Medieval Jainism

SR No.: 011082
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Bhasker Anand Saletore
Publisher: Karnataka Publishing House
Total Pages: 448
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 27 MB

Page 266

CRITICAL TIMES
251
stones brought from many miles and quarried from excellent mines for the queen Sindhula. But that was not all. His crowning achievement as a Jaina was the compilation (upādhyati) of the Amgas (of the 64 letters) which was undertaken by him in his 13th year.1 This great work was done at a cost of seventy-five hundred thousand (gold pieces).2 No wonder this great monarch, who was the descendant of the royal sage Vasu, and who has " 'been seeing, hearing, and realizing blessings (kalyāņas) ", is called the King of Peace, the King of Prosperity, the King of Monks, and the King of dharma.3
The advent and success of Jainism in the Andhradeśa in the second century B.C. is thus proved beyond doubt. But it is only from the seventh century A.D. onwards that we have definite evidence of the widespread influence of that religion. The credit of fostering the anekantamata goes to the Eastern Calukya monarchs some of whom were Jaina by persuasion. Ayyana Mahadevi, the queen of king Visnuvardhana III of that family, renewed in Saka 684 (A.D. 762) an earlier grant of a village named Musunikunda (location given) to the Jaina temple Nadumba basadi at Bījavāda through the teacher Kalibhadracārya of the Kavaruri gana and the Sanghanvaya.*
Then we have king Amma II, Vijayaditya VI (A.D. 945A.D. 970), who, according to an undated copper-plate grant, gave a village (named) to the Jaina teacher Arhanandi of the Valahari gana and the Adḍakali gaccha. The grant was made for repairing the dining-hall of the basadi called Sarvalo
1. On the Amigas, read J. L. Jaini, Gommaṭasāra, Intr. p. 12. 2. On this great work read Jayaswal-Banerjee, E. I. IX. p. 77. 3. Ibid, pp. 88-89.
4. Ep. Rep. of S. Circle for 1917-1918, p. 116; Seshagiri Rao, op. cit., pp. 20, 56.