Mahavira and his Teaching

Author(s): C C Shah, Rishabhdas Ranka, Dalsukh Malvania
Publisher: Bhagwan Mahavir 2500th Nirvan Mahotsava Samiti

Page 339

332 K. A. NILAKANȚA SASTRI & V, RĀMASUBRAMANIAM, `AUNDY
in the syllabii of studies at the various sālais' and devasthānams of the Choļa, the Pandya and the Pallava regions, the Chola emperors enabled the re-converts too to enjoy the benefits of their endowments.
85. We have inscriptional evidence about the existence, even before Rājarāja I, of a “Kānda lūr-śālai' at Trivandrum, a ‘Pārthivasekharapuram sālai'at Munchirai [Huzur Office Plates, T, A, S.] and a Sri-Vallabhan salar' at Kanyākumāri, re-baptized later as 'Rajarā jap-perum-salar'. Each of these was probably working under a sanjāsi, although we have records for that convention at Munchirai only. Rājarāja and his successors prided themselves in having fixed the number of seats to be reserved for each department of studies at Kāndalūr-śālai, ['Kāndalūr-śālai kalam aruttaruliya', was one of the titles assumed by them]. This fixing of seats by a royal charter necessarily involved suitable land grants also for their daily feeding and clothing.
86. What Sankara failed to do at Kanyākumāri in the 9th century was accomplished, two centuries later, by Rāmānuja's successors. They established a Mutt at Vānamāmalai, (modern Nanguņeri), a place less than twenty miles to the north of the Cape. Their enterprise was patronised by the imperial Cholas, the later Panayas and the Naik vassals of the Vijayanagar emperors. They latter built massive stone temples and satrams (free resthouses) in the various pilgrim centres of the Tamil contry, regardless of their Hindu religious sectarianism. These were richly endowed not only for keeping free kitchens, but for spectacular festivals and pageants too in each of them. No wonder that the unostentatious puritan cult of Bhagavān Mahāvīra had been eclipsed and left un-noticed in its fastly-decaying monasteries! We
1.
The Tanjore Brihadīs vara temple inscriptions enumerate the names and addresses of more than 500 courtesans and their vocal and instrumental accompanists receiving permanent grants of lands and other emoluments. Thousands of other more important non-Brāhmin employees of all temples were also receiving more substantial grants.