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MEDIEVAL JAINISM
details, opens with obeisance to Pārīśva-Tirtheśvara, praise of the Jina śāsana, obeisance to the pañcaparameṣṭis, and to Sambhu-all in the same breath !1
In the sixteenth century A.D., too, we have the same generous sentiments expressed in epigraphs. The record dated A.D. 1530, for instance, is a fine specimen of the spirit of the times. It begins in the following manner :- 'Having the supreme profound syad vāda as a fruit-bearing token, may it prevail, the doctrine of the Lord of the three worlds, the Jina doctrine! Obeisance to Adi Varaha! May he grant prosperity, in whose tight embrace the Earth ever rejoices! Obeisance to Sambhu, his lofty head kissed by the camaralike crescent moon, the original foundation pillar of the city of the three worlds!" Then, again, in A.D. 1598 obeisance to Vitaraga is followed by the praise of the Jina śāsana and of Sambhu.3
It was said above that the admirable decision of the king Bukka Raya had a lasting effect on the people of Vijayanagara. The truth of this statement is borne out by the following epigraph dated A.D. 1638 in which we have an excellent account of the harmonious feelings between the Vira saivas and the Jainas. This record which begins with the praise of the Jina doctrine ends with the praise of Siva! It falls within the reign of Venkatadri Nayaka of Belur, and may be taken to typify the state of affairs in the last days of the Vijayanagara Empire. The question was a very grave one. Iluccappa Deva, a Vīra Saiva, had stamped a linga on the pillars of the Vijaya Pārsva basadi of Haleyabīḍu (i.e., evidently Halebidu, the famous capital of the Hoysalas); and
1. E. C. VIII, Sa. 60, p. 103.
2. Ibid., VI, Kp. 47, p 84. 3. Ibid., Kp. 50, p. 86.
