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monuments, vestiges, literature elc. Similarly we have to be proud of scholars liko B.Sheshagiri Rao, M.Somashekhara Sharma, S.Gopalkrisna Murthy etc. for enlightening us on the position of medieval Jainism, particularly in the Telugu country as based on some Jaina living monuments, inscriptions, sculptures and vestiges. 19
The latest works connected with South Indian Jainism, as far as I know, are two. One is by P.Gururaj Bhatt, Studies in Tuluva History and Culture, which contains a separate Chapter (No.XIV) on Jainism in Tuluva country, wherein is given a brief interesting account of the late medieval Jainism along with its political, racial and cultural (including art ad architectural) background. The other one is by R.P.P.Singh, Jainism in Early Medieval Karnatak,21 wherein the author has given a religious history of Jainism in Karnatak from 500 to 1200 A.D. Admitting his claim on some novel fratures in the treatment of the subject, I find that he has also consused himself by mixing the significant Bhattāraka tradition with the Digambara monarchism in the Karnataka of that period.
After taking, thus, a bird's eye-view of the salient achievements in the field of the Studies in South Indian Jainism, I propose, now, to present to this galaxy of scholars a few outstanding prospects or tasks that strike my mind at this hour, so that the interested and capable scholars may note them and exert themselves to accomplish them too in the days to come. I would enlist them, with some observations, as follows:
(1) The Yapanīya Samgha: its Origin, Growth and Merger: It is well known that numerous references to the Yapanīya Samgha are found in inscriptions and literary works. It was N. R. Premi who particularly drew the attention of scholars on some features of this compramising Sect.22 Then some historians, religious and political, furnished some further details about it.- A.N.Upadhye instituted a systematised study of this interesting Sect by contributing three valuable papers. A Recently B.K.Khadabadi presented some thoughts on Vijahanā, a characteristic feature of the Yapaniyas.25
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