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116 of JAINA ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE OF TAMILNADU
Sravanabelgola in Karnataka and learned Jaina scriptures, became a saint with his initiated name Virasenacharya and returned to the Sithamoor area.
One Gangeya udayar of the near by Thazhanoor village helped the saint VEERASENA ACHARYA to re-establish Jaina centre in Sithamoor. The people in the nearby village - Peramundur, helped to establish a Jaina math. They were working in their fields putting the manure to their lands. The appeal from Veerasanacharya, prompted them to drop the baskets from their head and proceeded to Sithamoor. This oral tradition is depicted in the wall painting of the sanctum of one of the temples, the Chandranatha temple locally called the ‘Peria Kovil' at Perumandur.
Col. Mackenizie manuscript is the only dated source of the Jaina math. He had interviewed in 1816 A.D. the then Pontiff Munibadradeva Acharya and collected information about the Jainas, Jainism, expense of math, festivals and the books in the library.
Next dated record is an inscription of 1865 A.D. which reveals the name : Abinava Adisena Bhattara, as the Pontiff, the Madathipathi. It was this Bhattara who expanded the present Pasvanatha temple and added a gopura with the contributions of the Jaina public. Though there is no dated records that show the succession of the madathipathis, people remember them by their purvashrama names. Thus, we have a list of Pontiffs referred to as Chinna Kulandaiswamy, Vimalanathaswamy, Appavusamy and others. Appavusamy is the one who constructed a modern monastery building, in 1915. Pontiffs are addressed as "Swasthi Sri Lakshmi Sena Bhattaraha Bhatta Charyavarya Swamigal. It shows that the Bhattara
tradition was initiated by the Sena gana Jaina monks. Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only
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