Jinamanjari 2000 09 No 22

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

Page 12

and shining like mirror. The existence of such N.B.P. in the sixth B.C.E. at Kosam and Vaiśāli excavations authenticates the description of the Pūrņabhadra-caitya shrine visited by Mahāvira as a genuine old tradition. In the opinion of Dr. U.P. Shah, such shrines which the Aupapātika-sūtra refers to and the prthvi-silā-pattas, which are non-Vedic and non-Aryan in origin, are precursors of the Jaina āyāgapațas from Mathurā dating first B.C.E. to first C.E."?
The centres of the wandering Jaina ascetics who resided often in isolated places like caves and hills were given special care by the lay votaries in creating an environment for carrying out of the spiritual and meditational activities. The spiritual atmosphere was made possible by erecting architectural forms on the site. Andhra -- bound by Orissa in the north, Maharastra in the west, Karnataka in the south and Bay of Bengal in the east -- has such centres beginning from the Maurya period to the medieval times. Some such important and historical sites took fashion of architectural forms out of the living rock, as in the case of natural caves and the erection of temple.
Art and Architectural Centres in Andhra
MUNULAGUTTA is a hillock from where the first known natural cave settlement of the Jainas in Andhra has been reported. On the brow of a rock overhanging another are found four cut stone-berths with pillow loft. The discovery of the Satavāhana coins from the site gives the date of the site to the early Satavāhana period.
JILAKARAGUDEM, a small village of the same name, has a hill which contains a group of rock-cut caves with an inscription of the Salankayana period. It refers to its ancient name known as Mahānagaraparvata. The discovery of another inscription of Sirisada, 18 the descendent of Mahāmeghavāhana Khāravela of Kaliñga, records the mantapa by a certain Chulagoma. This suggests that the place was a prominent Jaina centre in the first B.C.E. The site was later appropriated by the Buddhists and now is considered as a Hindu shrine.
KONAKONDLA which dates back to the time of great philosopher and saint Kundakunda is located in the southern region. Kundakunda who claims the lineage of the pontiff Bhadrabāhu-II, is a bright star in the exposition of soul, its mechanism, functioning in lateral, upward or downward mobility in respect of the karma particles, was the resident of this place. Presently, it is a village which claims fame of its hill called Rasa-Siddhulagutta where a spacious natural