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124 / The Rāstrakūtas and Jainism
of religious martyrs who boldly sustained the calamities and the visiting afflictions. It is a sort of psychological morale boosting to take more courage, to make the ārādhaka more determined to face the vertibale death.
5.4.2.1. Bhrājisņu is totally unknown enitity in the entire corpus of the known patriarchs and pontiffs and authors of Karnāțaka. But still, Bharājişņu is not an unusual name. It is mentioned in the list of 1008 names for Tirthankaras. Therefore, it is a pakka typical nomen of the Jina tradition. One and only author, in the whole body of Jaina literature, to mention the name of Bhrājisnu and his work Ārādhanā Karņāța Țikā was Rāmacandramumkşu (C. 10th cent.), friar and a Sanskrit author of PunyāsravaKathākośa, an anthology of tales of wholesome Kārmic influx. Rāmacandra also admits that he borrowed the theme and model, in narrating the story of Śrēņika, from Bhrājişnu's AKT. From this statement two things become clear : i. Bhrājisnu's work was so famous and popular that even the Sanskrit author had the inspiration to immitate its model. ii. Rāmacandramumukşu was well-versed in Kannada.
5.4.3. Bhrājisņu (C. 800 C. E.) is one of the earliest authors of Kannada literature. Of the extant works, Arādhanā Karņāța Țikā olim Voddārādhane is the first work, in temporal terms. No other work, prose or poetry, earlier to this has survived in Kannada. Bhrājişnu comes from Pallikheda, modern Hallikheda in Bidar district. He lived and wrote at Maļkhed (Mānyakheta), the capital of Rāstrakūtas during the reign of Govinda-III (793-814). The work is composed mostly in the pre-old Kannada style that existed before ninth century C. E.
5.4.4. The great luminary Bhrājisnu was felicitous in Prakrit, adroit in Sanskrit and an adept in Kannada. His theme is religion and philosophy in which he is a connoisseur.
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