Comprehensive History of Jainism Volume II

SR No.: 002003
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Aseem Kumar Chaterjee
Publisher: Firma KLM Pvt Ltd
Publication Year: 1984
Total Pages: 414
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, History, & Religion
File Size: 19 MB

Page 67

JAINISM IN NORTH INDIA
57
and also to the repairing of an old Jina temple, dedicated to Tirthařkara Suvrata. The plates also contain an exhaustive list of various things, which were granted by Amma for the temple. The other epigraph-21, found at Bhojpur in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, records the installation of a colossal statue of śānti Jina. The person, responsible for its installation, was a householder, named Sāgaranandin, while the ceremony was performed by a Jain monk called Nemicandrasuri.
However, the above two inscriptions do not prove Bhoja's passion for the Jain religion. Literary evidences, at our disposal, surely show that Bhoja was on friendly terms with many contemporary Jain writers. According to the Prabandhacintāmaņi+, Bhoja was a patron of Dhanapāla, the Jain author of the celebrated prose romance Tilakamañjari. The evidence of Merutunga is directly supported by a few verses of the Tilakamañjari.+ 28 We further learn from the relevant passages of the same text, that Dhanapāla was honoured by both Muñja and Bhoja and for the pleasure (vinodahetoh) of the latter, he wrote his work, The Probandhacintāmaņi « 2 4 further gives the information that under the influence of Dhanapāla, the great Bhoja gave up hunting, which naturally was against the teachings of the Tirthařkaras. A few other Jain monks also were honoured by this magnificent monarch. According to a Śravana Belgola epigraph,426 the Jain monk Prabbācandra was worshipped by Bhoja of Dbārā. Another epigraph, discovered from Dubkund, 426 mentions a Digambara sage called śāntishena, who had, defeated in the court of Bhoja, several opponents in debate. Several celebrated Jain authors composed their works during the reign of Bhoja. We have already mentioned one Prabhācandra, who was honoured by this king, according to a Śravana Belgola epigraph. A second Prabbācandra, according to the colophon of the Prameyakamalamārtanda,37 wrote that work during the reign of Bhoja of Dbārā. We