Unknown Pilgrims

SR No.: 007014
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: N Shanta
Publisher: Sri Satguru Publications Delhi
Publication Year: 1997
Total Pages: 820
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 19 MB

Page 232

The Unknown Pilgrims
F - Fervent faith in Karnataka
As we proceed on our tour we arrive in the South, as the munis, who left Magadha at the time of the great famine and established themselves in Karṇāṭaka under the guidance of Arya Bhadrabāhu, were obliged to do.220 Why did they choose to go so far and why to this area? One can scarcely explain it by obvious reasons, but it may very well have been, as has been suggested, that it was due to the already existing presence of a Jaina community in these kingdoms of the South.221 This supposition seems plausible, for if a considerable number of munis were involved, it would be normal to betake themselves to places where they could be received in friendly fashion by members fo the Samgha. According to this tradition the presence of Jainas in the region, which included also part of present-day Andhra Pradeśa, would date back to about the IVth century before our era.222 From the first centuries of our era up until the XIIIth -XIVth centuries doctrinal and grammatical treatises and literary works, as well as epigraphical documentation, all bear witnes to a very flourishing period in the history of Jainism. This was probably due, on the one hand, to the zeal, flexibility and adaptability of the munis and also to the patronage of a line of sovereigns, especially those belonging to the dynasty of the Gangas established in the South of Karṇāṭaka, who had adopted Jainism as state religion. Other sovereigns of neighbouring princedoms, those of the Kadamba dynasty, if they did not all embrace the Jaina faith themselves, at least showed tolerance, benevolence and generosity towards it in varying
212
220 Cf. P 131
221 Cf. Chakravarti, 1974, pp. 10-12.
222 Ibid. p. 13.