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JAINISM IN SOUTH INDIA
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the person, who enlarged the famous Mulgund temple, which was a Jain tirtha from about 900 A.D.16.
From the great Jain centre of Humcha, we have an extremely important Jain epigraph of about 1530 A.D. This inscription 16 describes the achievements of the great Jain saint Vidyānanda, who was undoubtedly one of the finest Jain intellectuals of the sixieenth century. He has been represented, in this epigraph, as having defeated the Europeans in Sriranganagara (Seringapatam) and a number of opponents in debate at several places of Karņāțaka, including Kårakala, Bidire, and other places. He also visi. ted the two great Jain tirthas of South India, namely Kopaņa and Belgola and at the latter place, he participated in a colourful ceremony. We are further told that in the court of great Vijayanagara king Kệsb adevarāya (1509-1529), he vanauished all his enemies in debate. Several other achieve. ments of this supreme logician, have been enumerated in this long epigraph from Humcha. Two spiritual predecessors
of Vidyānanda, namely Simhakirti and Viśālakirti are re-- · presented, in this epigraph, as having defeated their oppo
nents in debate, in the courts of Muhammad Bin Tughluq and Sikandar Shah respectively. A disciple of Vidyānanda was Devendrakirti, who, we are told, was worshipped by Acyutarāya, the successor of Kțshŋadevarāya. A colleague of Vidyānanda, called Nemicandra, built a big. temple of Pārsvanātha at Humcha.
The above-mentioned epigraph from Humcha, abundantly proves that Jainism was not a dead religious force in South India, in the 16th century. A number of philosophers. certainly boosted the prestige of this religious system, once again, in this century, and no word of praise can adequately measure the achievements of Vidyānanda, who was fittingly. given the epithet Vādi17.
Jainism in Northern districts of Karnatak :--Several places. of Northern Karnatak, have yielded Jain epigraphs, which prove that in those places, this religious system, somehow
