Book Title: Medieval Jainism
Author(s): Bhasker Anand Saletore
Publisher: Karnataka Publishing House

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Page 374
________________ THE ANEKĀNTAMATA IN THE EMPIRE 355 rule of king Indagarasa Odeyar of the Säluva family, constructed the caityālaya of Pārsvatirtheśvara at Vogeyakese. And by means of a dharma-śāsana-patra gave munificent endowments for the basadi.1 Hole Narasīpura in A.D. 1490 was a Jaina locality. Two images in marble of Candraprabha and Pārsvanātha were presented in that year to the temple by a disciple of Bhaļļāraka Jinasatvadeva of the Mūla sangha. More interesting than the above is the information relating to the Vaişņava centre Mēlukote where had lived the great Rāmānujācārya. In a record dated A.D. 1471 this centre is called the earthly Vaikuntha, the Vardhamānakşetra, the eight-fold residence of Nārāyaṇaparvata, and the Yatigiristhāna. The epithet Vardhamāna kşetra applied to this place undoubtedly proves that Mēlukote was once reckoned to be a place of pilgrimage by the Jainas. But like many other strongholds of Jainism, Mēluköte must have passed into the custody of the Hindus, on the decline of the Jina dharma in it. In the sixteenth century A.D. there seems to have been no extension of Jaina influence anywhere in southern or western India. The two most important sects of Hinduism --Saivism and Vaişņavism, especially the latter, had so completely regained their ascendancy that any substantial recovery of Jainism was well nigh impossible in the Vijayanagara Empire. Nevertheless it is interesting to observe that in this century which produced Krşņa Deva Rāya the Great, the greatest champion of Hinduism, was also born the most remarkable leader of the Jainas, Vādi Vidyānanda. In addi 1. E. C. VIII, Sa. 163, p. 124. 2. M. A. R. for 1913-14, p. 50. 3. E. C. IV. Intr. p. 24; Ng. 78, p. 133.

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