Jaina Monuments and Places First Class Importance

Author(s): T N Ramchandran
Publisher: Veer Shasan Sangh Calcutta

Page 41

TIRUPARUTTIKUNRAM OR JINA-KANCHI
33
pithas or pedestals within the temple itself, both uninscribed, one in front of the kora tree and the other below the balipītha intended for Mallisena, and that they are siinilar to the ones in the samādhi, it is obvious that some of these uninscribed and similar pedestals should have been changed or misplaced at some time or other. Much prominence is attached to Puşpaseņa in the local tradition probably because of his political influence. A cell is assigned to him in the Munivāsa and worship is done to him much in the same way as is done to Mallisena. As regards his accomplishments, both spiritual and literary, inscriptions 9 and 24 are helpful. In the former he is called Vamana, "a bull among sages" (munipungava) and is given the title "paravādimalla' which means "a successful opponent of his enemies in discussion", In the latter his devotion to Mallisena is stressed and his blessings are invoked for the benefit of the suffering surging humanity,
The fact that the samādhi pedestal of Puşpasena is bigger than the others and that it is placed in the centre of the others and contains a bigger inscription bears testimony to the greater importance of the sage, in whose memory the pedestal arose. This pedestal appears to be the last in the collection of pedestals in the samādhi, and this fact gives room to the surmise that probably subsequent to Puspaseņa there were not similar sages in the place or, if there were any, did not acquire importance in the manner that their predecessors like Mallisena and Puşpasena acquired. Otherwise their samādhis should also be expected.
The Muniväsa in the temple which contains five cells has still one cell to be accounted for, the other four cells being intended for the spirits of Chandrakirti, Anantavīrya Vāmana, Mallisena Vāmana and Puspaseņa Vāmana. "The name of the fifth is not preserved for us to-day either in the temple inscriptions or in the local traditions. He may most probably be one who had preceded Chandrakīrti, whose name has not come down to us.