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130 JAINA ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE OF TAMILNADU
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A Jaina image displayed at the Government Museum, Egmore, has an inscription on the base, mentioning its name as Santinatha deva of the temple Yeraga-Jinalaya founded by the Mahapradhana Brahadevana, a disciple of Sakalabhadra Bhattaraka, Mahamandalacharya of the Mulasamgha, Kundakundanvaya, Kanur gana and Tintrini-gachcha." The above three names are the sub-divisions of Mulasamgha, of which the Kundakundanvaya is the most important and oldest sect founded by a Digambara scholar Kundakunda. Since this inscription is in Kannada language and script, the image might have been brought from elsewhere in Karnataka region. Though the references of the Mulasamgha found in all the above places, the nature of the inscriptions and the language and script give the clue that the Mulasamgha was not much influential in Tamil country.
the
Dramila samgha
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An interesting inscription at Siyamangalam of 10th century A.D. refers to the Dramila samgha along with Nandhi samgha." This inscription is written in poetic form in Grantha characters. It contains exaltation of Arungal-anvaya and a Jaina monk VajjraNandhi Yogindrar who was the mandalacharya of the Nandhi samgha of Dramila samgha. He constructed the flight steps to the Jaina temple at Siyamangalam. From this it is evident that the Nandi samgha was probably a division (gana) of Dramila samgha. This division was also attached with Mulasamhha. The Dramila samgha mentioned in our inscription is variously referred to in the inscriptions of Karnataka and Andhra as Dravila samgha, Dramila samgha. It is evident from a Jaina work Darsanasara that this samgha was founded by Vajranandhi of Madurai in Tamil Nadu in the first quarter of 9th century A.D.
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