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COMPREHENSIVB HISTORY OF JAINISM
belonged to Upakeśa or Ukeśavamsa and Veśata gotra. I All his family members, including his brothers, were good Jains. We learn from the Vividhatīrthakalpa', which is a highly reliable work, and which was composed in the lifetime of Samarā Shah, the mūlana yaka (main image) of the Adiśvara temple in Satruñjaya, was rebuilt by that merchant in V.S. 1371, after it was destroyed by the Muslims (Mleccha) in V.S. 1369. This information, given by Jinaprabha, is strikingly confirmed by two epigraphs, found from that famous titha, dated V.S. 1371.
Further information, on this great Jain merchant, is supplied by the work Nabhinandanoddhāraprabandha*, written by Kakkasūri in V.S. 1392. This work further represents Alapakhāna, the governor of Gujarat, as a friend and well-wisher of Samarã Shah. This Alapakbāna is evidently identical with Alp Khāno, the governor of Gujarat, during Ala-Ud-din's (1295-1316) time. We are told by Kakkasūri that it was this Alp Khan, who gave the necessary farmān to Samarā Shāh, to rebuild that famous temple of Adinātha at Palitana. As Alp Khan was alive till 1315 A.D.°, the account of Kakkasūri is obviously based on fact. We are further told that in his task of rebuilding the Adinātha temple, Samarā Shāh was helped by the king of Ārāsaņā. Kakkasūri also gives a list of prominent Jain monks who accompanied Samarā Shah to Palitana." The two monks, who were directly involved in the ceremony of installation, were Siddhasűri of Upakeša gaccha and Ratnasūri of Tapā gaccha. That Samarā Shah was a man of catholic outlook, is proved by the fact, that he adorned the famous Somanātha temple with five-colour flag. It should also be noted that according to Kakkasūri, Desala, the father of Samarā Shah, actively participated in his son's religious activities and spent enormous amount of money. 10 His two brothers viz. Sahajapāla and Sāhana also actively helped him.
The same work of Kakkasūri informs us that Samarā
