________________
Jainism in Early Medieval Karnataka
candra1 and Aristanemi, who performed religious suicide on the summit of Candragiri hill at Sravana-Belgola in the 7th century. After the death of the teachers the disciples probably founded new monastic orders at different places.
124
Of four monastic orders mentioned above, the Navilür Sangha was known by different names such as the Namilür3 and Nimilar Sangha The Mayārgrāma Sangha, which appears in an inscription of the 8th century, may also be identified with the Namalur Sangha, because the same inscription refers to the nun Prabhavati of the fortunate Namilür Sangha and Damitāmats of the Mayūrgrama Sangha,* and both are stated to have performed the religious rite known as the sallekhana at the same place. The other monastic order was the Kittür Sangha. Rice has identified Kittür with Kirtipura, the capital of Punnāḍ 10,000 in the 3rd century. Its present site is modern Kittur, which lay to the south of the present Mysore state. The Kolaṭṭur Sangha," which is the third monastic order, remains unidentified so far. The Malanur-Sangha,10 founded in the 8th century, was possibly connected with the Dravida Sangha, because it is described as a branch of the Senagana and Dravida-Sangha in a record of the 11th century.
8
Besides the above-mentioned ascetic orders of the Digambara monks, the Dravida Sangha deserves special mention, for it played an important role in advancing the new monasticism in Karnataka. Its origin and date, owing to the contradictory references in literary texts and inscriptions, have been so far under debate. Devasena in his Darianasära states
1. EC, ii, SBI, p. 1.
2. Ibíd. SB. II, p. 4.
3. Ibid. SB 109, p. 45; ibid. SB 114, pp. 45-6.
4. Ibid. SB 97, p. 43.
5.
Ibid. SB 108, p. 45.
6. Ibid. SB 114, p. 45.
7. Ibid. SB 81, p. 41.
8. Lewis Rice, Mysore Gazetteer, ii, p. 223.
9. EC, ii, SB 92, 93 a-d 96, p. 43.
10.
Ibid. SB 25, p. 6.
11. P.B. Desai, op. cit., p. 221.
