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102
Fainism in Early Medieval Karnatal a
the Yavaniha sangha lived i
Regular subsidies for the maintenance of different sects of the Digambaras were provided by the Kadamba kings of western Mysore Mrgesavarıda built a Jaina temple at Pala sıka or modern Hals in the Belgaum district and granted several nuvarlanas of land for the benefit of the Yapaniya the Nirgrantha and the Kurcaka sects who probably resided in the same temple 2 The endowment was increased by Harivarma who gave the village Vasantavataha to the Kūrcakas for meeting their annual expenses at the eight day festival of the Jaina temple which Vrgesavarma had built at Palāsıha The balance of the grant was to be spent on feeding the whole sect of the Digambaras in the 6th century 3 Harivarma also granted the village of Marade for the use of the holy people who lived in thc Jaina temple at Palasıka*
The Jaina teachers of Karnataka exploited the simple faith of the Jaina laity and encouraged them to erect morc mathas which were declared to be cssential for the attainment of temporal as well as the eternal bliss This is evident from the study of the Padmapurana the Varangacanta the Adipurana etc which were composed in Karnataha in between the 8th and 9th centuries
The Jaina monasteries multiplied fast an subsequent centuries No less than sixty five monastic establishments are recorded during the 7th 10th centuries In 634 the Jaina poct Ravıkırtı constructed a Jaina temple at Athole in the Bijapur district and it was granted land by Pulakcsin II 5 In 776 as many as thirty one house sites along with a house were granted for the construction of new quarters of the monks and nuns attached to the Lohatilaha Jinalaya located in the city of Śripura It was also given land with varying irrigational facilities such as sıx kandugas of black soil under the big tank and two landugas of rice land in the Sripura plain 6 In 859
1 MAR 1938 P 8B 2 Id vi no 21 P 23
Ibid no 2p 31 4 Ibd vi no 26 pp 31 2
LI VI P 12 6 EC iv Vg 85 pp 134
