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JAINISM IN SOUTH INDIA
(-town) and tirtha (= holy place). This is unwarranted, because Kopaņa was both ūr and tirtha combined into one, and there is no reason to believe that such a distinction ever existed. Secondly, the word ildu in the same line has been translated as "having alighted.' This is obviously wrong, because, the sense to alight' is conveyed by the root ili and not by il. Here the form ildu is clearly derived from the root ir meaning to stay, to reside' and any number of instances of the phonetic transformation of r into ! can be cited from the epigraphical sources of the period.
Now we go to the word mudipidlar, which has been translated as completed the (vrata )' in the publication. This does not hit the mark precisely. The root mudipu is often rendered to mean to expire, to end one's life, etc. The idea of death is more prominent in the expression than the idea of completion of the vow. This word occurs more commonly in the Jaina terminology and it has acquired a special significance of its own. Consequently, the word has assumed the nature of a Jaina technical term. The basic root is mudi and mudipu is its causal form with the suffix pu added on toit, on the analogy of the roots ali-pu, tiļi-pu, etc. This root has its parallels in the other sister languages of the Dravidian group, viz., Tamil and Telugu. The root both in its primitive as well as causal form generally means to end! But according to the Jaina religious convention it is not merely ending or dying. The expression is used to denote the death of a devout follower of the Jaina faith, who voluntarily undertakes a solemn vow to end his life by fasting so that he might free himself once for all from the bonds of karma and thus accomplish his object by this act of self-denial. So, we shall be nearer the mark if we translate the word mudipidar as 'attained final emancipation.' The solemn vow according to the Jaina religious vocabulary is called saṁnyasana (1.4). It is also known as sallékhanā and samadhi-marann.
On account of the highly poetic idea conceived in it, the last verse deserves our special appreciation. Herein Sarvanandi is compared and contrasted with Indra, the god of clouds and rain. By means of the material clouds Indra cools the heat of summer for the time being. But here is our Sarvanandi who, by his subtle and immaculate spiritual teachings and practices, perpetually quenches the heat of sinful actions. How unique is his personality!
TEXT 1 Svasti [[*] Śri-Saka-varisha entunūra mūraneya varisa2 dandu Kuņďakund-ānvayada Ekachattugada-bhatūrara sishyar 3 Sri-Sarvvanandi-bhatārar = ill = ildu ürggan = tirtthakad = upa
kariga! –āgi 4 pala-kālan= tapam-geydu sa(sam)nyasanan = nõntu mudipidar [0*]
