Chapter 13d - Shaivism and Jainism: the last phase

The struggle of the Jaina faith with Virasaivism came in the latter half of twelfth century. In the tenth century Jainism still occupied a privileged position under the patronage of the ruling dynasties in Mysore and the Deccan; and it was about this time that it was in conflict with the prevailing Saivism of the age. Sectarian controversy was the order of the day; and Somadeva seems to echo contemporary Jaina theological opinion when he denounces Saivism as a strange medley of mutually contradictory doctrines. Others, besides him, appear to have entered the lists against Saivism. The Mallisena Prasasti tells us that the Jaina teacher Vimalacandra challenged the Saivas, Pasupatas and Kapalikas as well as Bauddhas and Kapilas to argument; while another teacher Hemasena is declared to have vanquished Siva himself, like Arjuna (vv. 25, 36): The Prasasti was composed in honour of the Jaina saint Mallisena who died by fasting at Sravana-Belgola in 1129 A. D., and these two scholars are mentioned in a list of Digambara teachers who preceded Mallisena.* Hemasena is mentioned just before Dayapala and Vadiraja, both of whom lived in the first quarter of the eleventh century, and just after Matisagara, the guru of Dayapala. Hemasena may possibly be assigned to the end of the tenth century. Then, there are six teachers between Matisagara and 1 Ibid., p. 84. 2 See Appendix III. 3 See Chapters VIII and X. 4 Ep. Ind., Vol. III, p. 184.

Vimalacandra, who may have lived in the first half of the tenth century, and was perhaps a contemporary of Somadeva. Similar claims of Saiva teachers triumphing over their Jaina opponents are occasionally met with. The Ranod inscription states that a celebrated teacher named Vyomasiva silenced among others the Jainas who are contemptuously likened to jackals (v. 39). Vyomasiva was a native of Central India, and as already mentioned, he may be assigned to about the middle of the tenth century. Another distinguished opponent of Jaina teachers was Vadi-Rudraguna of whom we shall speak later. One of the points at issue in the Saiva-Jaina controversy was the position of the Arhats as superhuman universal teachers. The Saivas contended that the Jaina conception of the Arhat was wholly inadequate: if he was an omniscient teacher, we must ask who his teacher was, and if he was a saint devoted to austerities, there must be some one to vouchsafe the result of his efforts. In either case, it was necessary to postulate a superior Being, self-existent and without a beginning, and He was no other than Mahesvara or Siva. The Saiva contention that Siva was the guru of the Jaina Tirthamkaras is recorded by Somadeva in Yasastilaka; while the claim that He confers on the Arhat, who is conditioned in time, the reward of the Latter's religious austerities is put forward in Isanasivagurudevapaddhati (Kriyapada 1. 39 ff.).2 Jainism began to lose ground from about the eleventh century following the subversion of the Rastrakuta empire and the Ganga kingdom, which were its principal mainstay. Saivism, on the other hand, continued to make fresh conquests under the Calukyas of Kalyani, while the Colas, who conquered Mysore early in the eleventh century, were its most ardent champions. Interesting light on the prestige and eminence of the Saiva teachers of the age is thrown by an inscription of the reign of the Calukya king Jayasimha II, dated 1036 A. D., which records certain grants of land made to a Saiva scholar named Vadi-Rudraguna Lakulisvara Pandita for the repairs of the temple of Panca Linga, at Balligave, 'the royal city of Banavase 12000'. Vadi-Rudraguna, described in the inscription as a falling star to the Digambara speakers, defeated in argument a number of eminent 1 See Chap. VIII. 2 tatkaranam sadhirastityesaniyo mahesvarah | dehapramanamatmanam nityanityavisesanat || bruvatam jainasadhunam maharsistadrgeva hi | ahimsaditapoyogadarhattvam tasya tanmate || siddhamityadiman so'pi tapasa paravan yatah | tattapah phaladatanyastairutsrjyeha matsaram || svatantro'nadiman kartadhyesaniyo mahesvarah | 3 Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. VII. Inscriptions in the Shimoga District. Part I (No. 126).

Jaina teachers including the famous scholar and poet Vadiraja. The Panca Linga temple was an important educational centre of the Kalamukha order of Saiva ascetics, being called 'the Kalamukhi Brahmacari-sthana of Balligave'; and the grants in question were made not only for the upkeep of the temple and the worship of the god but for the provision of food and clothing for the students and ascetics. The Kedara Matha of Balligave was even a more important Saiva religious and educational institution. An inscription of the reign of Bijjala, dated 1162 A. D., gives a remarkable picture of the great establishment, called in the record 'Kodiya Matha, the place of the Southern Kedara', while the deity worshipped in the temple is referred to as 'Daksina Kedaresvara of the Kodiya Matha'. The Matha was not only a place of worship but a great centre of learning and a well-organised charitable institution for the destitute and the sick. It is described in the inscription as "the place appointed for the performance of the rites of devotee Brahmacari-Sivamunis; the place for the recital of the four Vedas with their Angas; the place for commentaries on the Kaumara, Paniniya, Sakatayana, Sabdanusasana and other grammars; the place for commentaries on the Nyaya, Vaisesika, Mimamsa, Samkhya, Bauddha and (other systems); the place for commentaries on the Lakula-siddhanta, the Patanjala and other Yoga-sastras; the place for the eighteen Puranas, the Dharma-sastra, all poems, dramas, comedies and every branch of learning; the place where food is freely distributed to the poor, the destitute, the lame, the blind, the .........; the place for the treatment of the diseases of destitute sick persons; a place of security from fear for all living things". The Southern Kedara' is described also as "the means. of the absolution of sin, the very presence of Siva manifested to all the citizens........." A celebrated Saiva teacher Vamasakti Pandita, designated as Rajaguru, was the head of the Matha at the time; and Bijjala, washing the feet of the guru, made various grants of lands "for the decoration of the god Daksina Kedaresvara, for gifts of food to the ascetics, for gifts of learning, for repairs of the temple............". On the same occasion he made grants to two other Siva temples, those of Somanatha and Brahmesvara at Abbalur. Bijjala may have had Jaina leanings, but there is no doubt that he was a. patron of Saivism. It is hardly necessary to point out that it was during his reign that the aggressive Virasaiva cult came into prominence and imposed serious handicaps on the further progress of the Jaina faith in South-Western India. Virasaivism weaned away the commercial classes deaf.......... 1 Ibid., Inscription No. 102. Balligave or Balligame is in the Shimoga District of Mysore State. 2 Ablur in Dharwar District. 267

who were the chief supporters of Jainism; and whole clans, like the Cangalvas were converted from Jainism to the Virasaiva faith. The influence of the new sect is illustrated by the fact that an important Jaina centre like Bankapur, in the Dharwar district, which had five religious colleges of the Jainas in 1055 A. D., came to have a Hindu population, the greater part of whom were Lingayats. It is also said that Lingayats appropriated a large number of Jaina temples in the Kanarese districts and installed in them the linga as the object of worship.3 Prior to this, Jaina temples appear to have suffered considerable damage during the Cola invasions of the Calukyan dominions in the eleventh century. The 'base Cola' (Raja. dhiraja I who was killed in the battle of Koppam in 1054 A. D.) is said to have burned down many temples and defiled and damaged Jaina sanctuaries The damage in the Belvola province during the reign of Somesvara I. seems to have been repaired to some extent by Lakshma, the governor of Belvola, who, in 1071 A. D., restored the Jaina temple at Annigeri, in the Dharwar district, which had been burned down by the Cola invader. Among the Saiva sects the Pasupatas appear to have been very influential in the Mysore country in the eleventh and twelfth centuries . The name of Lakulisa, the founder of the system, occurs very often in the Mysore inscriptions, and the creed is referred to as the Lakulagama , Lakulamnaya and Lakula-samaya. An inscription of 943 A. D. says that Lakulisa, fearing lest his name and works of merit should be forgotten , became incarnate as the muninatha Chilluka. As mentioned above, a grant was made in 1036 A. D. in favour of Vadi-Rudraguna, styled as Lakulisvara Pandita. An inscription of about 1078 and two others of 1094 and 1103 mention respectively Valmiki-muni, Srikantha-pandita and his son Some- svara-pandita, all of them distinguished exponents of the Lakula creed. 1 Rice: Coorg Inscriptions, Vol. I, p. 13. 1914. The Cangalvas ruled in West Mysore and Coorg. 2 Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. XXII, p. 653. 3 Cousens (op. cit.). 4 See Two Inscriptions from Gawarwad and Annigeri, Ep. Ind., vol. XV, p. 337 ff. Also Sastri: The Colas, Vol. I, p. 311. Belvola is an old Kanarese word meaning a field of standing corn. The name was given to the fertile district near the centre of which are Dambal, Gadag and Lakkundi, in the Dharwar district. Bombay There still exist a number of old Jaina Gazetteer, Vol. XXII, pp. 392, 718. temples in this area, at Aminbhavi (near Dharwar town), Annigeri (between Dharwar and Gadag), Chabbi (about eight miles south of Hubli ), Lakkundi (about seven miles south-east of Gadag), Mulgund (about twelve miles south-west of Gadag), and Soratur (about ten miles south of Gadag). Bombay Gazetteer (op. cit.), chap. XIV.

The latter is said to have caused the Lakula-siddhanta to blossom. Further, two inscriptions of 1168 and 1179 compare the rajaguru Vamasakti with Lakulisvara or Nakulisvara. Another record mentions a succession of gurus of the Agastyesvara Matha at Sriparvata, all whose names end in sakti. The Lakula or Pasupata system is generally mentioned in the Mysore inscriptions in connection with the Kalamukha sect; and there is no doubt that the Pasupatas were known as Kalamukhas in the Kannada country. The technical expression Kalam Karcci (laving the feet) used in Kannada inscriptions on the occasion of making a gift to the teachers of this sect is an indication of the high respect shown to them². These Kalamukha Pasupatas were not certainly identical with the Kalamukhas mentioned by Yamuna Muni and Ramanuja in their enumeration of Saiva sects, as the latter were no better than Kapalikas. The mantle of the Pasupatas appears to have fallen on the Virasaivas to a very great extent in the Kannada country. Many of the great Kalamukha Mathas seem to have been transformed into Virasaiva Mathas. The Kalamukha Matha at Puvalli, the modern Huli in the Belgaum District of Bombay Province, which had many branches and a succession of influential abbots, as recorded in a number of inscriptions, is now a Virasaiva Matha, and provides a striking illustration of the process of transformation³. Virasaivism represented a mass movement, and was a more serious rival of Jainism. It was also a movement of social reform, and at variance with orthodox Hinduism in several respects. The rapid expansion of this powerful, hostile sect had an adverse effect on the subsequent history of Jainism in the South. Virasaivism gathered momentum under the inspiring leadership of Basava, the minister of Bijjala (1162-67 A. D.) who had taken possession of the Calukyan throne. Kalyana (now in Bidar District, Hyderabad State), the capital of the later Calukyas, became the centre of direction of the new religious movement. The devotional literature of the Virasaivas known as the Vacanasastras composed in Kanarese prose goes back to the eleventh century A. D., about a century earlier than the age of Basava; but the literary and religious movement reached its climax about the middle of the twelfth century during the Prod lodes 1 See Rice: Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions, p. 205. Also Bhandarkar: Vaisnavism, Saivism and minor religious systems, p. 171. Poona ed. In an inscription of 1177 A. D., for example, certain ascetics are called upholders of the Lakulagama-samaya and adherents of the Kalamukhas. 2 Nandimath: A Handbook of Virsaivism, p. 9. 3 Nandimath (op. cit.), p. 10.

period of the activities of Basava and his contemporaries. Jedara Dasimayya, one of the early Vacana writers, is believed to have been a contemporary of the Calukya king Jayasimha I whose reign covers the greater portion of the first half of the eleventh century A. D. The principal writers and leaders of the movement, however, belong to the latter half of the next century. Among the contemporaries of Basava may be mentioned Ekantada Ramayya, a vigorous propagandist who is said to have destroyed Jaina temples; Prabhudeva who was the head of the Virakta-matha at Kalyana, the pontifical seat known as Sunya-simhasana 'The throne of the void '; Cennabasava who seems to have led the movement after Basava; Siddharama who is known as Sivayogin, and several others. The doctrines and social practices of the Virasaivas are beyond the scope of our discussion. It may, however, be noted that the apostles of Virasaivism laid great stress on intense devotion (bhakti) to Siva, and owed a good deal to the teachings of the great Saiva saints of the Tamil land. Indeed the Virasaiva saints claimed the Tamilians as their own; and the Kannada Virasaiva literature teems with accounts of the Tamil Saiva saints.' More important for us is the fact that Virasaivism 'spread like wild fire over a considerable portion of the Deccan and southern India.' It enjoyed extensive patronage and privileges under the Vijayanagara kings. It was the religion of the Keladi or Ikkeri chiefs who ruled a considerable portion of the Vijayanagara empire. The ancestors of the present rulers of Mysore were Lingayats till the 18 th century.¹ Of all the rivals of Jainism Virasaivism seems to have been the most potent, and still continues to play an important role in the social and religious life of South-western India. Apart from the rise of Virasaivism, the loss of royal patronage following the overthrow of the Rastrakutas and the Gangas placed Jainism at a disadvantage in its encounter with rival creeds. The reorganisation of Vaisnavism by Ramanuja and the conversion of the Hoysala king Bittideva (Visnuvardhana) by the latter at the end of the eleventh century was another blow to the prospects of Jainism in the south. Most of the Jaina centres in Karnataka (Paudanapura, Hanasoge, Humcca, Balligame etc.) ceased to be strongholds of Jainism, and "in the centres which fell into the hands of the non-Jainas, only mutilated Jaina images and broken slabs bear silent testimony to the once prosperous condition of Jainism in the country". It has been said of Balligame that, like many a great 1 For a brief but authoritative account of Virasaivism see Dr. Nandimath's book cited above. 2. Saletore: Medieval Jainism, p. 184.

Jaina centre, it today possesses no traces of Jaina traces of Jaina worship except broken Jaina images.¹ Still when we speak of the decline of Jainism in Karnataka we should think in terms of a setback rather than any progressive decay or deterioration. It has been rightly pointed out that Jainism did its best work in the best days of the Rastrakutas in the Southern Maharatta country and Mysore. "These are the portions of South India that happen to be great Jaina centres even now, and in that region Jainism flourished even in the age of the great Colas............Jainism continued to flourish under the Calukyas and under the Hoysalas at a later time and even in the age of Vijayanagar." It has indeed been said of the Hoysalas that, though they were Jainas first, and later changed over to Vaisnavism, they still built temples dedicated to Tirthankaras, Siva and Visnu, and were patrons of all sects alike.³ Any talk about the conflict of Saivism and Jainism during the period under consideration might be misleading if we failed to point out that the two faiths existed side by side, generally speaking, in an atmosphere of toleration and amity in various parts of the country. This is proved by the existence of imposing Jaina temples in such important centres of Saiva worship as Khajuraho in Bundelkhand or Un in southern Indore. At Khajuraho where the temples were mostly built during the reigns of Yasovarman and Dhanga (c.930-1000 A. D.), we have the large and fine temple of Jinanatha, which has an inscription of 954 A. D., and was built in the beginning of Dhanga's reign. The Ghantai Jaina temple, so called from the bells carved on the pillars, has been partially rebuilt from older materials. The original temple is believed to have been erected in the tenth century A. D. 4 1 Saletore: Medieval Jainism, p. 204. 2 Aiyangar: Some contributions of South India to Indian Culture, p. 291. 3 Mysore Archaeological Report for 1924, p. 7. 40 4 Vincent Smith (op. cit.) in IA, 1908, P. 133. There are several other Jaina temples at Khajuraho. No. 26 in Cunningham's list is an ancient temple 'restored with plaster and old stones and called Setnath, which is most probably the original name, as the principal statue enshrined is a colossal standing figure of Adinatha, 14 feet in height with the title of Setnath. 'On the pedestal of this statue Cunningham found on his first visit an inscription dated in Samvat 1085, or A. D. 1028. No. 27 in his list is a small ancient Jaina temple now dedicated to Adinatha. There are many Jaina statues, both whole and broken, collected about these temples, with dated inscriptions. One of them is inscribed on a pedestal of a colossal seated statue, and records that the image was dedicated in Samvat 1215 (A. D. 1158) during the reign of Madanavarman. Archaeological Survey of India, Vol. II, p. 412 ff.

252 The Un group of temple has been assigned to the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Here we have a large Jaina temple, Chaubara Dera No. 2, 'which in spite of the loss of its sikhara still remains one of the most beautiful monuments at Un.' at Un. The building has The building has a very large porch in front of the mandapa. The second Jaina temple at Un is very well-preserved and 1 popularly known as Goalesvara. The floor of the garbhagrha is about ten feet lower than that of the mandapa, and one has to descend a series of steps. Inside the sanctum stand three huge Digambara Jaina images, one of which measures twelve and a half feet in height. The images bear short inscriptions which give 1206 A. D. as the date of their dedication. Several other large Jaina images have been found at Un, one of which bears the date 1125 or 1135 A. D. ive been found Un, one of which bears the Jaina religious edifices are also found in close proximity to the island of Mandhata in the Narmada, in the Nimar District of Central Provinces. 'On the island itself, every temple is dedicated to Siva or his associate deities; but the north bank of the river opposite, in addition to Sivaite ruins, contains several old structures devoted to Visnu, and a whole group of Jaina temples.' The Jaina temples stand on an elevation overlooking, but a little retired from the river. The largest building raised on a plinth of basalt blocks five feet high was perhaps a monastery. It consisted of a quadrangle 53 feet by 43 feet, surrounded by four rows of pillars about 10 feet high. The eastern wall is still complete, decorated with geometrical figures rudely carved in yellow sandstone. On each side of the doorway is a figure carved on slabs about 2 feet high, with Sivaite and Jaina emblems curiously intermixed. To the north stood the temple proper, built in a pyramidal shape, with numerous smaller spires. The porch is still erect, but the shrine has been buried beneath the ruins of the dome. The third building was a smaller temple raised on a pyramid of basalt blocks about 25 feet high.' 2 temple Interesting sidelight on Saiva-Jaina relations is provided by the religious history of Mount Abu, which was an early and famous seat of Saiva worship. The Abu region was subjected by Bhima I of Gujarat early in the second quarter of the eleventh century A. D.; and the Jaina Vimala Saha , the first great exponent of marble architecture in India, was sent out as the governor of Abu. It appears that Jaina religious edifices had not existed on the sacred mountain before his time. The magnificent marble temple of Adinatha was built at Delwara (Devalwada) on Mount Abu by Vimala Saha in Devalwada) on Mount smaller 1 Progress Report of the Archaeological Survey of India, Western Circle, 1919, pp. did, rel, 1919, pp Report of the Azoologe by of 62-64. 2 Imperial Gazetteer of India, Vol. IX, p. 296. 45 Guzelles 45 IX, p. 296,

1031 A. D.; and there is a significant tradition associated with the building of the shrine. It is said that the site on which the edifice now stands was formerly occupied by Brahmanical temples, but 'this devout Jaina offered to cover with silver coins as much ground as was required for his temple in return for the permission to erect it. This munificent offer was accepted." It is not necessary to mention the existence of Jaina cave temples at Ellora, the home of stupendous rock-cut temples dedicated to Siva, as the caves here have been assigned to the Rastrakuta period, which coincided with the heyday of Jainism in the Deccan and Mysore. Apart from occasional acts of vandalism, Saiva-Jaina relations do not appear to have been marred by anything more serious than theological disputes or religious controversies.2

1 Commissariat: History of Gujarat, Vol, I, p. lxii. 2 Jaina temples are said to have been demolished during the invasion of Gujarat by the Paramara king Subhatavarman early in the thirteenth century A. D. Ganguly History of the Paramara Dynasty, p. 197. As against this, we may point to the flourishing condition of Jaina culture and religion in Malwa from the latter part of the tenth century onwards, which will bear comparison in its own way with the efflorescence of Jainism during Rastrakuta hegemony in the Deccan, or under the Solankis in Gujarat. The harmonious relation of the various faiths in medieval Malava is shown also by the co-existence of Jaina and Vaisnava temples at several places in Northern Indore. At Kohala, six miles from Bhanpura, to the east of the temple of Laksmi-Narayana, there are two Jaina temples side by side and known by the popular name of sas-bahu-ki mandir or the temples of the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law, one of which is used for worship even now. At the village of Sandhara, not far from Bhanpura, the remains include an old temple of Visnu and a Jaina temple called Tamboli-ka-mandir or the temple of the betel-seller as well as two other Jaina temples, which have been partly rebuilt at a later date. These two temples are dedicated to Adinatha and belong to the Digambara community, and regular worship is carried on in both. Two old temples, one dedicated to Visnu and the other to Parsvanatha, stand in the centre of the village of Kukdesvar, ten miles to the west of Rampura in the northern part of Indore State. It is noteworthy that the Jain temple contains a large bas-relief representing scenes from the life of Krsna, which has been built into the south wall of the mandapa. For details see Progress Report of the Archaeological Survey of India, Western Circle, for the year ending 31 st March, 1920.