Contribution of Karnataka to Jain Literature and Culture

Author(s): K Krishnamoorthy
Publisher: Z_Kailashchandra_Shastri_Abhinandan_Granth_012048.pdf

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poets in Sanskrit, Apabhraínsa and old Kannada have referred to him with respect. A memorial in stone is preserved upto to this day at Koppal. It became the model: for carita-kavyas or poems centred around religious heroes which were compose large numbers by later Jaina poets. (For further details, see A.N. Upadhye's article in ABORI, XIVI-2) Kavi Parameśvara or Paramesthi is another ancient poet whose work Vágarthasangraha' in no longer extant.
The heyday of Jaina literary activity and philosophical systematisation, is reached in this period because latest researches show that Akalanka, the great Ācārya, must have enjoyed the patronage of the Cālukyas of Badami. Epigraphs mention that Akalanka was honoured at the court of king Sàhasa-tunga, who has been identified with Calukya Vikramaditya I, son and successor of Pulakesin II, who ruled from 642 to 681 A.D. (See Dr. Jyoti Prasad Jain, The Jaina Sources of the History of Ancient Ingia, Delhi, 1964, p. 179). The epigraphic evidence relevant here is :
राजन् साहसतुङ्ग सन्ति बहवः श्वेतातपत्रा नृपाः, किंतु त्वत्सदृशा रणे विजयिनस्त्यागोन्नता दुर्लभाः । तद्वत्सन्ति बुधा न सन्ति कवयो वादीश्वरा वाग्मिनो, नानाशास्त्रविचारचातुरधियः काले कलौ मद्विधाः ।।
[Mallisent Prasasti, Jain Lekha Sangraha, II, No. 290] 'O king, Sāhasatunga ! Indeed many kings there are with royal emblems of white parasoles. But rare are kings as victorious as yourself in battles and as generous as yourself in gifts. So too there are scholars galore on earth. But in this iron age, scholars are rare who, like me, can claim the highest proficiency in poetry, debate, polemical skill and expertness in discussions involving all branches of knowledge !
Another epigraph at Sravanabelagola states that he defeated the Buddhists in a great scholastic debate in the year 643 A.D. :
विक्रमाङ्कशकाब्दीयशतसप्तप्रमाजुषि ।
कालेऽकलङ्कयतिनोर्बोद्धैर्वादो महानभूत् ।। (R. Narasimhachar, Inscriptions at Sravanabelgola, 2nd Ed. Introduction. ) According to Mallisena Prasasti the court of King Himaśītala was the place of this historic debate. This Himaśítala has been recently identified with the Trikalingadhipati mentioned by Hiuen Tsang (Dr. J.P. Jain, Journal of the U.P. Historical Society, Vol. III (New Series), Pt. 2, pp. 108-125). Akalanka has written outstanding works on Jaina Logic and epistemology like Tattvartha-raja-varttika, Aşgasati, Siddhivinis caya and Pramana-sangraha, refuting the arguments of Buddhist logicians like Dinnāga.
Among earlier writers on Jaina metaphysics and logic, referred to by Akalarka are Mallavādin, author of Nayacakra, and Siddhasena Divākara. The latter also is the author of the popular devotional hymn (stotra) known as Kalyanamandirastotra (See Kāvyamala, VII, Bombay, 1907, pp. 10-17). Similarly, Gunanandin's Jainendraprakriya, which is sometimes alluded to by later writers, appears to have been composed under the Cālukyas of Badami. The Jaina version of Brhatkatha of Guņādhya
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