________________
The Preceptors / 79
Purulegrama, Taṭṭekere - were some of the villages where these ascetics had stayed. Bālacandra bratipati was honoured at Purulegrama in 1112; his confrere at Kopaṇatirtha was Vadḍācāryabratipati, who was more honoured than his collegue Nemideva, was evidently a monk to whom the mercantile community had large number of lay votaries.
There are only three niśidhi stones caused to be made in memory of the deceased. One of the nisidhi is of the monk Bālacandradeva, erected by his disciple Nemideva in 1227. Incidentally this is the last reference to a Jaina monk in the Mandalināḍ. It is curious to note that there are no references to nuns, the female Jaina ascetics, in any of the Mandalināḍ charters.
Gunanandideva, a Brahma to grammar, the brilliance of his speech spreading the glory of his qualities, his eloquence growing in fame like a moon, had become great.
There are two pontiffs with the name of Prabhācandra Siddhäntadeva, both being great scholars. The earlier ācārya, adoring the throne of Akalanka, a celebrated logician, a lion to the elephant of disputants, versatile in Saḍdarśanas, proficient in all literature, a sun in the sky of the Nirgrantha congregation, belonged to the Mula sangha, Koṇḍakundānvaya, Krāṇūrgaṇa, Meṣapāṣāṇa gaccha. The later Prabhäcandra Siddhantadeva-ll was his great grand disciple and he also possessed similar virtues and scholarship. It is this ācārya who was a raja-guru to some of the Mandalināḍu chiefs.
Two of the rare instances of a person possessing a typical Jaina personal names are Bahubali and Jinadāsa. Bahubali is recorded in an inscription (Sh. 97. 1113), Jinadāsa is mentioned in an epigraph of eleventh century (Sh. 10. 1085). Lokkiyabbe and Nokkayya are the names after the popular deity Padmavatidevi who had other localised names as Lokkiyabbe and Nokkiyabbe. Basadis
Basadis were nucleus of various socio-religious activities, safe guarding the interests of the community. Along with the attached mathas, the basadis played a prominent role in moulding
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org