Jaina Monuments of Andhra

Author(s): G Jawaharlal
Publisher: Sharada Publishing House Delhi

Page 35

Introduction
Sanyasana and terminated his life there. From the lable inscriptions of the pedestal we learn that Danavulapadu was considered as a sacredKshetra, to which faithful followers of the faith thronged for observing Sallekhana-Diksha.47
Other kings of this dynastry like Govinda III and Govinda IV were influenced by Jain-tenets. They are known to have constructed Jain temples and made the grants to maintain them. Krishna III, the last great king of the Rashtrakuta dynasty and his vassals were patrons of Jainism. The court of Krishna III at Manyakheta, was adorned by Andhra scholars and poets like Gajankusa and Ponna. The last king of the dynasty was king Indra IV. He is known to have invited death through the typical Jaina-vow namely, Sallekhana, in March A.D. 982.48 The Jaina centres at Ramatirtham, Biccavolu, Bodhan and Danavulapadu in Andhra received the munifficient patronage from the Rashtrakutas. Dr. A.S. Altekar49 was right in saying that “about one third of the population of the present Andhra-Karnataka professed Jainism during the hey-day of the Rashtrakutas”. It is, indeed, interesting to note that successful generals like Bankeya, Kundate and Sri Vijaya, of the Rashtrakutas were Jainas by persuasion. Jainism under the Chalukyas of Vemulavada
Like their masters, Vemulavaca Chalukyas were indeed great patrons of Jainism and men of letters. Among the kings of this dynasty, Arikesari II (A.D. 930-955) was the most remarkable personage who patronised Pampa, author of Vikramarjuna Vijayam and the first great poet in Kannada. It is knwon from the Kurkyala incription50 that Pampa was the son of Bhimapayya and Abbanabbe who originally hailed from Vamgiparru village in Vengi-nadu. The main object of the epigraph was to enumerate the pious deeds of Jinavallabha, a hitherto unknown brother of the great Kannada poet, Adi-Pampa. Further it informs that like his brother, Pampa, he embraced Jainism and built a Jain temple called Tribhuvanatilaka after carving the images of all the Trithankaras and of Chakresvari on Bommalgutta (i.e. hill of figures) in Kurkyala Village, Karimnagar District. Jinavallabha is said to have been a poet of distinction like Pampa.