Jaina Gazette 1927

Author(s): J L Jaini, Ajitprasad
Publisher: Jaina Gazettee Office

Page 21

THE JAINA GAZETTE
of which deserve some explanation. Gurubasti is the older of the two and about it there runs a story thus :
Once a splendid Jaina Temple, on the decay of Jainism, this Basti fell into ruins. Trees grew around it, and for all practical purposes it was deserted by its devotees. One day as a Jaina Muni from Sravana Belg ila happened to pass by it, he was astonished to see a Tiger and a cow feeding side by side in an uncommon amity. Desirous of discovering something more about this wonderful spot, the " Yati " went near it and was astonished to find out a splendid inage, 9 Cubits in height, of Parsvanatha. With the aid of the Townsfolk he had the Basti repaired. It is said that because he was the first to discover the Jaina sacred books called Dhavala. Mahadhavala, and Jayadhavala, shis Basti had been called after him-Gurubasti. It has been called also by another name-"Siddhantabasti" because it contains the abovenamed Jaina Siddhantas. In Saka 1728 (.A.D., 1805) Sri Abhinava Charukirti Panditacharya of Sravana Belgola amidst great pomp and rejoicing repaired the Guru'basti and opened a new chapter in its history. The Guru'asti is nearly 1,000 years old.
Mure famous and beautiful than the Guru Basti is the Hosa Basti, or as it is also called "Bhuvana Tilaka Chudamani Basti" or the“ Thousand Pillared Basti." About this temple, Dr. Hulizseh writes as follows in the Epigraphical Reports.
" The largest and the finest is the Hosabasti, i.e., the new temple which is dedicated to Chandranatha, and was built in A.D., 1429-30. It possesses a double enclosure, a very high Manas. thambha, and a sculptured gateway. The uppermost storey of the temple consists of woodwork. The temple is composed of the shrine (Garbagriha) and three rooms in front of it viz., the Tirthan. karamandapa, the Gaddigemandapa, and the Chitramandapa. In front of the last mentioned mandapa is a separate building called Bhairavadevimandapa, which was built in A.D., 1450-1452." In connection with the Bhairavadevimantapa, I was told the following anecdote by the Jains of Mudibidri :
About the beginning of the 15th century a Jaina pearl merchant of Mudibidri, who had borrowed a large sum of money Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat