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 95

Kannada Inscriptions of Jaina Affiliation from Andhra Pradesh
297
occupying higher social order were actively absolved in the pious activities. Even among queens, some of them held the strings of administration and were empovered to act independently. A few exceptions are also noticed in this regard.
The Jinalayas or basadis received lands for its maintenance in most instances. Usually gadde or nirunela i.e., wet lands, were gifted to the temple. Various types of lands like black soil land; karamba land, etc. were donated. The purpose of such donations was have resources for the conduct of worship, feeding the ascetics, maintenance, repairs and renovations and for the construction of the basadis. Marturs or mattar or marttur are the standard linear land measures that we come across in the inscriptions. Land granted varied from 2 mattars to 100 mattars, depending on the economic potentialities of the donors who donated it to the temple. Besides land, flower gardens, mango gardens and house-sites were donated to the temples as a donation package. Normally, either house-sites or flower gardens or land, either wet or dry, was given. Here, in majority of cases, especially during the time of Chālukyas of Kalyāṇa we notice that donations are made as a package. There are also instances of giving away only land. In one example we have a reference of 2000 areca trees being donated to the Jinalaya. This fact makes us to believe that areca, a cash crop, had economic implications both in society as well as in the religious institutions. There are a very few instances of making money donations to the temple and gold gadyana was money received by the basadis.
Income from taxes, levies and cess were also diverted to the temple. Siddhāya, tala-vritti, bitti, pannasa, and manneya are some of the taxes that we come across in the epigraphs. In addition to the above gifts, interestingly ratana i.e., pully is also donated. Tanks, oil-mill and other types of gifts were also donated. Taken as a whole these inscriptions define the complex relationship in early medieval and medieval times between the society economy and religious institutions, the Jaina basadis and Jinalayas in this case. This is case study of Andhradesa, but many of the features discussed above are found in inscriptions of other regions as well. The fact that in some cases these inscriptions were bilingual and even trilingual indicates the multi linguistic context in which both the donors and donees lived. Whereas the economic roots of the land grant system was depended on local roots, the ideological spread of the Jaina faith was built on regional and pan-regional linkages in the case of the Deccan region.
NOTES AND REFERENCES
1. Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh-Nalgonda (hereafter IAP, Nal.) I, No.1; C. S. Vasudevan, (ed.), Kannada Inscriptions of
Andhra Pradesh (hereafter KIAP). No.860 2. South Indian Inscriptions, (hereafter SIT) Vol. IX, Pt. I, No.62; (Also See. No. SII, IX, Pt. I, No.60), Jainism in Andhra,
No. 19; KIAP, No.508 3. Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy (AREP)1973-74, No. B 19; Andhra Pradesh Annual Report on Epigraphy (hereafter
APAREp), 1965, No.63; KIAP, No.279; IAP Nal. I, No.15; Jainism in Andhra, No.63; KIAP, No 877 4. APAREp. 1965, No.279; KIAP, No.878 5. Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh-Karimnagar (hereafter IAP, Kr.), No.5; Jainism in Andhra, No 36; KIAP, No.433 6. APAREP, 1966, No. 178; IAP, Kr.No.3; Jainism in Andhra, No.65; AREp. 1966-67, No. B 1; Bharati, March 1967,
pp. 10-23; KIAP, Nos. 428-429 7. Epigraphia Andhrica (hereafter EA), II, No, 7Jainism in Andhra, No.48 E; KIAP, No.391 8. AREP, 1960-61, No. B 16; APAREP, 1965, No.169; Hyderabad Archaeological Series (hereafter HAS) No.18, pp.42-43;
KIAP, No.367 9. IAP, Nal. I, No.5; Jainism in Andhra No.40; KIAP, No.858 10. EA, IV, No.9-1; IAP, Kr. No.14; Bharati 49-50; pp.45-57; Jainism in Andhra, No.42; KIAP, No. 437