Jinamanjari 1999 09 No 20

Author(s): Jinamanjari
Publisher: Canada Bramhi Jain Society Publication

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architecture. Although it has been noted that there was a Ajila palace on the river bank at Aladangadi, no remnant is extant now. The Parsva basadi which is not far away from the present palace is an important architecture of Aladangadi. An inscription, consisting of seventeen lines located within the compound of the basadi makes reference to the gift of land made by Cauturvarnakanta, mother of Mandalika Somanatha Pernamarasa. Based on this information, the basadi had been built sometime during the fifteenth century.
Two kilometers from Aladangadi there is a palace known by the name Barāya palace. Though this Ajila palace for most part is in ruins, it has its roof still in tact. Six pillars of this palace are decorated beautifully with many images, such as Hamsa, Gajalaxmi, Gandabegunda, elephant, horse, orchestra group, etc. On either side of the entrance to the palace, there are Krishna and Ganapati images. It has been reported that there were Ajila palaces at Kela and Veņūr. Another important contribution of Ajilas is Krishna temple at Sulabetta constructed in 1714 C.E.
In memory of his ancestor Camundaraya who caused monolithic statue of Bahubali at Sravanabelagola in the year 981 C.E., Vira Timmanna Ajila built Bahubali statue at Veņūr. He appointed the sculptor Shambhu, who had already carved a similar statue at Karkala for the Bhairava king, Vira Pandya, to carve a Bahubali statue from the rock at nearby place called Kalyani. When the time of the consecration of the statue arrived, preparations were made and the news spread throughout the realm. This news also reached the Karkala king, Bhairava IV, who thought that this event would minimize the importance of Bahubali statue that had been consecrated in his capital by his ancestor, King Vira Pandya. Therefore he dispatched his ambassador to Vira Timmanna Ajila asking him not to consecrate the statue at Veņūr, but rather, to send it to him at Karkala.
On the other hand, he told the ambassador to return home and inform his king that he would proceed to consecrate the statue at Veņūr. King Bhirava, having failed to stop the consecration of Bahubali statue at Veņūr, decided to go to battle against the Ajila king, and attacked Nāravi, the border town of the Ajila territory. As the battle news reached the Ajila, he made preparations to fight the Karkala army as well as stop the carrying away of the statue from Veņūr to Kārkala. He ordered his men to hide the statue in the banks of the river while he made reinforcement to the army battling under the chief Kāntusamnīņ at Nāravi. King Bhairava was then forced to retreat back from Näravi.
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