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218 / The Rästrakūtas and Jainism
be disputed. But at the same time the early Chalukya traditions were modified to suit their changed aesthetic sense and purpose. Thus we find the Rashtrakuta architect indulging in the creation of dvikutas and trikutas in large numbers often necessitated by religious considerations" [Rajasekhara, S:1991 : 13].
8.2.1.1. For over a long period, a detailed and methodical survey and analysis of inumerable Jaina edifices and vestiges scattered all over the state, was a desideratum. This chapter is a modest attempt in that direction.
8.2.2. Jaina patriarchs and their lay followers have preferred to enshrine the small hills with excellent basadis, and the bigger hills for consecrating the tall monolith colossi of Bāhubali (Gommața). It is the Rāstrakūtas who augured this bifurcation of hills, wherever it was convenient. They initiated it at Hombuja and Are-Tippūru tirtha in the last decades of ninth century. But, it reached its zenith of perfection and excellence on the summit of Vindhyagiri at Sravanabelagola, the Pompei of Jainism in India.
8.2.2.1. Sravanabelagoļa stands wedged between the two Hills with ancient history and invaluable monuments. Legends, that smack something of ancient history and something of sweet fancy, associate these two Hills with the Mauryan emperor Candragupta, who renounced his kingdom, became a disciple, and followed śrutakēvali, apostle, Bhadrabāhu. The small hill, Candragiri, and a basadi as Candragupta basadi, both named after the Mauryan sovereign. Candragiri (Kaļvappu (Sk. kațavapra) 'sepulchral mound') basically a sepulchral hill, has aged Jaina monuments of architectural and historical importance, that reflect the ethos of the peirod.
8.2.2.2. Sravanabelagola, a famous settlement of Jaina tradition, is a legend. For the faithful, the place, the two hills,
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