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POPULAR SUPPORT
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was responsible for the prosperity of Bandaņike as a centre of Jainism. śubhacandra Pandita, the disciple of Lalitakirti Siddhānta, "raised up the tīrtha of Bandanike as its favourite ācārya”, and he obtained the pārupatya (or management) of the Säntinātha tirtha. And the Hoysala king Ballāļa Deva's celebrated (Brahman ?) minister Malla “protected this Bandaņike with affection.” The remarkable spirit of goodwill which prevailed in the land in those days is seen in the manner in which provision was made for the worship and ceremonies of the god śāntinātha of Bandaņike to be described later on.
The śāntinātha basadi of Bāndhavanagara figures also in A.D. 1207, when king Brahma of the Kādamba family ruled over it. The Jaina priest in charge of the basadi in that year was Anantakirti Bhațțāraka of the Krāņür gana and the Tintriņika gaccha. Mudda Sāvanta, also called Sāvanta Muddayya, was his disciple. He was an ornament to the kingdom of Ballāļa Deva, a pious and liberal Jaina, and a worthy successor of Rēca Camūpati. He erected a basadi at Māgundi and granted lands to it. We have already seen how the same Sāvanta built a basadi at Kuppațūr.2 Five years later in A.D. 1213 śubhacandradeva, the disciple of Lalitakirtimuni, died by the orthodox manner in the same holy place.3
The Jainas could also boast of another great stronghold of theirs in the famous capital of the Hoysala rulers--Dorasamudra itself. This city comes into prominence as a Jaina centre from the time of the ruler Ballăļa II. To the reign of this monarch we have to assign a stone record found in the
1. M. A. R. for 1911, pp. 46-47. 2. Ibid. 3. E. C. VII. Sk. 226, p. 133.
