Sambodhi 1998 Vol 22

Author(s): Jitendra B Shah, N M Kansara
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 30

INVOCATORY SANSKRIT VERSES IN JAINA INSCRIPTIONS
(KARNATAKA)
Hampa Nagarajaiah
1 1. Introduction Jainism, one of the oldest and richest religions in the world, has preserved its basic and original doctrinal characteristics Jainism rose to unrivalled brilliance in the field of letters, arts, architecture, culture and in the domain of politics This religion has an uninterrupted history of three thousand years and even today its followers, nearly six million, are found throughout the length and breadth of India Though the basic canonical texts of Jainism are mostly in Prakrit, a good number of works are also found in Sanskrit and in some other regional languages 12 Karnātaka is one of the states in southern part of India, where Jainism claimed great antiquity and where it never failed to receive the warmest hospitality and the sincerest devotion from the rulers and the people alike The advent of Jainism into the fertile regions of Karnātaka is connected, and rightly So, with the immigration of Jainas under their celebrated pontiff Śrutakēvali (a person possessing the infinite knowledge of Jaina scripture)—Bhadrabāhu and his disciple the Maurya Emperor Chandragupta and this happened towards the end of fourth century BC and the beginning of 3rd Century BC 21 Ācārya Bhadrabāhu and his followers from North India came to South India, reached the present Śravana Belgola in Hassan district (Karnataka state) and settled there in course of time Jainism became a dominant religion in Karnātaka and guided the fortunes of some well-known royal families It is not known exactly what was the language spoken by those early Jains, but it is believed that Prakrit was their mother-tongue After they settled in Karnātaka, Jains either adopted Kannada or continued to speak their own Dravidian language, because it is said that Jains are orginally dravidians, a non-aryan race 22 At Śravanabelagola, the place of early settlement in Karnataka and at many other places in the same state or wherever Jains went, constructed monasteries, donated liberal grants in cash and kind and wrote a number inscriptions recording such memorable events that happened during their life