Kevalaodhi Buddhist And Jaina History Of Deccan Vol 2

Author(s): Aloka Parasher Sen, B Subrahmanyam, E Siva Nagi Reddy
Publisher: Bharatiya Kala Prakashan

Page 92

294
Kevala-Bodhi --Buddhist and Jaina History of the Deccan
Karnataka, now preserved in the State Museum at Hyderabad records the gift of money at specified rates by the nakharas, the officers of the mint (Kammatada-adhikarigaļu) and the Kammațakäras of agrahāra Hirya Gobbūru, to the Brahma Jinälaya for conducting the Chaitra-pavitra in 1109 AD. The grant of money was a rarity during the Chālukyas of Kalyāņa period. The donation, in majority of cases, included land, both wet and dry, flower garden, and house-sites. As an exception, in this record, income from levy, shops, betel leaves and betel nuts were also gifted. The granting of betel leaves and betel nuts to the temple occupied an important place in the religious rites from early medieval period and continued even during the Vijayanagara period.
Another epigraph from Kõlanupāka registers the gift of 2 mattars of gadde (wet land) and flower garden and a gana (oil-mill) to the jinälaya built for him by Māndalika Gomarasa. The gift was entrusted to Chandrasēnāchārya, probably the priest of the Jinalaya. The Bairanipalli inscription mentions the installation of a Jaina image and the gifts of a mango garden, 20 mattars of karamba land and other lands for repairs of the temple and feeding of the ascetics by Bīramaraddi, the dandanayaka of the capital Bhuvanagiri and the 120 karaṇams of Bekkalluin 1125-29 AD. At the end of the inscription there is a lengthy description of the donor in Kannada verse, wherein he is said to have belonged to vitti-vamsa of the Reddi caste. Other gifts to the same Jinālaya by Punniraddi of Nanganūru and Reviraddi of Vallampala are recorded. In this record along with dandanāyaka, the officials joined hands in making the donation. The gifting of a mango garden to the temple is interesting. The record mentions that the donor belonged to vitti-vamśa and this is very interesting. The term vitti is a derived from the Sanskrit word vista or visti that later got transformed to vitti in Prākrit and later got into Kannada. Vitti or Bitti in Kannada means free labour. Even in the Tamil inscriptions the term vetti is found that is equivalent to vitti or bitt i. In course of time, the practice of free labour was dropped but survived as a tax. Kannada inscriptions have numerous such references of vitti being used as a tax term. The person or members of whose family, who use to collect taxes came to be known as those who belonged to the tax collector's lineage or vittivamśa or vitti-kula. It would not be wrong to identify the person mentioned in this record as belonging to such a tax collector's lineage. Hampa Nagarajaiah has rightly pointed out that such persons belonged to Jaina faith and were subordinates of the Chälukyas of Kalyana.
The mercantile community also never lagged behind in making donations to the temple. An inscription from Jadacherla refers to the reign of Yuvarāja Tailapa ruling over Kandūr-nādu and Bammisei of the Vīrabalanjiga community had caused the construction of a Chaityālaya, the deity being Pārsvanātha at Gangāpura after washing the feet of Mēghachandra Siddhāntadēva in 1125-26 AD. It also refers to the grant given by the merchant guild, Ayyavolle 500, Muvattāru bidugalu, Maridamada, samasta ubhaya nânădësiya settis, for the maintenance of the Chaityalaya. Mēghachandra Siddhārathadēva belonged to Kanūrgana, Mēshapashanagachha. In the record the date mentioned is $.1047 and king Bhūlākamalla was ruling the place. However, according to other records available, Tribhuvanamalla was still ruling in 1125 A.D.
Another record, of the time of Chālukya king Somēśvara IV, from Ujjili registers gift of the income derived from the tax Vaddarāvuļa and a tank with the adjoining land for the offerings and worship of the god in the Jaina temple, called Baddi Jinalaya, situated in the fort of Jivolal, the capital of Kallakeļagu Nādu". The gift was made after laving the feet of Indrasēna Pandita, the priest of the temple, by Bhānudēva, the army officer of the same nadu with the concurrence of Kēšavayya of the region. An undated record from Togarakuna records the grant of two flower gardens and house sites by the Dandanayaka