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246 / The Rāstrakūtas and Jainism
Permānadi Nitimarga's son. King Nitimārga was a bee at the pair of the lotus feet of the Arhad Bhattāraka Jinasēna, the author of the Sanskrit Adipurāņam and the preceptor of Amõghavarşa-I. Niśidhi inscriptions and their sculptures at Śravanabelagoļa and Koppaļa are discussed appropriately.
8.6.6. Muniyara Bommanahalli village (Gulbarga Dt), to the west of Sorāpur and on the way to Tāļikote from Kembhāvi, is replete with Jaina relics of the Rāştrakūta period. The hamlet at the entrance of a ravine consists of some adhiştānas of runied Jinālayas, and scattered Jaina vestiges of a black schist image of Jina Pārśva in kāyotsarga posture, (size 4’x3'), a resdtone image of Jina seated on a lion throne in paryankāsana capped with tripple umbrella, fly-whisk bearers standing on either side, and a dilapidated small basadi etc.
8.6.6.1. A Jina Pārsva dvitala, two storeyed Jaina shrine with a small uparitala, upper-storey, above the garbhagȚha, has been now converted into a Rāmēśvara dēvālaya. Muniyara Bommanahalli, at the approach to a mountain pass, commands a serene panoramic view suitable for austerity. Local legend reports that the toponymn Muniyara' meaning of the ascetics' is derived from the Jaina monachs who once inhabited the place in large numbers. Whatever be that, the place deserves further investigation and excavation. In brief, Koppala, like Sravanabelagola, persisted to be a nerve center of hecitc Jaina activities.
8.6.7. Thanks mainly to the patriarchs, Koppala turned out to be a major Jaina establishment and a regular pilgrim seat, for the householders, monarchs and their feudal lords. With its wooded slopes, huge boulders, deep ravines and dark caverns, Koppaļa provided a perfect place for penance and purification. It continued to be a nucleus for the Rāstrakūtas, the Gangas and the later Cālukyas. Considered as an Aditirtha and Mahā-tirtha from the early centuries of current
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