Jinamanjari 2000 04 No 21

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

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Jinamaañjari, Volume 21, No.1, April 2000
THE HOYSAĻAS AND JAINISM Dr. Kamala Hampna, Bangalore
Resurgence of Virašavas and their open encounter brought hard times for Jainas, particularly in the region of north Karnataka, which resulted in the inevitable conversion of Jainas enmasse. Those who could afford to resist the proselytization began slowly to move away to hospitable places and to seek the favor of other kings in distant regions. They also moved further north to Kolhapur and Sangli region in Maharastra, and southwards to old Mysore and Tuļunādu region. Albeit, this set back was duly compensated by the Hoysalas who patronized Jainism.
The name of the dynasty is traced back to Sala who was a pupil of sage Sudattācārya belonging to the Jain monastery at Angaḍi. There is an incidence for the source of the family name Poysala/Hoysala. It is believed that Sala under the order of his preceptor - "poy Sala," smothered a lion with Kunca (dagger). The very derivation of the phrase needs reinterpretation. The phrase is a Kannada compound word consisting of two free morphemes, Poy + Sala. The initial letter p, a bilabial aspirant, in the phrase was changed to h- in medieval times. Thus, Sala becomes known as Poysala, following the incidence, and eventually Hoysala.
The incidence is a symbolic expression of an historical event. The word poy carries a suggested meaning, as smothering of tiger which stands for the act of obliterating the Cola rulers who were the enemies. The tiger is the symbolic representation of the Colas destroying Jaina seats and the creed as a whole. Thus the meaning of the phrase 'poysala' is 'strike (the) Colas' whose royal insignia was tiger. The command of sage Sudatta to his warrior class disciple Sala was to raise his arms against the Colas. The mutation of the initial letters S- and C- is an established phonetic factor, and hence Sala and Cola are cognates.
The incident with its symbolic expression of an historical event is fortified by two facts: firstly, it gave the dynasty its name, and secondly, most of the Hoysala monarchs were Jains. The latter fact is attested by their constant and significant royal cognomen, 'samyaktva-bhūṣaṇa' - ornament of the faith in the teachings of the Jina. Besides, Vāsantikādēvi alias Padmavatidāvi - Jaina yakṣi was the family deity of the Hoysala dynasty.
The Hoysalas took off from Angaḍi olim Sosevūr in Cikkamagalur district. Of the ten lithic inscriptions from Angadi, nine are of Jaina origin A good number of basadis also existed, along with a Jaina monastery.
The Hoysalas, with Halebidu, (Dōrasamudra) as their nucleus, started as feudatory rulers of the imperial Cāļukyas, and gradually founded independent kingdom. Like the Gangas, the Hoysala dynasty which owed its origin to a Jaina saint, chose to nurture and follow the faith, as far as possible, and favored the Jaina church to bloom without permit. As a consequence, the Jainas managed to keep both their tradition and their community intact and revive its early opulence
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