More Light On Yapaniya Sangha

Author(s): A N Upadhye
Publisher: A N Upadhye

Page 6

More Light on the Yapaniya Sangha: A Jaina Sect
descended from (with a gap of many teachers in between) Śrīkirtiacarya of the. Yapaniya-Nandisangha, Punnaga-vṛkṣamula-gana. Arkakirti successfully treated Vimaladitya, the Governor of Kunnigila Desa, who was suffering from the evil influence of Saturn. The Kiraippakkam (Chingalpet, Tamil Nadu) inscription of c. 9th century A. D. refers to a Jina-temple, Deśavallabha by name. It was constructed by Amalamudalguru, the pupil of Mahaviraguru of the Yapaniya Sangha and the Kumilagana. The donation makes provision for feeding the monks of the Sangha.2
Amma (II) of the Eastern Calukya family made a grant of the village Maliyapundi (in Andhra) for the benefit of a Jaina temple. The teacher in charge of it was Śrīmandiradeva, the disciple of Divakara and grand-disciple of Jinanandi of the Yapaniya Sangha, (Koți) Maduva-gana and Punyaruha (possibly equal to Punnagavṛkṣa) Nandi Gaccha. Then there is the Saudatti (Sugandhavartti) inscription of A. D. 980. It opens with the mention of Tailapadeva of the Calukya dynasty. Santivarma and his queen Candakabbe are specified. The donation of the land is made by Santivarma for the Jaina temple built by him. Here some of the teachers mentioned belonged to the Yapaniyasangha and Kanḍurgana; and their names are: Bahubali-deva (bhaṭṭārakaḥ) (who is compared with moon, lion etc.); Ravicandrasvami, Arhanandi, Subha candra-Siddhantadeva, Maunideva and Prabhacandradeva. Dr. P. B. DESAI refers to another inscription from Hosur (Saudatti, Dt. Belgaum) in which the preceptors belonging to the Kandūrgana of the Yapaniya Sangha are mentioned. Their names are Subhacandra (I), Candrakirti, Subhacandra (II), Nemicandra, Kumarakirti, Prabhacandra and Nemicandra (II).5
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It is reported that the image of Neminatha now in the Dodda Basadi at Belgaum, once belonged to a temple in the fort. The inscription on it says that Parisayya of the Yapaniya Sangha constructed the temple in A. D. 1013 to which Kattayya and Jakkavve, the mother of Sahanadhipati ( perhaps the same as the Dauḍanayaka of the Kadamba ruler Jayakeśi) made the gift of land at Kallahalli (near Gokak ). It may be noted that Parisayya seems to be a layman and not a teacher, and his affiliation to the Sangha is specified. The Raybag inscription (A. D. 1020) records the gift of land at Hüvinabage (modern Raybag)
1 E. C., XII Gubbi 61.
2 A. R. S. I. E., 1934-35 N. 22, p. 10, Delhi 1938.
3 E. I., IX, No. 6.
4 Journal of the B. B. R. A. S., X, 71-72, text pp. 206-7.
5
Jainism in South India, p. 165.
6 Jinavijaya (Kannada), January 1931.