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CRITICAL TIMES
259
The well known Cāmundi Hill near Mysore was once a Jaina tirtha. It was called Marbala tirtha in A.D. 1127. The name Marbala or Mabbala seems to have been Sanskritized into Mahābaleśvara. Jaina cpitaphs of the same age commemorate the death of Jaina devotees.1
In about A.D. 1131 Śāliyür (mod. Sālūr), Shikārpur hobļi, contained a temple called Brahma Jinalaya for which a merchant named Bhadrarāya Setți made a specified grant. His guru Kulacandra Pandita belonged to the Meşapāsaņa gaccha. It is interesting to note that the above Jinālaya is said to have belonged to the immemorial agrahāra of the Thousand (Brahmans) of Sāliyūr.2
Kaidāļa in Murugarenād in A.D. 1151 was proud of its Jina temples among which may be mentioned the Bhima Jinālaya. It was constructed by the generous Sämanta Gūļi Būca (or Bāci), the ruler of Maruganrenād. We shall have to refer again to this worthy scion of Mānyakhedapura. The Bhima Jinalaya, we may note, was erected by him in the name of his wife Bhīmale, who was a devout Jaina. The god in the temple was called Cenna Pārsvadeva. Liberal endowments were made by him to the temple.3
Elambaļļi in the Sohrab tāluka owed its Jinālaya to the piety of Deki Setti, “a greater supporter of the Jina faith". This Jinālaya was called the śāntinātha basadi, for the gifts of food of which Deki Seçţi made specified gifts of land. His guru was the śāntināthaghţika-sthāna-mandalācārya Bhānukirti Siddhānta, the disciple of Municandradeva of the Tintriņīka gaccha.
1. M. A. R. for 1912, p. 37. 2. Ibid for 1930, pp. 246-7. 3. E. C. XII. Tm. 9, p. 4. 4. Ibid, VIII. Sb. 384, p. 68. Cf. VII. Sk. 197, p. 125.
