Jain Journal 1974 01

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 33

Jaina Shrines At Varanga
P. GURURAJA BHATT
One of the five renowned centres of Jainism in Karnataka has been Varanga, a village in the Karkala taluk of South Kanara district. But the religious and historical significance of this place has been little known to the people until recently, when the discovery of a few epigraphs threw light on this centre of Jaina pilgrimage.
Varanga derives its name from a saint of that name and the spiritual antiquity of this place goes back at least circa 10th-11th century A.D. The entire village (then a city) was gifted to the saint by the Alupa king, Kundana, who ruled over the district. From early times, this region was under the spiritual control of the pontificate of Patti Pombucha (modern Humcha) in the Shimoga district. There is also a monastery there as a survival of the pontifical authority. The principal monuments are two : the Neminatha Basti and the Kere Basti. The latter is also known as the Caturmukha Basti, because it has faces in four directions.
The Neminatha Basti is one of the major monuments of the district, constructed entirely of hard granite. It is a duo-cellular structure with a sanctum sanctorum, a sukhanasi and a navaranga and adjoining the navaranga, a sub-structure to the south. The porch is in front. The columns are massive all round the structre and the roofing is covered with thick granite slab.
The structure is typically Vijayanagara in style and one make the mistake of thinking that the shrine came into existence only during the Vijayanagara period. The discovery of three Hoyasala inscriptions in this Basti unmistakably traces the origin of the shrine to the midHoysala period, i.e., circa 12th century A.D. Two epigraphs are engraved on the pedestal of two beautiful and elegant bronzes of Adinatha and Anantanatha, 374 cm. and 45 cm. high respectively. The main