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Author's Note
Several hundreds of nisidhi inscriptions have cc ne to light in Karnataka. So far the earliest Niśidhi comes from Sosale (C. 500 C.E.), Śravanabelagoļa (C. 6th cent. C.E.) and from Arhapalli (6th cent. C.E.). But, the highest number of such post obitum epigraphs, after Śravanabelagola, come from Koppaļa, which are discussed thread bare in this text.
This hoard of new inscriptions that I discovered, offer indubitable proof of the resurgence and supremacy of the Nirgrantha cult, and justify the existence of a strong nucleus at Koppala. Jainism received a strong fillip, because of the friars and nuns who zealously worked like missionaries. They were great masters of syādvāda-siddhānta, the quintacense of Jaina philosophy. Through their austerity, strenuous penance, they had destroyed the latancies to attain salvation. Not only one can easily notice the peace radiating personality of the ascetics, so transperant in these inscriptions, but also the spiritual pedigree of the pontiffs and patriarchs.
Many of the nisidhi or post-mortem memorial stones of Koppaļa speak of the affiliation of the kings, queens, princes and princesses of various royal dynasties like the Gangas, the Rāştrakūtas and the Cālukyas of Kalyāņa. It is a well known fact that Royal patronage was sin qua non for the progress of a religion in ancient times. Jainism had the privelige of profusely enjoying it for over a thousand and five hundred years in Karnataka, commencing from Candragupta Maurya who embraced Jainism, and migrated to South with his preceptor Bhadrabāhu-l, and courted death by starvation on the Candragiri Hill, named after him, at SB. Although Asoka was more inclined towards Buddhism, he was so sympathetic to Jainism that he dug caves in the Barabar Hills for Ajivakamonks and gave gifts to the Nirgranthas. Samprati Candragupta, grand son of Asoka, did so much for the propagation of Jainism that he is known as Jaina Asoka'. Therefore, with this in background, it is interesting to note that Asoka chose some important Jaina seats like Koppaļa for his rock edicts.
Since almost all the inscriptions in this corpus are niśidhi charters, it does not mean that Jainism as a religion is primarily
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