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368
Hampa Nagarajaiah
11.1.
9.9.2. To put it in a nut-shell, these new inscriptions unambiguously prove that the Gangas were devout Jainas. It was because of the sustained support of the stalwarts of the Ganga dynasty that Jainism could flourish and attained unparalleled magnitude in Karnataka. On the luminous spectrum of the Ganga royalties, prince Būtuga shines like a pole star.
Jain Education International
Jambu-jyoti
1077], Nītimārga-Goyindara [ibid], Vasava [ibid] alias Bāsa [K. 12.]-all the five vigorously followed Jainism. [Nagarajaiah : Säntararu-ondu Adhyayana: 1997-A]. Rambaladevi, grand daughter of Būtuga, Rakkasa-ganga-Goyindaradeva II, and Arumulidevagrandsons of Būtuga-were ardent protagonists of Jainism. Caṭṭaladevi, a great-grand-daughter of Butuga and wife of Kaḍuvetti, built Jinālayas, patronised and encouraged the clergy of Jaina faith [ibid].
10.1. While elucidating the socio-cultural prominence of the present anthology, some of the achievements and active participation of women of all ranks, from the lay votaries to the queens, in the religious acitivites deserve prominent place. On par with men, Jaina ladies made liberal grants to temples, took part in religious ceremonies, followed the path of renunciation, and embraced the hard discipline of recluses. Women of the Ganga family always were in the forefront in perpetuating the light of the Jaina church. 10.1.1. Like monks, the nuns, too, used to change their personal names on the sacred occasion of their initiation to the nunhood; however, the change of nomen was not obligatory. Women were never restricted from entering nunhood in Jainism. Ladies of the Ganga household, by and large took the vow of sanyasana. Some of them had renounced the worldly interests in their early age to practice yoga, meditation, and the methodical study of scriptures. This fact is lucidly illustrated in the corpus of Koppal inscriptions.
An added interesting point of the recently discovered epigraphs is that most of them contain graphic portraits of some illustrious preceptors who were held in high reverence by their contemporary ruling class, particularly the Gangas, the Rāṣṭrakūtas, and the Kalyāṇa Calukyas.
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