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Art and Architecture / 247
era, Koppaļa flowered into a major settlement of Jaina order during this period.
8.6.7.1. Jaina friars and nuns administered the oath of death by gradual abstenation from food and water, to some of the official dignitories of this age, on the sepulchral hill. Local epigraphs speak of many prominent pontiffs, princes, princesses, and nuns who flourished during the reign of Amõghavarşa-I, -II, and -III, Krsna-II, Indra-III, Govinda-IV, Krsna-III and Khottiga. Famed Sankaraganda, feudatory of Krsna-III, had founded Jayadhira Jinālaya in C. 964 C. E. Many members of the Būtuga-II's family willingly submitted themselves to the rite of holy death as prescribed in the Jaina tradition.
8.6.7.2. Koppaļa had direct connection with Maļkhēd. Māmarasa, Rāstrakūta general, visited siddha Kupana (Koppala) in C. E. 883, as part of Tirthavandanā itinerary. Indrarāja-III acended the throne in C. E. 914-15 and ruled upto C. E. 926. Before that, as a prince, Indra was ruling as governor of southern region of the state, when Mámarasa was dandanāyaka under him.
8.7. Kēśvāra olim Gadi-Kēśvāra (Gulbarga Dt, Cincoli Tk), mentioned in the epigraphs as Kēšavapura, was one of the very ancient Jaina settlements in Karņāțaka. It has thrived well with its Jaina sanctuaries and cloisters, in the early epoch of Cālukyas of Bādāmi. It continued to prosper during the age of the Rāstrakūtas. Kēśvāra persisted to wield influence when the Cālukyas of Kalyāņa, the Kalacuris and the Sēuņas were ruling.
8.7.1. Of the three ancient Jaina chapels, the one that exists in the potterer's lane, to the south end of the village, is of greater significance. Local people recognise the temple as a basadi of kañcugăras, bell-metal smith. Evidently it was built by devotees of merchant class. An inscription on the right side door-lintel records that a Jina Pārsva temple was constructed by Masaņayya. Matisetti, a lay disciple of
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