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HISTORY OF JAINA MONACHISM
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corroborated by an inscription in the Nayamuni cave214 in the UdayagiriKhandagiri hills which is dated the eighteenth year of the reign of Udyotakesarī. It mentions a certain śubhacandra, a disciple of Kulacandra, an ācārya of Desigana, Graha kula of the Arya samgha. Scholars attribute it a date round about the 10th cent. A.D.
Another inscription in the Lalatendu Kesari's cave refers to the fifth year of the reign of Udyotakesari. It is named after the king of the same name belonging to the Kesarī dynasty (c. 7-12 cent. A.D.). It contains a group of naked images of the Digambara sect.215 Besides this, 'decayed tanks and decayed temples were caused to shine'.
It may be noted that from these two inscriptions it seems that the Digambaras were more prominent in this region during the tenure of the Kesari dynasty.
This patronage to Jainism in general seems to have lasted even upto the sixteenth century A.D., as according to GANGULY,216 Pratāpa Rudra Deva of the Sürya dynasty had a great leaning towards Jainism.
Along with Kalinga, Bengal also seemed to have come under Jaina influence. The Pahārpur copper-plate of the Gupta year 159 (478-79 A.D.) denotes the existence of the Digambaras in Bengal as the epigraph refers to Acārya Guhanandi of Nandi Sangha,217 Jaina Tirthankara images of about 500 A.D. were found out in the mound in Mainamati village in Bengal.218 Further, Hiuen Tsiang who visited India in the 7th cent. A.D. says, "The naked Nirgranthas are the most numerous" 219
We have briefly sketched the position of Jainism which shows that Jainism was prevalent in some form or the other in Kalinga upto the sixteenth century A.D. Let us now see the state of Jainism after Khāravela (i.e. 2nd century B.C.) in central and western India.
We have already referred to the fact that Samprati Maurya introduced Jainism in various regions in India. His younger brother sāliśuka is credit
214. Ibid., p. 166; ASI, Ann. Rep. 1902-03, p. 40, a.
215. E.I., 13, pp. 166-67; Acc. to Hiuen Tsiang (7th cent. A.D.) Kalinga was one of the chief seats of the Jainas; BUHLER, Indian Sect of the Jainas, p. 40. f. n. 1.
216. Orissa and Her Remains, p. 19; acc. to K. P. JAIN, who quotes from Dathavamso (II, 72-91), Guhaśiva, king of Kalinga (c. 400 A.D.) was converted to Buddhism; hence the Nirgranthas left Kalinga (JA, XII, ii, p. 69).
217. JA., XII, ii, p. 72-74. 218. K. P. JAIN, Ibid., quoting from B. C. LAW Volume, pp. 218-219.
219. E.I., XX, p. 60. BULL. DCRI.-13
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