Jinamanjari 2000 04 No 21

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

Page 55

Jinamañjari, Volume 21, No. 1, April 2000
JAINISM UNDER MINOR DYNASTIES Gerusoppa, Kongāļvas, Hāduvalli and Cengāļvas
Dr. M.V. Srinivas, Mysore
The principalities of Gerusoppa Hāduvali, Cengalva and Kōngāļva are typical small kingdoms of early medieval India. Though feudatories of major dynasties, they enjoyed virtual independence at one stage or other and played a significant role in the history of Karnataka. Their small size did not matter, they committed themselves to good administration and all round development of their subjects. Their contribution to Indian culture in general and Jain culture in particular is praise worthy, as they commissioned and restored basadis, and adorned their courts with poets and scholars..
The most significant feature of their rule is their patronage to Jainism. Several preceptors preached and wrote treatises and commentaries on Jainism, very often producing several works on secular subjects such as medicine, ethics and fine arts. Being Jains, they set up a model on their religious toleration and accommodation.
Their downfall was some times abrupt due to internal and external factors. Gerusoppa and Hāduvaļļi fought each other for supremacy, and the intercine wars between Cengalvas and Kōngāļvas led to their fall. When the Mysore rulers unceremoniously annexed Cengalvas and Ikkēri occupied Haduvalli, it was not only a death blow to the ruling families but also to Jainism. Buchanan describes the Ikkēri Hāduvalli conflict as a clash between Saiva and Jain faiths which finally destroyed Haduvalli. Veerja, the last Cengälva king had embraced Virasaivism, which had not only replaced Jainism in the royal courts and households but it also replaced the Jain deities in the basadis which were converted into non-Jaina temples. Jasinism thus was on wane and lost its glory after the collapse of these medieval Jain kingdoms.
Gerüsoppa
It was an important medieval kingdom in Tulunadu. It comprised of eastern and northeast portions of South Canara and the southern portion of North Canara districts. Gerusoppa which is referred as Kśemapura in inscriptions was its capital. It was adjacent to the principality of Haduvalli, and the history of the two families overlap at many points. Dr. Gururaja Bhat points out that Nagire or Gerūsoppa "must have been the center of the original Tuļunādu.' The rulers of this principality were said to have belonged to the family of the Saluvas. They also claim that they belonged to Somavamśa and kāśyapa gōthra.
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The early history of the principality like many other in India is shrouded in obscurity. According to two Mūdabidre inscriptions which give the genealogy of the Nagire chiefs, Narananka was its founder. Their rule started in the twelfth C.E. and by thirteenth, they had entrenched themselves in power. The inscriptions mention the early rulers like Hōnna, Kāma, Manga, Keśvarāja, Sangama etc." For Private52Personal Use Only