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HISTORY OF JAINA MONACHISM
107 archaeological remains in the form of broken Jaina temples and images found in this region.282 It may be, therefore, that the kings of this dynasty were tolerant of Jainism. Kacchapaghātas of Rajputana and C. India :
The various branches of this dynasty ruled from c. 950 to 1125 A.D.283 Out of these, we have evidence of the existence of Jainism under at least two branches: (a) Kacchapaghātas of Gwalior :
A fragmentary Jaina image inscription dated 977 (A.D.) contains only the name of the king Vajradāman, which proves that the king was not unfavourable to Jainism even though temples of Vishņu and Siva are also found belonging to his period. 284
Coming to the reign of Mahīpāla, we have the Sāsbahu inscription (1093 A.D.) which mentions a certain 'Yaśodeva Digambarārka.'285 Probably the same person has been also termed as "Nirgranthanātha" in the Gwalior fragmentary inscription (1104 A.D.).286 But it is strange to note that this 'nirgranthanātha' composed the record at the setting up of a linga. If the term is to be understood as the name of a Jaina person then it possibly suggests the degree of religious toleration the Jainas exhibited during this period. (b) Kacchapaghātas of Dubkund :
A certain inscription found on a pilaster of a Jaina temple now turned into a mosque, falls in the reign of Vijayapāla of this branch. Dated 1043 A.D., the epigraph begins with a salutation to the Siddhas and refers to a certain Maheswarasūri of the Kāmyaka gaccha. It then tells us that this ācārya died in 1100 V. S. after which Sadhu Sarvadeva wrote a praśasti.287
The Dubkund stone inscription288 (1088 A.D.) gives a more clear-cut statement about the condition of the Jaina Church. Starting with an invocation to the various Tirthankaras and also to the Srutadevatā, the inscription tells us that two Jaina traders who were friends of the king Vikramasimha (1070-1100 A.D.), took a prominent part in the building up of a Jina temple at the instance of a certain Vijayakīrti of the Lāțavägata Gana. The
282. See ASR, Vols. I, II, VII, X. 283. RAY, op. cit., Vol. II, p. 835. 284. JASB., XXI, p. 393-400. 285. I.A., XV, pp. 33-46. 286. Ibid., pp. 201-2. 287 I.A., XIV, pp. 8-10. 288. E.I., i, pp. 232-40.
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