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JAINA MEN OF ACTION
109 have come under the influence also of Nemicandra Siddhānta Cakravarti. We infer this from Nemicandra's work called Gommațasāra in which Cāmunda Rāya has been appreciatively mentioned.1 Cidānanda Kavi, a Kannada author, in his Munivaisābhyudaya (circa A.D. 1680) confirms the fact tha: Nemicandra Siddhānta was the preceptor of Cāmunda Răya.
Both the famous Jaina gurus may have been responsible for the uncommon liberality of Cāmunda Rāya. An inscription dated about A.D. 1159, which will be examined in connection with another Jaina general, gives us the importance of Cāmunda Rāya as a devout Jaina, thus--If it be asked who at the beginning were firm promoters of the Jina dharma --only Rāya, the excellent minister of king Rācamalla (is the reply).3
His endowments for the cause of Jainism have earned for him an undying name in the history of India. It was he who caused the colossal image of Gommața to be set up at Śravana Belgoļa. Inscriptions of the eleventh century A.D. and of a later date and the evidence of later Jaina writers confirm this assertion. We are indebted to the late Mr. Narasimhacarya for all details concerning the inscriptional and literary evidence dealing with the setting up of the famous statue of Gommata on the Doddabetta or larger hill at Śravaņa Belgoļa. This monolithic statue is about 57 feet high ; and the following account of Gommateśvara is given in an inscription found on the left hand side of the dvāra
1. Gommațasāra, Karma Kāņda Gāthā 966-972 ; see also E. C. II, Intr., p. 25.
2. E. C. ibid., p. 65 3. Ibid., 345, p. 148.
