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Society and Religions/69
The Ganga family owes its origin to the political and spiritual guidance of the adept Simhanandi, promoter of the Ganga kingdom, who caused by his faith the goddess Padmavati, the attendent deity of Arhat Pārsva, to appear, obtained a boon and gave the Gangas a sword and the whole kingdom.
The crown-basadi, the paṭṭa jinālaya, of the Mandali-Thousand had the god Pārsva as its mūlanayaka, the chief of the sanctum sanctorum. And, this Pārsvanatha Jinālaya was the chief of all the temples; the deity Padmavatidevi is his attendent goddess, a desire fulfiler and a boon giver.
As a consequence to this, the deity Padmavati acquired the place of honour among the goddesses, and became famous and popular in the Ganga Maṇḍalināḍ. According to the Jaina pantheon, the deity Padmavatidevi is the consort of the cobra god Dharanendra (Dharana, Nagendra, Nāgaraja, Phanendra). Both of them are considered as the Jina Sāsanadevi and deva of Arhat Pārśva (Nagarajaiah, Hampa: 1976: 114-16 and 138-41; Dhaky, M.A. (ed): 1997).
The goddess Padmavati is the family deity of not only the Gangas ab initio-ad finem, but also of the Santaras and even the Hoysalas. Sāntaligenād and Mandalināḍ dynasties invariably had in their rāja-prasasti a common phrase - obtainer of a boon from the goddess Padmavati, analogous with that of the early Gangas (Nagarajaiah, Hampa: Santararu: 1997-A). They lived under the guardianship of Padmavatidevi, their favourite deity who presented them with a crest, a royal insignia.
Kañcaladevi, a Paṭṭamahadevi of Marasinga Nanniya Ganga Permmäḍideva, for having obtained a son Hermmäḍideva, a prince of the royal family, by the divine grace of goddess Padmavati, and in fulfilment of her solemn promise, granted a tribute of five pana, in the year 1121-22, from the villages of Mandali naḍu to continue as long as sun, moon and stars shine. Shimoga has the distinction of being the centre place of two of the earliest temples erected for Lord Parsva and goddess Padmāvāti respectively in C.E. 350, by the early Gangas at the instance of Simhanandi
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