________________
APRIL, 1969
223
the leaders of the Svetāmbara order also appear to have moved into the south holding strategical positions in Karnataka and Andhradesa. That the Svetāmbaras had penetrated far into the interior of South India is attested by the above mentioned record of Mrgesavarma and the Srisaila inscription. The advocates of the Svetāmbara order who were in the forefront of the race of proselytization for a few centuries in the beginning seem to have subsequently lagged behind and almost vanished
om the scene. The presence of the monks of the Svetāmbara order in Karnataka appears to have been the outcome of missionary activities sponsored by Smapriti who is intimately associated in the traditions of south-western India.
Although the preceptors of the Svetāmbara order do not figure prominently in the history of the Jaina church of South India, the teachers of the Yāpaniya sect which had much in common both with the Digambaras and Svetāmbaras played a distinguished role in propagating the main Jaina law in South India and influencing its monastic traditions. The sphere of the Yāpaniya activities was Karnataka.
Among the early antiquities of the Jaina fatih in the Maharastra State cave temples deserve attention. Noted below are such of these as are not only representative but historically significant.
Ankai Tankai–It is now the name of a hill fort in the present Nasik district of Maharastra, 900 in height. Actually they are also the names of twin hills joined by a saddle. Here are seven Jaina caves extremely ornate, but badly defaced probably by Khan-Khana's army in the reign of Shah Jehan. The first cave is double-storyed having a richly carved doorway like Cauvera Dera No 1 at Un. The roof has been decorated with lotus leave pattern. The door of the shrine is also elaborately carved. The plan of the second cave is very similar to that of the preceding one. But it has a closed verendah. It has a figure of Indra and Ambika. The shrine has the figure of Jina, not yet identified. The third cave has a perforated screen in front, with two figures similar to that of the preceding cave in the front row. On the back wall of the back room are found images of Parsvanatha and Santinatha in kāyotsarga. The doorway of the fourth cave is richly ornamented like that of cave 1. The rest of the caves do not deserve any description.
Camar Lena ---The hill of this name in which the Jaina caves were excavated lies to the north-west of Nasik. The most noteworthy object is a colossal unfinished bust of Parsvanatha. The caves belong to the 10th and 11th centuries A.D.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
