Jainism in South India and Some Jaina Epigraphs

Author(s): P B Desai
Publisher: Jain Sanskruti Samrakshak Sangh Solapur

Page 29

2. JAINISM IN ANDHRA DISA
with Sridhara. When Sridhara was engaged in austerities under an Arjuna tree on the mountain, the Khécharas or the heavenly angels paid homage to him with an offering of Mallikā flowers; hence the place came to be called Mallikārjuna. In like manner Amarāvati was the place where the Amaras or the gods worshipped him. Sridhara attained Siddhi or perfection under a Vaţa or banyan tree in another place; and for this reason it was styled Siddhavata. The descendents of Sridhara were nicknamed Mundiya-vamsa or 'the progeny of the shaven monk'; because he reverted to the life of a householder from that of a recluse.
CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE S1o.zy: Dharmāmrita, the receptacle of this story, is a Kannada poetic work composed in the champū style. Its author Nayasēna hailed from Mulganda in the Dharwar District of the Bombay State. He was a distinguished scholar and a reputed teacher of the Jaina faith. He wrote this book in A. D. 1112.
The story apparently reads like a legend. But a close examination will reveal the fact that in spite of its being a later fabrication, it contains a reflection of some early events in the history of Jainism in the Andhra country. We may also note in this context that a good many sources that provide a basis for the studies in South Indian Jainism are but later compilations of earlier traditions having their bearing on facts and that they have been accepted by scholars for historical reconstruction. The famous tradition of Bhadrabāliu and Chandragupta is an illustration. I shall now make an attempt to glean such bistorical points from the story as might be useful for our purpose.
The geographical layout of the story fits in with the position of the Āndhra country in the early period. The term Vergi Mandala was loosely applied to the larger territory of the Andhra Dēša before its connotation was narrowed down to a specific portion of the land lying between the rivers, Gödāvarī and Krishņā. This assumption is further supported by an episode in the narrative introducing the name Andhaka Vishaya evidently signifying the Andhra country. Probing deeper, the appellation Mundiya-vainéa attributed to the lineage of Srīdhara conveys a historical concept. Testimony of more than one epigraph is at our disposal to show that a part of the present-day Nellore District was known as Munda Rāshtra or Munda Nādu in the early centuries of the Christian Era.” Sriparrata and Mallikūrjuna represent the well-known Srisaila mountain in the Kurnool District. Siddhavata still retains its appellation in the Cuddapah District. Amarāvati is identical with modern Amaravati in the Guntur District. Pratipālapura
1 Karşātaka Kavicharite, Vol. I (revised ed.), p. 117. 2 Ep. Ind., Vol. XXIV, p. 301.