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3 THE EVIDENCE OF TRADITION.
మహాకల్యాణేష్ట మహాప్రాతిహాయ్యణచతు స్త్రీంశ దతిశయవిరాజమాన భగవదర్హ త్పర మేశ్వర పరమభట్టారక ముఖకమల వినిర్ధత సదనదాది సప్తభంగి 'సమాలింగితారాధ్యాంతాది సమస్తూ స్త్రపారావారగర్.”
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Thus the great feature that had won
wide tolerance for the Jaina munis and Jaina foundations in the Andhra-Karnāta dēsa even during the bitterest periods of Hindu revivalist zeal was that that faith helped towards the formation of good and great character helpful to the progress of culture and humanity. The leading exponents of that faith continued to live such lives of hardy discipline and spiritual culture even during the days of discouragement, disfavour and antagonism from the patrons of religion and culture. A Jaina muni is thus described in an inscription dated in S.S. 1130:క్షితి పరిపూజితప్ప౯గమజైన మహాంబుధివధ౯ నణ్ణ౯యా ! న్వితర ఖిభాగ నద్ధ పరిశుద్ధమహామతిగల్ని రస్తదు ! ష్కృతరు పశాంతియుక్తరెని పొందుపొగగెభానుకీర్తిన :
గతి సుత మేఘచంద్ర ముని ముఖ్య రెయోగ్యరిళాతళా గ్రదోళ్ II Hence the latterday persecutions of Jainism, like the persecutions of the Christians by Marcus Aurelius, are an extraordinary phenomenon deserving explanation on some hypothesis other than the merely revivalistic zeal of the followers of the Vaidica, which is for this period, the Pauranica, Dharma. But such persecutions paved the way for social reverses very often recorded in the traditions of the Andhra-Karnāta villages leading, ultimately to the all but complete obscuration of all traces of Jainism in the Andhra-Karnata country.
