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COMPREHENSIVB HISTORY OF JAINISM
The next important epigraph 147, from this district, once more, comes from Lakshmeswar, dated in the Călukya Vikrama year 6, corresponding to 1081 A.D. It refers to some gift to the Jain muni Narendrasena II, disciple of Nayasena, who was the disciple of Narendrasena I of the Mūlasangha, Seņagana. We have already come across Narendrasena 1 and his disciple Nayasena, who are mentioned in the Mulgund epigraph, dated 1053 A.D., referred to above,
Several Jain temples of Dharwar district are mentioned in some epigraphs of the 12th century. We have, for example, references to Brahma-jinālaya of Belawatti146, Mallinātha-jinālaya of Niralagi14, Pārsvanātha temple of Balehalli150, Vijaya-Pārsva-jinendra temple of Karagudri 162, Pārsvadeva temple of Guttal189, śāntinātha temple of Lakkundi108, Srivijaya-jinālaya of Lakshmeswar184, etc. There were certainly many more temples in this area, which have not been mentioned in the epigraphs,
Let us now turn our attention to the famous Ablur epigraph 165, which throws very interesting light on the relationship of the Jains with the Saivas in the 12th century. According to this well-known epigraph, it was the Śaiva saint Ekāntada Rāmayya, a contemporary of Kalacurya Bijjala (1156-1168), who defeated the Jains in debate and obtained a jaya-patra from Bijjala. We are further told that the debate was first held at Ablur (2 miles to the west of Kod). We learn from the relevant lines, that he astonished the Jains by showing a miracle and then after destroying the local Jain temple, built there a temple of Śiva, called Vira Somanātha. The Jains then complained to Bijjala, in whose court, it appears, Rāmayya once more defeated the Jains in debate, and demanded the destruction of eight hundred Jina temples, including the famous Anesejjayabasadi (that is of Lakshmeswar). The inscription, however, does not specifically say, whether any more Jain temple (other than that of Ablur) was destroyed either by Rāmayya
