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as containing a number of beautiful Jina temples, and also some beautiful lakes, abounding with lotus. We have already seen, in our earlier chapter, that this place, was wellknown for the temple of Pārsvarātha (called BrahmaJinālaya), built by a Kadamba chief. Another epigraph®, from this place, probably of the time of Harihara II, mentions the death of a Jain monk. It also mentions a Jina temple, built by the Kadambas, which is obviously identical with the temple of Pārsvanātha of this place.
Hirre Abli which too, was a Jain centre of Shimoga district, from much earlier period“, has yielded quite a large number of Jain epigraphs of this period. Several epigraphs from this place, are, however, memorials recording the death of influential monks. Two short epigraphs", of the years 1346 and 1371 A.D., from this place, for example, mention the Vijayanagara emperor Bukka I (1356-377). And we have several epigraphs of the time of the next Vijayanagara emperor Harihara II (1377-1 +24), from this place, and in one of them, there is a reference to the Pārsva-Jina of this place, which as we have already seen, in this volume?, was in existence even before the 11th century. The next emperor Devarāya I (146-1422) is also mentioned in several memorial tablets, of this place. These epigraphs prove that this place continued as a Jain centre till a very late period.
Bhārangi, in Sorab taluk of this district, has yielded three epigraphs of our period, of whici the first one®, is an important Jain record. It refers to this place, as the ornament of Nāgarakhanda, a district of Karņāțaka. It further refers to the Jina temple of this place, which was dedicated to Pārsvanātha. The epigraph records the death of Gopana, a ruler of Nāgarakhanda, a great Jain layman and, we are told, that his ancestors were devoted Jains. It further appears from this epigraph, that the Pārśva temple of this place, was under the control of the two Jain gurus of Gopana, namely, Panditācārya and Śrutamuni. One of their spiritual ances.
