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Significance of New Inscriptions from Koppala, Karnataka
Hampa Nagarajaiah
Jain Education International
PREAMBLE
Koppala, in the newly formed district bearing its name in the State of Karnataka, is an ancient Jaina centre and in importance next only to Śravanabelgola, from the late centuries of B. C. Reputed as 'Adi-tirtha' and 'Mahā-tirtha,' one of the holiest pilgrimage places, it continued to be a centre of eminence for almost 1500 years. Kopaṇa, Kopaṇādri, Kopaṇagiri, Kupaṇācala, and Kopaṇatīrtha are the variant applications that figure in the inscriptions.
"Inscriptions hailing from the Mysore state speak of the usually large number of Jaina temples, which was a characteristic feature of this holy place. Reminiscence of this past phenomenon is still preserved in a local saying which avers that the town contained 772 Jaina temples and was regarded by the Jaina community as sacred as Kāśi-Kṣetra or Banares, the famous holy place of the Hindus." [P. B. Desai 1957; 203; also cf. B. A. Saletore 1938 190; and C. Krishnamacharlu. 1935: 14; N. B. Sastry: 1954 :]
1.1.1. Out of the hundreds of Jinālayas that traditionally existed at Koppala, only the following names, each bearing a cognomen, are reported in the inscriptions: Arasiya-basadi (temple of the queen), KuśaJinālaya, Candranatha-basadi, Jayadhira-Jinälaya, Timabbarasiyabasadi, Tīrthada-basadi, Daṇṇāyaka-basadi, Nāgadevana-basadi, Neminatha-Jinālaya, Puspadanta-Jinālaya, śāntinātha-basadi, and Sātaladevīya-basadi. ('Basadi' is the Kannada form of the Sanskrit 'vasati', meaning a Jinālaya. Incidentally, Jayadhīra-Jinālaya was
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