Jvalinikalpa, composed in C. E. 939 at Malkhed, that Kandarpa and Gunanandi were the preceptors who taught him the cult of Jvalini-kalpa, the attendent deity of Candraprabha, the eighth Tirthankara. This clearely establishes that both the Jaina authors, Kandarpa (Manasija) and Gunanandi who are mentioned by other poets of Kannada, lived and wrote in circa 900 C. E. during the epoch of Kssna-II, son of Amoghavarsa-I. Kesiraja's expression of Gunanandiya Manasijana...' is perfectly in chronological order. Manasija is an alias of Kandarpa. 5.5.6.1. The Rastrakutas followed the pattern of the Gangas in patronising Jaina men of letters. From the early fifth cent. onwards upto late tenth cent. Jaina genius had dominated the royal courts. Almost all the works of this time were authored by Jaina talents. Circumstantial evidences substantiate the statement that most of the not extant, but the names of either the work or the author are known, works were also Jaina. They were the real trend setters. Thanks to the consistent cultivation by the Jaina men of letters,

Page #200
Kannada Literature / 139 Kannada language could flourish as the court language of the Rastrakutas. Jaina competence moulded and explored the possibilities of Kannada language so that it could communite the highest spiritual experience. BhattaAkalanka, a Kannada grammarian of post-medieval age, has rightly put it that this language is capable of expressing even spiritual experience. 5.5.7. Asaga (circa 9th cent.), a principal author of the period of Amoghavarsa, has authored eight Jaina works in Sanskrit, mostly based on the subject of mythology. The nomen Asaga is probably a variant of Asanga. He has recorded a brief biodata of his genealogy and family setup. Patumati and Vaireti alias Veratti, his parents possessed samyaktva, right faith. Naganandyacarya, sabdasamayarnava-paraga, dexterous in grammar and scripture, was his instructor, His spotless fame was spreading far and wide. Naganandacarya of Simhavurgana, a cohort of Jaina friars, belonging to the period of Amoghavarsa-I, figures in Ranebennur charter of C. E. 860. Monk Aryanandi, his another preceptor, also cheered Asaga to author Sanmaticarita. 5.5.7.1. Asaga had one more teacher in Acarya Bhavakirti, a noble monk of high rank, at Maudgalya parvata, a Mount in Srinatharajya, kingdom of Srinatha, from where Asaga proceeded to Varala olim Virala, a town in Coda country. Asaga there stayed to compose totally eight poems, incorporating the instructions of Jina, with a view to enlighten the pious householders. 5.5.7.2. Jinapa, bosom friend of Asaga, a devout Jaina, brave and virtuous, stimulated the poet to compose Sanmaticarita, i.e., Vardhamanapurana. Asaga completed this poem in 18 cantos for the benifit of Sampat, the theist sravika. Asaga, though in his exuberance of lowliness, admits that he is quite aware of his limitations of his poetic competency,

Page #201
140 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism his poems are rich in poetic embellishments and variety of metrical patterns. Two of his extant purana-kavyas are replete with grace and elegance of language met within classical authors like Bana, Bharavi and Kalidasa, which establishes the fact that Karnataka had its own signal contributions to make in the field of pure literary forms. 5.5.7.3. In his Harivamsapurana in Apabhramsa language, poet Dhavala (C. 10th cent.) has the following encomium on Asaga's accomplishment: Asaga is an epic poet who has composed his lovely and attractive Virajinendracarita in which pretty verses have been woven, the merits of which are beyond expression. Ponna (C. E. 965), celebrated Kannada author and poet-laureate of Kssna-III, claims his superiority over Asaga stating that he is far greater in manifold to Asaga in the field of Kannada poetry. On the contrary, Ponna has deliberately adopted hundreds of stanzas from Asaga's Santipuranam by freely rendering into Kannada. In truth, Ponna is highly indebted to Asaga. 5.5.7.4. Asaga had non-pareil command and proficiency in Sanskrit and Kannada. As an accepted ubhayabhasanipuna-kavi, he is credited with cultivation of Desi, indigenous, style as against Marga, classical, Sanskrit style. His works are endowed with the common nine poetic flavours. A galaxy of Kannada litterateurs have expressed their appreciation of Asaga's creative faculty. Ponna (C. E. 965), Durgasimha (1031), Nagavarma (1042) Nayasena (1112), Brahmasiva (1175), Acanna (1190) and Kesiraja (1235) have cited the poetic aptitude of Asaga. 5.5.7.5. Inspite of the glowing tributes in galore of Asaga by men of letters, so far none of his work in Kannada language has come to light. Albeit, Jayakirti (C. 935), a skilled prosodist, indicates in his Candonusasana, an earliest work on prosody in Sanskrit, while illustrating Kannada poems affirms that Asaga has authored a Karnata Kumara

Page #202
Kannada Literature / 141 sambhava - kavya, birth of Kumara (son of siva), may be a Jaina version of the birth of Bharata, eldest son of Adinatha. There are some Kannada stanzas quoted from an anonymous Kumara-sambhava poem in Kavyavalokana of Nagavarma (1040) and Sabdamanidarpana of Kesiraja (1275). A possiblity of that incognito author being Asaga himself is yet to be corroborated. It is said that out of eight of Asaga's works, only three are in Sanskrit and the other five in Kannada. PAMPA-apogee of Kannada literature 5.6. Pampa (902-945) is a legend of Kannada literature. His two works have acquired epic status by any difinition which can be applied to a literary work. A great epoch in the annals of Kannada literature was helraded by Pampa, a great celebrity among poets and the earliest campu-kavyas extant from Karnataka are the works of Pampa. In an epigraph dated C. E. 950, his verses are quoted which shows that Pampa had attained great fame by that time. 5.6.1. Pampa, while succintly narrating the genealogy and the life deeds of the Vemulavada line of Calukyas in the prolegomenon verses, also concises his own biography mainly in the last canto. Pampa says that he composed the prabandam olim the campu kavya, at the behest of the courtpoets and out of gratitude for the great cordiality shown to him by the ruler Arikesarin. The greatness of the poet is that even the verses containing historical elements, are easy and flowing. Any study of Kannada literature is incomplete without reading the two epic's of Pampa. VikramarjunaVijayam is an unsurpassed gem. The work is in some ways unique in the whole range of Kannada literature for the vivid protraiture of its scenes, skilful metrical effects, graphic description of the battlefield-practically unknown to any other work. 5.6.1.1. Madhava Somayaji caste Brahmin of

Page #203
142 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism vatsagotra, chief of Vasanta, Kotturu, Nidagundi and Vikramapura agraharas assigned to Brahmins for their mainteinance, belonging to Vengipalu in Vengimandala division, now in Andra Pradesh. His son was Abhimanacandra and his son Komarayya who was the father of Bhimapayya. That was the period when proselytism was common. Bhimapayya, who had the title of Abhirama devaraya, contemplated that 'of the castes, the best in Brahminism and of the religion the best in Jainism'. After matured consideration, Bhimapayya proselytized on his own accord from Viprakula, Brahmanism, to Jinadharama, Jainism. Bhimapayya married Abbanabbe, a grand-daughter of Joyisasingha, also a proselyte Jaina from Saivism, who was a resident of Annigere, a famous Jaina settlement and capital of Belvala-300. Bhimapayya and Abbanabbe had two sons, Pampa, the elder and Jinavallabha, the younger. Jinavallabha, also a litterateure and proficient in three languages, has authored the renowned Gangadharam inscription composed in Sanskrit, Kannada and Telugu languages, which provides fresh information on the life of Pampa. Gangadharam is also associated with Somadevasuri, a maha-kavi. Jinavallabha caused a Tribhuvanatilaka basadi, Kavitagunarnava tank, Madana vilasa garden, Jina bimbas, Cakreshvari sculpture etc. 5.6.1.2. The days of his childhood, spent on the banks of river Varada, the bounty nature in all its splendour of the Banavasi region, is kept alive in the poet's memory which finds expression in Pampa-Bharata, the greatest epic in Kannada language and a work of great aspiration. Thus when he describes Hastinapura, the poets eye captures the grandeur of Banavasi. Pampa does not forget to make Arjuna alias Arikesari include Banavasi in his itinerary. When the hero Arjuna was finally was crowned on the throne, the poet does not forget to sprinkle the holy water of Varada, the river

Page #204
Kannada Literature / 143 where the author bathed in his balya. Similarly few authentic details of Pampa's life are forthcoming in the kavya. 5.6.1.3. Though Pampa, with all his humility states that he follows in the wake of the great sage Vyasa, still his work is no direct translation or adaptation of the Sanskrit original, even though Vyasa-Bharatam is the main source. Pampa admits that he is not equal to Vyasa. With the touch of his magic wand, Pampa imports into his narration the color and tone of his time and region. 5.6.1.4. Arikesari-II (930-55) of Vemulavada branch of Calukya dynasty, a feudatory of Rastrakuta king Krisna-III (935-65), had the honor of two of the contemporary luminaries being the court poets. The illustrious Kannada poet Pampa as the senior writer adorned the court of Arikesari-II alias Ariga, and the celebrated Somadevasuri (950-83), author of Yasastilaka and Nitivakyamrta, a junior of Pampa, adorned the court of Arikesari-III, the grand son of Arikesari-II. A moving, though out spoken, portrayal of the pleasures and adventures of love, of travel, of penance, of struggle and the great war of Arjuna are properly attributed to the patron Arikesari. Pampa depicts a number of episodes pertaining to his patron and the story of Bharata by skilful analogy with Vikrama-Arjuna, the hero of the epic, the exploits of Arikesari. 5.6.1.4.1. Referring to the happening of Venisamhara, Pampa's supremacy is seen in dramatizing the situation and focussing Bhima : The vengeance Draupadi wreaks for the indescribable humiliation she has suffered evokes from Bhima this tribute, 'Earth-shaking is the impact of your hair unbound. An empire extending to the ten quarters of the sky and shielded with the whole umbrellas of countless vassal kings has had its most violent shake-up. The entire line of the Kurus had sunk without a trace in it. It had added fresh vigour to my valour.

Page #205
144 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism The whole of Mahabharat has its true origin here, in the unbinding of your hair [Narasimha murthi, K. - in 'The image of Woman in Indian literature' ed. Yasoda Bhat; 1993 : 68]. 5.6.1.4.2. In the entire history of Kannada literature, whether it is ancient or modern, much better known and of greater literary merit is Pampa's Vikramarjuna-Vijayam olim Pampa-Bharatam, a mahakavya, epic in fourteen cantos. It recounts in epic style the story of Maha-Bharata of Vyasa, at the same time eulogizes the Calukya king and patron of the poet. The genealogical account of the Calukyas of Vemulavada, recorded by Pampa is found helpful in chronicling the history and achievements of that house. 5.6.1.4.3. The classic conflict between the god Siva in the form of a Kirata, a chief of hunter class, and Arjuna, the valient man, hero of the epic, being witnessed by the goddess Parvati herself present, and finnaly ending in the latter's attainment of the invaluable weapon the Pasupatastra, is described in such a way that the reader gets an impression of the poet engrossed. 5.6.1.5. Adipuranam is another work of Pampa, which he could compose within three months, where as he took six months to complete the other Kavya. The fact that he could author two major compositions within the stipulated span of nine months, speaks of his accomplishment as a gifted writer. When Pampa achieved the feat of completing two maha-kavyas in the year C. E. 941, he was in his early age of 39 years old. He further confirms that he was born in a Dundubhi-samvastara, the fifty-sixth year in the cycle of sixty, analogous to C. E.902, and that his voice was so distinct and dignified as the sound of dundubhi, a large kettle drum. 5.6.1.6. Devandramuni, a famous Jaina acarya of the period, was the preceptor of Pampa. Indra-III (914-29), the Rastrakuta emperor, was also a laic votary of the adept Devendramuni. Pampa and his younger brother

Page #206
Kannada Literature / 145 Jinavallabha were also lay followers of JayanandiBhattaraka of Pandarapalli (Pandarapura). Of the two compositions in the marga-style, of the poet Pampa, Vikramarjuna-Vijayam is easily the best, an account of its copious action, the rich melody and fine imagery of its verse; the description of the war camps and the reactions of the soldiers is par excellence. It depicts the pomp and inevitable circumstances of war, the gruesome details of the battlefield. Pampa had the first hand knowledge of the field of battle. War is a common theme but none could match the quality of Pampa. Adipurana was completed on plava kartika suddha Pancami, Sunday, Mula-Naksatra Nandisvara festival day, equivalent to C. E. 941. 5.6.1.7. Adipuranam is a work of artistic perfection admittedly distinguished in the field of religious literature. In fact the bhava-valis (successive births) have substituted the concept of avataras, a main theme of Visnu-puranas. Mahapurana of Jinasena and Gunabhadradeva had standardised the narration of trasnmigration or the cycle of the former and the future existence. Adipurana, a campu in sixteen cantos handles the Jaina legendary theme of Rsbhadeva, his sons and daughters, with considerable force and power and excells its source of Jinasena's Sanskrit Adipuranam (C. 850 A. D.), the first part of Mahapurana. Kannada Adipuranam became a model for the later Jinapuranas, but all of them must take a rank well below their model. 5.6.1.8. The first few cantos are devoted to the successive previous births of Adinatha, the first of 24 Tirthankaras; Jayavarma, Mahabala, Lalitangadeva, Vajrajangha, Arya, Sridharadeva, Suvidhi, Acyutendra-I, Vajranabhi, Acyutendra-II are the ten reptition of births and the next birth to follow was the penultimate in the transmigration. Purudeva, born to Marudevi and Nabhiraja, happily married

Page #207
146 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Yasasvati and Sunanda. Bharata, the first of the twelve cakravartis and Bahubali, the first of the 24 Kamadevas, were his eldest and elder sons. Brahmi and Sundari were his daughters. He made his children proficient in various arts and science, himself taught the art of writing to Brahmi, and from her originated the Brahmi-script; to Sundari, his second daughter, he taught the science of arithmetics. 5.6.1.9. Thus, the first Jina set a model of an ideal father in giving good education to the daughters also. Adideva, the hero leading a life of pleasure in the company of his consorts, had spent his ten previous births and in the eleventh birth as the monarch of a splendid kingdom, while merrily viewing an exhibition of dancing performance of the celestial dancer Nilanjana, all of a sudden the dancer disappeared as it was the end of her life. Albeit Indra, who had designed the performance to evoke the feelings of detachment from the terrestrial interests in Purudeva, immediately created another Nilanjana to continue the performance uninterrupted. None in the audience could make out the difference except the intended Purunatha who got the clue and decided to relinquish the profane life on the realisation of the essential ephemerality, disillusionment overtook him. He was shaken from his complacency by this incident, pregnant with deep significance. He saw in a moment's flash the hollowness of worldy life and the wisdom of seeking release from its bonds. Purudeva wasted no time and immediately swung into action, installed his sons on the respective throne, sought the peace of forest and penance and attained the eternal salvation in the end. 5.6.2. Pampa has handled a Jaina puranic theme in a very dignified manner. He was gifted with the required literary capacity and the basic knowledge in the field of religious literature. Thus Adipuranam is marked by all the distinguished qualities of great poetry and furnished the

Page #208
Kannada Literature / 147 model for the Jainapurana. The traditional five auspicious events, panca-kalyanas in the career of a Tirthankara (the conception, the birth, the exit, attaining omniscience and the final release from bondage by maksa) and the celebration of these events. The last quarter of the Adipurana is devoted to the celebrated story of Bharata and Bahubali, that reminds and partly resembles the episode of Duryodhana and Pandavas. Bharata and Bahubali respectively symbolising the lust for power and the eternal delight in renunciation. 5.6.2.1. Pampa is highly indebted Jinasena's Adipurana, but he soars to greater heights of poetic excellence. Jinasena is primarily a religious preceptor, an unparalleled Nirgrantha patriarch of the age, and secondarily a poet of eminence. But, Pampa is primarily an eminent poet and secondarily a Jaina sastrakara. Pampa has produced poetry from the tip of his quill, just as Siva produced the Ganges from the tip of his top knot. Kannada language and the campu style reached its perfection in his hands. He has employed the standard dialect spoken around Puligere. The poet is convinced that the excellence of his diction has enhanced the power of speech of goddess Sarasvati! 5.6.2.2. Pampa is not an escapist, he does not denounce the profane life outrightly. He positively advocates a life of pleasure in the company of women, who are a moving creeper of ananga, the cupid. In one of the final benedictory verses of his epic, while enunciating the benefits or reading his kavya, he wishes the reader to derive the satisfaction of spending happy time in the company of the desired woman; but that is not the end of everything. He has greater things to say. Thus his poem is the greatest epic in Kannada literature. Pleased by his achievement and contribution, Arikesari-II, sent words, seated him by his side on the throne, granted maid servants, villages, ornaments of panca-ratna for daily use, excellent dressess, cattle-all in plenty. Crowning all this,

Page #209
148/The Rastrakutas and Jainism the king alloted to Pampa, Dharmavura, the best of agraharas which was glittering like the treasury of the king. The village Dharmuvura in Bacce-sasira division with which Pampa was endowed with has been identified with Gangadharam or a nearby place which is extinct. : 5.6.2.3. Pampa belonged to the lineage of Kondakunda anvaya, desiga-gana, pustaka (Sarsvati) gaccha (bali). He introduces himself as a parrot sitting pretty in the serene garden of Kondakunda anvaya. He had the following titles: Kavita-gunarnava, Purana-kavi, sukavi jana-manomanasottamsa-hamsa, Sarasvati-manihara and samsarasarodaya. He was savya-saci, equally at home both in the art of war and to drive quill. A host of later literati, irrespective of their religion, have paid glorious tributes to the literarum doctor Pampa. His sweet and flowing style is valued highly by critics. Pampa, as a self critic, has assessed his works and has remarked that his poem is always new and dignified as a sea; there can be no better evaluation. 5.6.2.4. Pampa vibrates with zest for life. He explored new vistas and made enormous cultural excavations, in the process, exploiting the creative possibilities of Kannada language, and exploding the uni-dimensional quality of Kannada literary tradition. He has employed the standard Kannada dialect of his time, spoken around the northKarnataka region; it was then called as the Puligere Kannada, the place considered as the cream centre of cultural and socio-political activities. 5.6.2.4.1. Pampa had some advantages and a solid infrastructure; the literary stage was all set for the arrival of a greater author. Srivijaya, Gunanandi, Gunavarma-I, had deviated from the scholastic tradition of writing only the glosses or commentaries on primordial Prakrit agama texts, and had evolved a new trend of taking theme from calssics and writing long poems in campu style. In addition to this

Page #210
Kannada Literature / 149 conducive atmosphere, Pampa had an added advantage of the family background where two religions, of Brahmanism and Jainism, had fused into one main stream. 5.6.2.4.2. Pampa, while rendering Maha-Bharata into Kannada has ably attempted to give a re-orientation to the theme by culturally localising the immortal saga, wherever appropriate. He experimented with the theme, the language, the form and metre, with a sense of native consciousness. Pampa has occasionally given vent to his heart felt emotions; at one stage he expresses vociferously - what is it that others can give us or others can achieve for us? worship, fame, profane profit-that is all; albeit, all this and much more can easily be a achieved by complete dedication toJinendra; this is perhaps the quintessence of the author's message. Pampa Bharata is creme de la creme, the cream of the cream, the very best of Kannada literature. Pampa does not slavishly follow the original Bharata in his treatment of either the theme as such or the characters. Pampa has created highly romantic and ingenious innovations of his own by localizing certain descriptions and concepts. Arjuna is made the hero of the epic who is assigned the significant role of saving the grace of his family by his extraordinary prowess and skill charged with the grace of gods. In the depiction of the stainless bosom friendship of Duryodhana and Karna, the poet has smartly suggested and recorded the itimate comradeship between the king Arikesari-II and the author himself, the patron and protege. The character of Karna is so portrayed charged with intensity that Karna stands singular as a symbol of Fidus Achates. 5.6.2.5. Kirti Narayana, Vikranta Narayana, and Vira Narayana were included among the nearely twenty five titles of the Rastrakuta monarchs. Therefore, Pampa has meaningfully appropriated the epithet of udatta Narayana for his partron in the very first verse of the epic Vikramarjuna

Page #211
150 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Vijaya. This equation is pregnant with meaning in the historical context. Arikesari was a grandee of a province (Vemulavada) under Krsna-III who was cakravartti. According to Jaina Purana, Narayana (Vasudeva) category comes below cakravarttin, in the hierarchy of 63 great men, who is supposed to destroy his opponent in the battle. Narayana was a frequently used cognomen in the Jaina contest. Butuga had the biruda of Ganga Narayana. One of the epithets of a Jaina temple was Rupa-Narayana. 5.6.2.6. Adipurana is an amalgamation of poetry and spiritual experience. Thus, the epic is simultaneously acceptable to the pious and the admirer's of great poem. Pampa, dexterous in the art of dramatization of serious situations was pragmatic too. To cite an example, readers can recall the incident of discourse between the theist and atheist. A theory of the pleasure seekers, a school of thought, classified under the rubric of hedonism, originated around 6th-5th cent. B. C., putting an end to the universal reign of the gods. According to Carvaka, a sceptic in the royal court of Mahabala Khecara : what is arrived at by direct perception is truth which alone exists. What is not perceivable is nonexistent, for the simple reason, that it is not perceived. Hence, everything begins and ends with perceivable matter in the form of four elements of earth, water, fire and air. Who has seen the soul existing in a state seperate from the body? Does not life result from the ultimate configuration of matter?'. The free thinkers rhythmic voice pondered to preach 'while life is yours, live joyously'. 5.6.2.7. Carvaka, the atheist, continued to argue emphatically: "There is no life after death. Heaven, Hell, God and the Devil are nonsense terms. We should live happily in the happening present, ignoring the fear that future holds, submitting completely to the pursuit of pleasure. Happiness is the chief good, and chief end of man. Do not get terrorised

Page #212
with the fear of hell, or lured with the promise of heaven". Repudiating the seducing argument of the sceptic, the theist stood up to eloquently advance his tenor of approach in defence of theism. Finally he convincingly established that "Compassion, restraint, generosity, austerity of prayer and meditation, and sterling character are the core virtues leading to ultimate liberation. All the pomp and glory of the profane world are but temporal affairs". Pampa has set the whole sequence most felicitously, pregnant with theatrical qualities. Kannada Literature / 151 5.6.2.8. One of the epigraphs of C. E. 946, now preserved in the Museum of Karimnagara in Andhra Pradesh, contains five verses of Pampa, quoted from his Vikramarjuna-vijaya. Gamunda Cattayya and his younger brother Makayya installed this pillar of eminence for the glory of their overlord Arikesari and to commemorate the happy occasion of his coronation at Paudana olim Bodana, king's metropolis. An opinion was floated that this inscription was authored by Pampa, equating the scribe's name of Srimamna with the name of Pampa. It is rather difficult to concur with the suggestion. 5.6.2.9. A Telugu poem called Jainendra-Purana has been composed by Padmakavi. But the work is not extant. Scholars have made a futile attempt to equate Padmakavi with Pampakavi. Just because Pampa was born in the family of srivatsa gotra Brahmanas of Vangiparra village in Vengidesa, it does necessarily warrant that he should have authored Telugu poem also. But it is a fact that Pampa was conversant in Telugu. 5.6.3. Ponna (C. 960), poet laureate of Krsna-III, ushered in Kannada literature in full panoply. He was the first of Kannada poets to get the greatest biruda of Kavicakravarti and the only author with that title in the long reign of the Rastrakutas. He was honoured with the title of -

Page #213
152/The Rastrakutas and Jainism ubhaya-bhasa kavicakravartti by Krsna-III, after composing the epic Bhuvanaika - Ramabhydayam in chaste Kannada in campu, which was the only popular poetic style of his time. 5.6.3.1. Bhuvanaika - Ramabhyudayam, 'prosperity of the only Rama in the universe', an epic of vaulting ambition of poet Ponna, is extant only in bits, like Sudraka and Harivamsa of Adi-Gunavarma (C. 900). There is no doubt abovt the reverence that this poem enjoyed, because very many later references of deference approve the fact. The poem had fourteen cantos. Citations in later works of Kavyavalokana (Nagavarma : 1042), Suktisudharnava (Mallikarjuna : 1240) and Sabdamanidarpana (Kesiraja : 1270) provide an insight to the visage of this poem. 5.6.3.2. A controversy followed on the identification of the katha-nayaka, the hero of this epic. Main reason for the debate was that Sankaraganda, a feudatory of the Rastrakutas and a staunch promoter of Nirgrantha faith, also had an appellation of Bhuvanaikarama. Added to that, he had fashioned Jayadhira-Jinalaya at Koppala and more shrines at other places. Considering these and similar achievements of Sankaraganda, literary critics held the view, that the main character of the aobve poem could be the same person. Some pandits still maintain the same view. 5.6.3.2.1. But, corroborative eipigraphical and literary sources from Prakrit and Sanskrit works place heavy waitage in favour of Krsna-III being the paragon main character. Illustrious Puspadanta (C. E. 959) has referred to the emperor as 'bhvanekkaramu-raya', which confirms that it was popular cognomen of Krsna. More over, Pampa, Ponna, Somadevasuri, Puspadanta were his proteges whereas there is no other evidence to substantiate that Sankaraganda had supported Ponna. If Ponna had authored Bhuvanaika-Ramabhyudaya, with Sankaraganda as the important victor of the poem, it becomes all the more difficult -

Page #214
Kannada Literature / 153 to justify that the emperor honored the author for glorifying his subordinate! However, the matter is not a closed chapter. 5.6.3.2.2. Continuing the Jaina etiquette of authoring a laukikakavya, like Srivijaya, Gunavarma-I and Pampa, his predecessors, Ponna had composed BhuvanaikaRamabhyudaya olim Rama-katha in circa 955 C. E. Perhaps, as discussed above, Ponna had identified his patron, a historical person, with Rama, a legendary hero. While the theme is the popular story of Ramayana, it has adopted the Jaina version of Ramayana. Rama legend in Jaina belief has a long unbroken history, starting from Vimalasuri (C. E. 473), and Ravisena (C. E. 676), who wrote in Prakrit and Sanskrit languages respectively. 5.6.3.3. In the time of the Rastrakutas, the story of Rama finds a place of prominence in Uttarapuranam of Gunabhadradeva (C. E. 877), preceptor of Krsna-II. In the context of Kannada literature, Srivijaya, court poet of Amoghavarsa was the prime author to compose Raghuvamsapuranam (C. 845 C. E.), and a few of his stanzas are also cited to illustrate the rules of poetics, in his Kavirajamarga. After him Ponna was the second author to deal with the same subject. Whether he has followed the path of Vimalasuri or Gunabhadra or Srivijaya is uncertain. What is certain is that the poem was a quasi-historical work. 5.6.3.3.1. Based on the merit of the verses of the above poem, quoted in some later works, mentioned earlier, it can safely be said that Bhuvanaika Ramabhyudaya kavya was a work of superior quality worth the royal benevolence it received. After Ponna, Nagacandra (1044-1100), Kumudenudu (1275) and other poets have also composed long poems on the same theme of Jaina Ramayana. But, how far the later poets are influenced by Ponna is not known. 5.6.3.4. Ponna, a junior contemporary of Pampa, has composed an agama-kavya also. Santipuranam, a poem of

Page #215
154 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism soaring aspiration, deals with the biography of Santinatha, the sixteenth Tirthankara. It contains twelve cantos in campustyle. It is the earliest and also the best of the puranas on the life of Santinatha in Kannada literature, and is by no means dull. For its choice diction, sustained harmony between metres employed, the work has been a splendid masterpiece. The incidents of Anantavirya and Aparajita, Barbara Kiratas, Kapila the out cast who was brilliant in grasping knowledge - are portrayed in a unique way. 5.6.3.4.1. The main objective of Ponna, in this classic, is the propogation of Jaina tenets and ethics which has been successfully achieved. When trouble was simmering in the Rastrakuta administration, towards the last years of Krsna-III, Ponna was patronised by Mallapa and Punnamayya, brothers from a prestigeous Jaina marshal family. The pious brothers requested Ponna to compose Santipuranam in Kannada for the merit of Jinacandra, ascetic of Kranur-gana, and preceptor of their house. Jinacandra was held in high regard by the monarchs of the period in Vaniyavadi (was it Tardavadi where Tailapa-II was the governor of high rank?). Ponna has exclusively devoted thirty stanzas to panegyrize the austere life of seer Jinacandra. The composer has also set apart twenty six verses to eulogize the historical accomplishments of Mallapa and Punnamayya, brothers of idealism personified, like the legendary figures of Bhimarjuna and Nakula-Sahadeva. 5.6.3.5. In the prologue to santipuranam, Ponna has given a list of Kanurgana a band of Jaina preceptors. This list verily agrees with inscriptional and literary evidences. As noted above, a full blown hagiography of the pontiff Jinacandra reflects the glory and superiority of the friar who had the members of the family of Nagamayya and his two sons, Mallapa and Punnamayya as his fore most lay followers. Ponna has recroded the life time achievements of

Page #216
Kannada Literature / 155 this family, and equated these two brothers with Anantavirya and Aparajita, characters of Santipurana. Both the protege and patrons belong to Vengi-Visaya, a province in Andradesa. Attimabbe, the most celebrated lady of late tenth century, was the sprout of the same family tree and a daughter of Mallapa. It so happened that later, after a lapse of two decades, Attimabbe caused to be made a thousand palm leaf copies of Santipurana to freely distribute to the laics. This re-copying amounts to the reprint of the text in the modern terminology. Thus, Attimabbe is the earliest in the annals of Indian literature to bring out the second edition of a poem! 5.6.3.5.1. Ponna has borrowed the theme of santipurana from Uttarapurana of Gunabhadradeva and from Santipuranam of Asaga. Kannada poem is highly indebted to the Sanskrit source, the latter in particular. Ponna has either tanslated or adopted many stanzas of Asaga's work. Inspite of such plagiarization, Ponna has the adacity to boast himself that he is manifold greater to Asaga. His obligation does not end with Asaga. He has appropriated certain stanzas from Raghuvamsa of Kalidasa. Ponna's delineation of the svayamvara, marriage of Jyotihprabha and digvijaya, the subjugation of various countries in all directions of santisa, are enmass imitation of the immortal Kalidasa's Raghuvamsa, that too copying the scenes of Indumatisvayamvara and digvijaya of Raghu-maharaja. Here again, Ponna proclaims that he is four times above par to Kalidasa! Albeit, Ponna has assimilated the best from early masters and made his poem a superb work in Kannada literature. He is the best translator, if it comes to the question of adoptation. To sum up, excellent diction, rich vocabulory, varieties of metrical composition, equal command over Sanskrit and Kannada languages are the special traits of santipurana of Ponna. The condemnation of the fault

Page #217
156 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism . finders, admiration of the impartial critics, and the process of versification - are some of the salient lineament incorporated in Santipurana. 5.6.3.6. A small poem called Jinaksaramale, an acrostic poem in homage of the Jinas, is attributed to Ponna. He is also believed to have authored a Gata-Pratyagata kavya, probably in Sanskrit, of which nothing is known. [Nagarajaiah, Hampa (ed): Santipuranam : 1981]. 5.6.3.7. Ponna had the other aliases of Ponniga, Ponnamayya, Savana ('a Jaina monk") and Kurulgala savana ("a frair with frizzy hair'). He had many surname too : kavicakravarti, ubhaya kavicakravartti, saujanya kandankura and sarvadeva kavindra. Of these epithets, the last cognomen of Sarvadeva is consequential in the context of Telugu literature. Certain stanzas of Telugu Adipurana are extant. It has come to light, that the author of Telugu poem Adipurana was Sarvadeva who completed his work in circa 950 C. E. Therefore, Sarvadeva is none other than Ponna, who had the title of Sarvadeva. Alongside, Ponna hails from Punganur, a place in Kammenad of Vengivisaya in Andhradesa (Guntur Dt.). Since the nomen of the poet, place of origin, and year of composition coincide, it is believed that Ponna was also a major and the earliest Telugu poet. Further, he is said to have translated Virataparva of Bharata. However, some scholars, not completely convinced with this conjecture feel that we should wait for further clinching evidences. 5.6.3.7.1. Ponna has described himself as a curly haired Jaina friar (Kurulgala savana). It may be presumed that he had renunciated material life and taken to austerity by the time he authored poems. He has stated that Indranandi (C. E. 930) was his preceptor, and epigraphical proof also approves it. Likewise, Indranandi was one of the leading authors of the period of Amoghavarsa-II and Govinda-IV.

Page #218
Kannada Literature / 157 5.6.3.8. Ponna's place in Kannada literature, both in temporal terms and from the point of poetic excellence, is decidedly next to Pampa. Pampa, Ponna, and Ranna have been befittingly admired with the title of ratna-trayas ('threegems') and Jina-samaya-dipakas, illuminators of Jaina faith. Pampa and Ponna were protegee of the Rastrakutas and Ranna started his lifework under Gangas, the Rattas of Sundatti, who were the Rastrakuta vassals. That apart, Ranna continued ward of the same Attimabbe family which patronised Ponna. Infact, Ranna has continued to record the genealogy of his parton's family from where Ponna had stopped. 5.6.3.8.1. Ranna (993), Nagavarma (1042), Santinatha (1062), Nayasena (1112), Karnaparya (1145), Brahmasiva (1175), Rudrabhatta (1185), Kesiraja (1270) Madhura (1385) and a host of other poets have extoled the poetic excellence of Ponna, which shows that he was held in highest regard. 5.6.3.9. Among the popular Jinasasanadevis, goddess Ambika has a prominent place [Nagarajaiah, hampa : YaksaYaksi 1976]. Ponna is the earliest of Kannada poets to mention and record the legend of Ambika in one of his verses of Santipurana. 5.6.4. Manasija-Kandarpa (C. 900 C. E.), an author of note composed a Kannada poem, outstanding for its novel desi, oozing nine sentiments of poetic composition, and for its path of radiance. Recognising such merits, Durgasimha (1031), earliest Kannada poet to mention the name of Manasija, has equated the work(s) of Manasija with that of better poets like Asaga (C. 9th cent.) and Candrabhatta. In the chronological sequence, Durgasimha has appropriately placed Manasija after Asaga. 5.6.4.1. Kesiraja (1270), best grammarian of Kannada language, has acknowledged that the excellent convention

Page #219
158 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism of poets like Gajaga, Gunanandi, Manasija et cetera has served him as illustrations for his grammar. Sridharacarya (1049), Rudrabhatta (1185) Madhura (1385), Kavi-Malla (1400), poets of eminence, have all their appreciation for Manasija and his propriety. 5.6.4.2. Jaina pontiff Indranandi (930) has unequivocally stated that Gunanandi and Kandarpa, the two confrere, were his senior preceptors who coached him to author Jvalamalini-kalpa. This sequential statement of Indranandi deserves serious consideration. Giving more weight and credibility to Indranandi's record, supplemented by corroborative circumstantial evidences, the names of Kandarpa and Manasija could be treated as indentical. Similar instances are not lacking. Kamalabhava (born in a lotus) of Santisvarapurana is also known as Devakavi (1235) when he authored Kusumavalikavya. 5.6.4.3. Kandarpa, mentioned in an inscription of the village Kallihala (Haveri Dt) of C.E. 1019, is a later author with a gap of 120 years. Hence, he can be considered as Kandarpa-II, Whereas Kandarpa-1, tutor of Indranandi was a Jaina monk-author of circa 900C.E. As a co-existant of monk-litteratures Gunanandi and Adi-Gunavarma, Kandarpa alias Manasija represents and joins the band of prominent Jaina men of letters of the Rastrakuta age. To be more specific, Kandarpa (Manasija) composed his (title unknown) work(s) in the reign of Krsna-II. 5.6.4.4. Details of life and work of Gajankusa (Gajaga), (c.970) another Jaina author of this period to be recognised also remain mostly obscure. A host of men of letters including Durgasimha (1031), Sridharacarya (1049), Nayasena (1112), Rudrabhatta (1185), Acanna (1185), Andayya (1235), Mallikarjuna (1240), Nagaraja, Kesiraja, Madhura, Kumudendu, Bahubali Pandita, Bhaskara and Nanjunda have noted the poetic excellence of Gajanikusa alias Gajaga.

Page #220
Kannada Literature / 159 Stanzas from his works are quoted in anthologies and grammars. In particular, Durgasimha has paid glowing tributes to the merits and achievements of Gajankusa. According to the former, the latter was hundred fold far famed in cleverness of speech. 5.6.4.4.1. Gajankusa was a dandanayaka, a general in the Rastrakuta army. He was equally at his best in the art of poesy. Like Camundaraya, Gajankusa was far fammed with pen and sword. Scholars have attempted in vain to fix him up with proper identification. Efforts of equating him with Narayana Gajarkusa, minister of Krsna-iii, mentioned in an epigraph of Salotagi have failed. Similarly to put him on par with a Telugu writer has not met with success. The problem of identification remains enigmatical. Gajankusa alias Gajaga lived to lead the army and to author bellesletteres during the later Rastrakuta period. 5.6.5. Camundaraya (978) alias Raya or Anna, undaunted champion of momentous battles, was one of the stalwarts of the second half of tenth century. After serving Butuga-II and Marasimha-II, as a general, he was made minister of the Ganga king Rajamalla Satyavakya alias Racamalla (974-84). He erected the colossal image of Gommata olim Gomatesvara in 981-82, on the summit of the large hill. Before the consecration of the monolith on the crest of the hill, he has composed in saka 900 Isvara Phalguna suddha 8 Rohini Monday, equivalent to 18th Feb 978 C.E. Mahapuranam olim Camundaraya puranam. It occupied a conspicuous place in the development of Kannada prose. 5.6.5.1. As a simple and easy flowing narrative work of its time, Camundarayapuranam has exceptional merits. It is based primarily on Mahapurana of Jinasena and Gunabhadra in Sanskrit. Kannada version of Raya provides a brief account of the legends or lives of the 63 maha-purasas Salaka-purusas they are 24 Tirthankaras, 12 cakravarttis,

Page #221
160 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism a Balabhadras (Baladevas), 9 Vasudevas (Narayanas) and a prati-Vasudevas (Prati-Narayanas)-Sixty-three in all. Raya's prose style is not poetic like the prose of Bhrajisnu of Aradhana-Karnata-Tika or Vaddaradhane (C. 800C.E). Raya's prose definitely serves the intended purpose. The grandeur of the narrative style is often marred by the author's desire to show off his scholastic weight by straining after alliteration, or being too bald and insipid. 5.6.5.2. Cammundaraya was considered Trisasti Laksana-Mahapurana's ostensible author, and that it was actually composed by Ranna (993). Such an opinion was formed because of the similarities found with Ajitapuranam (1978) of Ranna. But the authorship of C'Raya need not be doubted. He as an erudite in Jaina scriptures and was a gifted author. He has composed other works too, including a commentary on Gommatasara of his preceptor Nemicandra sidhanta cakravartti. A Sanskrit work Caritrasara is attributed to him. It is to be noted that the work of Raya was completed in C.E. 978, whereas Ranna wrote in C.E. 993, A gap of 15 years goes in favour of Raya, in which case the suggestion of ostensible authorship boomrangs! 5.6.5.3. Most celebrated personality of medieval India, C'Raya had a number of honorific surnames which reflect his nobility and status in the Rastrtakuta empire: Samara dhurandhara, Vira martanda, rana-ranga singha, vairikula Kaladanda, Bhuja Vikrama, Samara Parasurama, Samyaktva Ratanakara, Saucabharana, Satya Yudhistira, subhata Cudamani, Guna-ratna-bhusana, Kavijanasekhara. These titles suggest that he was a valiant warrior, a devout Jaina, and a virtuous gentleman. Available literary and inscriptional references attest and establish the truth of the above appellations. after his complete withdrawal from political and profane life, he preferred to stay in the monastery at Sravanabelago!a.

Page #222
Kannada Literature / 161 5.6.5.4. C'Rayapuranam of the illustrious Raya is one of the early prose compositions in Kannada language, only next to Aradhana Karnata Tika (Vaddaradhane) of Bhrajsnu (C. 800). Raya, famous general and minister in the service of the final Ganga rulers, furnishes real historical details of the exploits of war in which he himself participated and lead the troops to victory. C'Raya, hero of many decisive battles has recorded valuable information about the penultimate Ganga rulers as feudal tenents of the Rastrakutas, their over lords. 5.6.5.5. He thwarted many fearless warrior. Conspicnous among the enemies that he foiled wereRajaditya, Raca, Govindarasa, Racaya, Vajvala in the Khedaga battle, Nolamba near Gonur, Rajayita in Ucchangi, Tribhuvanavira in Bageyur, Nrkama and Muduracaya. Since he fought single-handed with Rajayita at Ucchangi, he got the title of Ranaranga-simha. 5.6.5.6. C' Raya had a sound knowledge of Jaina canonical and pontiffical chronicler. He was a pupil of Ajitasena, the greatest of the coeval Jaina patriarchs of his period. It is only after the year 978 that the became the disciple of Nemicandra siddhanti who composed Gommatasara for the benifit of Raya, in 982 C.E, in Prakrit. 5.6.5.7. He has referred to some eminent ascetics and authors, quotes profusely sevaral gathas and slokas from various sources, from early Jaina texts. His quotations from Kaviparamesthi and Jatasimhanandi has helped to inentify their works. Some verses of Vagartha samgraha/gadya-katha are found only in this work. It is through Raya's work that the identify of Jatasimhanandi and Varangacarita was rightly established, and Jatarya, Jatacarya Jatasimhanandi being the names of one and the same monk was finalised. 5.6.5.8. One of the five works authored by Ranna, who

Page #223
162/The Rastrakutas and Jainism started his brilliant career as a protege of the Gangas, is dedicated to C'Raya. Parasuramacarite is a quasi-historical poem, based on the life and achievements of Raya who had the biruda of Samara Parasurama. 5.6.5.9. C'Raya has also commissioned a magnificent Jaina temple on Candragiri hills at Sravanabelagola. On the top of that temple Jinadevana, son of Raya, has built a small shrine dedicated to Jina Parsva. Kumudendu and Siribhuvalaya 5.7. Undoubtedly Siribhuvalaya is a remarkable work attributed to Kumudendu. Ever since the work was discovered in 1950 by Yellappa Sastry an eminent scholar, Siribhuvalaya took the literary world by storm. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India was, like many other scholars, fascinated by the very conception of the work. Yellappa Sastry was invited to the Rastrapati-Bhavan and considering the work to be a veritable compendium of Indian culture the whole text was micro-filmed. 5.7.1. It is worthwhile examining the nature of Siribhuvalaya, 'the resplendent earth'. It is conceived in mathematical tables, assigning the numbers 1 to 64, each corresponding to the letters of the alphabet. This ankaksara mathematical table method claims that the work can be read in 718 languages. Further it is said that, siribhuvalaya includes 363 philosophical systems, 64 kalas, i.e., all arts and science. Further it states that the work contains six lakh (6,00,000) verses, in which case, it is six times bigger than the size of Mahabharata and Mahapurana. 5.7.2. Kumudendu, author of the Siribhuvalaya is identified with Kumudendu, a disciple of Virasena (C. E. 816), a confrere of Jinasena and a contemporary of Amoghavarsa-I, the Rastrakuta monarch. To substantiate the above surmise, scholars quote that Siribhuvalaya

Page #224
Kannada Literature / 163 mentions the five Dhavala texts - the Jayadhavala the Vijayadhavala, the Atisayadhavala, the the Mahadhavala and Dhavala. A list of some preceptors of Senagana, Puspa gaccha, Angas, Angabahiras, the works of Kondakunda, Bhutabali, Umasvati, Samantrabhadra, Pujyapada and Cudamani. Kumudendu also gives the story of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita, the last one in five languages including Prakrit and Sanskrit and, Kumudendu translated the Gita into Kannada language, for the benefit of Amoghavarsa, in the sangatya metre. 5.7.3. Some scholars have believed the work as geniune and also appealed that, before passing any final judgement, the entire work has to be closely scrutinized' [Kagwal, S. P. and Dharmapal, M. Y., Tirthankara Nemi and The Bhagavad-Gita, Jinamanjari, 20-2 (octo 1999), pp. 1-5; Srikanta sastry, S., The voice of Ahinsa, Jan-Feb. 1955, (ed) Kamta Prasad Jain). 5.8. Jinavallabha (C. 950 C. E.), younger brother of the illustrious poet Pampa, was also an author of note. Though none of his independent poems have come to light as yet, a famous epigraph composed in three languages by Jinavallabha has survived to speak of his poetic skill. 5.8.1. Abhimanacandra of Nidungonde belonged to the kamme Brahmana genealogy of Srivatsagotra, lineage. Originally his ancestors formed a part of Vangiparra village in Vengi country. Bhimapayye grand son of Abhimanacandra, after matured consideration changed his faith from Brahmanism to Jainism. He was convinced that for a Brahmin, the best of religions to follow was Jainism. Bhimapayya's consort, Abbanabbe was a grand daughter of Joyisa simgha, of Anoigese in Belvola, also a new convert to Jainism. 5.8.2. Bhimapayya and Abbanabbe, devout Jaina laics,

Page #225
164 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism were proud parents of two brilliant and talented sons, Pampa, the greatest of Kannada poets, being elder and Jinavallabha, a genius in three languages was younger. Monk Devendra was the preceoptor of Pampa. A suggestion of the scholars that Devendramunindra, a celebrity among the ascetics mentioned in the Sravanabelagola epigraph and the guru of Pampa, are identical, needs further substantial proof. But, his identity with Devendramuni mentioned in another charter (EA. vol. II. p. 31) is valid. Subhanandi, Gandavimukti Bhatara, and Candraprabhayati were monk students of Devendramunindra, who was a big name when Krsna-II was on the throne. Jayanandi Siddhanti Bhatara, co-existant Jaina seer heading the Pandarangapalli cloister, was also a guru of Pampa and Jinavallabha. Jayanandi Bhatara flourished in the life span of Indraraja-III. Jayanandi, an adept in Jaina philosophy, belonged to the great Kondakunda ecclesiastical cohort of school called Desiga gana potthage vamsa. He was the chief of the Jaina diocese with its monastery at Pandarangapalli. Pampa was also, in the beginning, a student who studied under Jayanandi at the Pandarangapalli convent. 5.8.4. For his invaluable accomplishment in the field of creative literature, Pampa was endowed with Dharmavura village and other rare gifts by his patron king Arikesari-II. To the north of Dharmavura existed a huge hill called Vrsabhagiri, named after Rsabha, the first ford maker. On the front face of Siddhasile, to the south of the Vrsabhagiri, Jinavallabha, ardent follower of sramana faith commissioned, with great devotion, a Jina shrine called Tribvhuvana-tilaka, and many images of Jinas, the victors. He constructed a tank called kavita-gunarnava, after the title of Pampa, his eminent brother. He also caused to be made a garden called Madana-vilasa. 5.8.5. Pamparyyanujam=atra Bhima tanujam

Page #226
Kannada Literature / 165 samyaktva ratnakaram, a sentence from the above Kurikyala or Gangadharam inscription composed by Jinavallabha, approves the fact that he had the biruda of samyaktva-ratnakarai.e., an ocean of Right-faith, a requisite of a Jaina householder. He was a 'tribhasakavi', poet of three languages - Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada. Jinavallabha was the first Telugu Jaina poet who has composed three stanzas of poetic merit in Telugu language. He has also assisted Malliya Recana to author Kavijanasrayamu', a Telugu work on prosody. Jinavallabha had the epithets of Vacakabharana and Vagvadhuvallabha. 5.8.6. Bhagiyabbe, consort of Jinavallabha had set up a metal Caturvimsatipatta image of a Jina and founded a Jinalaya named after her. Two of the bronze images of Jina, caused to be made by Bhagiyabbe in C. E. 950, are now in Nahar Museum, Calcutta and Government Museum, Madras. Bhagiyabbe, born in a Kannada speaking family of Paithana (now in Maharastra), was a devotee of Mahavira. Both the bronze images of Mahavira contain inscriptions in Kannada characters [Nahar, Purnachandra, and Ghosh, eds : 1917; Murthy, A. V. Narasimha : 1990 : 219-21). Paithana was nearer to Bodhana and Lembulapataka, metropolis of the state, where Pampa and Jinavallabha were housed. Similarly, Pandarangavalli, where Jinavallabha had his early education under his preceptor Jayanandi Bhatara, was nearer to Lembulapataka and Bodhana. Those places were recognised cultural centres of the greater Karnataka of the Rastrakuta period.

Page #227
CHAPTER - 6 PRAKRIT LITERATURE 6.1. The Rastrakuta eon is a lustrious epoch in the history of Jaina church and Jaina literature in particular. Literary achievements of this age are substantial, endowed with imperishable merits transcending the barriers of time, space and environment. The languages widely prevalent during this epoch were mainly Sanskrit, Prakrit and Kannada. Even the epigraphs of this time subscribe to this finding, though the Prakrit charters are totally absent. The Gangas and the Rastrakutas did not stimulate the bards and the laureates to compose inscriptions in Prakrit, like the early Kadambas of Banavasi. However, the Rastrakuta empire, at its peak of glory, particularly during the reign of Amoghavarsa-I and Krsna-III, produced Prakrit literature also. The glorious Rastrakuta age witnessed flowering of Prakrit literary activity. 6.1.2. Bulk of Prakrit literature, highly creditable in quality and in quantity, was produced under the patronage of the Rastrakutas. Since the lingua franca of the country where Mahavira lived was Ardha-Magadhi Prakrit, he adopted it as his media to teach. Because Mahavira chose to preach in that language, Ardha-Magadhi became the language of Jaina scripture. Buddhists monopolized Pali and Jains cornered Prakrit. 6.1.2.1. Gifted Jaina authors appropriated Apabramsa,

Page #228
Prakrit Literature / 167 Ardha-Magadhi, Maharastri and Sauraseni, inaugurating an Augustan age in those languages. But, Jaina men of letters never attached a slavish or sentimental sanctity to any particular speech. They gave a home to various languages. They fostered different languages and styles according to the regions and spirit of the age. Prakrit literature in general and Apabhramsa language in particular reached its efflorascense during the epoch making era of Krsna-III. His subordinates and general, Bharata and Nanna, helped Puspadanta to stay and compose his two classics and one Epic in Karnataka. 6.1.2.2. "... the linguistic influence of Pushpadanta can be easily seen on the later poets of Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi etc. In his kavyas many words of Dravidian origin along with many Desya words are found. Dr. Ratna Shriyan has critically studied these words in her thesis. Thus, the contribution of Pushpadanta in the study of linguistic field is enoromous (Prem Suman Jain : in Jainism and Karnatak Culture : 1977 : 157]. 6.1.2.3. Vallabha, meaning lord, is one of the titles, with which the Rastrakuta monarchs were often referred to. This appellation was an abbreviation of the fuller expression of Sri-Prithvi-Vallabha, a characteristic Sanskrit cognomen owned by the early Calukyas of Badami. Evidently, their worthy successors, the Rastrakutas rightly inherited the biruda and abridged it to vallabha. The word Balhaha in Prakrit language is borrowed from vallabha. Ancient Arab travellers have used the word Balhara, connotating the Rastrakuta monarch, apparently a contraction of Ballaharaya, Prakritised from Vallabharaja. Raya was also a Prakritised form of Sanskrit rajan. Prakrit influence on some of the cognomen and nomen needs further analysis. Raya, Gojjigadeva, Baddegadeva, Vaddigadeva are Prakatised and Kannadised nomens of Sanskrit Rajan,

Page #229
168/The Rastrakutas and Jainism Govinda, Bhadradeva (Budhraja) Vadyega, (Vagaraja). Except for a few birudas of Prakrit or Kannada influence, most of the epithets are of Sanskrit origin. 6.1.2.4. Similarly some nomen of emperors like Kannara, Govindara, Karkara exhibit the influence of Kannada language. Word final morpheme-ara/-ra is a shortened form of arasa(n), which means 'a king'. Of the three semantically equal words, rajan is Sanskrit, raya is Prakrit and arasa(n) is Kannada. Again, arasan is also a borrowing from Sanskrit rajan, but it is typical Dravidianised way of assimilating Sanskrit borrowings; Tamil arasan is a cognate. Prakrit literature: A retrospect 6.2. A Prakrit adage samano amogha vayano has its resonance in the Sankrit epigram of sramanaha amogha vacanaha, and its vibration in the Kannada maxim puttum battaleyum baridilla, neither an anthill nor a naked monk will be empty. Jaina monk possess nothing of worldly belonging. On the other hand, the naked ascetics were a fund of knowledge. Many of them were a mobile encyclopaedia. They were sata vadhanis, a hundred fold attentive, concentration personified. 6.2.1. Jaina literature is termed as sramanic or parivrajaka ('a wondering recluse') or ascetic literature. This sramanic literature, though authored by the wondering recluse, is meant for the whole mankind. Jainalore disregards the system of castes, and varnasramas, i.e., the order of the four castes the Brahmin, the Ksatriya, the Vaisya, and the Sudra. Heroes of ascetic literature are not gods and goddess, but kings, traders and sudras. - 6.2.2. Thanks to the Jaina pontiffs of Mathura who launched 'Sarasvati movement' in 2nd and 1st cent. B. C., when the knowledge of the Angas (limbs) and Purvas (old texts) began to suffer losses and dwindle in volume. Jaina

Page #230
Prakrit Literature / 169 patriarchate at last overcame their conservation to take recourse to pen and paper. But it was so late that sufficient portions of the cononical literature was extinct. But, whatever Nigantha - pavayana, 'sermons of the Nirgrantha', gani-pidaga, 'basket of the ganadharas', suya-nana, 'scriptural knowledge' survived was first handed down in Ardha-Magadhi, and later in Sauraseni. Bhutabali, Puspadanta and Gunadhara adopted Sauraseni Prakrit for Satkhandagama and kasayaprabrta. 6.2.3. From the early centuries of current era up to the early decades of 9th cent. C. E., the media of Jaina siddhanta was Prakrit dialects. Jaina patriarchy of this period preferred and cultivated Ardha-Magadhi, Sauraseni and Maharastri alike. From 7th cent. onwards Apabhramsa was employed. It does not mean that these languages were used only for religious and philosophical exposition and for voluminous commentaries. Various works on scientific subjects and many excellent pieces of belles-letters were composed in Prakrit languages, by versatile and prodigious authors. During the age of the Rastrakutas also, Jaina luminaries like Virasena, Jinasena-II, Svayambhu, Puspadanta and Nemicandra have enriched Prakrit language and literature in various ways. Similarly, Jaina men of letters reached perfection in Sanskrit language and in other provincial languages. Thus, the Jaina authors never addressed exclusively the learned classes, but they appealed to other strata of the people also. 6.2.4. Mahavira preached his doctrines in Ardhamagadhi language: bhagavam ca nam Addha-magahie bhasae dhammam aikkhai [Samavayanga. 98]. Lord Buddha, Mahavira's contemporary, preached his doctrines in the then spoken language Pali or Magadhi. Ardhamagadhi was old or ancient Magadhi language which was spoken in half of Magadhadesa. Bhutabali, Puspadanta and

Page #231
170 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Gunadhara, the acarya-trayas, laid a substantial Jaina canonical foundation in Prakrit language. 6.2.5. Kondakundaacarya (C. 1st - 2nd cent. C. E.), Vattakera (C. 2nd cent. C. E.) of Mulacara, Sivarya alias Sivakoti (Pk. Sivajja C. 2nd cent.) of Aradhana, Yativrsabha (C. E. 478) of Tiloyapannatti, Sarvanandi (C. E. 458) of Likavibhaga, Virasena, Nemicandra siddhanta Cakravartti are some of the momentous Sauraseni authors who lived and wrote in Karnataka. Their works are so crucial that can not be overlooked, either in quality or in quantity. Dhavala - Jayadhavala commentary, in the co-authorship of the teacher and taught, of Virasena and Jinasena-II, containing 72,000 verses is a stupendous work worthy of notice. 6.2.6. Thus, the Jaina monks and scholars that imigrated into Karnataka, at the beginning composed their works in their own language, viz., the Jaina Sauraseni, brought the native language to the literary level by cultivating it and finally merged their literary genius, together with themselves, into the general culture of the land of their adoption which they loved as their own, which fact is lucidly reflected in the famous Kuppatur inscription" [Kadabadi, B. K. : 185). 6.2.7. Prakrit literature and dialects played an important role in the development of Kannada language and literature. A historical lingusitic analysis establishes the depth and dimension of this influence. As a result of close contact of Kannada with Prakrit for over a millennia, certain phonetic, morphological and semantic changes have taken place in Kannada language. 6.2.8. Early Kannada authors were persuaded by the Prakrit men of letters. Belles-lettres of Apabhramsa, Ardhamagadhi, Sauraseni had swayed Kannada poetry. Campu form and style, so desirable and chosen by many major poets in Kannada, owes its origin evidently to Prakrit

Page #232
Prakrit Literature/171 poems like Kuvalayamala of Udyotanasuri. Preponderance of Prakrit over Kannada is found in its metres of ragale, kanda, and sangatya which bear the stamp of Prakrit metres like paddaaia (pajjhaoika), khandaa (Sk. skandaka) and sanghatta. The very conception ofadiprasa and antyaprasa, beginning-rhyme and end-rhyme, owes its source to Prakrit, that too kadavaka style attracted Kannada genius. Every house holder of Jaina community respectfully recites cattarimangalam and panca-namakara, Jaina litany, not knowing it is in Prakrit language. 6.2.9. Jaina men of letters in Karnataka were under the grip and command Sanskrit and Prakrit mostly in the time of Rastrakutas. They wrote in Sanskrit and Prakrit and also adopted the works of their choice. We have no access to the buried wealth of great Jaina works not extant. But, the available bulk of literary works exhibit the intensity of Prakrit domination. Following pages survey the contribution of Jaina authors to Prakrit literature under the aegis of Rastrakutas. 6.3. Svayambhu (C. 750 C. E.) was another author of note who was held in high deference. He has composed altogether three works namely Paumacariu, Rittanemicariu and Svayambhu-chandas. He has given an account of himself. He was lean, unshapely with sparse teeth and flat nose. All that exteranl appearence had nothing to do with his poetic gift 6.3.1. Svayambhu seems to have composed his works in the border area of Maharastra and Karnataka in the reign of Dantidurga (735-56) who had the royal epithets of Sahasatunga and Khadga valuka. Svayambhu was a follower of Yapaniya samgha. Poet Puspadanta, while introducing Svayambhu, composer of Paddhaoi metre, categorically states that he belonged to Apuli samgha a variant of Yapaniya sect : Svayambhuhu paddhaoibandhakarta Apuli Samghiyaha.

Page #233
172/The Rastrakutas and Jainism 6.3.2. Svayambhu had the model of Ravisenacarya's Padmacarita (C. E. 676) in composing Paumacariu. Since he could compose upto canto 82, his son Tribhuvana Svayambhu continued from canto number 83 till the last canto number 90. His second Apabramsa work Ritthanemicariu olim Harivamsapurana was a voluminous poem. Here again Svayambhu could author only 99 cantos and the rest was composed by his son Tribhuvana Svayambhu. Both the poems are works of greater merit. Svayambhu respectfully remembers Bharata, Pingala, Bhamaha, Dandin and Bana. Svayambhuchandas deals with meters. 6.3.3. H. C. Bhayani has epitomized the contribution and place of Svayambhu : "Swayambhu should be counted among those fortunate writers who achieved during their lifetime recognition and literary fame that was amplified by subsequent generations. He was well known as kaviraja (king of poets) during his life time. ..His name was spoken along with Caturmukha and Bhadra, celebrated names in the field of Apabhramsa letters. He is even said to have excelled them. Whether you talk of the beauty of ideas or of expressions, whether you weigh knowledge of rhetorics, proficiency in Apabhramsa grammar or skill in handling varied metres, Swayambhu is recognised as an allround master" [Bhayani, H. C. (ed): "Intro" Paumacariyu, part. I. p. 29]. 6.4. Puspadanta (C. 925-74) has the rare distinction of being the sui generis of Apabhramsa poetry. Puspadanta's parents. Kesava and Mugdhadevi, saiva Brahmanas of Kasyapa gotra, proselytized to Jainism, like the parents of poet Pampa. Puspadanta a contemporary of Ponna and Somadevasuri, had dark complexion and a lean frame. He started as a court-poet of king Viraraja alias Bhairava and composed a poem to glorify his patron. Because he was offended, Puspadanta abandoned Viraraja's support and left

Page #234
Prakrit Literature / 173 northern region in search of a better shelter. He faced bad days. For him it was a hand-to-mouth existence. At last he reached the suburbs of Malkhed, royal seat of the Rastrakutas. 6.4.1. When Puspadanta was relaxing in a grove of trees in the environs of the statehouse, he was approached by Indraraja and Annayya, two Jaina citizens, who persuaded the poet to meet Bharata, cabinet officer of the Rastrakuta emperor (Krsna-III). Happiness had smiled on him. Bharata, a devout Jaina householder son of Ayyana and Devi became the esteemed supporter of Puspadanta. Bharata, a minister and general of the vast kingdom and a benevolent patron, solicited him to author an epic of his faith. Bharata's house was a coterie of the learned. 6.4.2. Puspadanta began composing TisatthiMahapurisa-Gunalarkara in C. E. 959. After completing the portion of Adipurana, some how he could not progress. By the benediction of goddess of learning and by the animation of Bharata, his patron, Puspadanta resumed his composition. 6.4.3. When he completed the epic in C. E. 965, he himself was much delighted with his poetic accomplishment. He, in his ecstacy, proudly declared that 'what is not here can not be found elesewhere in the same vein of the illustraious Vyasa. Later, the Rastrakuta empire suffered a set back and fell into very bad days. Puspandanta's poetic pixy was nurtured, amidst adversity by Nanna, son of Bharata, who stepped into his father's office. At the petition of Nanna, an ardent Jaina votary, Puspadanta authored two more resplendent classics, Jasahara-cariu (Sk. Yasodhara-carita) and Nayakumara-cariu (Sk. Nagakumara-carita). For the simple reason, that after completing a mahakavya, a fullfledged epic, Puspadanta supplemented it with two Khandakavyas, epic fragments, the poet was nicknamed as Khanda!

Page #235
174 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism There was nothing of derision in attributing this diminutive appellation. 6.4.4. Tisatthi-Mahapurisa-Gunalankaru(Sk. Trisasthi Mahapurusa Gunalankaraha) is approximately an Apabhramsa rendering of Sanskrit Mahapurana of Jinasena, and Gunabhadra, an epic of Rastrakuta period. In theme and style, in depth and dimension prakrti work has closely followed the Sanskrit model. Like the latter, the former has also two parts of Adipurana and Uttarapurana, dealing with the same topics. Prakrit poem has a unifrom style since it was authored by a single poet. The whole work comprises (80+42) 122 cantos and embodies 20,000 (Kadavakas) verses. Thus, even in the bulk of the poem, Prakrit work resembles Sanskrit original. 6.4.5. The plot of Jasaharacariu and Nayakumaracariu, two classics belong to the type of popular belles lettres. These two poems with nine and four cantos respectively, were composed and completed at Nanna's mansion. Naturally both the works are dedicated to Nanna, a Good Samaritan. To put it in a nutshell, Nayakumaracariu richly illustrates the fruit of observing a fast on the occassion of sripancami ritual. Jasaharacariu deals with the life of Yasodhara, and Amotamati, his spouse, and their subsequent births. 6.4.6. The didactic and religious stories of the heros of these two classics are made popular by poets like Puspadanta, who has spread his influence of Kannada narrative literature. Puspadanta, a prince among Apabhramsa, authors had many titles : sarasvatinilaya, kavikulatilaka, abhimana-meru, kavya-ratnakara, kavyapisaca; 'abode of goddess of learning', 'poet par excellence', "highly self-respecting', 'ocean of poetry', 'bon-vivant of poetry'. Outwardly he was a householder, at heart a monk. He has respectfully remembered Caturmukha, Svayambhu and Tribhuvana Svayambhu, who were the early authors

Page #236
Prakrit Literature / 175 Apabhramsa literature. In his prolegamena to his three poems, Puspadanta, without any embarassment, has narrated interesting details of autobiographical note, about himself, his patrons, the circumstances which made him to migrate to Malkhed etc. 6.4.7. Unquestionably Puspadanta is a born poet and occupies a high place in the galaxy of poets. In the introductory verses he declares that he does not possess the necessary qualifications to undertake the great purana. But that only shows his humility, characteristic of a really cultured and rich mind. That he was endowed with the divine gift called pratibha and that he had acquired proficiency in various sciences (Vyutpatti) would be evident to even a casual reader of this Ramayana portion. His command of language is simply marvellous. Words come to him as easily and naturally as leaves to a tree. His vocabulary is almost unlimited. He embellishes his work with a variety of Alankaras that possess strinkingness and originality, Utpreksa is his forte. His epic abounds in 'rasas'such as the erotic, the heroic, the marvellous and 'karuna". His style is, on the whole, marked by 'ojas' (vigour) but not rarely does he write in the graceful and elegant vaidarbhi style. His poetry reveals the excellence of 'Artha-gauravatva' - profoundity of meaning. He employs variety of metres (such as Duvai, Hela, Avali, Arnalam, Racita etc.) and thus his work is free from the fault of monotony, and his poem possesses the charming quality called 'geyata'. He uses a large number of Desi words and extends its attractiveness to the 'masses'. He possesses a delightful sense of humour and at times entertains us at his own cost. He is indeed a Maha-kavi although according to the strict rules of Alankarikas his Maha-purana cannot be called a Mahakavya' (Kulkarni, V. M. : The story of Rama in Jain literature : 1990 : 170].

Page #237
176 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism | 6.5. Yasodhara, Nagakumara, Jivandhara, Bahubali, Carudatta, Dhanyakumara, Pradyumna, Sanatkumara, Vasudeva - are some of the distinguished, popular, and ideal heros in Jaina story literature. Naturally uttarapurana and a number of other kavyas have narrated the story of these heros. Nagakumara, Phanikumara, Vikramandhara are all nomens of the same hero. Based on the Nayakumara-cariu, a Prkarit poem of Puspadanta, Kannada authors have composed four works on the same theme. Poets have cultivated a fascination for the above characters, because they were equally distinguished in the art of war and peace. These heros who end their lives as perfect saints. After a stormy youth, marked by many adventures, Nagakumara finds himself, in the prime of life, the monarch of a splendid kingdom, leads a worldly life of pleasure in the company of many queens. It is established that the Jain authors were admittedly distinguished in the domain of ascetic poetry, but they could also make noteworthy contribution to the literature of love (erotic poem) the smara-tantra. 6.5.1. An account of each of Vasudeva's adventrures culminating in a happy marriage, the poem turns out to be a book of marriages. So is the case with other similar stories. Finally, these heros are shaken from their complacency by an incident, trivial in itself, like the sudden disappearence of the cloud or the beautiful spectrum of rainbow, the fall of a star, the sight of an uprooted tree or the appearence of the grey hair, but it will be full of significance to the hero at the right moment of matured consideration. The more he contemplates, more he sees in a moment's flash the hallowness of human life and the wisdom of seeking release from its bonds. Thus he looses all terrestrial interests, installs his son on the throne, seeks the peace of the forest and attains salvation in the end. This is the quintesence of not only the above stories of the romantic heros but also almost all the Jaina narative literature.

Page #238
Prakrit Literature/177 6.5.2. Like Ponna, a contemporary Kannada poet, Puspadanta also wrote at a cristical transitory period of political turmoil. Puspadanta witnessed the wax and wane of the Rastrakuta empire. He authored his epic poem Mahapurana in the reign of Kesna and he composed the other two narrative poems during the rule of Khottiga. Prakrit was cultivated with great vigor. Puspadanta, greatest doyen of Prakrit literature, spent most of his creative period in Karnataka. He fulfilled the desire and dream of his parents in dedicating his life to the propogation of Jainism through literature. 6.5.3. Kanakamara is another major Prakrit litterateur who is supposed to be an author of this age. Hiralal Jain has assigned C. 1050 C. E. as the probable date of composition of his classic Karakandacariu. But, recent researchers have found Kanakamara to be an author who was a junior contemporary of Puspadanta. Karakandacariu is a narrative poem full of epigrams charged with varied human and spiritual experience. It believed that the poet Kanakamara has equated the hero of the poem with Krsna-III. 6.6. Nemicandra Siddhanta Cakravartti (Circa 982 C. E.), a name to conjure with, is known for his abundant Prakrit works. Puspadanta, his senior contemporary poet had amply enriched Apabhramsa language and literature. Nemicandra, without entering the realms of poetry, has mainly concentrated on the field of philosophy. He had the privilege of intimacy with Aryasena, Viranandi, Indranandi, Kanakanandi, Ajitasena and other monachs. He was also contemporameous to Ponna, Ranna, Camundaraya, Rajamalla, Marasimha, Somadevasuri and Puspadanta. 6.6.1. C'Raya had two celebrated teachers who shaped him to become a stalwart in enhancing the glory of Jaina

Page #239
178/The Rastrakutas and Jainism fiath in the early second half of tenth cent., Particularly during the transition period of the Rastrakutas and Calukyas. Of his two eminent teachers, one was the illustrioius Ajitasenacarya, royal preceptor of the Ganga dynasty. He had initiated Marasimha to the act of sallekhana. Ajitasena, first spiritual guru of C'Raya, figures prominently in a number of epigraphs. 6.6.2. Later, C'Raya shifted, once for all to Sravanabelagola where he settled till his death. Nemicandra siddhanti, who had migrated from Tamilnadu, became the eminent cleric who tutored C'Raya and imported the quintessence of syadvada philosophy. At the request of C'Raya, Nemicandra composed the illustrious Gommatasara. 6.6.3. Nemicandra, an opulent author in Prakrit, was proficient in Jaina agamas. He had an access to the source and had throughbred with the redaction and exegetical literature. Nemicandra, ponderous and generative author of many Prakrit works, refers to Kukkuta-Jina-Gommata founded by his noted pupil Camundaraya, on the summit of larger hill at Sravanabelagola in C. E. 982. The works of Nemicandra include Gommatasara in two books, i.e., Jivakhanda and Karmakhanda, Dravyasamgraha, Trilokasara, Labdhisara are authentic philosophical treatises in Prakrit. 6.6.4. Dravyasamgraha, is an abstract of the six substances which constitute the cosmos. It is a digest of the answers given by the learned author to the valid questions put to him by C'Raya, his prudent student. Nemicandra had thorough knowledge of mathematics which is very well reflected in his works. Nemicandra Siddhanti reiterates that by polluting the inherent characteristics of the soul are lost and as a consequence of it human beings are prone to suffer miseries. Therefore, Nemicandra stresses the observance of

Page #240
Prakrit Literature / 179 right belief, Roknowledge, and Ro conduct, the three jewels leading to liberation. 6.6.5. Nemicandra Siddhanta cakravartti was perhaps the earliest to read and prepare a useful digest of Dhavala and Jayadhavala commentaries. Dealing with the Jaina dogma on Jiva, soul (sentient), and karma, action (a form of matter), Gommatasara has analysed methodically. The schematic way in which Nemcandra has condensed the gamut ot Satkhandagama reflects his ascendency in Jaina philosophy. During his times, and in the modern times, Gommatasara has been considered as the most sacred of available digambara texts and as a popular version of the vast Jaina spiritual-lore. It has facilitated the novice being initiated into the Jaina monkhood and nunhood as a reliable source book. 6.6.5.1. Labdhisara deals with Pascima-skandha, 15th chapter of Jayadhavala-Tika. 6.6.6. Nemicandracarya lived during the ulitmate years of the Rastrakutas and the beginning of the later Calukyas. He witnessed the fall of a famous dynasty and the rise of yet another glorious empire. It is not certain whether Nemicandra, chief of the Sravanabelagola diocese, was present at the time of Indra-IV taking the vow of sallekhana. 6.6.7. Virasena's originality and level of erudition are especially evident in Dhavala gloss. His disciple Jinasena has the distinction of being one of the few scholars to write a commentary on Kasayaprabhrta, thereby assuring an unbroken tradition of canonical scholarship. Gommatasara by philosopher monk Nemicandra exhibit the level of Jaina scholarship in effectively employing Prakrit language remained high. 6.6.8. Pujyapada Devanandi of late sixth cent. C. E., noteworthy grammarian, produced sarvarthasiddhi, an

Page #241
180/The Rastrakutas and Jainism encyclopedic work, the earliest extant Digambara commentary on the Tattvarthasutra of Umasvati. The other two commentaries that followed were Akalanka's Rajavarttika and the Slokavarttika of Vidyananda (C. E. 950). In all the Jaina monasteries of Digambara sect, these three commentaries, along with Dhavala and Gommatasara, comprised the basic textual material used by advanced students. For the beginners, Nemicandra's Dravyasamgraha continues to be a basic text till to-day, because, many stanzas and sutras are pregnant with sum and substance of life. 6.7. Jaina contribution to the development of literary theories in India is voluminous. Acarya Jinasena-II (C. E. 825) is one of the earliest of Jaina men of letters, to speak of alankara-sastra, science of poetics, including topics like alankaras, two margas and ten gunas (Adipurana, XVI. 115). Jinasena interprets the terms Vanmaya as a collective form of the three disciplines, viz., grammar, prosody and poetics (ibid. XVI-III). By that time, Anuyogadvarasutra, Jaina canonical text (C. 5th cent. C. E.) had clearely enumerated nine kavya-rasas, poetic-sentiments, including prasanta, tranquility, substituting vridanaka for bhavanaka. Thus the Jaina tradition considers prasanta as the highest value of life. 6.7.1. Ranna (C. E. 993), a Kannada author of greater merit, has alluded to thirty-six laksanas as against sixteen samskaras, keeping alive the doctrine of laksanas in tone with Bharatamuni, the legendary guru of arts. 6.7.2. In Parsvabhyudaya kavya, a Sanskrit poem, Acarya Jinasena-II had employed his poetic genius in restructuring Meghaduta of Kalidasa. Lines of Kalidasa breathing the spirit of vipralambha-srngara, one of the nine sentiments of poetry, are transformed to yield the (pra)santa significance. Jinasena takes the first line of each stanza, and sometimes only the first two lines, and adding two or three

Page #242
Prakrit Literature / 181 newlines of his own composition, transforms the each verse into metaphysical poem. Adroit Jinasena does not hesitate to state that kukavis, the bad poets, employing kavi-samaya/ kavya-dharma have considered srngara as satya, but in truth it is the reverse of it, asatya, upholding ethical instruction. 6.7.3. Jains are credited with authorship of first work on poetics in Kannada language. Kavirajamarga of Srivijaya (C. E. 850) is a free adaptation of Kavyalankara (Bhamaha) and Kavyadarsa (Dandin), two early Sanskrit works on the art of poetry. It opens with Jinastuti, invocatory verse of Jina. Kavirajamarga has unique indigenous ideas independent of Bhamaha and Dandin. In particular, Srivijaya's dekinition of great poetry takes the reader beyond the scope of Kavyadarsa or Kavyalarkara, source texts, to the bhava of the author on the one hand and to the visesa of sabdas as well as alankaras relating to arthavyakti. 6.7.4. Treatment of margas and their gunas in relation to particular rasas in Kavirajamarga are innovatives of Srivijaya, which has not parallel in either Bhamaha or Dandin. His nomenclature of Karunarasa pathetic sentiment, in place of Karunarasa, reflects his view that margas are dependent on rasa. That there are instances to show Srivijaya's progressive idea. His awareness of dhvani as a poetic concept, which he considers as an alankara, earlier to Anandavardhana, is remarkable. 6.7.5. "... Jaina monks and scholars that imigrated into Karnataka, at the beginning composed their works in their own language, viz., the Jaina Sauraseni, brought the native language to the literary level by cultivating it and finally merged their literary genius, together with themselves, into the general culture of the land of their adoption which they loved as their own, which fact is lucidly reflected in the famous Kuppatur inscription" (Kadabadi, B. K. : 185). 6.7.6. Scholar-Monks once again established the vigour

Page #243
182 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism of Jaina literature. Jaina genius of the Rastrakuta times found expression in texts that strove to refute rival philosophies. Their highly developed sense of missionary zeal caused them to focus attention on the spiritual needs of their laity. They also produced grand popular narratives which competed successfully with the non-Jaina epics and Puranas. 6.8. Early cultivators of Kannada language were not conservative in accepting loanwords. Because, the beginners were unorthodox in their linguistic approach, borrowing from Sanskrit, Prakrit, and some Austro-Asiatic languages was possible. Particularly from Sanskrti and Prakrit languages Kannada had wholesale borrowing. This extensive adoption took place during the Rastrakuta lifetime. 6.8.1. Jaina culitvators of Kannada language considered that a facile fusing of Sanskrit and Kannada, Prakrit and Kannada will sound pleasing. Hence they coined, to denote such a happy blending of the foreign and native words, a new, term called mani-pravala-saili, 'crystal (and) coral style'. This was to designate such a style of combining Sanskrit words including idioms and phrases with both free and bound morphemes of the local/indigenous language. Adept svami Virasena (C. E. 816), of Pancastupa anvaya, coined the phrase of mani-pravala as a term of stylistics in his magnum-opus Jaya-dhavala, 'victoriously-luminous', commentary on satkahnda-agama : prayah Prakrta-bharatya kvacit Samsksta-bhasasya mani-pravala-nyayena protktyom grantha-vistarah 6.8.2. Jaina authors freely and profusely made use of Prakrit and Sanskrit languages and literature as though they are their own ancesteral property and hence their birth right to borrow largely. Curni texts in the north had employed

Page #244
Prakrit Literature / 183 a mixture of Sanskrit and Prakrit. In Karnataka also Tumbahiracarya, Srivardhadeva and Samakunda had attempted a mixture of Sanskrit, Prakrit and Kannada. An admixture of Sanskrit with desabhasas, advocated and approved by felicitous litterateurs of the Virasena and Jinasena's stature, promoted in the times of Amoghavarsa, became popular in the south. 6.8.3. Abhinavagupta-acarya (C. 11th cent.) of Kasmir, famous sastrakara and laksanika, erudite in Indian poetics, recognised manipravala style pioneered by Virasena. Abhinavagupta states in Abhinava-bharati, commentary on Natya-sastra : padamadhye Samskrtam madhye desabhasadi-yuktam tadeva karyam daksina-pathe manipravalamiti prasiddham [Natya-sastra, vol. IV. (Baroda edition): 1964: 379]. If the compound is uncongenial and not pleasing to the ear, the writers would denounce it as a bad mixture of ghee and oil or pearl and pepper - was the opinion of Srivijaya (C. E. 850) of Kavirajamarga. Thus Jaina author's first preference was to enrich the local medium. True, they were more eager to borrow, but not at the cost of the local language. 6.8.4. Though, Sanskrit and Prakrit were inflexional languages and Kannada an agglutinative language, the genealogical difference did not deteriorate or mar the classical taste and appreciation of academic excellence. Lingusitic distance was well-bridged with cultural affinity of spaning the north and south together goes to Jaina genius. It is due to the constant husbandry of the Jaina authors of aptitude and gift that Kannada could become a highly polished and powerful media of expression. At the same time, it is the same Jaina pixy that preserved Kannada amidst

Page #245
184 The Rastrakutas and Jainism the frequent inroads of Sasnkrit and Prakrit languages from north. They were on guard to keep afloat and to succour Kannada in the hour of crisis. 6.8.5. It is paradoxical to note that those who championed the cause of Kannada by advocating free borrowing from Sanskrit and Prakrit went to an extent of openly opposing the dominence of the latter. Jaina authors were keen on Kannada being given its due place, without relegating it to the second or third place in the hierarchy of language preference. Somehow, it did coincide that the royal houses and the gurukulas, monasteries, went out and out favouring the alien Sanskrit more and more, even at the cost of the local language, Kannada in Karnataka. For every form of expression, in idiom and phrase, in language, literature, sastra (science), and in raja-sasana order of the government, the scribe took the lead from Sanskrit. In the Rastrakuta regime it had reached a stage when Sanskrit was holier than anything in the language of the region. The wise and the learned of the period sensed that the very existence of Kannada was at stake, and the danger of regional languages loosing its lustre, vigor and vitality was lurking round. 6.8.6. When the question was one of its survival, authors like Srivijaya spared no time to declare openly that they are for the language of the mass. They were so firm and uncompromising in their courage of conviction that criticised the attitude of eroding the identity of the living / local language by floating the myth of Sanskrit. While making their point crystal clear they did not mince matters. Not that they hated Sanskrit or Prakrit, but that they loved their language more. They had no objection if somebody were to write the entire text in Sanskrit or Prakrit. Their main grouse was that even while composing a Kannada work, Sanskrit was preferred to the existing Kannada phrases in vogue. This, they said, would harm the interest of Kannada

Page #246
Prakrit Literature / 185 in the long run. Since their approach was reasonable and objective, they won their point and subsequently Kannada survived with longevity. 6.8.7. Sanskrit had perforated into the very structure and culture of Karnataka. It had changed the phonology, syntax and semantics of Kannada with the domination of aspirates. It had replaced Kannada as the language of mantras and prayers in the temples of all religion. The elite professed an ego of Sanskrit as their prestige which created a class difference in the social structure. Prakrit also did not lag behind which was very much on the heels of Sanskrit, although it struck a note of via media, the language of the common folk. 6.8.8. All this and much more, naturally dissatisfied the staunch supporters of Kannada, and resulted in a popular movement of restoring the originality of local language at any cost. Srivijaya did not hesitate to lead the cause of giving prominence to Kannada. He awakened the authors to ward off and restrain from mixing Sanskrit and Prakrit expressions in the texture of native Kannada. After Srivijaya's model, Nayasena and Andayya, two other Jaina poets of eminence took up the issue and the legitamate struggle sustained. 6.9. Equally prominent is the fact that the works of Jaina authors are embedded with historical facts and sociocultural items. Srivijaya's Kavirajamarga is a good example. Pampa, an epic poet and a court-poet of Arikesari-II, king of Vemulavada Calukyas, has recorded in his poem, Vikramarjuna vijayam olim Pampabharata, and account of the genealogy of his patron. It is astonishing to note that the information about the family of Arikesari mostly corroborates with details found in all the three important charters of the Calukyas of Vemulavada, viz., the Kollipara plates of Arikesari-I, the Vemulavada inscription of

Page #247
186 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Arikesari-II, and the Parabhani plates of the Arikesari-III [JAHR, VI, pp. 169-92; JBISM. XIII]. The works of Gunavarma-I, Jinasena-I and II, Gunabhadra, Mahaviracarya, Palyakirti Sakatayana, Ugraditya, Pampa, Ponna, Camundaraya and Ranna, the eminent authors of this age, are embedded with facts of historical note. 6.9.1. While summing up the achievement of Jaina authors of the Rastrakuta span of life, a few salient points may need additional explanation. One of the difficulties faced initally by the non-Jaina readers is regarding the technical terminology. It is like a coconut, hard on the outside, but soft and sensitive, mellifluous and meaningful, once the shell is broken. If one withstands initial storm in the form of religious terminology, the doors of treasure trove are wide open. Drawing on the wisdom of the body, heavily steeped in the language of symbol and allusion, needing good background knowledge of the Jaina context to decipher their mysteries, even a serious commentary like Dhavala, lead us loopingly in to the riches of spiritual world. 6.9.2. Second point would be about bhavavali or punarjanma-kathana, narration of successive births of the same soul. In Mahapurana of Jinasena Gunabhadra, Puspadanta and Camundaraya, Jasaharacariu of Puspadanta, Yasastilaka of Somadevasuri and in all the Puranas of various poets, this cycle of previous births figures very prominently. Since Jaina philosophy is enjoined to this concept of birth and rebirth, it needs an in extenso coverage. 6.9.3. Jaina Purana-kavyas, legendary narrative poems, deal with punar-janma, reincarnation, which relfects the effect of karma (action) in successive births. Invariably Jaina authors embellish this motif of bhavavali, series of successive births, skilled and gifted men of letters of poetic excellence, adopt this technique to powerfully portray the effects of karma, which haunt the soul in all its births till it is washed off.

Page #248
Prakrit Literature /187 6.9.3.1. Karma can obstruct the qualities of the soul and prevent their full manifestation, in the way that dust may obscure the reflective power of a mirror. However, a soul has an extraordinary quality of bhavyatva, capability to become free : 'It is a sort of inert catalyst, awaiting the time when it will be activated and thus trigger an irrevocable redirection of the soul's energy; away from delusion and bondage, towards insight and freedom' (Jaini, P.S.: 139]. A cloth can be folded into various shapes without any alteration of its mass. Soul also adapts to a particular body's dimensions, 'and exists within the physical limits of its current corporeal shape, just as a lamp illuminates only the room in which it stands' [ibid: 102]. 6.9.3.2. In this series of successive births, the power and nature of action depends on the realm of action. Heavenly and hell beings are born spontaneously (aupapadika) with no need for parents, and are endowed with super knowledges (avadhi jnana) such as clairvoyance, memory of prior incarnations and ability to see objects at great distances. 6.9.3.3. The purva-bhavas, former births of the mahapurusas, great persons, are Jaina Jataka-kathas. Cycle of previous births record and reflect gradual spiritual evolution of the soul and of the heroes. Salaka purusas, persons as tall as a pole, are eminent persons. They are the Uttama olim maha-purusas according to Jaina traditional knowledge, and are the mythological historical heroes. 6.9.3.4. Thus, the motif of punar-janmabhavavali is used to impress upon the readers about the good and bad results of karma. "Though the purvabhavas deal with the same kind of subject as the Buddhist Jatakas do, yet there are several points in which the former differ from the latter. In a Jataka, the soul of the future Buddha is alwasy represented as a benevolent character, while in a purvabhava the life of a would be Jina is often depicted in its dark aspects.

Page #249
188/The Rastrakutas and Jainism The purvabhavas of a Jina hero form a continuous chain of births and deaths from one life into the next while the scenes of Buddhist Jatakas may be seperated by long periods. The series of purvabhavas generally begins from the life where the soul of the hero first acquires faith in the Jaina doctrine. Several of the Jataka tales have been found sculptured on stone, during as far back as the second or third century B. C., while no such sculptures have as yet been discovered for the purvabhavas' [Banarsidas Jain: Jaina Jatakas: 1925: "Intro", ii-iii.]. Keepinbg this in mind, the wise reader will appreciate and react favourably to the poem. 6.9.4. Singularity of the Jaina literature of the Rastrakuta eon: Innovative features while rendering the well established Sanskrit epics/classics in to the regional languages. Jaina philosophy shuns the very idea of linguistic ego. Jina Mahavira and his worthy apostles striked at the very root of linguistic discrimination by asserting that all lanugages are vehicle of thought and equally competent to apprehend the highest spiritual experience. To say that a particular language is superior/inferior has no relevance. For, Jains had the only language policy of sarvabhasamayi sarasvati. - 6.9.4.1. Poets of eminence, of the calibre of Pampa, chose to author in the language of the mass, and preferred to give the popular theme a new look with a touch of local color to improve the source material wherever possible. The portion of history, in Vikramarjuna vijaya, is penned by Pampa, who actually witnessed the incidents of war and peace. He was a poet-laureate. The assembly of scholars in the royal court advanced an earnest request to Pampa to compose a mahaprabandha olim maha-kavya narrating complete story of Maha-Bharata.

Page #250
Prakrit Literature / 189 6.9.4.2. Prabandha, a synonym for kavya, meaning a well-knit poetic-composition. In Kannada, Telugu and Tamil languages, the word prabandha is used in place of kavya. In such prabhandhas, usually campukavyas, astadasa-varnas, the traditional 18 descriptions, nine (9) rasas, poetic sentiments, a happy amalgam of marga and desi elements, Vastuka-kavya and varnaka-kavya elements find a place. Amalgamating the patron with the hero of Purana-kavya, a speciality of Kannada authors of the Rastrakuta age. The idea of this new concept was to immortalise and perpetuate the memory of the benefactor making him kriti-pati. 6.9.5. Poems of this period had a set pattern of its own. A comprehensive description of poet's dynastic lineage is followed by a concise bio-data of the author. Pampa had imbibed the quintesence of two religions, Brahminism and Jainism. Bhimapayya, father of Pampa was a proselyte. Considering the virtues of the Arhatamata, had relinquished viprakula and accepted Jaina dharma. Pampa composed his two epics in campu genere, an admixture of more verses and less prose/sporadic prose pieces. Hence, campu classics are misrakavyas, called tonmai in Tamil. 6.9.5.1. The genere of campu form originated with Jaina authors who took the model from Prakrit works. Jaina campu poets inspired Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil genius to opt to campuu form of poetry. Campu kavyas are a normal feature in Kannada language, all authored by Jaina poets, during the period under consideration. 6.9.5.2. Srivijaya, poet-laureate and a close associate of Nrpatunga, was a prolific author, who composed his works at the prescription of his overlord. Though, Kavirajamarga is composed only in verses, his other two poems, not extant, were in campu style. Srivijaya inaugurated a new method of composing a laukika kavya, a non-religious secular poem, and a agama/matiya kavya, a Jaina theme based poem. This

Page #251
190 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism design of composing two poems in campu style initiated in this period, served as a proto type pattern for Gunavarma-I, Pampa, Ponna and Ranna. 6.9.6. Campu poems begin with Vastunirdesa, invocation to deities. Adipurana, Vikramarjunavijaya, Santipurana are full-scale creative works. In the invocatory stanzas, Pampa, for example, touches upon udattaNarayana, udara-Mahesvara, Pracanda-Martanda alias Aditya ('the sum'), sahaja-Manaja, Sarasvati, Durga devi and Vinayaka, a sort of pancayatana devata-stuti, a psalm, as a mark of appreciation of his benevolent ruler. Jaina puranas open with stanzas in praise of the five holy beings in tone with the Jaina litany - Arahanta, Siddha, Acarya, Upadhyaya and Sadhus who are known as pancaparamesthis. Then follows the verses in praise of yaksayasksi and an invocation to Sarvasvati, according to Jaina tradition. 6.9.6.1. Jaina authors also invoke the category of venerable gurus, the patriarchate of Jaina samgha. A select purvacaryas who efficiently practiced and preached the teachings of the Tirthankaras. This pattern of paying obeissance to ancient preceptors is again typical of Jaina literary tradition standardised during the Rastrakuta age. 6.9.6.2. Pampa invoking Manmatha, the god cupid, is an unique feature. Trivikrama Bhatta, court poet of Indraraja-III (C. E. 915), has invoked Manmatha, immediately after paying obeisance to god Siva, in his Nalacampu poem with which Pampa was familar. Jaina hagiology has recorded 24 Manmathas who are different from Manmatha, spouse of Ratidevi. 6.9.6.3. Thus, the portion of prologue in Kannada poems of this imperial dynasty, has a special significance in the context of history, religion, mythology and Indian literature.

Page #252
Prakrit Literature / 191 6.9.7. Deprecation of duskavis, poetasters and the pseudo-authors is another feature of Kannada poems. Pampa, Ponna and Ranna, the famous trio/group of three and jinasamayadipakas, 'illuminators of Jaina church', 10th century have chosen to deprecate bad litterateurs who misused the poetic gift that they were endowed with. And, in the same breath Pampa and others have lauded worthy authors. Kannada poets, in all these matters, were evidently indebted to Jinasena-II, who had set a poetic path, a paradigm that Kannada men of letters obediently followed. 6.9.8. Jaina preceptors were trained in various sciences including grammar. Many monks are eulogised in inscriptions as versatile grammarians mastering CandraKatantra-Jainendra Sakatayana school of grammar. Jaina pontiffs and authors, in whichever language they preached and wrote, advocated peace, non-violence, primordial policy of jivo jivasya jivitam, 'live and let live', and parasparo pagraho jivanam, 'mutual assistance of all beings'. It is pregnant with meaning and so befitting that this has been Jaina pratika, the symbol of Jaina faith, the palm of the hand that bears the word 'ahimsa' in the centre. 6.9.9. Obviously, the age of Rastrakutas was marked by the wide spread practice and patronage of Jaina talents in all fields.

Page #253
CHAPTER - 7 JAINA SANGHA 7.1. Clear and proven historical associations of the Deccan with Jainism explicity manifest from the last centuries of B.C., as is evident from the inscriptions of Tamilnadu. In Karnataka, leaving aside the historical legend, the earliest Jaina epigraph comes from Sosale (Mysore Dt) dated Circa 5th cent. C. E. Anisidhi of that place speaks of Jaina-tirtha being a prominent creed. 7.1.1. It is believed that the Mauryas inherited Karnata from the Nandas, great patrons of sramana cult, who were in possession of Nagarakhanda. The Satavahanas, successors of the Mauryas to rule Kuntaladesa, extended liberal support of Jainism. Arya Kalakacarya changed the date of pajjosana olim paryusana-parva (samvatsari), from the fifth to the fouth day so as to suit the convenience of Salivahana, the king of Satavahanas, who ruled from Paitthana. 7.2. Long before the Rastrakutas succeeded to rule Karnataka, Jainism had come to be recognised as an integral part of Karnataka. One of the inscriptions from Kuppatur has recorded the following graphic picture of Karnataka : By its roaring waves and dashing spray proclaiming that it has mountains and pearls was the ocean surrounding Jambudvipa in the middle of which was mount Meru, south of which was the land of dharma, morality and righteousness,

Page #254
Bharata-Khanda. Among the many beautiful countries it contained, an abode of the Jina-dharma, a mine of good discipline, like the dwelling of Padmasana (Brahma), having acquired great fame, the birth place of learning and wealth, the home of unequalled splendid earnestness, thus distinguished in many ways the lovely Karnata country. Jaina Sangha / 193 [Epigraphia Carnatika, vol. VIII (1902) Sorab. 261. C. E. 1408, Kuppatur (Shimoga Dt, Sorab Tk) p. 107]. 7.2.1. This is rightly so, because the term at once enlivens up the image of distinct stream of a rich and ancient culture which has contributed immensely to the enrichment of Karnataka's heritage in various branches of knowledge. 7.2.2. The land of Kannada- speaking people, now represented by Karnataka state, was known from the beginning of this current Era as Kuntala-desa and Karnata. The geographical boundaries of this ancient Karnata was far larger than the present Karnataka state. In brief, the early Kadambas (Banavasi/vanavasi/vaijayanti) ruled the north western region between fourth and sixth century. The early Gangas ruled the southeastern part of Karnata between fourth and mid eigth century independently and upto the end of tenth century as subordinates. The Gangas had, cordial or otherwise, relationship with the Tondainadu (Pallavas) to the south east, and the Kongunadu Adaigamans to the south west of Karnatadesa. 7.2.3. "The real builders of Karnata as an eminent and effectual power, its culture unified, potent, and distinctive, were the Calukyas who launched their political career some time late in the fifth century from a small territory in the present Bijapur District. This early Calukya nucleus lay north of Banavasi, and was a region that gave no evidence of high cultural development until the advent of the Calukyas as rulers. Around the twin cities of this nucleus, Aihole (Ahivalli; Ahivolal/Aryapura) and Badami or Badami

Page #255
194 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism (Vatapi), spun the power of the Calukyas, which augmented with fantastic rapidity to form a notable kingdom and eventually an empire" [Dhaky, M. A. (ed): 1986 : 3). 7.2.4. Jainism found its second homeland in Karnataka. Several main Jaina settlements possessing a mass of invaluable works of art testify the above fact. Besides, these are numerous inscriptions to establish it. Jainism had struck deep roots in Karnataka creating many strong holds at every nook and corner of the land. Ample relics, found scattered in different parts of the state, afford a convincing proof of its past history. 7.2.5. 'Jainism was the state-creed in the time of the Gangas, of some of the Kadambas rulers, of the Rastrakutas and Kalacuryas, and of the Hoysalas, as also of the rulers of the minor states of Punnata, the Santaras, the early Cangalvas, the Kongalvas and Alupas, as testified by their inscriptions' [Ghosh, ed : vol. III. : 1975 : 454]. In the long reign of the Rastrakutas Jaina samgha, was vox populi, the voice of the people. 7.3. Jaina samgha is a four - pillard structure; monk, nun, male and female lay votaries - being the four - pillars. Without using religion for generating division or conflict, Jainism has achieved consummate concurrance and has lit the lamp of peace, unison and truth. During the Rastrakuta eon, Jainism had a firmer hold contending with the dying embers of Buddhism, which had already been relegated comparatively to a subordinate position during the Ganga and Badami Calukya regime. 7.3.1. The nature and contribution of the Jaina monasteries in Karnataka, functioning for over a millenium, has remained largely unexamined. Such an investigation would require a book in itself, and lies mainly beyond the purview of this monograph. Therefore, only a certain sociohistorical and socio-religious issues which are too significant

Page #256
Jaina Sangha / 195 and revolve round the basic question of how Nirgrantha faith has been able to survive and prosper are discussed here. 7.3.2. Mathas, as they are popularly referred, were the main centres of learning. Such major sramana seats had developed at a number of places in all directions of the vast empire. A number of very eminent Jaina mendicants flourished during this epoch. 7.3.3. The sramana movement opened its ranks to members of any age group or caste, even to women. This uncurbed line of thinking took the form of greater popularity among the common people. It reaped the fruits of material benefits, and gained easy access to the machinery of political power. The relationship of the palace and monastery was so cordial that the endowments to the Jaina cloisters and mendicant community were free from king's annual customs and duties. Hundreds of epigraphs repeatedly speak of such taxfree allotments to Jaina sanctuaries and priories. 7.3.4. The Rastrakuta epoch was characterised by expansion in educational activities and large scale increase in such institutions in all parts of the imperial dynasty. Jainism made use of this royal patronage for the pursuit of higher studies which resulted in the upsurge of educational institutions. 7.3.4.1. Philonthropic and resourceful individuals joined hands with monasteries in furthering this noble task, Prakrit, Sanskrit and Kannada were taught and cultivated. Sanskrit scored over the other two. Kannada was taking big strides, thanks to the Jaina friars and authors who were keen in developing it a competent vehicle of expression of religious as well as secular themes and compositions. Since munificent donations were flowing without let, education at all stages was free. Female education was also on par with male. Nuns instructed girls.

Page #257
196 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism 7.3.5. It is interesting, also worth pondering, the subjects taught in the Jaina monastry. Bhrajisnu, a protege of the Rastrakutas has recorded the curriculum of advanced studies which included subjects like grammar, poetics, prosody, epistomology, astronomy, Drama, literature, lexicon, Veterinary science, medicine, veda-purana-smrti and dharmasastra. Specialists and professors were competent to teach more subjects. Aspirants for higher education, both secular and spiritual, used to select a near by monastery of their choice. 7.3.6. De factor, realistically, advancement of Jainism was from the beginning tied to the fortunes of various ruling houses. Jainas, both the partiarchs and their adherents, had remarkable ability of repeatedly being the amicus curiae, friend of the court, and actively cultivating local monarchs. Drawing upon the literary and epigraphical evidence of specific periods and locations, Jaina community appears to have sailed safe in this epoch. 7.3.7. The period of Jaina ascendancy was fast drawing to its zenith when the throne was occupied by Amoghavarsa-I, Jaina Asaka of the south, and an ardent follower - benefactor of Jainism. He was educated in the Jaina convent, and had grown in the bon vivant, good companion of the eminent Jaina monks de novo, from the beginning, as was the desire of his father, Govinda-III, who was himself a frequent visitor to Jaina centres. Amoghavarsa had the benefit of being tutored by Virasena, Jinasena, Mahaviracarya and Sakatayana, where as his son KrsnaIII studied and trained under the guidance of Gunabhadra. This cordial and reciprocative relationship continued up to Indra-IV, the last sprout of the dynasty. 7.3.8. Institutions of Jaina ascetics were synonym of library where reading, writing and copying was constantly going on. Not surprisingly, the illustrious Attimabbe got 1001

Page #258
Jaina Sangha / 197 copies of a long poem santipurana of poet Ponna (C. E. 960), commissioned earlier by her father, recopied by the regular skilled copyists. There were seasoned specialists in copying the Jaina sacred texts, in composing Jaina inscriptions, and in moulding/carving Jaina statues under the supervision of Jaina ascetics. Jaina anchorets and anchoresses were highly honoured by royal personages. Jaina mendicant had impressed members of the Rastrakuta house by their piety, erudition and sterling character. 7.3.9. The season of rain-retreat witnessed extraordinary religious fervour and cultural activity in the Jaina society revolving round the pivot, Jaina shrine. Jaina houses of prayer, called basadis (froin Sk. vasati), were of the people, by the people and for the people. These sanctuaries were not mere places of prayer. Instead, basadis were great cultural centres. Jaina temples were attached to the monasteries and the chief Bhattaraka would act as a remote controller and a laison between the recluse and house holder. 7.4. These factors enabled the sramana religion to succeed and sustain, keeping the flame of faith burning unextinguished in perilous times, when the typhoon and tornedo of adversary was virulent. Thanks to the monachs, Jaina society, while passing through varied vicissitude of night and day, has been able to preserve its identity and maintain its significance against heavy odds. 7.4.1. The Rastrakuta period was the Golden age which saw the effloresence of syadvada philosphy. Jainism was animated to establish its cloisters of monks at several towns and cities in the kingdom. Jaina monasteries at Sravanabelagola, Hombuja, Malkhed, Sedam, Koppala, Bankapura, Mulgunda, Saudatti, Annigere, Puligere and many other towns were re-assured of political ward. Manuals of syadvada doctrine like the celebrated Dhavala ushered in

Page #259
1987 The Rastrakutas and Jainism a new era in thinking and living. Some of the greatest masters and disciples started a new tradition of anekantamata that was nourished in this age. 7.4.2. Academic excellence of Jaina monks and nuns was axiom. They were masters of three Rs-reading, (W)riting, and (a)rithmetic. They would read, recite and sing from holy texts of Jaina canon and stotras, composed by rsis and vulnerable acaryas like svami Samantabhadra and Manatungacarya. It is believed that there were many boxes of Manuscripts at the sastrabhandaras of Malkhed and Sedam monasteries which were looted and burnt. 7.4.3. Palmleaf books were neatly bound by wood pieces on both sides, compactly tied by strong thread and packed in beautifully designed cloth. While reading/reciting the text, whether it is Mahapurana or Jina katha, the palmleaf manuscript would be placed on the three-legged stool. Slowly and with devotion, the reciter would unfurl and untie the manuscript, carefully take out each palm-leaf from the bunch, and recite to the thrill of the interested assembly hall, listening with rapt attention. Such was the system prevailing in the monastery, basadi and even in the houses. 7.4.4. Drawing its adherents from all races, castes and classes of the kingdom, Jaina population had swelled. According to A. S. Altekar, one third of the total population of the Rastrakuta kingdom were Jains. Jaina authors, monks and nuns had developed their non-violent activities under them. Jaina works composed during this era have been regarded as basic and reliable source for the cultural, political and socio-economical history of the tract. 7.4.5. Of the two major/principal Jaina sects, the Digambara, 'sky-clad', is more puritanical, austre and unitary, being subject to the directions of only the acarya, 'chief pontiff". The Svetambara, 'white-clad', is rather not so rigid. It is lax and accomodative in worship and in ascetic

Page #260
order. When certain dogmatic tussle teared the Digambara and Svetambara apart, the Yapaniya, chosing the middle path, oozed brotherly love for the poor and the downtrodden. The very fact that it admitted that a. woman can attain moksa, 'salvation', in the very liberation is possibel even with the cloth on, b. those who come from other sects/schisms are also eligible for the summum bonum of the religion C. Jaina Sangha / 199 - made the Yapaniya samgha more acceptable to one and all. birth 7.4.6. Against the backdrop of patriarchical society and the kind of societal pressures, women getting their major share was a welcome kind gesture. Thumbing its noses at superstition-filled convention and ploughing lonely furrows, the Yapaniya samgha was able to achieve good results and reach greater heights in the age of the Rastrakutas [Nagarajaiah, Hampa: Yapaniya samgha : 1999]. 7.4.7. Jaina monachism had conceived the terminology of Jangama, the movable/animate, and sthavara, immovable/ inanimate, tirtha holy pilgirm, during the age of the Rastrakutas. Chief of the ascetics was often referred to as a jagadguru, preceptor of the (human) world. A good number of Jaina charters of 10th cent. mention jangama and sthavara, and the epithet jagadguru. In due course, these terms were completely given up by the Jaina tradition and assimilated by the Virasaiva saints and philosophers. 7.4.8. Commissioning basadis was only one of the many activities that the Jaina community had indulged. Places of worship persist to flourish for a longer period, because religion was the main plank. Causing tanks to be made for providing water for irrigation, digging wells, constructing shelters and free residential houses was their other priorities. Travelling was made easy and comfortable by their provisions.

Page #261
200/The Rastrakutas and Jainism 7.4.9. Jains never encouraged fanaticism, did not pick up quarrel. They extended helping hand to other faiths and showed equal respect to all sects. Women enjoyed more freedom of speech, worship and education. They were not barred from entering the life of recluse. They were not tonsured, in their widowed life. Intercaste marriage was not infrequent, though not encouraged. Sati was never encouraged. Women votaries taking to veil was a step preferable to functional widowhood. Jains were the earliest to approve of mendicacy for women and to open their ranks in the monkhood to the female relatives of iniates. There were many Jaina nuns during the Rastrakuta period. Jaina Women 7.5. Jaina women had occupied prominent and key position during this eon. Marriage alliances between the Rastrakuta royal family and the Gangas was common. Candrobalabbe, daughter of Amoghavarsa-I was married to Butuga-I. Revakanimmadi alias Cagavedangi daughter of Baddega Amoghavarsa-III, was a consort of Butuga-II. Marula, eldest son of Butuga-II, had married the daughter of Krsna-III. A daughter of Marula, son of Butuga-II was the spouse of the son of Krsnna-III, and Indra-IV was born out of this union. 7.5.1. Like the personal names of the monarchs (Govindarasa, Kannara) and princes, personal names of the queens and princesses also clearely betray the features of Kannada language. Revakanimmadi was a popular nomen of the Rastrakuta princesses. One of the daughters Baddega Amoghavarsa, of Indra-III, (who had married Arikesari-II and who also had an alias of Lokambika) had the name of Revakanimmadi. The suffix-immadi is a Kannada word, a free morpheme, meaning 'the scond'. 7.5.2. Similar feminine personal names existed in the Rastrakuta dynasty even earlier. One of the queens of

Page #262
Jaina Sangha / 201 Amoghavarsa-I had the name of Loketinimmadi (who was the third consort, Asagavve and Sankha being the other two). Sripurusa, the Ganga king, had a wife whose name was Vinettinimmadi. 7.5.2.1. Revakanimmadi, queen consort of Butuga-II, was in charge of Kuningal sub-division. She died at Koppala, accepting the vow of sallekhana. She had patromised and popularised Jainism on such a large scale that she has been compared with Butuga, Sankaraganda, Marasimhadeva, Maruladeva Camundaraya, Rajamalla and Attimabbe. 7.5.2.2. Kancibbe, spouse of Duggamara, son of Sripurusa, was administering the region of Agali. 7.5.2.3. Ankabbarasi, wife of Marasimha-II, was governing Pullungur (Hulugur) territory in C. E. 972, in the reign of Khottiga. She had Gangamahadevi as her second name. 7.5.2.4. Jakkiyabbe, consort of Nagarjunayya, county sheriff, had efficiently adminsitered Nagarakhanda-70. She in turn, entrusted the administration work to her daughter. This proves that women succeeded to rule and enjoy equal status on part with men in Jaina community. 7.4.2.5. Kundanasamidevi, crown-jewel and eldest daughter of Butuga-II was the earliest poetess known in Kannada literature. She had the other two aliases of Kundanasami and Kundanarasi. Kundanarasi, charming lady of beauty and benevolence, daughter of Butuga, younger sister of Maruladeva, elder sister of Marasimhadeva-II was crown queen of Rajaditya alias Raya, a Calukya scion. Kukknur copper plates of C. E. 968-69, has five verses and a long prose passage devoted to her eulogy. Her accomphishements were many. She had mastered fine-arts, patronised the erudite and deserving. She had profound scholarship in Jaina philosophy, she was the moon in the ocean of the Ganga family.

Page #263
202 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism 7.5. A beautiful bronze image of Manikya Jina, with an inscription on its back, of about 970 C. E. gifted by Kundanasami to some basadi was discovered in a coffee estate and is now in the Jaina lamasery at Sravanabelagola. It is one of the rare and early.metal images of Karnatadesa. She died on the sepulchral hill at Koppala [Nagarajaiah, Hampa : 1999-c: 35-36). 7.5.1. Rajaditya, king and spouse of Kundanasomidevi, had another consort called Cangambe. Maladharideva was her preceptor, Macana was her son, and the best religion of the lord Jia, the victor, was the religion conciously chosen by Gangambe, daughter of Krsna-III. Considering that there are no takers in heaven, she had the refined taste of charitable disposistion. By folding her lotus-like hands, accepting the vow of sallekhana, she went to the higher world. With the passing away of virtuous women like Kundanasamidevi and Cangalamba, who were even famous with the aerial nymphs dwelling in the sky, the very words of charity and righteousness also disappeared from the face of earth. 7.5.2. Basabhupati, son of Butuga-II, had the impeccable fame equal to that of Kupanacala. His wife was Kavanabbarasi. Rambaladevi alias Rambha, gem of a woman, a beautiful nymph had the charm of a plantain tree. She was a goddess of learning and her benovalence new no bounds. Her mate, Biraladeva, a prince of the illustrious Calukyavamsa, was a submarine in the sea of enemies. Realising the vanity and transitoriness of human life, entered nun hood, observed the vow of fasting unto death. While meditating the holy feet of spiritual victor, like the fragrance of the flower, she departed from this mundane world to reach the abode of the blessed. 7.5.3. Ereyabbe, disciple of the learned Mauniyogi

Page #264
Jaina Sangha / 203 munindra vallabhacarya, vulnarable and appreciated by persons capable of attaining liberation, was deceased. She wanted to retaliate the sickness by taking refuge in deep meditation. Enduring with resignation, the privations imposed by austerities for five years, which only she could afford, Ereyabbe achieved remarkabel forme. She travelled to the world of gods, by observing fasting unto death, on 11-10-976. 7.5.4. Candabbarasi, elder daughter of the reputed father, head of Iksvaku family, shining bright like the moonlight, had the cognomen of sahaja makaradhvajam and dussaha sauryam. There was no subject which she did not know. 7.5.4.1. All of a sudden distress beseached the renowned Candabbarasi which made her to act swiftly. She immediately relinquished everything, accepted the vow of willing submission to death, and attained the most respected and coveted pandita-pandita-marana on 27-11-972 at Koppala, the highest and best of the 17 varieties of death as prescribed in the Aradhana text of Sivakoti Acarya. 7.6. Pariyabbarasi, Asagabbarasi and Revakayye consorts of the accomplished Pallavarama Mahipala, a scion of royal stock, were embellished with the three jewels of right insight, Ro knowledge and Ro conduct, and were ruby of amiable disposition among the virtuous women folk. They had commissioned Jaina temples, arranged festivals to worship Jina, consecrated and anointed the images of Jina, and equal devotion to Jaina anchorite. 7.6.1. These three spouses of king Pallavarama's seraglio joined the ascetic order at Koppala, renouncing the mahisipada, the first properly consecrated queenship of mandalesvara, and preferred the mahendrapada. 7.6.2. Revakayye listened to the three ritualised

Page #265
204 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism confessions, sitting on thighs, one leg being on the other, a heroic posture practiced by ascetics of higher hierarchy, breathed her lost. Even the gods celebrated Revakayye's holy death by singing and dancing, repeatedly uttering Jayajaya Nandavardha, 'victorious auspicious'. Drums and other rare instruments of paradise made the sacred sound to the rythm of the mellifluous music of Tumbura, the Gandharva and Narada, the devarsi, to the tune of which the apsaras danced. Thus the kingdom of God above rejoiced the festival of the arrival of Revakayye, an aryika, ecclesiastic, from the earth below. 7.6.3. Padmabbarasi, a celebrity of the Rastrakuta period and wife of Ganga Gangeya Permadi Butuga-II (93861), Duke of Gangavadi, an ideal lady votary of Jaina order, reached Kopana, and amidst the applause and appreciation of all around, accepted the rite of sallekhana. Her preceptor Maladharideva, a monk of many virtues and conqueror of desires, administered the ritual. Padmabbarasi while in deep meditation died on Wednesday 3-12-973, at Koppala. She had founded a magnificent Jinalaya at Naregal and endowed it with several gifts. 7.6.4. Kancabbarasi, consort of Rajamalladeva, the Ganga king, an ornament to the glorious royal family, upheld her magnificence and lost interests in everyday worldly life, after the death of her husband. She sought relief from the burden and sorrow of existence and the cycle of births. Kancabbarasi approached the stainless Ajitasenamunisvara, the patriarch of the Gangakula, listened to his religious sermon on the rewards of the virtuous life. She, on her own accord, took to penance, achieved the most coveted three jewels and easliy walked into the eternal world in the year saka 945, at Koppala. 7.7. Gonambe, daughter of Ereganga of the Ganga dynasty, spouse of valiant Ajavarma and mother of Ksatriya

Page #266
Jaina Sangha / 205 Rama, relinquished the profane life and took to the rigid life of a nun and died at Koppala on 14-10-992. 7.7.1. Bijjambika alias Bijjambarasi, daughter of Butuga Permadi-II and Padmavati alias Padmabbarasi, elder sister of Marasimha-II, wife of Hariga Mallapa, was known for her charities. Bijjambika was pupil of pontiff Sridharadeva. After freely distributing her entire property, she accepted the vow of sallekhana, achieved ratnatraya, the three jewels, died in the manner prescribed in Aradhana text, bid adieu to worldly life on 5-10-1003 at Koppala. 7.7.2. Women of the Ganga seraglio a fotiori, all the more, were au fait, felicitous. They were proverbially known for their erudition, virtue, charities and chivalrous life. Epigraphical and literary premises validate the varied assiduousness of the Jaina women of the Rastrakuta period. Women were ahead of men in liberally favouring Jaina church in all its aspects. Since their schooling and cultural background was excellent, they were dexterous in art and literature. There were other women too, who had far greater distinction than any of their contemporary princesses. 7.8. Bhagiyabbe, spouse of Jinavallabha, and sister-inlaw of poet Pampa (C. E. 941), hailed from Paithana olim Pratisthanapura, reputed as kasi of the south, was a famous city during 7th and 12th centuries. Udyotanasuri of Kuvalayamala (C. 7th cent.) refers to Paithana as a seat of Karnata culture. Bhagiyabbe belonged to one of the Jaina families there. 7.8.1. Bhagiyabbe had founded Jaina shrines, like her husband Jinavallabha, a litterateur. Two of the bronze images installed in those temples have come to light. Kannada inscriptions on the metal images furnish very interesting information about Bhagiyabbe, her spouse and of the place that she belonged.

Page #267
206 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism 7.8.2. Details of the two bronze images commissioned by Bhagiyabbe : A. Mahavira seated on a lion pedestal with cauri bearers on either side and a triple umbrella above. The image is 15" in height, with Parsva and Bahubali in the parikara. Three lined inscription on the circular pedestal states that the image was caused to be made by Bhagiyabbe, consort of Jinavallabha. B. Mahavira in Kayatsarga, 12" tall. This bronze image, found in the Jinalaya at Kogali (Bellary Dt), now in Madras Museum. One line Kannada inscription on the metal image states that a basadi was founded by Bhagiyabbe of Paittani (Paithana). 7.8.3. Both the bronze images are in the characters of tenth century and can be easily assigned to C. E. 950. 7.8.4. Jinavallabha, husband of Bhagiyabbe and a connoisseur in Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada had commissioned superb Tribhuvanatilaka Jinalaya to the south of Vrsabhagiri near Kurikyal village (Ap. Karimnagar Dt) in C. E. 950, with the images of 24 Tirthankaras, from Rsabha to Mahavira, and Cakresvari yaksi. His family deity was Adinatha Jina and the family deity of Bhagiyabbe was Mahavira Jina. 7.9. Paliyakka, a crest-jewel and a devout Jaina lady householder was the favourite consrot of king Vikrama Santara (895-935), a Duchy of Santalige-Thousand (Shimoga Dt). Vikrama was a vassal of Krsna-II, Indra-III, Amoghavarsa-II and Amoghavarsa-III, and had served four of the Rastrakuta monarchs. Paliyakka, daughter of the Santara Palace cook, had affaire d'amour, love affair with the potentate, had become a Dona, sweet-heart of Vikrama Santara. 7.9.1. Paliyakka constructed two excellent Jaina

Page #268
Jaina Sangha / 207 temples of stone in C. E. 897-98 at Hombuja, which continue to exist even now. Her liberal gifts to the sustenance of the Jaina places of worship that she founded at Hombuja, the metropolis of the Santaras, are true expressions of impeccable and deeprooted devotion. Her mother becoming a Jaina nun was a turning point in her life. After contemplating beyond the veil, Paliyakka, having the head purified by the sacred and fragrant water of Jina, took the veil. 7.9.2. An epigraph on a boulder infront of a natural cave from Vedal (TN : North Arcot Dt, Wandiwash Tk), dated C. E. 885, illustrates that a palli, place of Jaina recluse, existed exclusively for the Jaina nuns. A unique feature of this Vidal monastery in Singapuranadu is that there were 900 Jaina nuns and they had a seperate University of their own. The inscription (SII. vol. III. No. 92.C.E. 885. Vedal] also records that a dispute between the two mother superior, Kanakavira kurattiyar (Sk. guru-stri), chief of 500 lady pupils, and another group of 400 nuns, which was amicably settled [Ekambaranathan : 1987 : 287]. 7.9.2.1. Nun Kanakavira kurattiyar alias Madevi Arandimangalam was a female disciple of Gunakirti Bhatara. The very fact that a cloister solely for nuns and lady students, to the fantastic number of almost a thousand, existed in the late ninth century speaks volumes of the amount of freedom of monachism and education that the women folk enjoyed and encouraged in the Jaina sangha. 7.9.2. Building temples, donating grant of land, garden, oil mills and other items to their perpetual maintenance etc was not the only thing that the devouts caused. It was just one of the aspects of the royal patronage. Favour and support to the growth and sustenance of scholarship, literature, art, architecture, and culture was extended. Even the act of building shrines was job potential and involved employment

Page #269
208 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism of skilled laborers ; "... Jaina monasteries continued to be public schools and Universities for the greater part of India" [Havel : 156). 7.9.2.1. These shrines and monasteries formed the heart of Jaina samgha and accelerated socio-religious activities to a greater extent. The monachs during their brief stay on their entourage, or comparatively a long stay during rain-retreat would deliver sermons on the virtue of nonharming. Every basadi would become a miniature samavasarana, holy assembly and a place of resort for the laity. Laymen and lay women would listen to the religious discourse, worship the images of Jina by pouring milk during anointing ceremony. This practice of Ksirabhiseka pouring milk, and the use of alabaster in making Jina idols, suggests the Jaina traditional belief that evn the blood which flowed through the veins of Tirthankaras would become transparent/milky in color. 7.9.2.2. Major share of the richess of the Jaina community has traditionally been directed to temple building activity. But it is not the whole truth. The fact is for over two millenium Jains have spent caring the needy lot and socially viable ways. Their concern for all living beings including the animal, bird, flora, fauna, the diseased and disabled. Jains are proverbially known for giving their wealth and accumulation back to just and greater causes of harmony between all living beings. 7.9.2.3. Jaina ascetics and authors have attached so much consideration to enviornmental protection that they have incorporated it in their primordial canonical texts of two thousand years old, which are more relevant to modern society. Any transgression in the protection of flora and fauna is strictly prohibited for both mendicant and the householder. Men of letters have rendered significant contribution to the cause of human life and literature through their cherished

Page #270
Jaina Sangha / 209 works, embodying the core teachings of Mahavira and his dedicated disciples of yore. 7.9.2.4. It was during the early tenth century that the schisms in the Jaina fold were spelled out. An attempt was reinforced in all earnestness to assimilate, the disintegrated minor schisms, under one umbrella. Indranandi (C. E. 930), a major poet in the Rastrakuta court, had defined the five pseudo Jaina sects gopucchakah svetavasa dravido yapaniyakah nihpicchakasceti pancaite Jinabhasah prakirtitah [Indranandi: Nitisara, verse No. 10). Indranandi, prolific writer, authored several works in Sanskrit, including Padmavatikalpa, Jvalamalini kalpa, which served as a model for Mallisenasuri of Mulgunda monastery to compose one more Jvalinikalpa (C. E. 1056). 7.9.2.5. The above verse, listing the five 'false' Jaina sects has been later quoted by Srtasagara (16th cent.), a Digambara Bhattaraka in his Satprabhitadisamgrah, in the way conservative clerics responding to other schisms. Of the five 'Jainabhasa' sects, as Indranandi puts it, Yapaniya was liked and praised by the Rastrakutas. Many followers chose to accept Yapaniya samgha. With the support of the public and the ruling class. Yapaniya accomplished to become famous and well-populated. 7.9.3. Some places of Jaina monasteries in the eon of the Rastrakutas : (in alphabetical order) Abbalur: Haveri Dt, Hirekerur Tk Adaki : Gulbarga Dt, Sedam Tk Adur: Haveri Dt, Hangal Tk Aihole : Bijapur Dt Aanigere : Dharwar Dt, Navalgund Tk Angadi (Sosevur): Cikka-Maga!ur Dt

Page #271
210 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Arasibidi (Vikramapura) : Bijapur Dt Asundi : Haveri Dt, Ranibennur Tk Balligave: Shimoga Dt Banavasi : N. K. Dt, Sirsi Tk Bandalike(Bandhavapura) : Shimoga Dt Barkapura : Dharwar Dt, Shiggav Tk Bankur: Gulbarga Dt Candragutti : Shimoga Dt, Sorab Tk Cikka-Hanasoge : Mysore Dt Gali-Kesvar: Gulbarga Dt Halsi (Palasika): Belgaum Dt, Khanapur Tk Hombuja (Pombulca): Shimoga Dt, Hosanagar Tk Henjeru (Penjeru): AP, Anantapur Dt, Madakasira Tk Hosur (Ele-Posavur): Gadag Dt/Tk Hungunda (Ponnugunda) : Bijapur Dt Jamakhandi (Jambukhandi) : Bijapur Dt Kalyana : Bidar Dt Kambadahalli : Mandya Dt Kellengere : Hassan Dt, Belur Tk Kittur (Kirtipura) : Mysore Dt, HDkote Tk Kogali : Bellary Dt Kondakunde : AP: Anantapur Dt Konnura (Kolanur) : Gadag Dt Koppala : Dt Head quarters Kulagana : Camarajanagara Dt Lakkundi : Gadag Dt Mandali : Shimoga Dt/Tk Malkhed (Manyakheta): Gulbarga Dt Maleyuru : Camarajanagara Dt

Page #272
Mulgunda Gadag Dt/Tk Mullur Coorg (Madakeri) Dt Nanded (Nandini): Maharastra Nandi Hills: Kolar Dt, Cikkaballapur Tk Naregal: Gadag Dt Naviluru: Dharwar Dt Jaina Sangha / 211 Nonamangala (Jayamanigala): Kolar Dt NR Pura: Cikkamagalur Dt Nyamati (Nelavatti): Shimoga Dt Pandurangapalli : Maharastra Paithana Maharastra Ramagiri : AP: Vishakapatnam Dt Saudatti Belgaum Dt Sedam: Gulbarga Dt Sivagange Bangalore Dt Sravanabelagola: Hassan Dt, CR Patna Tk Talakadu (Talavanapura): Mysore Dt Tippuru (Are-Tippuru): Mandya Dt Vadner (Vatanagara): Maharastra, Nasik Dt

Page #273
CHAPTER - 8 ART AND ARCHITECTURE 8.1. Is there a seperate Jaina architecture, like the Islam, Sikh or Christian architecture, is a question that needs serious consideration. This author is of the opinion that there is a distinct and isolate architecture which can be termed as Jaina architecture. Jaina shrines of Karnataka betray a seperate local character and aesthetic idiom developed out of long span of crystallized experience and skill on the basis of Jaina tradition. 8.1.1. "The art of Jainism... is comparatively uncomplicated and consititutes in the history of Indian imagery a separate chapter. It follows to some extent the general evolution of India's sculptural styles; nevertheless, when rendering its own most characteristic and prominent subjects the rigid forms of its perfected saviors - it adheres conscientiously to a stiff archaic ideal. .... Jaina art, then, clings tenaciously to its own archaic tradition, so that whether rendering the gods, who are the lords of the world, or the Tirthankaras who have gained release from the domain of the gods, its remains always rigid and some what massive and bulky... The origins of this art reach back, like the origins of Jainism itself, to the remotest depths of the unrecorded Indian past' [Henric zimmer: 1955:15, and 134]. 8.1.2. Revival of Jaina art, architecture and literature was vibrant with the state support of the Rastrakutas, which

Page #274
Art and Architecture / 213 furthered the Nirgrantha activities of commissioning temples, and deities of Jaina Pantheon, appeared in every nook and corner of the kingdom. Dhavala-Tika states that the places where the rsis attained liberation, the days and dates of their greater achievements like the completion of Dhavala and Mahapurana, are holier and auspicious for the zealot to celebrate. The Rastrakutas made rapid strides in commissioning Jaina edifices and sculptures. Jaina monuments of this age vividly express diversity of temple plans to meet the taste of the patrons and to suit the local availability of stone and artists. 8.1.3. Ruling houses of Karnataka patronised from the beginning Jaina art and architecture : "From at least the fifth century, the followers of this religion began to use works of art for the propogation of their cult. This is known from a number of copper-plate charters issued by the early Kadamba kings registering grants to Jaina institutions like temples. A copper plate charter dated in the eigth regnal year of Kadamba Mrgesavarman (circa fifth century) records the construction of Jain temple by the king in memory of his father (IA. VI. pp. 1 ff.). The credit of having created a beautiful and an early example of temple in the Dravidian style goes to the Jainas of this state; this is the Meguti temple of Aihole [EI. VI. pp. 1 ff]. In this temple there is an inscription of the Calukya king Pulakesin-II dated 634-35. The author of the record was Ravikirti, who arranged for the construction of the temple. During the period of Rastrakutas, several Jaina monuments were erected, although only a few them contain inscriptions" (Ghosh, (ed): vol. III : p. 454]. 8.1.3.1. The bequest of Karnataka's Jaina dynasties includes some of India's most magnificent basadis, aweinspiring monolithic colossi, Manastambhas, Jinabimbas in both kayatsarga khadgasana and paryankasanalpadmasana

Page #275
214 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism posture, Yaksa-Yaksi sculptures, dvarapalas, wealth of icons and metal images monuments of over a millenium are located largely in the Jaina centres, and also found scattered to every nook and corner of the state. Wherever they are, these relics represent the aesthetic quality, cultural glory and invaluable heritage of a living faith. 8.1.3.2. Jaina tradition has had a long and distinguished inheritance. Recognising the great strength of the past wisdom and beauty, as portrayed in its art, architecture, sculpture and cultural history, rich legacy of Jainism had become world heritage. Major share of the architectural products belongs to the golden epoch of the Rastrakuta period. It marks a great era of the beginning and development to its meridian of temple architecture and allied arts. 8.1.4. The priorities of Jaina laity were - Jinagama, Jaina scripture, Jinabhavana, Jaina house of worship, Jinabimba, image of Jina, Jinasasana, teaching of Jina, and Jayamala, which found its best expression and realisation in basadi, Jaina shrine. 8.1.4.1. Jaina sanctuaries were a temporary place of residence for monks and nuns, who would not stay at a particular place for a longer period, except the season of rain retreat. Jaina places of worship were both seats of worship and the centres of learning. The friars and nuns, during their short stay, would teach the house holders. Members of the royal house, ministers, generals, officials of administrative ranking, laymen and women would visit the temple for worship and to listen to the sermons. 8.1.4.2. Each and every Jaina shrine invariably had srtabhandara, library of scriptures. Therewere fourteen boxfull of Jaina agama texts in the sratabhandara of Malkhed. Texts of palmleaf Manuscripts on Jaina and non-jaina philosophies, and on secular and non-secular subjects were included in the collection of the library. Immediate

Page #276
Art and Architecture/215 arrangements were made to procure the non-availabe text or get it copied. Well trained experts in the art of copying and preserving the Manuscripts, who could read and recite with proper commentary were maintained by the cloisters attached to the concerned sanctuaries. 8.1.5. Jainas have, throughout the course of the Rastrakuta years, installed innumerable images and erected excellent shrines : 'They have verily enriched Indian Art and patronised Indian craftsmen and artisits to an extent which is so great and varied that we have not yet been able to do proper justice to this Jaina contribution by our study and research' (Shah, U.P. : 1975 : 50]. Jaina basadis, edifices, and monuments have added their distinct contributions to the development of temple architecture in southern India. Inscriptions, which open with Jaina invocatory, reveal that the Rastrakuta munificence flowed to the sacred Jinalayas and to Jaina holymen. This chapter is exclusively devoted to an overall survey and analysis of the Jaina edifices and monuments of this period, commissioned either directly by the Rastrakuta monarchs or by their feudatories. 8.1.6. Most of the Jaina material from the earlier period of the (Gangas, the Kadambas, the Badami Calukyas) Rastrakutas has been either devoured by time or raged to the grounds and reduced into debris or buried several layers beneath the ground. But epigraphical notices do occasionally refer to Jaina monuments which are largely lost. The severe calamity and destruction of these temples should not always be attributed to the atrocities of alien religion or culture. Jains also neglected and forgot to maintain and survive these holy places. 8.1.6.1. Cala invasions caused extensive destruction of Jaina edifices and shook the Kuntaladesa. In a number of temples, after the disappearence/damage of the original images, the statue of some other Tirthankara/ a similar

Page #277
216 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism figure, has been installed as a substitute. In such cases, unless it is so mentioned, it is difficult to identify correctly to which deity the shrine was originally dedicated. 8.1.7. In Lakkundi (Gadag Dt), near by the Brahma Jinalaya caused by Attimabbe, the illustrious lady (C. E.9501016), exists a small chapel where an image of Parsva in paryankasana/padmasana, the lotus posture, the 23rd Tirthankara, with a serpent hood spread over his head, was installed. But, now the image of Jina Parsva had disappeared, leaving behing only the hood and pedestal in situ and making good of the hood, Saiva devotees have placed a Sivalinga beneath it. 8.1.7.1. In the main Brahma Jinalaya itself, the figure of mulanayaka in the sanctum has been replaced by keeping the original idol outside, behind the garbhagriha vimana, in the compound. 8.1.7.2. Therefore, it becomes a problem to know the original dedication of the temple when the main deities within the sanctums are destroyed or replaced. In the absence of epigraphical evidences, the mangala phalaka olim lalata bimba provides a clue. It is usually connected with the main deity enshrined in the sanctum. If the sanctuary is a Jinalaya, usually a seated/standing Jina with/without cauri bearers on either side, appears on the lintel. Instead, sometimes, Gajalaksmi seated in padmasana, lotus posture, with elephants, one each on either side, appears on the lintel of a Jaina house of worship. However, mostly Jina figure on the lintel is a common feature of Jaina shrines. In other words, wherever the lintel has Jina as its lalata bimba, it is compulsorily a Jaina temple. Whereas, wherever Gajalaksmi is found on the linetel as mangalaphalaka, it need not necessarily be a Jaina temple. 8.1.8. Basement of a defunct Jaina shrine are to be found in a number of places. There are many places in Karnataka,

Page #278
Art and Architecture/217 also in AP and TN, where the Jaina temples built during the pre and post Rastrakuta period, do not exist now. However, even in such places, broken or intact images of Jina, Yaksas, makara torana, arch spewed from the mouths of opposed makaras, etc are reported. Sometimes, except for the statement made in an inscription, none of the Jaina vestiges are found, either in the proper village or in the nearby vicinity. It is not unusal that the slabs containing epigraphs being misplaced/destroyed/misused. 8.1.9. Some Jaina shrines and stray sculptures of this period have been discovered by me in Gulbarga Dt and other places. For want of sufficient knowledge, of the temples and monuments, by way of inscriptional evidence or literary source, any claims of these edifices are largely based on the existing architectural features. Lack of availability of historical written documents has made the task of chroniclers difficult in furnishing the nature of imperial connection with these places and sanctuaries. Albeit, there is no reason to doubt that it rests upon definite architectural basis. 8.2. A detailed and exhaustive research would reveal that during the eon of the Rastrakuta dynasty Jaina and other temples were founded throughout their vast territory and temple building activity had become a regular phenomenon. Apart from commissioning new Jaina shrines, it is noteworthy, that the old Jaina sanctuaries and cloisters that were in subsistence from the time of the Calukyas of Badami (Vatapi) continued to be nursed and restored. Aihole, Barkapura, Mulgunda Hallur, Hombuja, Koppala, Pattadakal, Ponnugunda (Hungund), Puligere, Sravanabelagola - were some of the early Jaina settlements that persisted to glow and bloom. 8.2.1. "That the early Chalukya architecture had considerable impact on the Rashtrakuta architecture cannot

Page #279
218 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism be disputed. But at the same time the early Chalukya traditions were modified to suit their changed aesthetic sense and purpose. Thus we find the Rashtrakuta architect indulging in the creation of dvikutas and trikutas in large numbers often necessitated by religious considerations" [Rajasekhara, S:1991 : 13]. 8.2.1.1. For over a long period, a detailed and methodical survey and analysis of inumerable Jaina edifices and vestiges scattered all over the state, was a desideratum. This chapter is a modest attempt in that direction. 8.2.2. Jaina patriarchs and their lay followers have preferred to enshrine the small hills with excellent basadis, and the bigger hills for consecrating the tall monolith colossi of Bahubali (Gommata). It is the Rastrakutas who augured this bifurcation of hills, wherever it was convenient. They initiated it at Hombuja and Are-Tippuru tirtha in the last decades of ninth century. But, it reached its zenith of perfection and excellence on the summit of Vindhyagiri at Sravanabelagola, the Pompei of Jainism in India. 8.2.2.1. Sravanabelagola stands wedged between the two Hills with ancient history and invaluable monuments. Legends, that smack something of ancient history and something of sweet fancy, associate these two Hills with the Mauryan emperor Candragupta, who renounced his kingdom, became a disciple, and followed srutakevali, apostle, Bhadrabahu. The small hill, Candragiri, and a basadi as Candragupta basadi, both named after the Mauryan sovereign. Candragiri (Kalvappu (Sk. katavapra) 'sepulchral mound') basically a sepulchral hill, has aged Jaina monuments of architectural and historical importance, that reflect the ethos of the peirod. 8.2.2.2. Sravanabelagola, a famous settlement of Jaina tradition, is a legend. For the faithful, the place, the two hills,

Page #280
Art and Architecture/219 and its history has venerable importance. Lush, sylvan spot where a pool of shimmering water lay between twin hills, has lent the name of Belgola (Sk. Dhavalasaras) to this place. It is so meaningful that the place has the aliases of rsigiri, 'the hill of sages', and Sravanabelagola, 'Jaina friars of the white pond'. 8.2.2.3. Sravanabelagola, invaluable treasure trove of art and architecture, has preserved over 550 inscriptions of momentous historical events. Images of Navaratna, nine precious stones, including bronze and other metals, a sstabhandara, library of palm leaf manuscripts - have made the place more significant. With its history of over two millenia, Sravanabelagola is the oldest and foremost of the Jaina pilgrimage seats in India, after Sammeta sikharji, Pava and Rajgir (Rajaglha) in Bihar and Girnar in Rajasthan. 8.2.3. In the series of storeyed Jaina shrines of this period, three-shrined Settavva basadi at Aihole, facing east, elaborate on plan and execution, comprises of three wombhouses, three halls articulated with vimana, and a common sabhamandapa. Settavva basadi is dedicated to Arhat Parsva and other Jinas. The crowning cupola above the central sanctum houses the upper shrine which has a porch adjoining it. "The upper shrine, small in size, measures about 4' 6" x 46". The porch is smaller than the shrine. One need not be surprised if this trikuta basadi inspired the later trikutas of the Jains" (Rajasekhara : 25). This Jinalaya has reosettees, scrolls with Yaksa, sugarcane like pilasters, designed rope with oblong blocks at intervals and the petal moulding. Another rare feature of the basadi is that Gajalaksmi sculpture, instead of the usual Jinabimba, adorns as its lalatabimba, tutelary image over the door frame. Gajalaksmi at the lalata is found in the Jaina temples at Bankur, Harijanvada etc.

Page #281
220 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Bahubali alias Gommata 8.2.4. The word Bahubali alias Gommata has a magic effect on Karnataka and the artists. Gommata, Karnataka and Jainism have become synonyms. In the Jaina tradition Bahubali, second son of Rsabhadeva the first Ford Maker, and younger brother of Bharata, the first of 12 cakravarttins, is considered as the first of the 24 Kamadevas. 8.2.4.1. Earliest of the Bahubali statues/sculptures was perhaps the image inside the Kamajinalaya at Guddatataka, a tank near the knoll, a suburb of Banavasi, founded by Ravivarma (C. E. 458-519), to the left of his residence. Another Kamajinalaya, along with a shrine of goddess Padmavati yaksi, was built by the same king at Hakinipalli, and were endowed with grants. 8.2.4.2. Second phase was the Bahubali sculpture in the cave temples of Badami and Aihole, both in Bijapur Dt, and of Early Calukya age. A bas-relief sculpture of Bahubali in the Badami cave temple of last quarter of seventh century C.E., is 71/,' in height. The relief of Bahubali in the Badami cave represents him standing on a lotus in kayatsarga posture with long hair combed back falling on shoulders and armpit. Snakes rising hoods from ant-hills, madhavi-creeper entwinning Bahubali's hands. Two ladies, one each on either side, are paying their homage. 8.2.4.3. A big panel in the Aihole cave, of the same period, depicts Bahubali in kayatsarga khadgasana, with a ovaloid sturdy face and most of other details being similar to Badami cave relief, except that the two ladies look like deities wearing crowns and ornaments, and the upper relief panel contains trees and flying figures of Gandharvas paying homage to the omniscient Bahubali (Nagarajaiah, Hampa : Jina Parsva temples in Karnataka : 1999-d). 8.2.4.4. Next in temporal terms is a pretty metal image

Page #282
Art and Architecture/221 from Sravanabelagola, now in the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai, standing on a circular disk of 20 inches. Madhavi creeper, done in high relief entwines Bahubali's legs, thighs and arms, and the hair is combed back in parallel rows with the curled locks placed on the back and across shoulders. The image of the Rastrakuta period is assignable to early ninth cent. C. E., i.e., the reign of Amoghavarsa. 8.2.4.5. There are three other colossi/sculpture of Bahubali dated earlier to Gommata of Sravanabelagola. On the big hill at Are-Tippur (Mandya Dt, Maddur Tk) stands a Bahubali statue of 10' high, assignable to late ninth century. This is the earliest in India to be executed on the top of a hill with etheral firmament and space as its canopy, background and vestment. Are-Tippur was an ancient Jaina-tirtha with more than seven Jinalayas. It flourished as a Jaina settlement in the age of the Gangas and Rastrakutas. The Sagara-Manaleras developed it into a prominent pilgrim center [Sharma, I. K. 1992; Nagarajaiah, Hampa: 1995]. 8.2.4.6. The Hombuja-ksetra (Shimoga Dt, Hosanagara Tk), unique Jaina vital seat for 1250 years, was a residence of the Santras. Guddadabasadi 'shrine on the hillock', contains monolith colossus of 54 inches Bahubali consecretated in C. E. 898 by Vikrama Santara. On one of the pillars inside Bogarabasadi, founded in the late 9th cent. a miniature bas- relief of Bahubali, beautifully executed within the frame of one foot, is something to be marvelled at. 8.2.4.7. Camunndaraya, the illustrious minister and general of the last Ganga kings, installed magnificent Gommata colossus of 58 ft on the peak of the larger hill Vindhyagiri in C. E. 982-83. The serene and awe-inspiring colossal of Bahubali, which has been regarded as one of the wonders of the world, heralded a new trend in Jaina art. The colossal of Bahubali wrought of a block of gneiss in situ

Page #283
222/The Rastrakutas and Jainism got the alias of Gommata, 'the hand some one'. The dominating monolith figure of Gommata standing nude exposed to sun, rain, cold and abrasive dust for over a thousand years, the colossus is as fresh and well polished as the devout Nirgrantha sculptor gave it shape. In the words of James Fergusson, 'Nothing grander or more imposing exists anywhere out of Egypt, and, even there, no known statue surpasses it in height'. 8.3. Padmabbarasi Jinalaya olim Naregal basadi (Gadag Dt, Ron Tk), commissioned in C. E. 950, has the distinction of being one of the largest Rastrakuta shrines. Originally conceived as a triple temple, Naregal Jinalaya, facing north, consists of a sanctum, an half-hall articulated with Dravida shrine, and a sabhamandapa, with six inches raised platform, opening into a large entry hall, its sides are adjoined by three sanctums. But the main sanctum alone shares the navaranga. On eitherside of the hall are large, deep and empty niches in the wall. 8.3.1. The other two womb-houses, to the east and west, are built outside the range of the navaranga to share the open front-hall. Twelve star shaped pillars with taranga potika exhibit different varieties of square in the bottom with octagonal multifluted design. "A very unique feature of this basadi is that the main garbhagriha is meant to house one of the Jinas, and as such it is square on plan. The other two garbhagrihas, facing each other, are rectangular in shape. They have rectangular pitha which extends from wall to wall. The garbhagrihas were meant to consecrate the caturvimsati Tirthankaras. The pithas in both the sanctums have 24 holes indicating the installation of 24 Jina images. This itself is again a unique feature" [Rajasekhara : 27]. 8.3.2. The singularity of Naregal basadi needs no exaggeration. "It is the earliest extent basadi, built in the middle of the 10th century to house not one but two seperate

Page #284
Art and Architecture / 223 sets of 24 images of the Jinas. When the basadi fell into disuse, it was converted into two shrines under the names of Somesvara which includes the main garbhagriha, ardhamantapa and the navaranga, and Narayanadeva which includes the two rectangular garbhagrihas and the large mukhamantapa" [ibid: 27-28]. Tutelary Jina image has been recently covered with cement. Opposite to the 18 feet long pedestal, in the south corner is a cave of 6'x6' dimension, four feet deep below the ground level, devised for the meditation of Jaina monachs. A similar cave also exists in the other sanctum, exactly in the south corner. Both the caves consist of jala-vatayanas, grill-windows, to facilitate fresh air and light. Such a cave is also found inside the Jaina tripel-shrine at Mulgunda, dated C. E. 902 of the period of Krsna-II. 8.3.3. Long streteched 18 feet pedestal with 24 sockets, 12" diameter each, and 31/2 feet in height is vacant. Unfortunately the 24 images of 24 Jinas, in dissmissing the body posture, of this basadi are missing. Naregal Jinalaya inspired Hullaraja (C. E. 1159) and Haduvalli (Sk. Sangitapura) chiefs (post-medieval period) to consecrate 24 seperate slabs of 24 Jinas. Consecrating single slabs containing sculptures of 24 figures of Jinas in rows, was not uncommon. In Karnataka such slabs of Caturvimsati Tirthankara sculpture are found commencing from Aihole (c. C.E. 7th cent.). Such a slab of Rastrakuta times in the Savadatti Jaina temple has been shifted to Kannada Research Institute of Karnatak university, Dharwar. 8.9.4. This Padmabbarasi Jinalaya was commissioned by Padmabbarasi (Padmabbe/Padmavati), queen consort of Ganga Gangeya Butuga, Duke of Gangavadi and other divisions. Danasale, charity house, attached to the basadi, was endowed with a tank and other tax free gifts of income by Marasingayya alias Marasimha, second son of Butuga.

Page #285
224 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism After laving the feet of Gunacandra Pandita he entrusted the donation to the pontiff. 8.4. Pattadakal Jaina temple of sandhara, ambulatory, order has a womb-house with circumambulatory path, an half-hall articulated with Dravida vimana, pillard sabhamandapa and a porch with kaksasana, stone-bench. pradaksina-wall of the lower storey has decayed and the jalas, grille, on the subhadras, central offset of bhadra, are now lost. The porch seems added an after thought. The moulded base shows bhadra, pratibhadra and corner divisions. The out standing edifice three-storeyed [Uparitala shrine above the sanctum, built into the sikhara, crowning cupola, is reached through a stone ladder in the navaranga). 8.4.1. "The recesses between bays contain narrow panjara-kosthas with beautifully carved lalatanasis in the gadhas of which are stationed seated Jina images, yaksis, etc. The gudhamandapa walls are crowned by hara. Pranalas to drain the roof are provided in the salilantaras. Just below the roof-level, elephant - figures jut out above the extremities of the bhadra... This Jaina temple is one of the finest of later Rastrakuta buildings, and was probably founded early in the reign of Kssna-II" [Soundara Rajan, K. V.: EITA : 149-50]. 8.4.1.1. Elephant rider in the back walls of the gudha mandapa are supposed to be Indra himself. Triple - shrine Jinalaya, at Mulgunda, also of Krsna-II's period dated C. E. 902, had superb sculpture of highly decorated elephant with rider on three sides of the vimana, perhaps modelled on the Pattadakal Jinalaya, built two decades earlier, in circa 880 C. E. 8.4.2. The Rastrakutas had developed a sentimental attachment to Elapura (Ellora) ever since Govindaraja-I was enjoying that area as his fief, granted by Pulakesin-II (60842). The apellation of Govinda (Govindarasa, Govindara, Govindaraja, Goggiga - are the aliases) is repeated in the

Page #286
Art and Architecture / 225 Rastrakuta house and also in their feudatory families, particularly in the Gangas. Therefore, the Rastrakutas preferred to establish greatest and remarkable monuments at Elapura, the place from where Govinda, their progenitor heralded their dynasty. 8.4.3. A group of Jaina rock-cut caves and sanctuaries in the northern horn of the Ellara ridge olim Caranadri (hill of levitation saints') are the superb treasure trove of the Rastrakuta art. Chota Kailasa (flittle Kailasa) a quarter the size of the great Kailasa, a befitting nomenclature, chiselled to perfection from a rock-mass, in a 130x80 ft. pit cut, into west-facing tritala structure is a feast for eye. Beautiful figures of Jina, Yaksa, yaksi, highly decorated pillars et cetera adorn the abode of worship, dedicated to Rsabha, the first Tirthankara. It many be recalled that Rsabha attained final nirvana on Kailasa. 8.4.3.1. 'One other monolithic shrine at Ellora is the sarvatobhadra (Caturmukha; Samavasarana) shrine in the court of cave no. 32 (the group of Jaina caves that includes the so called Indrasabha cave). The Sarvatobhadra shrine faces the gopura, but with its stairway applied on the northern side. The adhisthana has tall jagati, padma, tripatta kumuda, kantha with floral diamonds, and kapota with nasis. The shrine's bhitti has openings in the four directions, with a short pillared praggriva in front of each... In the shrine interior is a samavasarana bearing four images of the Jina, with short antechambers disposed in the four directions; the southern one has a beautiful padma on its ceiling' (Soundara Rajan, K. V.: EITA : 127-28]. 8.4.3.2. Indrasabha, stylistically appears to be slightly posterior to the Chota Kailasa. Monolithic column in the courtyard of Indrasabha cave, is the oldest Manastambha of the Rastrakuta period, of the Kumbha-mandi-kalasa type, with a ribbed lasuna, vas shaped pillar-part at the upper

Page #287
226/The Rastrakutas and Jainism part of the shaft, and ghata, pot (cushion-shaped pillar-part above lasuna, and on the phalaka, top-abacus a fourfold image of Brahma - Yaksa seated back to back, facing four cardinals. 8.4.3.3. The so-called Indra-sabha and the Jagannathasabha are the most noteworthy and elaborate excavations in the Jaina series. The Indra-sabha, the earliest of the group, is a double storeyed south-facing excavation and is the largest and the most important piece of rock-architecture forming a group rather than a single cave-temple.... The lateral walls of the entrenched open court have two smaller excavations of the type of a pillard mandapa on one side and an unfinished gallery on the other. They contain sculptures of Parsvanatha, Gommata, Kubera, Ambika, Sumatinatha and other Tirthankaras, Yaksas, etc." [Srinivasan, K. R.: The Deccan, chapter 18 in Jaina Art and Architecture, vol. 1: p. 18]. 8.4.3.4. "The walls, ceilings, and the shrine-interior are covered with exquisite paintings, fairly well-preserved. Besides the flying Gandharvas or Vidyadhara couples, the most interesting painting is that of an eight-armed deity on the ceiling of the antarala in the catura-mode of dance. The absence of marks or attributes of Siva in the painting would distinguish it as obviously one of a deity of the Jaina pantheon, perhaps Indra" [Srinivasan, K. R.: 190]. 8.4.3.5. The Jaina excavasions on the soft trap-ridge of Ellora excel the rest of the caves at Ellora, particularly in the perfection of their architectural members. Since beauties of ornamentation, drapery, graces, poses and stances could be introduced only in the sculptures of the attendant deities, their depiction were exploited with skill. The Tirthankara forms, which are to be in the prescribed and conventionalized poses and styles, could not all be so well-executed. The Jaina monuments were on the whole excel in their richly-carved details, perfected finish, particularly in the variety of pillars,

Page #288
Art and Architecture/227 and indicate a greater precision and accuracy in the cutting, though the plan, in spite of the beauty of embellishment, lacks pre-determination and appears haphazard or improvised in nature. Yet, with their extant paintings of a classical nature they form an important group in the artistic heritage of India' [Srinivasan, K. R.: 191-92]. 8.4.3.6. James Furgusson and James Burgess, pioneers to discuss about the Jaina cave temples at Badami, Aihole, Patna, Chamar Lena, Bhamer, Bamcandra, Elura, Dharasiva, Ankai Tankai, Gwalior, in their concluding remarks have opined that "the Jains never were cave excavators" [Furgusson and Burgess : 510]. They felt that the Jains took to caves only after the Buddhists and Brahmins initiation. But, it is an established fact that Jains were the fore runners even to Buddhists in making caves as their abode of penance. Further, it is clear that they have not taken notice of the Jaina caves of Udaigiri, Khandagiri in Orissa, ancient caves in Tamilnadu, and Ramagiri in Andhradesa. Jainism localised at Sravanabelagola, Koppala, Nandagiri etc., in natural caves and caverns suitable for friars, and spread far and wide from 3rd cent. B.C., and carved out for itself very many significant seats in the premedieval milieu and paved avenue for magnificent edifices. The Santara monuments 8.4.4. The Santaras, who ruled a compact principality of Santalige-1000, were more congenial for the growth of Jainism, which is attested by a number of epigraphs and magnificent monuments. Vikrama Santara (895-935) augmented the glory of the dynasty, with fantastic rapidity, to form a notable dominion bearing an authentic stamp of the art and architecture. The sanctuaries and monasteries raised during the hegemony of the Rastrakutas, in and around their territory show the influence and architectural generalities of their overlords with a tinge of local elements, bearing a stamp of the Gangas.

Page #289
228 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism 8.4.4.1. The Santaligenad and the Mandalinad were two different administrative units serving as vassals under the same sovereigns like the Rastrakutas and Calukyas of Kalyana. Ruling concurrently, these two neighbour states were related by matrimonial alliances. They are marked by striking similarities in their architecture [Nagarajaiah, Hampa : The Later Gangas - Mandali Thousand : 1999-B : 48-51). But, none of the architectural edifices, monuments or vestiges of the Rastrakuta period of Mandali Thousand has survived. 8.4.4.2. Of the numerous Santara structures located in Hombuja, their ancient metropolis, four temples and some loose displaced art pieces scattered inside the little township, belong to the times under consideration and exhibit affiliation to early and late Rastrakuta type : i. Parsvanatha basadi ii. Sule basadi iii. Makkala basadi iv. Bogara basadi 8.4.4.3. The Santara temples are the store house of a combination of the Ganga, the Calukya (Badami) and the Rastrakuta styles. Prof. M. A. Dhaky has preferred to name it as Malnad style. Guddada basadi 'temple of the hill' olim Kamajinalaya on the hillock, behind the modern temple complex, at Hombuja a forest-clad town, was founded in C. E. 897-98 by Vikrama Santara. It was built with Kapotabandha adhisthana in the typical Dravidian style of temple art. The dilapidated structure was dismantled recently, in the year 1958-60, because it was about to collapse. Albeit, Bahubali statue and other images and pillars of Guddada basadi are intact on the hill, and below, inside the temple and within the compound. An historically significant Bahubali image, now in the newly built building, is dated

Page #290
Art and Architecture / 229 C. E. 898, almost 84 years earlier to Gommata image of Sravanabelagola. Bahubali image is definitely one of the priced, monuments of the Rastrakuta times. It had pancasakha - door frame and was subsequently restructured in 11th century. "The Misraka pillars that once were in the mandapa show a plain cubial base, the shaft immediately above being decorated with a pattern consisting of elongted overlapping petals with frilled edges.... All in all, this seems to be a rather rare type of decorated pillar, among the most beautiful in Karnataka' [Dhaky : 223]. 8.4.4.4. The ornate figural ceilings of authentic Rastrakuta specification in the Bogara basadi and Parsvanatha basadi of Paliyakka, look very chaste and dignified. Some of the earlier pillar forms of considerable beauty and effectiveness are still vibrant in these two shrines. The typically Rastrakuta columns with equisite decorative details, inside Bogara basadi, though modelled after the Ellora Jaina cave pillars, are moderately ornamented. 8.4.4.5. Parsvanatha basadi, to the left in the Pancakuta-vasati complex, facing south is a pretty doublestoreyed compostion, has all the distinctive traits of the Santara school of art. It is a living example for the adage, small is beautiful. This shrine with 7'.9" width southern of Vimana, 14'.8" mandapa, and padabandha moulded base, largely agress with style of Bogara and Sule basadis, but differs in minor details. The four taranga - potika pillars in the hall and the four stepped stairway - banister and a sukanasi to the front of the tower at the roof level are simple. The Asta-Dikpala ceiling, eight guardians of the quarters in eight squares, and a founr armed yaksa in the central quadrant, is excellent and decorative. The whole frame is embellished with a beading of miniature sculpture. A small but handsome Jina Parsva image in the sanctum also belongs

Page #291
230 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism to the period of late 9th and early 10th cent., delegated to the period of Krsna-II. An inscription of C. E. 898 on the slab fixed to the outside wall, to the right side of the door frame has recorded details of the illustrious lady Paliyakka who commissioned the temple. 8.4.4.6. Sule-basadi, on the scopes of the hill, was founded in C. E. 898 by Paliyakka, Dona, a ladylove of Vikrama Santara (895-935). Built in stone, with a width of about 17', has completely lost its mandapa, hall, and the super structure over the vimana. Kapota-bandha class of adhisthana, moulded base, and panjara kosthas, niches with fronton of vaulted apsidal shrine, disclose the typical tendencies of Santara style of architecture. An image of JinaParsva, seated in lotus-posture on lion-pedestal, in the sanctum, is defaced and mutilated. All the seven hoods are broken, but, the triple umbrella, the bhamandala radiating lustre behind the head, and the fly whisk bearers look nebulous. Because of the growth of banian tree, this temple is disintegrating and crumbling. 8.4.4.7. Makkala basadi, 'children shrine', one of the aged temples at Hombuja township has not attracted scholars. This tiny temple has been saddled with newly built school building around and above. As a result of repeated renovations except for the main sanctum with its three walls in situ, everything has changed to appear like a modern structure. Since the first floor covered by tiled roof has become the hostel for makkalu 'children', this temple has come to be nick-named as Makkala basadi. It is a moderate dvitala temple, with garbhasha, gudhamandapa and an open hall. It can be assigned to early decades, of tenth century. Dedicated to Arhat Parsva, neither the sanctum nor the hall contain any structure of decorative motif. Vimana on all the three sides has retained its older fabric of kudyastambas, engaged columns, and Padabandha adhisthana.

Page #292
Art and Architecture / 231 Brahmakanta pilasters resemble similar ones of Sule basti, Bogarabasti, and Parsvanatha basadi. 8.4.4.8. Bogara-basadi olim Asokavana Basadi, of early tenth cent., has preserved its older frame work except for some additions on the first floor. Founded by the traders (brazier - section) of the Jaina community during the period of Govindara-IV, Bogara basadi is one of the finest specimen of the Santara temple architecture: 'Judging from the elegant proportions as well as the high quality of workmanship, it must rank among the most beautiful temples of this period in Karnatadesa (Dhaky: 1986 : 222]. 8.4.4.8.1. Sitting pretty like a child on the lap of nature, Bogara basadi, without any doorway guardian figures below, has the Sankhanidhi and Padmanidhi carved above the jamb. Three figures of yaksas near the temple are noteworthy, out of which two are of Ambika alias Kusmandidevi, and the third one is of Matanga yaksa. Balipisha infront of the temple substitutes the Manastambha. The four Brahmakanta pillars in the navaranga, enriched with superior ornamental details, are modelled on the Ellora Jaina cave temples of the imperial Rastrakuta architecture. 8.4.4.8.2. A vertical scroll-band, a broad belt emitting jewelled ropes, a crisply carved undulating vine, floral motif bearing a seated Jina, figures of Parsva and Bahubali - on the shafts of pillars show the sculptor's mastery in brilliant chiselling and indecorative art : "The rich exuberance and the crisp carving of the applied ornament is in keeping with the high standard of decorative work maintained throughout the best examples in Karnata... The lion - throne inside the garbhagrha is as old as the temple, but the image seems a recent replacement. Altogether, the temple has the sense of a royal foundation, not so much in its size, which is very modest, but in its excellence' [Dhaky: 222-23). 8.4.4.9. Of the other Jaina vestiges of this epoch, some

Page #293
232 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism makara-toranas, flywhisk bearers, a votive offering plank depicting king Vikrama Santara distributing charities, are of considerable importance. But greatest of all are the two splendid Jina Parsva stelas of late ninth century or early tenth century, kept inside the main hall of the larger Parsvanatha temple, are of immense value. The sculptor sought to glorify the meditation of Parsva, deeply immersed in thinking about the nature of soul and the path of liberation. Displaced three large sized door-guardian images are to be noted, and can be compared with very few surviving dvarapalas, of this size and execution of the Rastrakuta age. 8.4.4.9.1. There are about three pairs of flywhisk bearers that divulge the traits of antiquity. These camaradharas once stood in attendance to Jina images in the places of worship and may be dated to late 9th cent., and early 10 century. 8.4.4.9.2. A ceiling - piece bearing the figure of septacephalous in the centre, symbolising Dharanendra, flanked by four squares, with a full bloomed lotuses inside. Looking at its style of Gangas and Pallavas, it can be assigned to early 9th cent. This remarkable ceiling sculpture may have been in the original Lokkiyabbe (Nokkiyabbe/Padmavati) house of worship. 8.4.4.9.3. The Santara architects had preference to dvitala, two-storeyed, type of shrines is revealed from the existing structures, Parsva basadi, Bogara basadi, Kamatha Parsvanatha basadi and the Makkala basadi - are dvitala devalayas, reminding the storeyed Jinalayas at Aihole, Hallur and Pattadakal. 8.4.4.9.4. Achievements of the Santaras in the field of (Jaina) architecture may be summed up in the words of Prof. M. A. Dhaky : 'Northern Malnad or Santalige style is fresh in expression and reveals clarity, delicacy, and a chasteness of detail not obtained in the slightly later work of Kuntala proper, such as the Rastrakuta temples at Kukkanur, Aihole,

Page #294
Art and Architecture / 233 or the pillars now surviving at KaNur of the late Rastrakuta period. Such a sense of balance or feeling for form in architectural conception is also wanting in the contemporary Rastrakuta idiom. Only Gangavadi's architecture at the close of the tenth century approaches that of Santalige in its concern for elegance of proportion and shape. Even so, the santalige feeling for finesse is unmatched, not only in Gangavadi, but in all upper Dravida desa with the possible exception of early Rastrakuta work at Ellora, where taste and craftsmanship of a comparable level, if not kind, can be found [EITA : 1986 : 224]. 8.4.5. Vira Bankeya Jinalaya, on the right bank of the river Malaprabha at Konnur/Kolanur(Gadag Dt, Naragund Tk), commissioned in C. E. 860, by the distinguished Bankesa, general and governor of Banavasi - 12,000, was the most prestigious basadi in the Rastrakuta monarchy. It is built on the star shaped basement of 27x11 meter width, with sanctum, covered vestibule set between vimana and gudha mandapa, closed hall, sabhamandapa and mukhamandapa, front - hall. The stellate plan of the circular type of the garbhaglha of 3.90x4 meter width has engaged columns in the four corners. The doorframe has a seated Jina as its tutelary figure. The three oblong devakosthas, niches for a divinity, to the left, right and backside walls, ninety centimeter in width, are taller going upto the ceiling. 8.4.5.1. Antarala has a width of 2.65 meter, east to west, and 4.05 meter north to south, with two pillars in the front and two corner engaged columns. The extensive squarish navaranga has a width of 8.42x7.92 meters with 12 pillars, 10 dwarf columns and four corner columns, and a padmasila ceiling. The 1.10x1.30 meter sized steps of the disintegrated entry-hall suggest an hasti-hasta banister. Walls of the Bankeya basadi are not embellished. Whether the temple had originally a Sikara is not clear from the present state of its existence.

Page #295
234 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism 8.4.5.2. This Jaina temple had once enjoyed the rare honor of being endowed with cakravartti datti from Amoghavarsa-I, who residing at his capitol Malkhed granted the village of Taleyuru and lands in other villages to the Jaina sage Devendra, pupil of Trikalayogi, of Mulasangha Desiyagana Pustakagaccha, on Thursday 3-10-860. A slab containing this charter is set up in the basadi. Another stone built into the ceiling of the front gate way in the basadi of the period of Bhuvanaikamalladeva (1068-76), containing an incomplete inscription, seems to have recorded new grants to the sustenance of the basadi, by his subordinates. 8.4.5.3. This architecturally unique Bankesa basadi was appropriated by non-Jainas and has been converted into a Paramesvara temple, perhaps during 14th century. 8.4.6. The only existing Jaina house of prayer at Malkhed is Neminatha basadi, assignable to early 10th cent. It contains some sculptures of more or less of the same period, which clearly validate the existence of more Jaina shrines of both earlier and later periods. The surviving Neminatha basadi was also renovated in the medieval period. In the process of restoring the temple, architectural remains, particularly the pillars, of saiva/Vaisnava temples have been used in the mukhamandapa. 8.4.6.1. Epigraphical data demonstrates that a Jaina shrine called Ekacattuga Jinalaya existed at Malkhed in the first quarter of ninth century and the shrine sanctuary was named after the illustrious pontiff Ekacattuga Bhatara of Kundakunda anvaya, accomplished his death in C. E. 881 on the sepulchral at Koppala. Sadhusena Pandita, honoured by the Rastrakuta monarchs died in the Ekacattugavasadi at Mannekheta on 15-2-975. It is interesting to note that his pupil Siddhasena Bhattaraka consecrated post-obitum epitaph at Koppala for the merit of his preceptor Sadhusena Pandita who departed at Malkhed. Such instances of erecting

Page #296
Art and Architecture / 235 post-mortem columns to a demised person at a different place are not wanting. Kuge Brahmmadeva pillar was erected at Sravanabelagoa for the merit of Marasimha who deceased at Bankapura. 8.4.6.2. Malkhed with its satellite places such as Sedam, has many places of Jaina association within the radius of 50 km. Contribution of Malkhed towards the development of Rastrakuta's cultural heritage and historiography is quite rich and thought-provoking, though a sizable portion of it has been lost because of the ravages of time, man and nature. Puspadanta, Epic poet of Apabhramsa literature, has narrated at length the total destruction of the city which was burnt and looted for several days. 8.4.7.3. A Jaina monastery and the temples at Malkhed were affiliated to Hombuja diocese. But, Malkhed was also the main head-quarters of the northern region, where as Hombuja was a main settlement in the southern division. It is believed that an underground cell from the palace to the Jaina shrine existed. Local elders explain that two Jina images made of Nila, the sapphire, of the Rastrakuta age, found at Malkhed and Bankur, were taken away by a British officer in the early decades of 20th century, the where abouts of which are not known. 8.5. Harsur (Gulbarga Dt) trikuta-basadi is one of the exceedingly graceful Jaina shrines. Though the present edifice is of the first phase of later Calukya times, threesancta of Harasur has preserved some matchless art treasure stylistically dating the period of Rastrakutas. The best and the earliest in the ensemblage are the sublime image of a Jina, now in the Museum of Gulbarga, and the two figures of two-armed yaksa-yaksi, reflecting dignity, charm and poise. 8.5.1. Adoring the devakosthas in the gudhamandapa are the figures of Jinasasana deities : 'The bronze - like,

Page #297
236/The Rastrakutas and Jainism corpulent, and seated-at-ease Sarvanubhuti's ornaments are some what schematic, going well with relaxed vigour of the body at rest' [Dhaky: 1998: 41]. The pretty Kusmandi figure reposed in ardhapadmasana, with neck ornaments, ringshaped larger earrings. The dhammilla-circlets of the hairdo, pushed at the back of her head, is not stout when compared to the similar Kusmandi sculpture at Aland, Bankur, and Malkhed, all from the same Gulbarga Dt. Harsur yaksi has a slender body than the yaksis of the places mentioned above. The bonny figures of Karandamakuta Sarvahna and Kusmandi can be assigned to the early quarter of tenth century. These two sculptures resemble Sarvahna and Ambika of Indrasabha cave in west side of court, lower level, north corner, to left of shrine and to right of shrine at Ellora, illustrating both the stylistic continuity and the tendency toward schematization, in the development of yaksa-yaksi art. The artist had sculptural prototypes. 8.5.1.1. The most charming image of Tirthankara, assiged to the later period of Amoghavarsa-I, now in Gulbarga Museum, is singular for its composition: "The central Jina figure, impassively sits in faintly contemplated expression reflecting total control on body and self, the head in this instance is graced by a bhamandala halo behind and the triple unbrella above. The simhasana is lost but in the original setting it could have been there. The somewhat smaller figures of the Camara - bearers are a little slantingly shown in relief but on the whole succeed in balancing the composition. An andola class of torana which, as a type and to all seeming was invented in the Rastrakuta times, defines the upper periphery of the throne-back. The throne possesses the pillarettes flanked at each side by a vyala figure and topped by a makara". [Dhaky: 1998: 43]. 8.5.2. A striking Jaina sanctuary, situated on gently rising ground to the north of the village Hallur, about 12KM

Page #298
Art and Architecture/237 to the north of Bagalkote, and not far off from Badami, facing south, locally called Meguli, 'temple on elevation', is in its peculiarities and nomenclature, analogus to the Megudi Jaina shrine at Aihole, both being storeyed structures. It is fairly a huge structure of 69'x41', with flat roof, open vestibule, elongated hall, kapota bandha moulded base, and notable for the way the walls are treated. Its tower-like super-structure of first-storey shrine-chamber has crumbled. But, rest of the handsome temple is better preserved. Its walls are decorated with narrow pilasters and large sized sculptures. Standing and somewhat mutilated figures of Jina Parsva and Kamadeva-Bahubali at the karnas, cornerdivision, and bhadras, central offset, and the plain pancasakha door frame belong to the early period of Amoghavarsa-I, though the shrine may be dated to still earlier period. 8.5.2.1. Regarding the upper shrine, now not extant, 'the Jains seem to have picked up this idea first introduced in the Meguti, though this upper shrine was added at a later date. In the basadis at Pattadakal and Hallur the upper shrine was included in the original plan itself. The other Jaina basadi of this period found at Aihole namely Settavva temple is also storeyed. These storeyed structures of the Jains were popularised during this period. The Gangas seem to have taken their cue from these structures when they decided to build the Chavundaraya Basadi at Sravanabelgola" (Rajasekhara, S: 17-18]. 8.5.3. Bankur(Gulbarg Dt, Citapur Tk) has remarkable archaeological remains confirming that the place was a seat of Jaina prominence from the days of the Rastrakutas. Existing pancakuta basadi was originally a trikuta, threeshrined, Jinalaya. A part of the temple, to the right of the gudha mandapa, is being used as the residence of the priest. A small compact shrine to the left, with four plain pillars,

Page #299
238 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism consists of an image of seated Jina (5'x40') on the lion throne (17" in height) a nisidhi slab, and a cavvisi slab. 8.5.3.1. Magnificent main door frame of the triple-shrine is highly decorative with makara-torana, dvarapalas with attendents and musicians. Artistically exected four 611, tall identical pillars in the central hall are different from the other four pillars, two each on either side of the gudhamandapa. Inside the triple temple are three wombhouses. In the central sanctum is the image of mulanayaka santinatha in khadgasana (75"x25") on the simhapitha (16"x31"). The spacious sanctum has six pillars, three each on either side in a row, with sculptural details. Right side sanctum has Gajalaksmi as its tutelary figure, where as the left side sanctum has the seated Jina in the center of the door frame. Jina Parsva image (63"x28") canopied with septacephalous Dharana, capped above with triple umbrella, two cauris on either side, and frizzy hair dropping upto the shoulders, is scintillating. Special feature of the body of serpent Dharana behind Jina is that it has 17 coils. 8.5.3.2. Albeit, stylistically, this basadi belongs to the late Rastrakuta and early Calukya period. But, the figure of yaksi Kusmandini/Ambika is the lone stone sculpture in the shrine, of the Rastrakuta period, which can be relegated to the reign of Amoghavarsa or Krsna-II. 8.5.3.3. The kabari, branded hair tied into a round knot, completely pushed upward to the back of her head, looks like a head-wear. Above it, is the tiny figure of a seated Jina, evidently Neminatha to whom, Ambika is the attendant deity. Going round the dhammilla are the branches of mango tree suggestive of her sitting under the mango grove as described in the Jaina pantheon. Frequent coating of pigment has blurred the details of lion, her vahana, and two of her children on her sides. 8.5.3.4. The image of a seated dvibhuja yaksa, kept

Page #300
Art and Architecture / 239 outside the shrine, but within the complex, near the dwarf entrance, with Yajnopavita, ceremonial thread on the burly but youthful body, and yogapattika, belt for contemplation also belongs more or less to the same age. It is difficult to say whether a sikhara, crowning cupola exited or not. 8.5.3.5. Corroborative evidence suggests that a Jaina monastery existed attached to the basadi, and that there were few more Jaina edifices than those now seen scattered around the little township. At a distance from the temple are seen Jaina images of Parsva and yaksas which are definitely of the Rastrakuta times : "A beautiful early sculpture of Parsva seated in the ardhapadmasana against a back seat made of a horizontal bar supported by two dwarf pillars with lions standing on hind legs is found in a ruined basadi at Bankur, Citapur Tk. Between the back rest and the body of the Jina are the coils of the seven-hooded Dharanendra at the back of the Jina. From two ends of the back-rest spring two camaradhara yaksas. There is a triple umbrella over the snake-hoods. The sculpture dates in C. gth cent. A. D." (Shah, U.P. : Jaina Rupamandana : 1987 : 185). 8.5.3.6. On the outskirts of the village is another large Jaina dvitala storeyed edifice, larger than the one referred above, which is now converted into Ramalingesvara guli. It consists of garbhaglha, open antarala, navaranga with two vacant devakosthas, an open mukhamandapa, front-hall. A Manastambha before the entry hall indicates that the temple had an entrance from there, which is closed now. A small shrine, within the compound, to left corner of the entry-hall has a seated caturbhuja Padmavatidevi yaksi. Doorframe of the main sanctum has three doorjambs and a seated Jina as its tutelary figure and two more Jinas above it, aslo seated in paryankasana. A stone ladder from left side of the gudhamandapa leads to the vacant shrine above the garbhagpha.

Page #301
240 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism 8.5.3.7. A raised compound wall, evidently a later addition, has a side entrance since the temple is three feet below the ground level, a flight of steps facilitate the devotees to enter the compound. Outside the compound is a Danasale with four pillars, also a later structure. Doorframe of the side entrance has five decorative doorbands. Above the tutelary figure of Jina are two reliefs of Jinas standing in Kayotsarga posture. Both inside the enclosure and outside are scattered vestiges of lion throne and other broken parts. 8.5.4. Jevargi (Gulbarga Dt) has two Jaina pagodas. The one situated inside the town belongs to the period of later Calukyas. The other one, situated on the out skirts of the township, is one of the earliest extant buildings at Jevargi. This ancient Jaina shrine, now a Marutimandira dedicated to god Hanuman, has typical early Rastrakuta form, seemingly assignable to late 9th cent, to the period of Krsna-II. The edifice has undergone major changes, before and after being converted into a Hanuman temple. Its compound wall with its pancasakha doorframe belongs to the early phase of the Calukyas of Kalyana. It has a seated Jinas its tuterlary image and above it on the lintel are the figures of two Jinas standing in Khadgasana. 8.5.4.1. Inside the shrine, the sabhamandapa has six Brahmakanta pillars. On the walls of the gudhamandapa are two vacant devakosthas with two small niches one each on either side. Notable feature of the temple is that it is a sandhara, type of Jinalaya, with pradaksinapatha, circumambulatory path for the main womb-house. Garbhaglha, doorjambs and the pillars are thickly painted using deep colors which has obliterated the minor sculptural details. 8.5.4.2. The two simhapada, lion-based columns, mounted with a splendid makaratorna, are mementous, not only in the context of Jaina shrines but also of temple

Page #302
Art and Architecture / 241 architecture of the Rastrakutas in general. The admirabley chiselled makaratorana resemble the one at Pattadakal of the Early Calukya age. The antarala of one of the temples of typically Rastrakuta type of early 10th cent., at Sirval (srivolal) has two simhapada - Rudrakanta columns. But here the columns used are of Brahmakanta - simhapada class of columns of late 9th cent. Similar pillars are found at Bhimarayanagudi and Ingalagi also. But there, the figures of dwarfs holding the front legs of the lion at their shoulders are absent. However, such simhapada columns are found in the Pallava pillars of Mamalla period. The possibility of Pallava or Tamil country's influence can not be vetoed. Elements of art and architecture must have gravitated to Rastrakuta empire from the lands that they conqured. 8.5.5. Harijanvada, a hamlet just on the outskirts of Pet-sirura (Gul Dt, Citapur Tk), has an ancient Neminatha Jinalaya in decrepit state. Local people worship the god in the name of Lord Buddha. Built in the typical Rastrakuta type, it consists of three components viz., a garbhagrha, antarala, mavaranga, and perhaps a mukha mandapa. Doorframe of the gudha mandapa has three doorjambs and Gajalaksmi in the lalata. But, in the soffit is the figure of seated jina flanked by yaksa-yaksi. Four citrakhanda pillars in the square navaranga, are moderately ornamented but their formal components at once divulge Rastrakuta style. 8.5.5.1. Goddess Amibkadevi alias Kusmandini in easy posture with one leg flexed and placed on the seat, and the other gracefully folded from the seat, seated-at-ease. Front portion of her right hand is broken and the left hand has covered the back of her son sitting on the lap. A portion of the child's neck is broken. Deity's Dhammilla hair style is of the Rastrakuta period. The image is placed to the right wall of the intermediate compartment between the shrine-cell and sabhamandapa. The sanctum is adorned with the figure of

Page #303
242 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Neminatha Tirthankara seated on the lion-throne. Jina engrossed in meditation, has a round face, with a bhamandala, halo, behind the head, chatratraya above the head, flanked by flywhisk bearers. 8.6. Mulgunda (Gadag Dt), a concentrated and celebrated center of Jaina settlement from 7th cent. was a smaller unit of administration of the Rastrakutas, ruled by Sindas, their subordinates. Replete with Jaina historical materials, the hoary antiquity of Mulgunda does not conflict with the existing temple edifices. The existing two Jaina shrines, on the low hillock to the south of the village, bear the stamp of antiquity. 8.6.1. The two notable basadis facing north, on the hillock, Trikuta basadi and tirthada basadi, are renovated and mostly survive in their original form. The excellent entrance with varieties of pillars over the dado is a later addition in the period of Trailokyamalladeva (1042-68). Three-shrined temple, far earlier structure than the tirthada basadito its left, has partly buried hasti-hasta balustrade of great beauty, preserved at the main stairway with a Gandharva figure, over the back of the vyala, which resembles Tripurantakesvara rangamandapa east side hasti-hasta at Balligamve (Shimoga Dt), and partly the hastihasta-banister at the Aanigere Jaina temple, which is far superior in execution. The entry-hall, open on either side, has perforated grill-window flanking the doorway wallframe. A very large tutelary deity carved on the lalata block shows Jina in glory. Both the garbagrha and the gudhamandapa doorframes are decorated with five doorjambs. 8.6.2. The trikuta Jinalaya was commissioned in late ninth century by Cikarya, son of Candrarya, a burgher and tradesman. It was further endowed with land etc in C. E. 902-03. Much of the fabric of the ancient shrine has survived as it originally was, with the vimana and srikara,

Page #304
Art and Architecture / 243 citrakhanda and visnukanta columns, with all their details are intact in situ. Regarding the sculptural details of the vimana a noted feature is the decorated majestic elephant on all the three sides. 8.6.5. Recently, on 14-01-99, I found in the same temple a graceful Arhat Parsva sculpture , carved to perfection on a slab containing a dated (C. E. 902-03) Sankrit inscription on the backside. The epigraph was noticed earlier but not the lovely scuplture of eminence on the otherside, since the slab was fixed to the wall. The tablet has marvellous sculptures on both the sides. On one side, in the very beginning, before the commencement of the inscription, is the sculpture of a caityalaya motif. It has three compartments, framed inside the four pillars. On the right side is the relief of a cow and a calf. In the centre is the figure of Jina seated in padmasana on a lion throne capped with tripple umbrella and the fly whisk bearers in flank. On the left side is Ambika yaksi seated in lalitasana (Sukhasana) posture under the mangogrove, holding a bunch of mango fruits in her right hand, the left hand being a varada-hasta, and the lion being her vahana. A male person standing to her left is her son. Because Ambika alias Kusmandi is an attendant deity of Neminatha, the 22nd Tirthankara, the centre figure in the panel can be considered as Neminatha Jina. 8.6.3.1. On the otherside of the tablet is the extreemly superb sculpture Jina Parsva with kamathopa-sarga motif, depicting the episode of tormentation of Kamatha. Charged with vengeance, Kamatha lashed heavy rains, hurled huge boulders, created thunder storm and deputed evil spirits to shake Parsva from his trance, but in vain. The sylvan deities appeared and yaksi Padmavati holding the staff of the diamond studded parasol stood to the right, symbolising the benefic aspect of the diety, and the malefic aspect of Kamatha is shown on the left side. Similar stelae are met at Hombuja

Page #305
244 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism and Ellora Jaina cave temple. One more special architectural feature discovered recently in the triple-shrine is that there is a cave below the shrine in the left corner meant for the meditation of the monks. 8.6.4. Recent discovery of three ancient Jaina images, by the author of this monograph, at Mallasamudra ( Gadag Dt), has proved that the village was a famous Jaina establishment from early 8th century. Though the original shrines do not exist now, a compact hall, facing east, has enshrined three magnificent Jaina idols on a raised platform. Among them, two are of Parsva in khadgasana, and the other one seated in ardhapadmasana is of Mahavira. 8.6.4.1. Of the two Parsva figures, the one with fivehooded canopy is the earliest of Jina-Parsva images in Karnataka, stylistically dating to C. 8th century. The absence of any accoutrements or even the two attendent deities or flywhisks, and a strong well built proportionate body, slightly oval shaped face with elongated ears, a clean shaven head divulge the aesthetic and commensurate composition. A puppet like rigidity and an almost premitive bareness, characteristic of Jaina sculpture is masterly executed in this figure. Even though the sculpture of Jina Parsva in the forelobby of Jaina caves at Aihole and Badami are dated late 6th cent., they are carved in bas-relief. But, so far, Mallasamudra image is the first known image wrought of a block of black stone. 8.6.4.2. An exquisite figure of Mahavira seated in padmasana on a lion throne, flanked by camaradharas, capped by chatra-traya triple parasol, one above the other, is assignable to early nith century, and definitely of Amoghavarsa-I period. Most charming sculpture has the figures of Matanga yaksa, sitting on the right side and Siddhayika yaksi on the left. Matanga yaksa is holding the citron fruit in his left hand and the right hand in abhayahasta

Page #306
Art and Architecture / 245 is in accordance with the description of Vasunandi, Nemicandra and Asadhara. Siddhayika yaksi on the left is holding a book in her left hand and the right hand being in varadamudra pose. An ornamented nimbus depicting coiled creeper, representing caitya tree, is emerging from the stretched snout of Vyali on either side of the aureola. The third figure of Jina Parsa belongs to the early decades of 11th century. Epigraphical evidence confirm the hoary antiquity of the place and its close relationship with both Mulgunda and Puligere (Laksmesvar). 8.6.5. Nisidhis, with its variants showing difference in the use of sibilant and the ending of the form describe the deceased personality, the way in which a person willingly submitted to voluntary death, and the person by whom the commemoration was executed. A slab-stone or a boulder, as a post-mortem memorial, usually erected at the spot where the pious individual breathed his/her last or where his/her body was burnt. Depending on the status of the deceased, a square platform with/without corner pillars, is raised. This platform with corner pillars resembles a mandapa, without any side-walls. Such mandapas and raised platforms can be found on the candragiri, the smaller hill at Sravanabelagola and elsewhere in the state. Though, primarily they are postobito eipitaphs, many of them furnish historical details, and most of them contain sculptures worth considering. 8.6.5.1. On par with basadis, the nisidhis of the period are noted for their historical and sculptural significance. Incidentally some of them are the earliest found in the state. Among them the most illustrative and distinct type is the sculptured and inscribed stele from Doddahundi (Mysore Dt, T. N. Pura Tk), showing Nitimarga Permanati-I (853-69), the Ganga king, on his death bed. This stele is now in the Museum of Bangalore. This nisidhi is also called a kalnadu, a type of hero-stone, which was raised by Satyavakya

Page #307
246 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Permanadi Nitimarga's son. King Nitimarga was a bee at the pair of the lotus feet of the Arhad Bhattaraka Jinasena, the author of the Sanskrit Adipuranam and the preceptor of Amoghavarsa-I. Nisidhi inscriptions and their sculptures at Sravanabelagola and Koppala are discussed appropriately. 8.6.6. Muniyara Bommanahalli village (Gulbarga Dt), to the west of Sorapur and on the way to Talikote from Kembhavi, is replete with Jaina relics of the Rastrakuta period. The hamlet at the entrance of a ravine consists of some adhistanas of runied Jinalayas, and scattered Jaina vestiges of a black schist image of Jina Parsva in kayotsarga posture, (size 4'x3'), a resdtone image of Jina seated on a lion throne in paryankasana capped with tripple umbrella, fly-whisk bearers standing on either side, and a dilapidated small basadi etc. 8.6.6.1. A Jina Parsva dvitala, two storeyed Jaina shrine with a small uparitala, upper-storey, above the garbhagTha, has been now converted into a Ramesvara devalaya. Muniyara Bommanahalli, at the approach to a mountain pass, commands a serene panoramic view suitable for austerity. Local legend reports that the toponymn Muniyara' meaning of the ascetics' is derived from the Jaina monachs who once inhabited the place in large numbers. Whatever be that, the place deserves further investigation and excavation. In brief, Koppala, like Sravanabelagola, persisted to be a nerve center of hecitc Jaina activities. 8.6.7. Thanks mainly to the patriarchs, Koppala turned out to be a major Jaina establishment and a regular pilgrim seat, for the householders, monarchs and their feudal lords. With its wooded slopes, huge boulders, deep ravines and dark caverns, Koppala provided a perfect place for penance and purification. It continued to be a nucleus for the Rastrakutas, the Gangas and the later Calukyas. Considered as an Aditirtha and Maha-tirtha from the early centuries of current

Page #308
Art and Architecture / 247 era, Koppala flowered into a major settlement of Jaina order during this period. 8.6.7.1. Jaina friars and nuns administered the oath of death by gradual abstenation from food and water, to some of the official dignitories of this age, on the sepulchral hill. Local epigraphs speak of many prominent pontiffs, princes, princesses, and nuns who flourished during the reign of Amoghavarsa-I, -II, and -III, Krsna-II, Indra-III, Govinda-IV, Krsna-III and Khottiga. Famed Sankaraganda, feudatory of Krsna-III, had founded Jayadhira Jinalaya in C. 964 C. E. Many members of the Butuga-II's family willingly submitted themselves to the rite of holy death as prescribed in the Jaina tradition. 8.6.7.2. Koppala had direct connection with Malkhed. Mamarasa, Rastrakuta general, visited siddha Kupana (Koppala) in C. E. 883, as part of Tirthavandana itinerary. Indraraja-III acended the throne in C. E. 914-15 and ruled upto C. E. 926. Before that, as a prince, Indra was ruling as governor of southern region of the state, when Mamarasa was dandanayaka under him. 8.7. Kesvara olim Gadi-Kesvara (Gulbarga Dt, Cincoli Tk), mentioned in the epigraphs as Kesavapura, was one of the very ancient Jaina settlements in Karnataka. It has thrived well with its Jaina sanctuaries and cloisters, in the early epoch of Calukyas of Badami. It continued to prosper during the age of the Rastrakutas. Kesvara persisted to wield influence when the Calukyas of Kalyana, the Kalacuris and the Seunas were ruling. 8.7.1. Of the three ancient Jaina chapels, the one that exists in the potterer's lane, to the south end of the village, is of greater significance. Local people recognise the temple as a basadi of kancugaras, bell-metal smith. Evidently it was built by devotees of merchant class. An inscription on the right side door-lintel records that a Jina Parsva temple was constructed by Masanayya. Matisetti, a lay disciple of

Page #309
248/The Rastrakutas and Jainism Maghanandiyati, restored this temple in the medieval period. 8.7.2. On the way to the existing Jaina shrine, many antiquated relics including pillar fragments are strewn on either side of the single track. Of the remains on a raised platform on the path is a headless torso of a seated dvibhuja yaksa. It is one of the earliest of its idiom in Karnataka, and it belongs to the late seventh century C. E., of the Badami Calukya times. 8.7.3. The crumbling Jina Parsva temple facing east, built in stone, consists of a womb-house, uncovered vestibule, navaranga, entry-hall with seat-back. Its adhisthana is of the general kapotabandha class. Four pillars in the navaranga are characteristically of early Rastrakuta period. Even the fifth pillar, standing in between the two left side columns, and a piece of broken pillar placed above it to support the loose lintel- are in the style of ninth century. Crowning glory of the decayed temple are two images of Jina Parsva. 8.7.4. The figure of Parsva seated in deep contemplation has bhamandala, halo radiating lustre behind the head as an atisaya. Above the head is septacephalous Dharana, capped by triple parasol. Chowrie-bearers in high relief and the caitya tree motif are depicted on the sides of the chatratraya. Parikara details of the beautiful sculpture emblematically represents the Badami (Sk. Vatapi) Calukya style which has a flavour at once delicate and distinctive. The sculptor's technical perfection, clubbed with superior aesthetic taste is illustrated in the components which are in perfect proportions. The figure can be delegated to last decade of 7th cent. or the first quarter of 8th century. Its lion throne is lost. 8.7.4.1. Another Arhat Parsva image in kayotsarga of about five feet tall, in blackish brown stone, kept in the gudhamandapa belongs to the late Rastrakuta period.

Page #310
Art and Architecture / 249 8.7.5. Parsvanatha temple at Aland (Gulbarga Dt), newly restored, has dwarf sized pillars, an image of Ambika, a seated Jina and another image of Jina standing in khadgasana - all belonging to the period of early 10th century. The image of Dvibhuje Ambika (Amra, Kusmandi are her other aliases) mounted on a lion in lalitasana, is 30 inches tall and the pediment slab has a thickness of five inches. She is sitting under a full bloomed mango branch, holding a bunch of mangos in her right arm, and a fruit in her left palm. Her elder son, standing to the right side is holding a cluster of mango, and her younger son is sitting on the lion, along with his mother. This is one of the eye-filling Kusmandi statues of the Rastrakuta age. It resembles the image of Ambika kept in anisle of Malkhed Jaina temple and the one inside Bankur basadi, both of more or less the same period. De facto, Veni, fillet of hair, of the Aland, Kusmandi is identical with that of Harijanvada, Malkhed, and Bankur. 8.7.6. A massive Jina Parsva sanctuary of late 9th century, at the other end of the village Mangalagi (Gulbarga Dt, Citapur Tk) had completely disintegrated, leaving some ancient vestiges. A huge 11 feet image of Parsva canopied by large septacephalous Dharana, is mutilated. Two broken parts of pillars, padmasila of ceiling, a vacant cushion slab (behind a seated Jina image - not found), a tablet containing Padmavati et cetera, are scattered near the site where the shrine once existed. 8.7.6.1. A beautiful and rare ninth century image of seated caturbhuja Dharanendra yaksa, in the sanctum of a newly built small shrine at the very entrance of Mangalagi village, originally belonged to the crumbled Parsva shrine. 8.8. My field work at Kalasapura (Gadag Dt) has yielded architectural and sculptural remains belonging to an early age. Founding of the sacred edifices are yet to be traced, but the vestiges have produced prestigeous

Page #311
250 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism. monuments of the Rastrakuta age. The 8 feet tall standing image of Jina, is difficult to date precisely, but it could be assigned to the late tenth century, on the basis of the characteristic features of the sculpture in question. To subscribe to the popular belief of the local people, and the devout Jaina laity, that the tall figure is of Bahubali alias Gommata, it is stylistically an impossible reality. It could be Bharata, in which case a corresponding Bahubali image is missing. There are some loose sculptures, including nisidhi and naga-nagini, placed at the feet of the standing nude image. 8.8.1. But the image of seated Jina is can apparently be assigned to early ninth century. Jina is seated on visvapadma, double lotus, which is in turn on the simhapitha, a lion-throne. Behind the seated Mahavira Jina is an elaborately worked prabhavali, aureola, enclosed within an excellent makara-torana, supported on either side by columns with additional details. The image with camaradharas possesses features of serenity, divinity of power and beauty, preserved inspite of being exposed freely to the abrasive weather, which are reminiscent of a style of the Rastrakuta period. 8.8.2. Of the other Jaina relics dispersed around the village Kalasapura are a broken image of a bust of Yaksi, a seated Jina, a quadruple image - block et cetera are noticed. Regarding their exact plausible date, nothing can be said. The caumukha, about half a meter tall, a monolithic votive, chiselled out of local stone, has a base from which rises cylindrical body and a row of receding parasols. A square block with four images on its four faces, called caturmukha, auspicous from all cardinal directions, is a distinctive Jaina iconographic motif. It is also called caumuha and is more popular in the north. . 8.8.2.1. Generally Ksabhanatha, santinatha, Parsva

Page #312
Art and Architecture/251 and Mahavira are the four Jinas found on the four faces of the votive. Such four faced votive objects are revered more as they can be approached from all directions and the object represents one of the Jaina iconographic specializations. The handsome quadruple image-block at Kalasapura seems to have been placed on the top of a Manastambha, a characteristic Jaina pillar of eminence. On the basis of the disseminated traces, it can be surmised that at least three Jaina pagodas existed at Kalasapura. 8.8.3. Kogali (Ballary Dt. Hadagali Tk), a famous Jaina settlement with more basadis and monastery, continued to thrive from the time of Druvinita (late sixth cent.), the Ganga king, who commissioned a sarvatobhadra Jinalaya, the earliest of its kind in the south. Kogali, a pancamatha sthana, had Jaina cleric as sthanadhipati the chief of the town. Jinalayas possessed many hindrance free allotments for their sustenenance. Political, religious and socio-cultural significance, in the Jaina context, of Kogali had its status quo ante during this period. About half a dozen bronze Jaina images from Kogali are now in Government Museum of Chennai, all of them being of the Rastrakuta age. Kogali Jinalayas were rich with metal images. 8.8.4. Puligere (Laksmesvar-Gadag Dt), one of the most celebrated cities of ancient years, remained a centre of religious and commercial activities upto the end of medieval period. Jainism was in a flourishing state and the Gangas in particular founded prodigious edifices. Sankha basadi was the Patta-Jinalaya of the Early Calukyas. Anesejjebasadi, Ganga-Kandarpa-Jinalaya, Goggiya basadi, Tirthadavasati, Caturmukha caityalaya, Dhavala Jinalaya, Permmadi basadi, Marudevi basadi, Mukkaravasadi, Racamalla basadi, Sankhajinalaya, santinatha basadi, Srivijaya jinalaya etc, are the names of Jaina sanctuaries that thrived without let, with encumbrance free donations.

Page #313
252 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism 8.8.5. Ponnugunda/Hungund (Bijapur Dt) flowered as a famed Jaina settlement during the days of Rastrakuta monarchy. A good number of Jinalayas flourished at this well-known center from the days of the early Calukyas. Noted shrine among them, Mahasrimanta basadi thrived in the reign of Krsna-II. His subordinate chief Mahasrimanta/ Mahasirivanta, Duchy of Belvola-300 administrative division, constructed a basadi, in circa C. E. 900, named after him (or built for his merit?) as Mahasrimanta basadi. It was freshened and restored in C. E. 1060, by prince Bhuvanaikamalla Somesvara-II (1068-76), before he succeeded his father Trailokyamalla Ahavamalla Somesvara-I (1042-68), when he was governing as a mahamandalesvara. 8.8.6. Pasundi/Asundi (Gadag Dt), was another nerve seat of Jaina church from the beginning of Calukyas of Badami rule. During the reign of Govinda-III, Nagapuli gavunda, a country sheriff was the chief of Pasundi. In C. E. 925, Nagayya, a Jaina lay follower, caused to be made a Jinalaya attached to the Dhora Jinalaya at Bankapura. Candraprabha Bhatara, chief of the Bankapura Jaina diocese, was administering pasunoi basadi at that time. 8.8.7. Candiyabbe commissioned a basadi in C. E. 932 at nandavara in Sindavali - 1000 division, and donated land and gadyanas. 8.8.8. At Maravo!al Maro! (Bijapur Dt, Hungund Tk) subsisted a basadi in this period. It went on prospering when Mahadevi, daughter of Irivabedanga Satyasraya (998-1008), son of Tailapa-II (973-98), and queen consort of Itiva Nolambadhiraja Ghateyankakara, grandee of Nolambavali and karividi - 30, was governing. 8.9. At Bellur (Mandya Dt) is a lovely sculpture in the round of Parsva sitting in ardhapadmasana with five snakehoods of Dharana overhead and coils of the snake at his back.

Page #314
Art and Architecture/253 This handsome sculpture of the style under the Gangas, dating from early 10th cent., is brought from a ruined site in Nagamangala, a nearby town and taluk headquarters. 8.9.1. "A beautiful sculpture of standing Parsva with a fine circular canophy of seven snake-hoods is found from Lakkundi. The sculpture of fine Chalukyan style dates from C. ninth century A. D. There are no other members of the parikara nor a back slab. This is a sculpture in the round unfortunately broken below the knees. It is now preserved in the local museum. Of about the same age is a similar sculpture in the round with part of the snake-hoods mutilated and broken from below the knees. It is found from the site of the ancient Jaina Tirtha Kulpak in the Nalgonda district. It is now preserved in the local site museum of Somesvara temple" [Shah, U.P.: 185]. 8.9.2. Jaina sanctuaries and lamaseries existed at Annigere, Kambadahalli, Sedam, Kalagi, Ingalagi, Degalamadi, Yadrami, Old and New Sulepet HunasiHadagali, (Basava) Kalyana, and many more towns and villages, enjoying royal benevolence. A common style and patronage of the Rastrakuta and their vassals formed a web in which many Jaina chapels have been embedded. The Rastrakuta monarchs along with the Gangas, are responsibe for developing and expanding Jaina style of temple architecture. The smaller kingdoms, fiefs who thrived under the shadow of their overlords, adopted those models, incorporating local variations. This influence and interaction resulted in the effloresence of Deccano-Dravida mode of architecture which is reflected in the Jaina style also. YaksaYaksi cult was so popular in this period that thousands of stone and metal images were consecrated in every nook and corner of the imperial dynasty. 8.9.3. Construction of these glorious edifices was not limited to a particular province or patron or potentate. The

Page #315
254/The Rastrakutas and Jainism influence of Jainistic architectural expression is self-evident. Its variety with deep insight, richness with supreme quality, and ethos combined with unparalleled artistic grace has carved a niche in the hall of art gallery. These marvels would never have been accomplished had the Rastrakuta monarchs not taken keenest interest in them. 8.9.4. Practically under the hegemony of the Rastrakutas and for that matter upto C. E. 1184, there were no challenges or threats, either from within or without, to the ascendancy of sramana dharma, the Nirgrantha faith. Jainism, as a state religion, marked a grand era of development to its meredian of temple architecture and related sculpture, painting and allied arts. Jaina images, temples, sanctuaries, monasteries and inscriptions, found in every nook and corner of the kingdom, attest to the flourishing condition of syadvadamata during the period. 8.9.4.1. The spread of sramana dharma and the dissemination of Jaina ideals received sufficient impetus, on the advent of very many brilliant anchorite who pioneered in almost all genealogies of southern Jaina culture. 8.9.5. A. D. Pusalkar has crystellized this epoch as the most flourishing history of Jainism in the Deccan : "That the fortunes of Jainism were unaffected by the revival of Hinduism has been ascribed to the state of patronage, and the influence of the pious Jaina saints.... As king makers they secured royal patronage for generations. By winning over generals, feudal lords and provincial governors, their success at provincial centres was assured under the aegis of these officials. By securing popular support, they had among their followers the most important section of the middle class, the Vira Banajigas, and the commercial class, whose financial help went a long way in the cause of Jainism. It enabled them to construct magnificent Jinalayas and images" [The History and Culture of Indian people, vol. IV, The age of imperial Kanauj, pp. 288-89].

Page #316
Art and Architecture / 255 8.9.6. This monograph is an attempt to assign Jainism to its proper place in the overall context of the Rastrakuta history. It has left behind a rich treasure trove of valuable epigraphs and verifiable chronological details which form the base for reconstructing an authentic history of Jaina church in this age. The Rastrakutas were builders of magnificent temples and patronised all religion, art, architecture and literature alike. 8.9.7. Monolithic colossus of Gommata, on the crest of Vindhyagiri at Sravanabelagola, mark the culmination of not only the monolithic structures but also of commissioning shrines of the Rastrakuta monarchs or their vassal chiefs. In a befitting synchrony, a glorious imperial dynasty disappeared into a state of political limbo, by erecting its greatest monument on earth. 8.9.8. True that most of their edifices are in ruins. But, these ruins are an epitome of Jaina church. The dumb relics, even in their devastated state, proclaim the immaculate grandeur that was Jaina. What is said of Rome may also hold good in the Jaina context too: Even her ruin is glorious with renown, and swollen with glory, made even more honourable and memorable.

Page #317
Indra-II | Dantidurga C. 735-56 Karkka-I GENEALOGICAL TABLES The Rastrakutas * Dantivarma Indra-I T Govindaraja-I T Karkka-I Stambha (Kambayya) Krsna-I C. 756-74 Govinda-II C. 774-80 Dhruva (Dhora?) C. 780-93 Govinda-III C. 793-814 I Sarva Amoghavarsa-I (Nrpatunga) 814-78 Krsna-II (878-914) I Indra-II

Page #318
Appendix / 257 Jagattunga-II Indraraja-III 915-26 Amoghavarsa 935-39 Amoghavarsa-II 927-30 Govinda-IV 930-35 Jagattunga-III Nirupama Krsna-III 939-67 Khottiga 967-72 Son (m. daughter of Marula) Kannara (Krsna-IV) 972 Indra-IV (973-82 lived without a throne)

Page #319
258 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism GENEALOGY OF THE GANGA DYNASTY Konganivarmman (C. 325-50 C. E.) Madhava-I (C. 350-75) Harivarmman/Aryavarmman/Krsnavarmman Madhava-II (400-200) (Simhavamman) Visnugopa (420-40) Madhava-III (440-69) Avinita (469-529) alias Curcuvayda-Ganganspa Son (?) Durvinita alias Nirvinita (529-69) Mokkara Muskara (569-584) Polavira (584-594) Srivikrama (594-609) Bhuvikrama (609/10-34/35) Sistapriya Sivamara-I (635-75) Son (?) Sripurusa-Kongani-Muttarasa (725-88)

Page #320
Duggamara Marasimha-I (796) Narasimha (920-33) 1. Maruladeva alias Aramolideva (961-63) Sivamara-II (788-816) Prithvipati-I Nanniya-Ganga 1 Prithvipati-II I Racammala-II alias Rajamalla (877-907) Racamalla-II (933-36) 3. Bijjambarasi (m. Hariga) Goyindaradeva-II Satyavakya-Rakkasaganga (999-1024) 2. Kumdanasamidevi 4. Marasimhadeva-II (m. Rajasditya) (963-74) Catttaladevi Kancaladevi (m. Kaduvetti of (m. TrailokyamallaTondamandala) vira-Santara Biruga) Appendix / 259 Vijayaditya Racamalla-I alias Rajamalla (816-43) Ereganga-EreyappaNitimarga-II (886-920) Nitimarga Ereyanga-I (843-70) Butuga-I 7. Vasava 5. Rajamalla-IV (m. Kencabbarasi) (m. Kancaladevi) Butuga-II (936-61) 6. Nitimarga Goyindara-I Nitimarga Arumulideva (m. Gavabbarasi) (1020-36) Raja Vidyadhara alias Lokavidyadhara alias Rajaditya (1034-35)

Page #321
260 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism The Callaketanas Kalkadevayya (Karudevayya) Erakori Dhora-I (Callaketa) C. 800 Vira Bankeya (Callaketana) C. E. 830-73 Dhora-II C. E. 915 Bankeya-II Dhonda C. E. 917 KundayyaSetti/Kundatte (Calladhvaja) 874-75 Lokaditya (Lokate, Lokateyarasa, Lokayya) (Callapataka) 875-905 Dhora-III Kalivitta (Kalivittarasa) 912-18 Bankeya-III 918-28 Kalivitta-II 928-46

Page #322
Narasimha-I (c. 800-825) Arikesari-I (c. C. E. 775-800) Calukyas of Vemulavada * Vinayaditya Yuddhamalla-I (c. C. E. 750-75) Yuddhamalla-II (c. C. E. 825-50) 1 Baddega-I (Bhadradeva-I) (c. 850-95) Yuddhamalla-III (c. C. E. 895-915) Vagaraja (c. 955-65 C. E.) Narasimha-II = Jakavve (Rastrakuta princess) (c. 915-30 C. E.) T Revakanirmadi = Arikesari-II = Lokambika (Rastrakuta princess) (c. 930-41) Viragrha T Bhadradeva Baddega-II (Bhadradeva-II) Appendix / 261 (C. E. 959) I Arikesari-III (c. 966-73 C. E.)

Page #323
262 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism The Rattas of Saundatti Merada Prithvirama c. 878-903 Pittaga c. 960 Santivarma c. 980 Nannapayya c. 1000 Kartavirya-I (Kattabhupa) c. 1030-69 Davari (Dayama) Kannakaira-I (Kanna) Anka Erega/Eraga Kala Sena/Sena-I Kannakaira-II (Kanna-II) Kartavirya-II (Katta-II) Kalasena-II/Sena-II Kartavirya-III (Kattama) Laksmama/ Laksmideva Kartavirya-IV Mallikarjuna Laksmideva-II

Page #324
SOME JAINA EPIGRAPHS : A LIST Record of Krsna-II C.E. IA.XII p. 222 found at Aihole 911-12 2. Gokak Plates of Dejja undated IA. XXI pp. 291 ff Maharaja 3. Records of Ratta chiefs 940 JBBRAS.X. pp.194-ff Prithvirama, Santivarma 980 ibid, X., pp. 204 ff 4. Koanur epigraph of Amoghavarsa 860 EI. VI. No.4 pp. 25-38 5. Bentur record of Amoghavarsa 864 BKI. l-i. No. 10.p.6 6. Mulguna record of Krsna-II 902-03 EI. XIII. p. 130 ff. 7. Venkatapur record of Amoghavarsa 906 EI. XVI. No. 4. pp. 59-62 and BKI. l-i. No. 28. p. 16 8. Asundi record of Indra - III 925 BKI. l-i. No. 34. p. 20 9. Kavajjageri record of Govinda-IV 933 BKI. l-i. No. 35. p.21 10. Suddi copper plates of Butuga 938 EI. III, No. 25. pp. 158 ff. 950 810 974 BKI. 1-1. No. 38. p. 23 EC. II (R) 140 (415) EC. II (R) 64 (59) 981-83 11. Naregal record of Krsna-III 12. SB record of Sivamara 13. Kuge-Brahmmadeva Pillar Inscription of Marasimha, at SB 14. Epigraphs of Camundaraya and his son Jinadevana 15. Vadanaguppe record of Kambhadeva found at Devanur (Nanjangud Tk) 16. Hebbalaguppe record (Heggada- devanakote Tk) EC. II (R) 150-51 (121-22) and (175-76) MAR 1927, p. 117 808 895 MAR 1932 pp. 240-41

Page #325
264 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Sw 17. Tayalur record (Mandya Dt) 895 EC. III (old) Maddur. 13 18. Kyatanahalli inscription 900 EC. III (old) Sr. 147 (Sriangapatna Tk) 19. Rampura inscription 904 EC. III (old) Sr. 148 (Srirangapatna Tk) 20. Kulagere inscription (Mandya Dt) 909 EC. III (old) Malavalli 30 21. Buvanahalli Jaina record 950 MAR 1913 p. 31 on the pedestal of Candranatha basadi (My Dt, Hunsur Tk) 22. Cikka Hanasoge epigraphs 10th cent. MAR 1914 p. 38 23. Somasamudra record 993 MAR 1931. p. 139 (Mysore Dt, Tk) 24. Mararu inscription 900 EC. V (old) Ag. 24 (Arakalagud Tk) 25. Belur inscription of Butuga 952 EC. V. (old) Bl. 123 26. Gubbi inscription in Hole 960 EC. V. (old) HN. 14 Narasipura Tk 27. Gandasi inscription in 970 EC. V. (old) AK. 164 Arasikere Tk * Manjarabad inscription on the 970 ibid. MJ. 67 pedestal of a Jaina image 29. Siddaganahalli epigraph 961 EC. VI (old) Kd. 159 in Kadur Tk 30. Kadur Pillar inscription 970 ibid. Kd. I 31. Angadi inscription 990 ibid. Mg. II (Cikka-Magalur Dt) 32. Guddada basadi inscription 898 EC. VIII (old) Nr. 60 of Hombuja (Shimoga Dt) 33. Bandanike inscription 902 MAR 1911, p. 38 (Shimoga Dt, Sikaripura Tk) 34. Kumsi inscription (Shimoga Dt) 950 EC. VII (old) Sk. 114 35. Hombuja inscription (Shimoga Dt) 958 EC. VII (old) Nr. 45 36. Manne copper-plates (B'lore Dt) 797 EC. IX (old) NL. 60 37. Berur inscription (B'lore Dt, 900 ibid, Cp. 69 Cannapatna Tk) 38. Manne epigraph of Govinda-III 902 ibid. NL. 61 39. Narasapur copper-plates (Kolar Dt) 903 EC. X. KL. 90 Con

Page #326
Appendix / 265 40. Bevinahalli inscription 968 EC. XI (old) Cd. 74 (Citaldroog Dt) 41. Kadaba copper-plates 812 EC. XII old) Gb. 61. pp. 30-31 42. Bidare inscription 979 (ibid) Gb. 57. p. 27 (Tumkur Dt, Gubbi Tk) 43. Hemavati inscription 982 ibid. Si. 27. p. 92 (Tumkur Dt. Sir. Tk) 44. Biliyur inscription of 898 EC. I (R) Cg. 2 Racamalla-II (Coorg Dt) 45. Peggur inscription (Coorg Dt) 978 EC. I (R) Cg. 4 46. Uppina-Betageri inscription 964 Nagarajaiah, of Sankaraganda, feudatory -65 Hampa : Koppala of Krsna-III Inscriptions, 1999: No. 71 Desai, P. B.: 1957 : 372-73 47. Kopbal inscription of the c. 850 Desai, P. B. : 338-39 period of Amoghavarsa C. E. and Nagarajaiah, Hampa : 1999: Koppala. No.72.p.169 48. Mulgunda inscription of the 902-03 Aravantige, vol. I. period of Krsna-III No.2 1999, pp. 45-46, ed : Nagarajaiah, Hampa. 49. Koppala inscription 990 Koppala No. 2, p. 23 23-5-990 50. Koppala inscription 977 Koppala No. 3. (12-7-977) pp.25-26 51. Koppa!a inscription 10th cent. Koppala. No. 6. p. 36 Nisidhi of Butuga's daughter 52. Koppala inscription 9-6-971 Koppala No. 10, p. 41 Mentions Mahendradeva, preceptor of Somadevasuri 53. Koppala inscription late Koppala No. 12. p. 43 Nisadhi of Rambaladevi a 10th cent. Ganga princess 54. Danavulapadu inscription undated SII. IX-i. p. 36 55. Danavulapadu inscription of 10th cent. EI. X. pp. 147-53 of Srivijaya 56. Epitaph of Marasimha 974-75 EC. II (R) 64

Page #327
266 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism 57. DhoraJinalaya 925 SII. XI-i. No. 34 ASundi 58. Jakkiyabbe Nisadhi 918 EC. VII. Sk. 219 59. Koppala inscription 7-6-940 Koppala No. 13 60. Koppala inscription late 10th cent. Koppala No. 16 p. 54 61. Koppala inscription 9-7-998 Koppala No. 17 p. 57-58 62. Koppala inscription 1-11-997 Koppala No. 21. Nisidhi of Trikalayogi, preceptor of pp. 64-66 SII. IX-i. Sarvalokasraya Visnuvardhana, Bhima-III 403. 10th cent. Ramatirtha 63. Koppala inscription 11-10-976 Koppala No. 26. pp. 76-77 64. Koppala inscription 4-10-1007 Koppala No. 27 p. 78 65. Koppala inscription 27-11-972 Koppala No. 28 p. 81-82 66. Koppala inscription 10th cent. Koppala No. 29 p. 84 67. Koppala inscription 6-6-971 Koppala No. 33 p. 91-92 68. Koppala inscription a. 1010-11 Koppala No. 34 Nisidhi of Somadevasuri b.2-10-984 pp. 94-95 69. Koppala inscription late Koppala No. 38 Mentions Gollacarya, Trikalayogi 10th cent. p. 101 70. Koppala inscription 24-2-990 Koppala No. 39 Nisidhi of three spouses of p. 103-05 Duke Nanni-Nolamba Pallava 71. Koppala inscription 3-12-973 Koppala No. 40 Nisidhi of Padmabbe, consort of p. 108 Butuga - II 72. Koppala inscription 10th cent. Koppala No. 41 Gollacarya p. 110 73. Koppala inscription 7-5-1030 Koppala No. 44 Mentions Butuga, Sankaraganda pp. 117-18 Marasimha & Revakanimmadi 74. Koppala inscriptions 15-1-1023 Koppala No. 47 Nisidhi of the wife of Rajamalla, son of Ganga Butuga-II 75. Koppala inscriptions 14-10-993 Koppala No. 53 Nisdhi of Gonambe, queen of Ajavarma of Ganga dynasty p. 123-24 p. 136-37

Page #328
Appendix / 267 5-10-1003 Koppala No. 60 p. 146-47 76. Koppala inscriptions Nisadhi of Bijjambika do Butuga Permadi 77. Koppala inscriptions Nisadhi of Anugabbarasi 78. Koppala inscriptions Nisidhi of monk Sarvvanandi 79. Lokate Jinalaya at Lokapura (Bijapur Dt) 80. Kalivitta, governor 81. Kalivitta 6-3-977 Koppala No. 63 p. 153 C.E. Koppala No. 75 881-82 p. 172 Desai, P. B.: 339-42 C. E. 890 ARSIE 1942-43 No. 2 and 3; 904-05 SII. XX. 15.904-05 901-02 ARSIE 1933-34. App. E. No. 17 C. E. 912 EC. VIII. Sorab. 88 931 EC. VIII (BLR) Sorab. 83 916 EC. VIII (BLR) SK. 219 928 SII, XVIII. Nos. 12,15 17, 20, 23 and 30; EI. VI. pp. 25 ff. C. gth cent. Kl. I. 15. Shiggaon 920 EC. XII (old) Sira. 39 82. Kalivittarasa 83. Kalivitta, Lokate 84. Bankeya and Kundate 85. Jaina monastery at Penjermu

Page #329
268/The Rastrakutas and Jainism KONNUR INSCRIPTION OF AMOGHAVARS-I The inscription divides itself into two parts. Lines 1 to (the word sarvvam in) 59 record a grant, professedly made by the Rastrakuta king Amoghavarsha [I.] on a date which falls in A. D. 860. Lines 59 (from the word mithyabhava) to 72, on the other hand, after praises of the Jaina creed and the two sages Meghachandra-Traividya and his son Viranandin, inform us that, at the request of Huliyamarasa, the Mahaprabhu of Kolanura, and others Viranandin had a copper charter, which they had seen, rewritten here as a stone charter. According to this statement, lines 1-59 of the inscription were copied from a copper-plate inscription; and from the dates which we possess for Viranandin and his father Meghachandra-Traividya, the time when this copy was made, and when the inscription, as we have it, was engraved, may approximately be determined to be the middle of the twelfth century A. D. From an inscription at SravanaBelgola (Roman text, p. 26, II. 3-6) we know that Meghachandra-Traividya died on Thursday, the 2nd December A. D. 1115; and according to a notice published by Mr. Pathak, Viranandin finished the writing of his Acharasara on a date which I find to correspond to Monday, the 25th May A. D. 1153. The principal part of the inscription (line 1-59, the alleged copy of a copper-plate inscription) records, that - at a

Page #330
Appendix / 269 total eclipse of the moon on the full-moon tithi of the month Asvayuja (or Asvina) in the [Jovian) year Vikrama, SakaSamvat 782 expired or, as is expressly stated, 83 current (II. 43 and 44) - king Amoghavarsha [I.], the successor of Jagattunga (II. 15 and 16), residing at his capital of Manyakheta (1.34), at the request of his subordinate Bankesa (Bankeya) and in recognition of important services rendered by him granted the village of Taleyura (I. 38) and some land in other villages (II. 45-48), for the benefit of a Jaina sanctuary founded by Bankeya at Kolanura, to the age Devendra, who had been appointed by Bankeya to the charge of the sanctuary, the disciple of Trikalayogisa, of the Pustaka gachchha of the Desiya gana of the Mula samgha (II. 35-38). The introductory part of the inscription - after two versed of which one invokes the blessing, at the same time, of the god Vishnu (Jina) and the first Jaina prophet (Jinendra), and the other the protection of both Vishnu (Narayana) and the king Amoghavarsha himself, as in verse 34, called ViraNarayana - in verses 3-11 gives the genealogy of Amoghavarsha. Verses 17-34 contain a eulogistic account of the services rendered by Bankesa (Bankeya). And the concluding lines 57-59 record the writer's name, Vatsaraja, and that of Bankeyaraja's chief adviser, the Mahattara Ganapati. It may at once be stated here that the date given above undoubtedly is correct. The Jovian year Vikrama corresponds to Saka-Samvat 782 expired, by both luni-solar systems; and on the full-moon day of Asvina of that year, corresponding to the 3rd October A. D. 860, there was a total eclipse of the moon, fully visible in India for more than three hours. But much as the correctness of a date, containing such particulars as are given here, would speak in favour of the genuineness of a record, there is at least one point in the preceding, which raises a doubt whether the stone inscription, even if it was

Page #331
270/The Rastrakutas and Jainism based on a genuine copper-plate charter, is an authentic copy of it in every detail. Excepting the Kadaba grant of Prabhutavarsha (Govinda III.) the form of which is altogether peculiar, the earlier Sanskrit copper-plate inscriptions of the Rastrakutas of the main line, from the Samangad plates of Dantidurga to the Nausari plates of Indraraja III. of Saka-Samvat 836, all commence with the verse Sa vo=vyad=vidhasa dhama; and as that verse is found also in Amoghavarsha's own Sirur inscription, I should have expected the present inscription also to begin with it, and might well fancy that the Jaina copyists substituted for it a verse referring to their own creed. The person with whom our inscription is chiefly concerned, is Bankesa or, as the name also is written, Bankeya, or Bankeyaraja, by Amoghavarsha's favour in the enjoyment of, or governing, thirty-thousand villages the most important of which was Vanavasi (verse 21). As reported by Dr. Fleet, an unpublished inscription at Nidagundi in the Dharwar district mentions, as a feudatory of Amoghavarsha I., Bankeyarasa, governor of the Banavasi twelve-thousand, the Belgali three-hundred, the Kundarage seventy, the Kundur five-hundred, and the Purigere three-hundred, who apparently is the same personage. According to our inscription, Bankesa alias Sella-Ketana was the son of Adhora (or Adhora), proprietor of Kolanura, and his wife Vijayanka, and grandson of Erakori, of the Mukula family (kula; vv. 17-19). The name Bankesa (or Bankeya) together with the biruda Sellaketana identify his with the Chellaketana, whose son Lokaditya alias Chellapataka (the younger brother of Chelladhvaja), of the Makula kula, in A. D. 897 was governing the Vanavasa country at Bankapura, so named by his father after his own name (Bankesa); and there can therefore be hardly any doubt that the date of our inscription (in A. D. 860) may give us a true date for the time

Page #332
Appendix/271 of Bankesa. - The exploits of Bankesa are told in verses 2231. As leader of the hereditary forces, he at the king's command invaded Gangavadis (the country of the Western Gangas), took the fort of Kedala, put to flight the ruler of Talavanapura, and after crossing the river Kaveri, conquered the enemy's country. Recalled then by Amoghavarsha on account of disturbances which had broken out at home, and in which, as appears from verse 31, the king's own son was concerned, he quickly returned, and succeeded in quelling the insurrection and restoring his master's fortune. - The Talavanapura here mentioned is the well-known capital of the Western Gangas, the modern Talakad on the left bank of the river Kaveri; and Kedala may perhaps be the modern 'Kaidala' which, according to the map in Mr. Rice's Mysore Inscriptions, is to the north-east of Kadaba. As regards the places mentioned in connection with the actual grant, Kolanura has already been stated to be the village of Konnur, where the inscription is. The village granted, Taleyura, which was in the Majjantiya-seventy bhukti, has not been identified; nor have its boundaries, Bendanuru, Sasaveva[du], Padilagere, and Kilavada. In addition to the main grant, twelve nivartanas of land were granted at Kolanura itself, and at each of the thirty villates which are enumerated in lines 45-48. Eleven of these may be identified with modern villages at a reasonable distances from Konnur, thus : Avarava[d]i='Owruddee', 'Aurwadi;' 6 miles west by north from Konnur; Bendanuru="Bennoor;' 11/2 miles north of Owruddee;' Sulla='Soolah', 'Sula;' 5 miles east by south from Konnur; Mavinuru='Munnoor;' 8 miles east by south from the Konnur;

Page #333
272 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Mattikatte='Matteekuttee', 'Matikatti;' 12 miles north by east from Konnur; Nila[gun]dage='Neelgoondee;' 51/2 miles north-east from Konnur; Talikheda="Tullakodda;" "Talakwad;' 21/2 miles northwest from Konnur; B[e]lleru='Belleeree;' 21/, miles west-north-west from Konnur; Muttalagere='Mootulgeeree', 'Mutalgeri;' 71%, miles east by north from Konnur; Kakeyanuru='Kakanoor', 'Kaknur;' 71/2 miles northwest from Konnur; Neri[la]ge=Neerlehgee', 'Niralgi;'9 miles north by west from Konnur. The names of the other nineteen villages are Mudugundi, Kittaivole, Mus[a], Da[dh]ere, Samgama, Pirisingi, Behuru, Alugu, [Parva]nagere, Hosan[ja]la[lu), I[n]dugalu, Haganuru, Unalaru, Indagere, Munivalli, Kotta[s]e, Oddittage, Si[kimabri?], and Girispi]dalu. Stating distinctly what I have indicated above, I consider it possible that lines 1-59 of this inscription really were based on a copper-plate charter; at the same time, I feel certain that, if such was the case, the transcribers have taken so great liberties with the original as to deprive this 'copy' of the value of an authentic document. Translation (Verse 1.) May the beloved of Fortune, with whom all forms are conjoined, who with his discus destroys the conceit of adversaries, the infinite being before whom bow down the lords of the immortals, the primeval lord Jina, grant to me supreme bliss! (V. 2.) May the lord Vira-Narayana protect you here, he

Page #334
Appendix / 273 who rests on the body of (the serpent) Ananta, (and) is the mountain from which (like luminaries) rise men of valorous conduct, the progenitor of the mighty race of the excellent Rashtrakutas! (V. 3.) In the long Yadava lineage of the princes of that (race) there was in the course of time, like a collection of jewels in the ocean, king Govinda, who subdued the earth, the son Prichchhakaraja. (V. 4.) The lord Karkara, the son of king Indra, it was by whom, mighty like Prithu, the earth was brought under subjection, (and) by whom, of great strength and full of valour, the enemies were scattered like darkness. (V. 5.) From him sprang king Dantidurga, who defeated arrays of elephants from the Himalaya to the confines of (Rama's) mighty bridge, (and) who, a leader of his family, crushed the circle of arrogant princess on the earth. (V. 6.) After him Subhatunga-vallabha, on the battlefield which became a svayamvara, fearlessly carried off by force the Chalukya family's fortune adorned with a garland of waving palidhvaja flags. (V. 7.) Grand with his victory, high throne and chowries, possessed of a white umbrella, a destroyer of opponent kings, called the mighty king Akalavarsha, he was a royal saint through his infinite religious merit. (V. 8.) Then came Prabhutavarsha, the son of Dharavarsha, a king who on the field of battle acted with his arrows like a torrent of rain (dhara-varsha). His son (V. 9 and 10.) At the time of whose birth the lords of the gods ordained that, as her master, he sould rule the oceangirded earth as far as the Himalaya and (Rama's) bridge, afterwards, being (called) Prabhutavarsha because he fulfilled desires of his own accord, as Jagattunga stood over (all) kings as the Sumeru does over the mountains.

Page #335
274/The Rastrakutas and Jainism (V. 11.) After him, to guard both the world and the fame of his charming relatives of the ancestors in his righteous family who have become favourites inasmuch as they are good fame, filling the earth, incarnate-and to destroy the wickedness of the Kali age, the glorious Amoghavarsha, the anihilator of his enemies, is ruling this earth, seated on the throne. (V. 12.) The command of this excellent (king) other sovereigns perpetually carry on their heads like a garland. The creeping plant of his fame grows up to the fillets on the foreheads of the array of the elephants of the quarters. The mighty valour that dwells in his hand is far away from no one. He being the very sun which with its heat scorches all mountains, who is the king above whom he does not rise? (V. 13.) He with his own seal has stamped all (land) as far as the four oceans; the seals of all kings he has broken with his Garuda seal. (V. 14.) Honour surely we must the great kings of the past whose acts of religion we are to preserve; destroyed are the wicked kings of the present; solicit we must those future rulers who share our sense of religion. (V. 15.) What imports that fleeting royalty which some have enjoyed by their bravery, some bestowed on others, and others again resigned even? Great men, to secure fame, must cherish religion only. (V. 16.) Having seen that this life, unstable like wind and lightning, is void of substance, he has devised this gift to the gods, most meritorious on account of a donation of land. (Line 15.) He, the Paramabhattaraka, Maharajadhiraja and Paramesvara, the favourite of fortune and the earth, the glorious Amoghavarsha, the glorious Vallabhanarendra deva, who meditates on the feet of the Paramabhattaraka,

Page #336
Appendix/275 Maharajadhiraja and Paramesvara, the glorious Jagattungadeva, commands all Rashtrapatis, Vishayapatis, Gramakulas, Ayuktakas, Niyuktakas, Adhikdrikas, Mahattaras and others, as they may be concerned : Be it known to you: - (V. 17.) In the Mukula family there blossomed like a flower, with ancestors worthy of honour, Erakori, a home of the play of bravery. (V. 18.) From that flower grew, as it were its fruit, a masterful man named Adhora, the stay of his family who himself was lord of Kolanura. (V. 19.) His son from Vijayanka was Bankesa (alias) Sella-ketana, honoured in the world, a fierce fever to districts. (V. 20.) Like another flashing sharp sword of mine, as commander of the hereditary forces he has uprooted, like trees, my adversaries. (V. 21.) By my favour he has received and rules the thirty-thousand villages of which Vanavasi is the foremost, never ceasing to prosper. (V. 22.) At my desire, in his great valour he has striven to extirpate that lofty forest of fig-trees-Gangavadi, difficult to be cut down. (Vs. 23 and 24.) On that occasion, though abandoned by my jealously minded feudatories, by himself, solely aided by the daring which sprang from his anger, setting at nought the enemy's policy, displaying a bravery in war which had one aim only, he made the anger of my heart not barren. He, by whom (V. 25.) That fort named Kedala, difficult to be scaled on account of its ramparts, bars etc., though held by hereditary forces was at once ascended and easily taken. (V. 26.) Having occupied that country, having driven

Page #337
276 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism away the hostile lord of Talavanapura, having shown famous valour in war, defeating my enemies, for his master an object of praise, true to his promise, he at the time of battle did not let his bravery be baffled by the hosts of the enemy. (V. 27.) With a lion's spring having crossed the Kaveri, most difficult to be passed on account of its heavy floods, by the lines of the ever freshly flashing flames of fire of his valour having at once consumed the allied, extirpating the forest of adversaries, he shook the mighty dominion of him even who was able to shake the world. (Vs. 28 and 29.) On that occasion, when through internal dissension a disturbance had arisen near me, then, a the mere word of me that he should return - having made a vow that if, before his arrival, I, the Vallabha lord, should defeat the enemies, he would as an ascetic completely resign the world, or if by chance the fortune of victory should fall to the enemies, he would enter into the flames of a roaring fire - he arrived near me after a few days. (Vs. 30 and 31.) Having said that also he certainly would enter into fire if, within three months, by defeating the enemies he could not make his master drink milk - after my son, whose hosts were consumed by the flames of the blazing fire of his impetuous bravery, blackened by the smoke and thus hidden himself had escaped, perchance sent away by the rest - he completely defeated the princes who remained, and, victorious, made captive and slew the adversaries, and thus fulfilled his promise. (V.32.) The fire of his prowess, with the flames of wrath which it emits, consumes the enemies on which it feeds, even without wind; though unlit, it blazes forth again and again. (V. 33.) Soiled with blood, the Fortune of the enemies dives into the water of his sword; but that of his master emerges from it, anointed as it were with saffron. (V. 34.) Like a Brahman, having sacrificed the enemy

Page #338
Appendix / 277 at the sacrifice of battle, where the fire of his valour shone the brighter for the many oblations of streams of melted butter-the blood of his opponents, he has secured from me, Vira-Narayana, this edict which to the world's end proclaims him a hero, resulting from his expiatory rite - the destruction of my foes, and acquired by the efficiency of his spell - the restoration of my fortune. (Line 34.) At the request of this my dear servant Bankeya, I, residing at the capital of Manyakheta, - seven hundred and eight-two years having passed since the time of the Saka king, on the auspicious occasion of a total eclipse of the moon on the full-moon tithi of Asvayuja in the year Vikrama, the eight-third current year-have given the village of Taleyura, in the bhukti of the seventy villages of Majjantiya, to him who has been appointed to take care of the Jina sanctuary founded by Bankeya at Kolanura-viz. (vv. 35 and 36) to Devendra, the chief of ascetics (munisvara) to whom Bankeya has given the temple, the disciple of Trikalayogisa, born from the Pustaka gachchha of the Desiya gana of the Mula samgha - for any new work connected with the sanctuary, for future repairs, for the cleansing, plastering, maintaining of it, and for other acts of piety. The boundaries of the village are, on the east of the said Kolanura, Bendanuru, on the south, Sasaveva[du], on the west of it, Paailagere, and on the north, Kilavada. (L. 45.) I also have given twelve nivartanas of land at Kolanura itself, and at each of the following thirty villages within its bhukti, viz. Avarava[d]i, Bendanuru, Mudugundi, Kittaivole, Sulla, Mus[a], Da[dh]ere, Mavinuru, Mattikatte, Nila[gun]dage, Talikheda, B[e]lleru, Samgama, Pirisingi, Muttalagere, Kakeyanuru, Behuru, Alugu, [Parva]nagere, Hosan[ja]la[lu), I[n]dugalu, Neri[a]ge, Haganuru, Unalanu, Indagere, Munivalli, Kotta[s]e, Oddittage, Si[kimabri?), and Giri[pi]dalu. Lines 48-57 contain the usual admonition not to obstruct

Page #339
278 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism the grantee and to preserve the grant, and quote six benedictive and imprecatory verses (37-42), ascribed to Vyasa. (L. 57.) This has been written by the bhogika Vatsaraja, an official in the court of justice, born in the clan ofthe Valabha Kayasthas, the son of Sriharsha and servant of Nagavarman Prithvirama, keeper of village records and warelephant of writers. (V. 43.) The chief (adviser) of Bankeyaraja, the wise Mahattara Ganapati, who is near the Raja's person, has executed all this. (V.44.) Ever victorious, like a royal edict, be this doctrine of the Jinas, which destroys the false doctrines of people who are filled with an excessive pride arising from ignorance; which brings about the true happiness of all who act in obedience to the commands of the wise; which is the place of glory of the excellent syadvada by which things appear under manifold forms, and grants the quintessence of good conduct! (V.45.) Victorious be the holy sage Meghachandra, who is the moon to the ocean of the nectar of established truths, the sun to the lotus-reasoning, the one continuous stream of nectar to the garden - speech, the crest-jewel of the lords among contemplative saints; whose lofty second name of Traividya is truly appropriate; who has shaken off the god of love, and is a thunderbolt to the mountain - other creeds! (V. 46.) Manifestly, the fame, pervading the world, of this Meghachandra, the foremost of devotees, has shone forth and entered (here), glittering like the fibres of the waterily (and) lovely like the bulbous root of the plantain tree, saying (to itself), "Lo! the flock of female hamsas begin to think of drinking; the collection of female chakora birds approach to peck with their beaks; isa gives orders for the decoration of his matted hair; (and) Krishna is eager to choose (an occupant) for his couch."

Page #340
Appendix / 279 (V. 47.) Viranandin, the chief of sages, owns on earth the glory (of being) rich in benevolence, he who is the husband of the young woman - renown of cleverness, the ornament of every kind of excellence, the offspring of Meghachandra - Traividya, a stroke of lightning to split the mountain Madana, the crest-jewel of the crowd of those who know the established truths, and an unaivalled jewel to yield the desires of the creatures of this world. (V. 48.) May he abide (hero), the holy sage Viranandin, who is the sun of the firmament - those who know the science of words, the crest-jewel of those conversant with poetry, the moon to the moon-light-the science of reasoning, a pool of the lotuses - the triad of music, song and dance; who is a Brihaspati for the quintessence of the investigation of established truths; who adorns the three jewels, and is a thunderbolt to the mountains - conceited disputants! (V. 49.) Ever victorious be in the world the chief of sages Viranandin, the lord of the circle of those who know the established truths; he whose form is like a stream of camphor for the eyes of the creatures of the worlds, whose conduct like a jewel-ornament for the ears of the assemblage of the learned, and whose fame like the shoot of a jasmine creeper for the hairtresses of the fortune of the regions! (Line 70.) The universal sovereign of those who know the established truths, the holy Viranandin, the sun in the sky of the glorious Kondakunda-line, the crest-jewel of the learned, the embodiment of the sport of the courtesans - the several branches of faultless learning, - when Huliyamarasa, the Mahaprabhu of the sacred great place of Kolanura, and (the authorities of) the three towns and the five mathas, having seen a copper charter, bade him cause it to be written, - caused this stone charter to be written in accordance with what was in that (copper) charter. Bliss! Great fortune, fortune, fortune! Adoration to....!

Page #341
280 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism BILIOGRAPHY w ww. Altekar, A. S. : 1. The Rashtrakutas, the early history of the Deccan, vol. 1, Part I-VI, Bombay, 1960. 2. The Rashtrakuta Empire, The Age of Imperial Kanag, Bombay, 1995. 3. The Rashtrakutas and their Times Poona, (1934) 1967. Ayyengar, M.S.R., Seshagiri Rao, B: Studies in South Indian Jainism, vol. I, II, 1922. Baji, A. R. : Acarya Simhanandin, king-maker and pontiff : Indian Historical Quarterly, XXX-2, 1954; 120-32. Barodia, U. D.: History and literature of Jainism : 1909 Battacharyya, A. K. : Iconography of some minor deities in Jainism, IHQ, XXIX-4, 1953; 332-39. Bhagchandra Jain. Jaina commentaries on Sanskrit Grammar, Jinamanjari, 12-2, octo 1995. Bhandarkar, R. G. : Early History of the Dekkan (1895) 1979. Bhattacarya, B. C. : the Jaina Iconography (1939), Delhi, 1974 Bhayani, H. C. (ed): Paumacariu, Part-I. Bhuvanendrakumar, S. A. : Ratta Dynasty: Feudatory kings of Deccan India, 'Jinamanjari', 10-2 october 94, North America.

Page #342
Appendix / 281 Bhojaraja B. Patila: Nagarakhanda - 70 - ondu Adhyana (Kannada): Anandapura: 1995. Bhise, Usha R: The background of Karakandacariu, Jounal of the university of Bombay, 1982 pp. 94-97. Chatterji, A. K. A Comprohensive History of Jainism, Calcutta, 1978; chapt. X. Jainism in South India (600 A. D. to 1000 A. D.), pp. 177-226. Cennakka Pavate: Rastrakuta Samanta Challketanaru (Kannada): Dharavada: 1999. Dasgupta, S. N., and De, S. K.: History of Sanskrit literature vol.I. Deo, S. B. Jaina Monachism, 1956. Desai, P. B. Jainism in South India and Some Epigraphs, Sholapur: 1957. Desai, P. B., Shrinivas Ritti, B. R. Gopal (eds): A History of Karnataka, Dharwar : 1970. Dhaky, M. A.: 1. Santara Architecture, Aspects of Jaina art and Architecture, Ahmedabad, 1975. 2. Santara sculpture, Journal of Indian Society of Oriental Art, IV (1971-72). 3. Ganga Jaina sculpture, AJAA, 1975. 4. Jain sculptures in Harasur temple, Journal of the Asiatic society of Bombay, volume 73 for 1998, Mumbai 1998. Dhaky, M. A., and Michael W. Meister, (eds): Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture, South India, vol. I. part 1 and 2, texts and plates, 1986, 1996. Doris Chatam: Style and composition in the Indrasabha and Jagannatha Sabha caves at Ellora, Nirgrantha, vol. II 1996. Ekambaranathan, A and Sivaprakasam, C. K. Jaina Inscriptions in Tamilnadu (A Topographical List): Madras 1987.

Page #343
282/The Rastrakutas and Jainism Fleet, J. F. 1. (DKD) The Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts, Bombay Gazetteer, vol. I, part ii, 1896. 2. S B Epitaph of Marasimha II, EI. V. 18. 3. Atakur inscription of Krishna III and Butuga, EI. VI. 6. 4. Some records of the Rashtrakuta kings of Malkhed, EI. VI. pp. 160-98. 5. The Mukula or Chellaketana Family, IA, vol. XXXII. pp. 221-26. 6. Banners and crests of the Rashtrakutas of Malkhed and of the Rattas of Saundatti, EI. VII. 28. 7. Mulgunda Inscriptions of the time of Krishna II, A. D. 902-03, EI. XIII. 15. pp. 190-94. Furgusson, James and Burgess, James: The Cave temples of India (1880) 1988. Ganesh Lalwani: Jainism in India, 1997. Ghosh, A (ed): Jaina Art and Architecture, vol. I (1974) vol. II (1975) vol. III (1975). Gupta, R. C.: Introduction to Jaina Mathematics, -in-Jinamanjari, 19-1, April 1999, pp. 7. Gopalakrishna Murthy, S: Jain Vestiges in Andhra, Hyderabad, 1963. Gopal, B. R. (ed): The Rashtrakutas of Malkhed, Bangalore 1994. Goswami, A: The Art of the Rastrakutas. Handiqui, K. K. Yasastilaka and Indian Culture. Henry Cousens: The Chalukyan Architecture of the Kanarese Districts, Calcutta, 1926. James Fergusson History of Indian and Eastern Architecture, London: 1910.

Page #344
Appendix / 283 James Burgess : Report on the Elura Cave Temples and the Brahmanical and Jaina Caves in Western India, (reprint) New Delhi 1970. : Jain, Prem Suman Eminent Apabhramsa Writers-inJainism and Karnataka culture: 1977 Jain, Jyoti Prasad : Religion and culture of the Jains: Delhi, 1944. Jaini, Padmanabh, S.: The Jaina Pathway of Purification, Berkeley: 1979. Jawaharlal, G. 1. Jainism in Andhra, Jinamanjari, vol. 10-2, october 94, North America. 2. Jainism in Andhra, as depicted in inscriptions, 1994. 3. Jainism in Andhra during the Rastrakuta period, "The Rastrakutas of Malkhed', (ed) Gopal, B. R., Bangalore, 1994. Jose Pereira: Monolithic Jinas, The Iconography of the Jain Temples of Ellora, Varanasi, 1977. Kalghatgi, T. G. (ed): Jainism and Karnataka Culture (Anthology of Research Papers), Dharwar, 1977. Kamala Hampana: 1. Attimabbe and Chalukyas; Bangalore, 1966. 2. Status of Women in Jainism, Jain Journal, Vol. 33-3, January 1999. Kamath, Suryanath U.: A Concise History of Karnataka, Bangalore 1997 (Revised ed). Klaus Fishcer: Caves and temples of the Jains, Aliganj (Etah), 1956, Kirti Mankodi : A Rashtrakuta temple of Hallur in Bijapur District - in - Aspects of Jaina art and architecture, (ed) Shah, U. P. and Dhaky, M.A, Ahmedabad, 1975. -

Page #345
284/The Rastrakutas and Jainism Kulkarni, V. M.: The Story of Rama in Jaina Literature, Ahmedabad, 1990. Mitra, K. P. Historical references in Jaina Poems. IHQ, XVIII-2, 1942: 101-09. Nahar, Purnachandra, and Ghosh, K. (eds): Epitome of Jainism Calcutta: 1917. Nagarajaiah, Hampa :1. Prakrit influence on Kannada literature, Jinamanjari, 12-2, october 1995. 2. A History of the Early Ganga Monarchy and Jainism, Bangalore 1999 - A. 3. The later Gangas: Mandali thousand, Bangalore; 1999 - B. 4. Jaina corpus of Koppala inscriptions XRayed, Bangalore 1999 - C. 5. Apropos of Vikramaditya-VI and Jainism, Tumkur, 1999 - D. 6. Jina Parsva Temples in Karnataka, Hombuja, 1999 - E. 7. Yapaniya Sangha (Kannada) : Hampi, 1999 - F. 8. Koppala Sasanagalu (Kannada) : Mysore, 1999. 9. Influence of Prakrit on Kannada language and literature, Jain Journal, october 1991. 10.Vaddaradhane (ed), Bangalore, 1993. Narasimhachar, D. L.: The Jaina Ramayana, IHQ, XV-4, 1939: 575-94

Page #346
Appendix /285 Narasimhamurti, A. V.: Two inscriptions of Pampa's sister in-law Bhagiyabbe; Indian History and Epigraphy (eds) Ramesh, K. V., Tewari S. P., Sharma, M. J.: 1990 (pp. 219-21). Neginahala, M. B. : Neginahala Prabandagalu : Hampi University : 1999 (Kannada). Panduranga Bhatta, C. : Contribution of Karanataka to Sanskrit : Chennai : 1997. Rajasekhara, S.: Rastrakuta Art in Karnataka, Dharawad, 1991. Ramachandran, T. N.:Jaina Momuments of India, Calcutta, 1944. Ramvallabh Somani : Jains under the Rastrakutas of Deccan, - paper in - Jain Journal, vol. XXXI-3, January 1997. Reu, Pandit Bisheshwar Nath : History of the Rastrakutas, Jaipur (reprint) 1997. Rea, A : Buried Jaina Remains at Danavulapad, Annual Report of the Archaeological survey of India 1905-6, 1909, pp. 120-27. Rice, B.L. : Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions, London, 1909. Saletore, B. A. : 1. Mediaeval Jainism, Bombay, 1938. Sangave, Vilas : Jaina Community, A Social Survey. Sarkar, H : Glimpses of Jaina Vestiges in Andhradesa Nirgrantha, vol. II. 1998 (eds : Dhaky, M.A., and Jitendra B. Shah). Sastry, K. A. N.: 1. A History of South India, Madras, 1958. 2. A comprohensive History of India, vol. II, 1957. Sastry, S. S.: 1. Early Gangas of Talkad, 1952. 2. Sources of Karnataka History, 1940.

Page #347
286 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Sastry, T. V. G. : Ugraditya, Jinamanjari', North America, volume, 10. No. 2, october 1994. Settar, S and Gunther D. Sontheimer (eds) Memorial stones, Dharwad, 1982. Shah, C. J. : Jainism in North India. Shah, U.P.:1. Foreign elements in Jaina Literature. IHQ, XXIX-3, 1953 : 260-65. Shah, U. P. and Dhaky, M. A. (eds): Aspects of Jaina Art and Architecture, Ahmedabad : 1975. Sharma, H. B.: Jainism and Karnataka Culture. Sharma, I. K.: 1. Western Ganga Jaina vestiges at Tippuru, paper in Rangavalli, Delhi, 1983. 2. Brick temples of western Ganga, paper in 'Srinidhi', Delhi, 1983. 3. Temples of the Gangas of Karnataka, Delhi, 1992. Shivarama Murti, C.: Panorama of Jaina Art, Delhi, 1983. Singh, Ram Bhushan Prasad : Jainism in Early Medieval Karnataka, Delhi, 1975. Srinivasan, K. R., The Deccan - in - Jaina Art and Architecture, vol. I, New Delhi, 1974. Soundara Rajan, K. V. : Chapters 23 to 27 and 29-30 on Rastrakutas, Eastern Calukyas, Telugu Codas, Gangas and Nolambas - in EITA: vol-1, Part 2. (eds) Michael W. Meister and Dhaky, M. A. : New Delhi 1986. Sundara, A: 1. Some Jaina temples in North Karnataka - their distinctive features;- in - Jainism and Karnataka Culture, Dharwad, 1977. 2. Some aspects of Jaina art in Karnataka architecture and sculpture; Arhadvachana, vol. 7-2, Indore, 1995.

Page #348
Appendix / 287 Takao Hayashi : Geometric formulas in the Dhavala of Virasena : Jinamanjari, 14-2, october 1966. Upadhye, A. N. : Upadhye papers, Mysore, 1983. Upadhye, A. N.: 1. Prakrit literature (850-1150 C. E.) Jinamanjari 14-2, octo. 997 (Eng. Tr. Srimandhar kumar). 2. Materials for the interpretation of the term Gommata, IHQ, XVI-4, 1940 : 919-926. Vasantakumari : Rashtrakutas and the Dawn of Jain culture in Southern India, A.D. 783-988-article in - Jinamanjari, vol. 1-1, october 1990. Venkataramanayya, N. : The Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada 1953. The Chalukyas of Vengi, Madras 1950. Vaidya, P. L. (ed): 1. Mahapurana of Puspadanta 2. Jasaharacariu of Puspadanta Winternitz, M. : History of Indian Literature. Yazdani, Ghulam, (ed): The Early History of the Deccan, parts, VII-XI (1960) 1982. Zimmer, H. : Philosophies of India, Kegan Paul, 1953.

Page #349
"Cikkamagalur Hombuja KM. 10 50 10 20 MILES. 15 oso Kuntaladesa ( Karnataka), Santaras of Homubja, temple sites.

Page #350
OP Vemulavada KARIMNAGAR Telingana (Andhra Pradesh), Calukyas of Vemulavada, temple sites.

Page #351
HALINYR * Batur G RASAN Sarapa Belegge A Z Ramierat. Aralegruppe * Nepavinakare MYS PAT M garba daha!!! Verup G SALTWAT 19 B Telkid V A Nandi Gangavara A Bigur Karasamangala Gangavadi and Nolambavadi: Ganga and Nolamba sites. Nolambavadi Style A Gangavadi Style Avani ALAM

Page #352
Karnataka in India

Page #353
Ellora Godavari R. Bhima R. wa Malkhed Krsna R. Sirval Bhavanasi Sangam R.Tungabhadra Bacanaguda Hallur Aihole 'Pattadakal Mudhol Painolem toon en udhary Alampur Kukkanur Bagalis Phase I Phase I Kuppatur 10 0 10 30 30 MILEI Karnatadesa, Maharastra, and Vengidesa: Rastrakuta sites (Phases I and II)

Page #354
Gujarak Elichepur Maharashtra Andhra Pradesh Arbole lahkundi Karnataka Kanchi Tamil Nadu Kerala

Page #355
Personal Names Aryasena 24 Asaga 7, 139 Asagabbarasi 203 Asoka 21 Attimabbe 31 A. D. Pusalkar 254 A. S. Altekar's 42 A. V. Narasimha Murthy 165 Abbanabbe 142 Abhimanacandra 142 Abhimanyu 2 Abhinava Vadi-Vidyananda 136 Abhinavagupta-acarya 183 Abhirama 142 Acanna 140, 158 Acarya Bhutabali 74 Acarya Prabhacandra 88 Acarya Puspadanta 74 Adideva 146 Adikavi Pampa 26 Adityasena Pandita 46 Aluvarasa-I 54 Andayya 158 Ajitasena 24 Ajitasinacarya 39 Akalanka 68 Akalankadeva 9 Akalavarsha 21 Altekar, A. S 13 Ambika 157 Amibkadevi 241 Amoghavarsa-I 3 Ankabbarasi 201 Aparajitasuri 123 Arasarya 24 Arhat Parsva 26 Ariga 50 Arikesari 51 Arikesari-II 28 Arkakirti 16 Aryadeva 120 Aryanandi 2 Aryamumuksu 74 Aryanandi 79 B. A. Saletore 25 Baddega 28, 105 Bahubali 88, 176 Bahubali Pandita 158 Bana 110 Balacandradeva 121 Ballayya 24 Banarsidas Jain 188 Bandhuvarma 137 Bankesa 5, 17 Bappadevaguru 75 Basabhupati 202 Bhadra 172 Bhadrabahu 99 Bhadradeva 50 Bhagchandra Jain 94 Bhagiyabbe 51, 205 Bhamaha 110 Bharata 40, 88 Bharavi 110 Bhartshari 88 Bhasa 110 Bhaskara 158 Bhattacharyya, N. N 91 Bhatta-Akalankadeva 67 Bhatta-Narayana 110 Bhavabhuti 110 Bhavakirti 139 Bhima 50, 143 Bhimapayya 112, 142 Bhrajisnu 22, 123 Bhuvanaikamalladeva 234 Bhuvanaikarama 30 Bijja 34

Page #356
Index / 295 Bijjambarasi 205 Bijjambika 205 Bittayya 49 Brahma 64 Brahmagupta 96 Brahmasiva 103 Buddha 169 Budharaja 1 Burgess 227 Butuga-II 11, 28 Devandramuni 144 Devendramuni 137 Devasena Pandita 46 Devaraya 142 Dhaky 13 Dhaky, M. A. 51 Dhananjaya 77 Dhanyakumara 176 Dharanendra 249 Dharasena 74 Dharavarsa Dhruva 13 Dharmapal, M. Y 163 Dhonda 48 Dhora-I 47 Dhruva 14 Divalamba 35 Dinnaga 69 Doddayya 67 Dr. Rajendra Prasad 162 Draupadi 144 Duggamara 201 Durgasimha 140 Durvinita 121 Duryodhana 149 Cakiraja 16 Camundaraya 31, 159 Candabbarasi 203 Candanabala 23 Candiyabbe 24, 252 Candranatha 36 Candraprabha Bhatara 26 Candraya 24 Cangalamba 202 Carudatta 176 Caturmukha 172 Chatterji, A. K. 40 Cikarya 24 Cidananda 103 Ekacattuga 79 Elacarya 73 Enjaladevi 55 Ereyabbe 203 Ereyappa 33, 137 Furgusson 227 Dandin 110 Danacintamani Attimabbe 112 Danarnava 40 Dantidurga 1, 2, 3, 12 Darbarilal Kothiya 85 Dasaratha 77, 86, 89 Dasarathamuni 79 Dayapala 71 Dayapala 78 Devacandra 71 Dejja 2 Dejja Maharaja 1 Devakavi 158 Devanandi 68 Devendra 21 Devendra Munindra 26 Gajaga 158 Gajalaksmi 216 Gajankusa 158 Gamunda Cattayya 151 Gamundabbe 18 Gandharva 204 Ganga Mahadevi 40 Gangamahadevi 41

Page #357
296 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Indra-III 26 Indra-IV 38 Indrabhuti Gautama 13 Indrakirtisvamin 53 Indranandi 2, 8, 73, 97 Indrasena Panditacarya 28 Irivabedanga Satyasraya 252 S Gangas 56 Ghosh 165, 213 Goggiga 29 Gojja 28 Gojjiga 28 Gollacarya 7 Gommatesvara 36 Gonambe 204 Gopal. B. R. 102 Govinda Pai 10 Govinda-III 5 Govindara 29 Govindaraja 1 Govindaraja-I 3 Govindarasa 161 Gowri 34 Goyinda 18 Gunabahdra 86 Gunabhadra 7 Gunabhadradeva 153 Gunadhara 74 Gunaga Vijayaditya 5 Gunakirti 25 Gunanandi 26, 137, 138 Gunandai 98 Gunasagara Alupendra 54 Gunasuri 130 Gunavarma-I 22 Gurjara Pratihara 14 J. F. Fleet 129 Jagattunga Govinda 13 Jagesi 55 Jakaladevi 55 Jakavve 50, 51 Jakkiyabbe 46, 201 Jatasimhanandi 161 Jawaharlal, G 43 Jayabandhu 130 Jayakesi 55 Jayakirti 140 Jayanandi-Bhattaraka 145 Jayasena 79, 80 Jimutavahana 47 Jivandhara 23, 176 Jina 65 Jinacandra 154 Jinadatta 54 Jinadevana 36 Jinapa 139 Jinasena-II 79 Jinasenacarya 43 Jinavallabha 163 Joyisasingha 112 K H. C. Bhayani 172 Handiqui 101 Haribhadrasuri 9 Harisena 6, 122 Harivamsa 135 Havel 208 Hemacandra 103 Hemasena 78 Helacarya 99 Henric zimmer 212 Himasitala 69 Hulla dandadhipa 47 K. K. Handiqui 106 Kadabadi, B. K. 170 Kali 33 Kagwal, S. P. 163 Kakkala 38 Kakkaraja-II 6 Kalidasa 63, 83

Page #358
Index / 297 Kumbha 99 Kumudendu 162 Kumudenudu 153 Kundana Samidevi 35 Kundanarasi 35, 201 Kundayya setti 48 Kusmandi 236 Kusmandidevi 231 Kusmandini 241 Kalivisnuvardhana 22 Kalivitta-I 47 Kaliyammarasa 47 Kamalabhava 158 Kamalasri 99 Kamath, Suryanath 44 Kambaraja 12 Kammata 24 Kamta Prasad Jain 163 Kanakamara 177 Kanakasena muni 24 Kanakavira kurattiyar 207 Kandarpa 98, 138, 158 Kannara 24 Kannaradeva 33 Kannaradeva 29 Kancibbe 201 Karna 149 Karnaparya 137 Karka 22 Karkka-II 38 Kavanabbarasi 202 Kavi-Malla 158 Kavi-Paramesvara 8 Kaviparamesthi 12 Kaviparamesvara 12, 67 Kesiraja 134 Kirti-Narayana 18 Kirtisena 79 Kirtivarma 11 Kirtivarma-II 3 Khadga valoka 171 Khotika 38 Khottiga 38, 40 King Bharata 64 Kondakundaacarya 170 Kondakundacarya 73 Komarayya 142 Krsna-1 2 Krsna-I 3 Krishnamoorthy 102 Kubera 226 Kucibhattaraka 13, 64 Kulkarni, V. M. 175 Kumarasena 24 L. C. Jain 97 Laksmi 34 Lalitakirti 71 Lendeyarasa 26 Lohacarya 123 Lohacarya 99 Loharya 123 Lokaditya 20 Lokambika 51 Lokasena 79 Lokasenamuni 89 Lokatrinetra Marasima 16 Lokate 20 Lokateyarasa 23 Loketinimmadi 201 M M. Winternitz 106 Macana 202 Macayya 24 Madhava Somayaji 141 Madhura 157 Magha 110 Maghanandiyati 248 Mahadevi 252 Mahendra-I 60 Mahendradeva 100 Mahendrantaka 137 Mahasrimanta 252 Mahavira 42 Mahavira-carya 19 Maha viracarya 7, 95 Mahipala 50

Page #359
298 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Manalera 32, 33 Manikyajina 35 Majumdar, A. K. 19 Makayya 151 Mallakavi 138 Mallapa 112 Mallapayya 112 Malli 94 Mallikarjuna 136 Mallisena 64 Mamarasa 247 Manasija 157 Marakke 46 Marasimha 11, 39 Marekkeyarasa 46 Marudevi 94 Marula 33 Maruladeva 31, 33 Masanayya 248 Matisagara 78 Matisetti 248 Mauni Bhatara 55 Mauniyogi 202 Meghanada 71 Meister 13 Merada 25, 53 Mrgesavarma 9 Monk Aryanandi 139 Mullabhattaraka 25, 53 Murthy 165 Nanjunda 158 Nanna 40 Nannaraja 2, 79 Nanni Santara 29 Narada 204 Naraga 50 Narasimha murthi, K 144 Navsari 6 Nayasena 140 Nemadeva 100 Nemicandra 137, 178 Nemicandra Siddhanta 7 Nemicandra Siddhanta Cakravartti 177 Nemicandra 43 Nemicandra Siddanti 97 Neminatha 103 Nitimarga 5 Nilanjana 146 Niskalanka 68 Nolambadhiraja Ghateyankakara 252 Nokkiyabbe 56 Nrpatunga 9 O Rsabha 56 Rsabha's 63 N Nagacandra 153 Nagakumara 176 Nagamayya 112 Naganandacarya 139 Nagapuli gavunda 252 Nagaraja 158 Nagarajaiah, Hampa 16, 40 Nagarjuna 130 Nagarjunayya 46 Nagarya 24 Nagasarika 6 Nagavarma 46, 111 Nagavarma-I 134 Nagayya 26 Nahar 165 Padiyara Dhorapayya 32 Padalipatacarya 9 Padmabbe 32 Padmakavi 151 Padmanabh S. Jaini 63 Padmanabhayya 27 Padmanandi-acarya 24 Padmanidhi 231 Padmavatamma. Gupta, R.C 96 Padmavati 34 Paliyakka 26, 206 Palyakirti Sakatayana 91 Pampa 22, 84, 141 Pancamukhi, R. S 98 Paramabbe 35 Paravadimalla 24 Pariyabbarasi 203

Page #360
Parsvanatha 226 Patrakesari 80 Patrasvami 71 Patumati 139 Peddanabhatta 52 Peterson 68 Ponna 22, 151 Ponnamayya 156 Prabhacandra 80 Pradyumna 176 Prem Suman Jain 167 Prithvirama 53 Prithvivarma 25 Prof. M. A. Dhaky 86 Puneseya 33 Pujyapada 67 Pulakesi 4 Pulakesin 15 Pulakesin-II 1 Pullabba 36 Punnamayya 112 Purnachandra 165 Purudeva 146 Purusottama 68 Puspadanta 7, 177 R Raca 161 Racamalla-I 5 Racaya 161 Rananjaya 55 Ranavaloka Kambhadeva 16 Rajaditya 32, 161, 202 Rajamalla 85 Rajamalla-II 29 Rajasekhara 219 Rajasekhara 15, 132 Ramacandra 78 Rambaladevi 202 Ranna 31, 180 Rattas 52 Ravikirti 62 Ravisenacarya 172 Raya 36 Revakanimmadi 201 Revakanimmadi 35 Revakayye 203 Rudrabhatta 157 S S. R. Goyal 102 Saletore 40 Samantabhadradeva 67 Sampat 139 Samprati Candragupta 29 Sanatkumara 176 Santinatha Tirthankara 27 Sarvadeva 156 Sarvahna 236 Sarvanandi 170 Sattara-Nagarjunayya 25 Satyasarya Irivabedanga 63 Saundatti 52 Sakatayana 7 Samakunda 116 Sankaracarya 13 Sankaragana 31 Sankaraganda 30 Sankhanidhi 231 Santinatha 154 Santivarma 53 Sarva 17 Index / 299 Shah, U.P. 239 Siyaka 10 Siyaka Harsa 38 Siddhasena 71 Siddhasena 80 Simhanada 71 Simhanandin 43 Singh 91 Singh RBP 64, 99 Sila 22 Silacarya 22 Silanka 64 Siva 226 Sivakoti 80, 99 Sivamara 11 Sivayana 99 Somadevasuri 43, 100 Somesvara-I 27 Soundara Rajan 225 Soundara Rajan, K. V. 13, 45 Srikanta sastry, S 163 Srinivasan, K. R. 226 Srenika 13

Page #361
300/The Rastrakutas and Jainism Sridharadeva 73, 205 Srinandi 13, 64 Srinatha 139 Sripala 80 Sripurusa 201 Srivardhadeva 116 Srivijaya 5, 8, 22, 129 Srivijaya senadhipati 16 Srivisnuraja 71 Sripurusa 12 Sudattacarya 43 Suleman 19 Sumatinatha 226 Subhanandi 164 Subhatunga 68 Subhatunga Indra 4 Sudraka 135 Svami Virasena 72 Svayambhu 64, 171 T T. V. G. Sastry 72 Tailakabbe 48 Tailapa_10 Telugu Adipurana 156 Tiruttakka-tevar 65 Tolakkappiyar 131 Trailokyamalladeva 242 Trikalayogisa 21 Trikalingavisaya 71 Tumbaluracarya 116 Tumbura 204 U Uccaranacaya 119 Udyotanasuri 205 Udyotanasuri 171 Ugraditya 19, 66, 70 Umasvati 85 V Vaddiga-I 32 Vadighangala Bhatta 29 Vadiraja 78 Vadisimha 80 Vajvala 161 Valmiki 91 Vardhamanaguru 17 Vasudeva 23 Vatsaraja 6, 14 Vattakera 170 Veratti 139 Venkataramanayya, N 107 Vira Janavaraha 6 Vira Santara 55 Vira-Narayana 17 Virasena 24 Vidyananda 84, 180 Vijayaditya-II 5 Vikrama Santara 25, 55 Vikramaditya 25 Vikramaditya-VI 29 Vikramarjuna-Vijayam 145 Vimala 13 Vimaladitya 16 Vimalasuri 153 Vimalodaya 130 Vinayapala 6 Vinayasena 82 Vinettinimmadi 201 Visnsena 99 Visnu 64, 65 Visnuvardhana-IV 71 Vujaya 52 Vyasa 91 W Winternitz 108 Y Yasoda Bhat 144 Yati-Vrsabha 74, 119 Yasobhadra 80 Yasodhara 176 Yasovarma 16 Yasovarma 16 Yellappa Sastry 162 Yuddhamalla 50

Page #362
A Abbalur 209 Acalapura 8, 23 Adaki 209 Adur 209 Aland 249 Aihole 59, 62, 209 Annigere 253 Annigere 34, 209 Anantapur 48 Andhra Pradesh 5 Angadi 209 Arab 19 Arasibidi 210 Are-Tippur 221 Asundi 26, 210, 252 Asmaka 3 Atakur 33, 48 Aulika 83 B Badagare 32 Badami 1, 2, 3 Badami 237 Balligave 25, 210 Bagalkote 237 Bagiyur 32 Bahudhanyapura 51 Ballary Dt 251 Banavasi 4, 5, 210 Bandalike 23, 210 Bandhavanagara 23 Bangalore 58 Bankapura 20, 26, 87, 210 Bankur 210, 237 Basavura 47 Belatur 33 Bellur 252 Belgola 12 Belvola 4, 33 Place Names Belgaum 58 Bengal 14 Bidar 124, 210 Biccavol 22 Biccavolu 22 Bijapur 23 Bijapur Dt 252 Bodhana 51 Bommalagutta 51 s Calcutta 51 Candanapuripattana 27 Candragutti 210 Cedi 23, 29 Ceylon 69 Chabbi 49 Chanda Dt 8 China 19 Cikka-Hanasoge 210 Cikka-Magadi 25 Cikka-Magalur 209 Cikkamagalur 58 Cilakuru 27 Cilur 27 Cincoli 248 Citapur Tk 237 Citrakuta 34 Colamandala 34 Constantenople 19 Coorg 211 Cuddapah 5 D Dahala 34 Danavulapadu 26 Daustatika 79, 122 Degalamadi 253 Dejja 1 Index/301

Page #363
302/The Rastrakutas and Jainism Dharmapuri 60 Dharmavur 51 Doddahundi 245 E Elapura 1, 2 Ellora 1 Ellora 59 G Gadi-Kesvar 210 Gadi-Kesvara 248 Gadag 26, 244 Ganupalli 52 Gangadharam 100 Gangavadi 4, 5 Gangavati 101 Gavarivada 34 Gavirivada 34 Gokak 1 Gulbarga Dt 209 Gummangola 34 H Haduvalli 223 Hadagali Tk 251 Hallikheda 124 Hahala 15 Halasangi 49 Halsi 133, 210 Hangal 47 Harijanvada 241 Harsur 235 Hassan 211 Haveri 209 Haveri Dt 17, 158 Heggada devanakote 122 Hemagrama 100 Hemagrama 73 Hemavati 60 Henjeru 48 Henjeru 210 Himacala 5 Hombuja 26, 210 Hombuja-ksetra 221 Hosur 210 Hulgur 40 Hungund 37, 252 Hungund Tk 252 Hungunda 210 Hunasi-Hadagli 253 I Indranapalya 41 Ingalagi 253 Ittage 34 J Jabalpur 114 Jalamangalam 16 Jamakhandi 210 Jambukhandi 2 Jammalamadugu 26 Jevargi 240 Jinalaya 216 Jinasenacarya 4 K Kadiyur 33 Kadur 32 Kalagi 253 Kalalenadu 33 Kalanura 21 Kalasapura 28, 249 Kallihala 158 Kalvappu 4, 12 Kandy 69 Kalanjara 34 Kalapriya 50 Kalinga 15 Kalyana 210, 253 Kalyana 25 Kamagondanahalli 60 Kamarupa 5 Kambadahalli 210, 253 Kanauj 4, 6, 15 Kanci 69 Kanchi 29

Page #364
Kanchi 12 Kandara 8 Kanyakumari 5 Kerala 83 Karnataka 83 Karimnagar 50 Kathaiwar 6 Kasmandi 2 Kasmandi-Visaya 2 Kesvara 247 Kellengere 210 Kembhavi 246 Khetakahara 3 Khetakahara-Visaya 3 Kiranapura 23 Kirtipura 122 Kisuvolal 4 Kittur 6, 122, 210 Kitturu 122 Kolanur 48 Kogali 210, 251 Kondakunde 210 Konnur 20 Konnura 210 Kolar 58 Konkana 4 Kopana 4 Koppala 35, 210, 246 Kosala 15 Kotturu 142 Kudlur 29 Kuhundi-mandala 4 Kukkanur 232 Kulagana 210 Kulpak 253 Kumbeyanahalli 24 Kummadavada 58 Kundarage 47 Kundur 47 Kupanacala 202 Kuppatur 170 Kuppatur 193 Kuragallu 35 Kurkiyala 51 Kuttumvrtti 105 Kutastha 83 Kusasthala 33 L Lakkundi 210, 216 Laksmesvara 4 Lalleya 29 Lanka 15 Lattalur 1 Lattanur 1 Latur 1 Lata 4, 23 Lembulavataka 50 Lemulavada 50 Lokapura 23 Lokasamudra 23 M Madakeri 211 Madakasira 48 Maddur Tk 221 Madhya Pradesh 2 Madras 22, 51 Malava 15 Malavalli 33 Malkhed 39, 210 Malkhed 1 Mahbubnagar 28 Mahisaka 83 Mandali 4, 210 Manne 16 Malava 23 Malava 38 Malayakheda 8 Maleyadesa 73 Maleyuru 210 Mallasamudra 244 Malva 3, 10 Manaka 3 Mandya 33, 58 Mangalagi 249 Manpur 3 Manyakheta 8 Manyapura 16 Index / 303

Page #365
304 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism Marathvada 1 Markhandi 8 Marol 252 Mauryas 3 Mayurkhandi 16 Mekura 83 Melpati 100 Morkhand 8 Mudageri 34 Mudho! 23 Mullur 211 Mulgunda 23, 211 Muniyara Bommanahalli 246 Mysore 58 N Pandarangapalli 164 Pandarapalli 145 Pandurangapalli 3, 211 Pandya 15, 29, 83 Paithana 205, 211 Palasige 133 Pallava 15 Pannata 4 Panungal 4 Parabhani 52 Pasundi 26, 252 Pattadakal 4, 59 Pattanayakanahalli 60 Patti-Pombulcapura 55 Penjeru 48 Pergalvappu 12 Podhona 51 Pombulca 26 Pomburca 26 Ponnugunda 252 Ponnur 73 Pratara 83 Pratihara 29 Pratisthanapura 205 Pudumandala 34 Puligere 4, 251 Pullungur 40 Punadu 32 Punnata 83 Punnata 122 NR Pura 211 Nagamangala 253 Nahar Museum 51 Nalgonda 253 Nanded 211 Nanded Dt 8 Nandi Hills 211 Naregal 100 Naregal 211 Nasik Dt 4 Navalgund 37 Naviluru 211 New Sulepet 253 Nilgiri 99 Nidagundi 142 Nidugal 60 Nidugundage 48 Nizamabad Dt 27 Nonamangala 211 Nyamati 211 O Raicur 101 Ranebennur 17, 139 Rajagrha 219 Rajasthan 219 Ramagiri 19, 71, 211 Ramakonda 71 Ramesvaram 29 Rattanur 1 Rastra 1 Rastrakuta 1-18 Rastrakutas 2, 3 Repaka 52, 105 Odraganga 15 Onkunda 4 Osmanabad 1 Pallikheda 124

Page #366
S Saligrama 16 Samanagada 2 Sammeta sikharji 219 Sangitapura 223 Santalige 4 Sanjan 81 Saudatti 211 Saunadatti 25 Saurastra 5 Sedam 198, 211 Shiggaon 87 Shikaripura 25 Shimoga 26 Sindavadi 252 Sira 41 Sivagange 211 Sorab 193 Sravanabelagola 10, 211 T Talaikkadu 17 Talikote 246 Takkola 33 Talakadu 211 Talavanapura 5, 17 Taleyur 48 Taleyura 21 Tamilnadu 5 Tanjavur 29 Tardavadi 38, 39 Tippuru 211 Tivarkhed 2 Trikalinga 83 Tumkur 5, 41 U Undikavatika 2 Ujjili 28 Ujjivolal 28 Uppina-Betageri 31 V Vadavatti 48 Vadner 211 Vadner 4 Vadanaguppe 16 Vadner 27 Vallimalai 58 Valabhi 3 Vanikatupulu 105 Varala 139 Vardhamanapura 6, 122 Vasanta 142 Vatanagara 4 Vatapi Vatagrama 4 Vemulavada 23, 28, 50 Vemulavada 50 Vanavasi 4 Vengi 15 Virasaiva 199 Vidarbha 3 Vijaya-Vaijayanti 4 Vijayamangalam 36 Vikramapura 142 Virala 139 Vishakapatnam 22 Visakapatnam 71 Vrsabhadri 51, 100 W Warangal 28 Wardhvan 6 Warrangal 5 Y Yadrami 253 Index / 305

Page #367
Miscellaneous Bhamandala 248 Bharangi 49 Bhava-valis 145 Bhavavali 187 Bhuvanaika - Ramabhyudayam 152 Bogara basadi 56, 228 Brhadaradhana 123 Brhat-katha-kos 6 Bshat-kathakosa 122 Brhatkalpa sutra 75 Buddha 23 Adi-tirtha 246 Adipurana 13, 51 Anduvamsa 46 Annal 27 Ajitapurana 31 Akalankastotra 70 Alupas 54 Anekantavada 134 Anekartha-Namamala 77 Anesejjebasadi 251 Anevedanga 29 Anevinnani 29 Anuyogadvara 75 Apabhramsa 90 Aptamimamsa 69 Arabian 4 Aradhana 113, 170 Aradhana-Karnata-Tika 128 Ardha-Magadhi 166 Ardhamagadhi 128 Artha-sastra 102 Arungalanvaya 56 Aryan 64 Asokavana Basadi 231 Asta-Dikpala 229 Astasahasri 85 Atisaya 27 Atisaya-dhavala 17 Atmanusasana 88 Avasyaka Niryukti 75 Cakravartins 23 Callaketanas 47 Calukyas 1 Campu 190 Camundaraya-purana 116 Camundarayapurana 12 Candraprabhapuranam 131 Candrikavata 24 Cangalvas 194 Caranadri 225 Caritrasara 160 Carvaka 150 Caturmukha caityalaya 251 Caupannamahapurisa-cariya 22 Cavvisi 238 Cedi 28 Ceranadu 58 Celladhvaja 89 Cenna-Parsvadeva 28 Chandombhudhi 134 Chatratraya 248 Chota Kailasa 225 Christian 212 Civaka-Cintamani 65 Colas 32, 33 Cudamani 116 Cutus 59 V Baddega Jinalaya 28 Bagenadu 58 Baladevas 23 Bauddha 31 Bayalnadu 57 Beddoregere 57 Bhagavati-Aradhana 123

Page #368
D Dandanayaka 27 Daksina-pathesvaras 3 Daksina-pratipatti 75 Daksinapatha 3 Dasavaikalika 75 Deva-samgha 100 Desiyagana 21 Dhavala 9 Dhavala Jinalaya 251 Dhora Jinalaya 26 Dhorajinalaya 47 Dinara 96 Digambara 65 Doddahole 34 Draksus 96 Dravidian 64 Dravyasamgraha 178 E Egypt 222 Ekacattuga Jinalaya 234 G Gadya-katha 12 Ganitasara-samgraha 22, 95 Gandharvas 226 Ganga 4 Ganga-Gangeya 34 Ganga-Kandarpa-Jinalaya 251 Gangas 11 Gata-Pratyagata kavya 156 Gatha 126 Godavari 4, 5 Goggiya basadi 251 Golladesa 7 Gommatasara 160 Gommatsara 36 Gosasa 46 Guddada basadi 56 Gunaduttaranga 29 Gujarat 6 Gujarata 6 Gurjaras 38 H Hara 23 Hari 23 Harivamsa-purana 4 Harivamsapurana 6 Harsacarita 130 Hiranyagarbha-yajna 12 Hoysalas 46 Hunas 38 I Idagur-visaya 16 Indra-Jinalaya 26 Indrasabha 225 Islam 212 J Jaina Rupamandana 239 Jainendra-Purana 151 Jambudiva pannatti 22 Jasaharacariu 40 Jaya-Dhavala 9 Jaya-dhavala-Tika 22 Jayadhira Jinalaya 247 Jayadhira-Jinalaya 31 Jayaduttaranga 29, 34 Jayamala 214 Jina 23 Jinabhavana 214 Jinabimba 214 Jinadattacarita 88 Jinadharma 11 Jinagama 214 Jinaksaramale 156 Jinasasana 214 Jvalamalini-kalpa 97 Jvalinikalpa 73 K Index / 307 Kacara-vamsa 46 Kaccega 29

Page #369
308 / The Rastrakutas and Jainism L Labdhisara 179 Lalata bimba 216 Likavibhaga 170 Lokayata 31 M Kadamba 2 Kadambari 130 Kadambas 9 Kagina 10 Kailasa 56 Kalacuri 1 Kalingas 33 Kalyanakaraka 19, 66 Kama-Jinalaya 55 Kama-jinalaya 26 Kamme-nadu 111 Kancikkonda 29 Kannada 22, 60 Karakandacariu 177 Kareyagana 53 Karnata Kumara 140 Karnataka 6 Kasaya-pahuda 118 Kasaya-Prabrta 72 Kaveri 4, 5 Kavirajamarga 5, 130 Kavyasara 136 Kavyavalokana 141, 152 Kayotsarga 206 Kayotsarga 248 Kevalibhukti 93 Kellas 47 khadgasana 249 Khandagiri 227 Kisukadu 58 Kondakundanvaya 17 Koneya-Ganga 34 Kongalvas 194 Kongannadu 57 Konti Mahadevi 49 Konti Maha devi basadi 49 Kranur-gana 154 Ksatra-culamani 105 Kuge Brahmmadeva 235 Kuhundi-mandala 53 Kuningal 16 Kurulgala savana 156 Kusuma valikavya 158 Kuvalayamala 171 Madanavatara 33 Magadhas 33 Maha Ugravamsa 54 Maha-Bharata 23 Maha-tirtha 247 Mahakarma-Prakrti 74 Mahapurana 23 Mahapuranas 12 Mahasrimanta basadi 252 Mahavira Jinalaya 49 Mandalinad 56 Mani-pravala-saili 182 Mailapa-tirtha 53 Makkala basadi 56, 228 Male 57 Malnad 232 Manastambha 36 Mangalaphalaka 216 Manmatha 190 Marandale 58 Marathi 60 Marudevi basadi 251 Mayura-dhvaja 89 Meghaduta 83 Meghasandesa 82 Mukkaravasadi 251 Mulacara 170 Mularadhana 123 Mulasangha 21 N Nagarakhanda 25 Nandagiri 227 Nandisangha 66 Nannaraja 31 Naregal basadi 222

Page #370
Index / 309 Punnata 6 Purudevacarita 89 Purvapurana 80 Pustaka gaccha 21 Narmada 5 Nayakumaracariu 40 Neminatha basadi 234 Nitisara 97 Nitivakyamota 102 Nirgunda 57 Nisidhis 245 Nittasingi basadi 49 Nolamba Pallava 137 Nolamba-Kulantakadeva 37 Nolambas 60 O Racamalla basadi 251 Raghuvamsapuranam 131 Rajavali-Kathasara 116 Rajavarttika 68 Ramacaritamanasa 91 Ramayana 23 Ratta 25 Rattara-meru 31 Ritthanemicariu 172 Ron 222 Rudrakanta 241 Orissa 227 P. Padmabbarasi Jinalaya 222 Padmacarita 91, 172 Pandyas 33 Paisacika 134 Pala-Vamsa 14 Pallava 69 Pallavas 11 Pampa-Bharata 142 Panasoge vali 71 Panca stupanvaya 4 Panca-matha 55 Parasara gotra 31 Parasuramacarite 162 Parikara 248 Parmara 10 Parsva basadi 56 Parsvabhyudaya 4, 22 Parsvanatha basadi 24, 228 Paumacariu 172 Pejja-dosa-pahuda 118 Perdore 34 Perggade 49 Prakrit 9, 22 Pramana-samgraha 69 Prasnottara-Ratnamalika 9 Punar-janma 187 Punnadu 57 Punnaga-VIksamula gana 66 Sahasa-Bhima-vijayam 110 Sallekhana 14 Samavayanga 169 Sambhava 141 Sankhya 31 Sanmati-carita 139 Sanskrit 4 Santara dynasty 25 Sarvahna yaksa 60 Sarvarthasiddhi 68 Sarvatobhadra 225 Sastrabhandaras 198 Satavahanas 59 Sattara 46 Sauramandala 6 Saurastra 6 Sabdamani-darpana 136 Sabdanusasana 116 Sabdarnava 26 Saivism 142 Sankha basadi 251 Sankhajinalaya 251 Santinatha basadi 251 Santipuranam 154 Satkhanda-agama 9

Page #371
310 Tolkappiyam 131 Trikuta basadi 242 Trikuta-Jinalaya 28 Trikuta-basadi 235 Trisasti-salaka-purusa -purana 67 Udaigiri 227 Uparitala 224 Upasakadhyana 102 Upasakas 79 Uripattayana basadi 49 Uttarapurana 23, 67 V Satkhandagama 4 Sauraseni 169 Sauraseni Prakrit 123 Serinadu 57 Senagana 76 Senavaras 46 Senavaya 24 Sendrakas 46 Seuna dynasty 32 Seunas 247 Settavva basadi 219 Siddhiviniscaya 69 Singapuranalu 207 Sikh 212 Siribhuvalaya 162 Silaharas 47 Slokavarttika 180 Srtabhandara 214 Srtavatara 116 Sravakacara 126 Srivijaya jinalaya 251 Srutapancami 97 Srutavatara 73 Srutavatara 97 Strimukti - prakarana 93 Sule basadi 56, 228 Suktisudharnava 136, 152 Subhadhama-Jinalaya 52, 105 Subhatunga-vasati 4 Svetambara 9 Svetapatas 9 Syadvada 134 Syadvada mata 15 V(B)alagara-gana 86 Vaddaradhane 127 Vagartha-samgraha 12 Vairagya-sataka 88 Vakatakas 3 Vasudevas 23 Vedanta 31 Vengi Calukyas 14 Vengi-visaya 111 Vira Banajigas 254 Vira Bankeya Jinalaya 233 Viramartandi 36 Vidyadhara 226 Vijaya-Jinalaya 16 Vijayavasati 17 Vikramarjunavijaya 51 Voddaradhane 124 Vrsabhagiri 164 Vyakhya-prajnapti 75 Y Tamil 60 Tattvartha-sutra 68 Tattvarthailokavarttika 85 Tirthada basadi 242 Tirthadavasati 251 Tirthankaras 23 Tirthavandana 247 Tiloyapannatti 170 Yapaniya sangha 16, 53 Yasastilaka 100 Yasodhara-carita 105 Yuddhamalla Jinalaya 52 Yuktyanusasanalankara 85

Page #372
Index /311 Hearty congratulations on the substantial and distinctive contribution! With the publication of these five books, you have enriched the field of Jaina research, transmitting different aspects of religion, philosophy and Jaina culture of Karnataka. Infact you have unveiled many salient aspects of Jaina literature, history, art and architecture. Indeed, you have left a permanent stamp of your scholarship on the readers. In brief, you have joined the select band of interational scholars on Jainology. 22-10-99 Dr. Prem Suman Jain Professor of Jainology and Prakrit M. L. Sukhadia University, Udaipur You are to-day the best historian of Jainism in Karnataka. Your knowledge on the Jaina epigraphs is phenomenal. I am certain your two Ganga books will prove a land mark for the Jaina history of Karnataka. Prof. M. A. Dhaky Director (Emeritus) American Institute of Indian Studies About - "The Santaras : A Study" Practically nothing has escaped the attention of the learned author. Dr. Hampa. Nagarajaiah has projected himself as a competent and experienced historian in this work. Scholars and students, interested in Karnataka history and culture, should be grateful to the scholarly author for this excellent work. This will remain as a standard work on the subject for decades to come. 22-10-99 Prof. A. V. Narasimhamurthy Prof. and Head (Rtd) Ancient History and Archaeology University of Mysore

Page #373
312 Reviews on the Works of Dr. Nagarajaiah, Hampa Dr. Hampa. Nagarajaiah, Former Professor of Bangalore University is a well known scholar and teacher and specialised in the study of Jaina literature, Inscriptions and History of the Garga dynasty of Karnataka. During the year 1999 itself he has authored five-important and basic source books on Karnata-Jainism. It is clear that the year-1999 has been a rich and academically very productive year for Dr. Nagarajaiah, as the above five works stand witness. Apart from being a teacher in the University, he has mastered in Kannada and Sanskrit sources, through the various inscriptions of the Ganga, Rashtrakuta and Chalukya dynasties, apart from the later records of the Kakatiya, Hoysala and later rulers. Prof. Nagarajaiah is a field archaeologist indeed and made arduous field studies and explored every nook and corner of Karnataka as the above five-illustrated works reveal. An interesting feature is all the illustrations in his works are printed before the text and quite handy for cross-reference while reading the text. They are of high order and details of each photograph is clearly numbered and described in detail. The printing and get up, to say the least, are excellent. Diacritical marks on Sanskrit and linguistic expressions have been meticulously placed. 12-1-2000 Hyderabad - 500 044 Dr. I. K. Sarma Former Director : Archaeological Survey of India, and Director : Salar Jung Museum

Page #374
Prof. Nagarajaiah, Hampa provides answers to some quintessential questions of ancient Indian history. Drawing upon and synthesizing data from a wide variety of fields - archaeology, history religion, socio-culture epigraphy and literature the author presents the position of Jaina Church in the epoch making age of the Rastrakutas. This book, an ambitious work, seeks to resolve some paradoxes that have plagued the professional historian and archaeologist alike. The author asserts that during the reign of the mighty Rastrakuta dynasty Jainism boomed to possess the status of a state religion. Rs. 350 ISBN : 81-87321-37-7 08 Ankita Pustaka # 53, Shamsingh Complex, Gandhibazaar Main Road Basavanagudi, Bangalore-560 004, Karnataka, INDIA 699 2014 (0) 652 6134 (R) For Private & Persanal Use Only