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946
JAINISM IN SOUTH INDIA
of uniformity in the engraving may be attributed to the rugged and uneven surface of the rock.
The epigraph is engraved in characters of about the 11th century A. D., and they exhibit slightly archaic traits. The script and the language are Kannada. The composition is partly prose and partly verse. The orthographical convention of doubling the consonant in a conjunct letter after r is strictly adhered to. Preference is shown to the nasal member of the class over anusvära, which, as observed in the case of inscription No. 19, is an earlier trend in orthography. The following are some instances to the point: Simhanandi, 1.2; band - imgini-, 1. 5; 1.7; munindrar, 1.9; ingini-, 1. 10; Santinatha, 1. 11. Dental n is substituted for its cerebral counterpart while reduplicating the latter; e. g., annanum in 11. 2 and 3. The root negal, should really end in the Dravidian 1. This position is correctly maintained in the present record. But it may be noted in this context that this root has almost invariably lost its original form, and is consistently written as negal in almost all the other inscriptions under study and elsewhere also in the epigraphical records ranging from the 11th century onwards. We may note the earlier verbal forms ending in or in sadhisidor (1. 2) and geydor (1. 3). The past participle form ilda in l. 4, derived from the root ir, may be noted in this inscription also. The record is almost free from mistakes with the exception of the word pratishțe in l. 11. Simhanandi is written as Simhanandi also (1. 5).
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The epigraph commences straightway with the mention of the first year of the reign of the illustrious king Vikramāditya. Next we are informed that the revered teacher Simhanandi who was on fast for one month under the vow of Sallekhanā attained consummation, that is to say, passed away. Five disciples whose names are specified, attended to his funeral ceremony. Then comes Kalyāṇakirti who, in all likelihood, was the properly initiated and direct disciple of the deceased monk. To perpetuate the sacred memory of his teacher he erected a temple on the spot where Simhanandi breathed his last. He also had this inscrip. tion engraved. The record gives some details regarding the monastic
order of Simhanandi and mentions the names of a few members of this line. The last part of the inscription pays compliments to Kalyāṇakirti and mentions his meritorious acts.
Now let us review the contents of the inscription critically in larger details. Considering all possibilities and the evidence of palaeography in particular, Vikramaditya whose reign the epigraph refers itself to, might be Vikramaditya V of the Western Chalukya house of Kalyāņa. He ruled
