Kamal Basadi: Jain Temple in Belgaum Fort

Jain Temple at Belgaum Fort, in Karnataka state of India. This temple was built by Ratta Kings

Photo by: Manjunath Doddamani Gajendragad

Photo Courtesy: Wiki Commons

Singular pre-Portuguese monument crumbling from neglect

Barely three kms from Farmagudi hillock on the way to Ponda, a diversion to the right takes one past the Nagueshi temple to the Jain basti at Bandora. Though overshadowed by the construction of a few neat looking villas, disrespectfully close to the protected monument, the grandeur of the crumbling vestiges of the pre-Portuguese era do stand out.

Existence of ruins of bastis, especially in Kudnem, Bandora and Naroa serve as testimonials to the influence of Jainism in Goa during the early period. All great dynasties such as Chalukyas and Kadambas, patronised Jainism. It also prospered in Goa which came under the sway of these dynasties. Neglect and ravages of natural elements have taken a toll on this monument extended protection by state archives and archaeology department.

After the department cleared the debris and vegetation at the site in 1993, its officials found a mutilated image of Lord Ganesh, a torso of Thirthankara and an "amalaka " (carved slab of the ceiling). But this was not followed by any effort at conserving the monument, which has irked heritage lovers.

They are concerned about the lack of conservation effort to stem the rot and its silence in opposing the construction activity, barely five metres from the Jain basti.

"The department only clears the vegetation, but no conservation work has been done," said Prajal Sakardande, executive member of Goa Heritage Act I o n Group.

After the department took over maintenance of the site, it has not initiated measures to stop its disintegration. "The only worry is that if steps are not taken immediately, it might come down totally. Whatever remains should be conserved," Sakardande added.

"I will look into the matter," was all M L Dicholkar, Archives director said. The bungalows at the site had been constructed a couple of years back.

In addition to the ruins at these three sites, evidence in museums, especially at the museum of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Old Goa helps in piecing together a history of the period. A Kannada inscription dated 1425 AD at Old Goa, refers to the Jain Basti of Bandiwade (Bandora ), and throws some light on the origin of the village. Bandora was established by King Sripala Virugappa, son of Mangananda, who built the temple of Neminath.

"The Jain basti was constructed in 1425 during the Vijayanagara period and repaired 27 years later in 1452," Manguesh Deshpande, assistant superintending archaeologist said.

Jain bastis catered to various needs, including religious, of Jain monks (shravaks) and disciples (shramans). "There were study halls for shramans and lodging for wandering monks to stay in," Deshpande said.The basti appears to have had a rectangular plan (12 metres by 10 metres), while laterite with lime and mortar was used as a durable and reliable binding material. Behind the crumbling structure, three vaulted roof shrines without images could be seen. Leading to them were huge arches. "The front hall had also three arches and they rested on four massive pillars measuring 1.25 metres by 1.25 metres," Deshpande said.

The present Jain basti may have been a smaller structure during the Kadamba rule and may have been extended during the Vijayanagara regime. Evidence of this is the 12-tiered "shikhara" on the western side of the edifice, which is typical of Kadamba architecture. Windows with stone grills etched with diamond motifs and ceiling slaba depicting floral design were found at the site. "The statue of Neminath, a thirthankara was kept inside the basti," Manguesh said.

The inscription at Old Goa also talks about the grant of two villages, Vagurbem and Akshaya (Agassaim) to the Jain Basti of Neminath at Bandora during the rule of Tryambaka, son of Lakkappa on behalf of Devaraya II. Interestingly, a sculpture of one of the thirthankaras, Jain prophet, was found at Cortalim , across the river from Agassaim and is displayed at state archives and archaeology museum at Panaji.

Logic behind Building JainTemple Cities on Mountains

By Unknown
Why were Jainas so enthusiastic about building "Temple Cities" on the mountains? For one thing, it would be because of their worship toward mountains. From ancient times, mountain worship has been popular in India, and people liked to design temples in the image of a holy mountain as a residence of Gods. It is represented by Mt. Meru, which is said to be the center of the universe, or Mt. Kailasa ,Astapadh Tirth, which is believed to be the residence of First Tirthankar. Besides these legendary mountains, Jainas made much of going on a pilgrimage to actual holy mountains and regarded it as a pious deed. Thus they had built temples at such holy places or "tirthas" (*2) from ancient times.

For another, it was in order to escape from attacks by heathens. Ever since the attacks by Mahmud of Ghazna in the 11th century, Muslims had destroyed a lot of temples of Jainism. If we regard these attacks as religious persecution, we might be rather wide of the mark. In general, Islam had been tolerant toward other religions. However, it is usual for winners of wars to plunder the land that they have conquered by military force, and in actual terms, Muslims needed to secure places for their religious worship. Therefore they dismantled the stone temples situated in the places they had vanquished and reused the components to build new mosques.

As mosques are basically pillared halls, Jaina temples which had a lot of pillars were quite suitable. The mosques in Ajmer, Delhi, and Ahmadabad are typical examples of it. Since Islam strictly prohibits idolatry, they scraped off only engravings of idols on pillars and beams in these mosques. Nevertheless, as the basic formation and domical ceilings of Indic manner still remain, these pieces of architecture clearly show the features of the Jaina and Hindu temples.

As a result most large Jaina temples in Northern India were destroyed, so old temples no longer exist in major cities. Jainas thus chose places deep in the mountains to construct new temples in expectation that there was a small possibility of destruction. However, invasions by the Kharji Dynasty of Delhi and other Muslims had reached Mt. Shatrunjaya, and the temples had been often demolished.

It was not until the 16th century when Akbar of the Mughal Dynasty implemented a tolerant policy with other religions in India that peacetime was finally realized. The reason why each tuk had been surrounded like a stronghold was to defend itself from those attacks. ------
( from Architectural Magazine " at ", 1993 - 1994, Takeo Kamiya)

Historians believe that the decline of Jainism started about the eighth century during the Aryanization period of Kerala when Vaishnavism and Saivism were active and aggressive. Jainism seems to have completely disappeared from Kerala by the sixteenth century; the foreign visitors from Europe do not mention the Jains at all. One lasting contribution of Jainism to Kerala, according to wi'lliam Logan, is that the architecture of the Hindu temples and the Muslim mosques of North Malabar was influenced by the architecture of the Jain temples. ---Dr. Zacharias Thundy, Northern Michigan University

Jainism as per kerala

Though there is evidence of practice of Jainism in Kerala before the arrival of Aryans. History is silent about it. The Famous Jainmedu temple in Palakkad is the manifestation of Jainism in Kerala. Today few families of Jain community are found around Palakkad in Kerala.

Moodbidri — woods of yore

GOWRI RAMNARAYAN



"I'M going to see the Jain basadis tomorrow," said the participant ata heritage seminar at Manipal. The light in his eyes came not from aconservationist's curiosity, but a pilgrim's devotion. It inspiredyou to undertake a similar, shorter trip to see the monuments of acreed that some scholars trace back to Harappa and Mohenjadaro.



With asceticism and ahimsa as its ideals (inspiring the Buddha?),Jainism is identified with metaphysical reflexivity anduncompromising ethics. Reduced to a minority through centuries ofreligious persecution, Jains are best known today for their businessacumen and practice of charity. The national anthem names them, butthis country knows little about Jain culture past and present.



The two-hour drive from Manipal (35 km from Mangalore) offers ampletime to recall that Jainism sees God as Infinite Knowledge,Perception, Consciousness and Joy. The universe has no beginning, noend. As the yugas roll on, the 24 tirthankaras (Fjord Makers) teachhumanity to reach moksha by burning up the karma of innumerable birthcycles, Parshvanatha (877-777 B.C.) and Mahavira (599-527 B.C.) beingsuch archetypal guides in the present age. The five-fold mantraoffers obeisance not to God, but to perfected beings (Arahanta),liberated souls (Siddha), masters (Acharya), teachers (Upadhyaya),virtue seekers (Sadhus). Individuals must find release through theirown efforts, not through divine intervention.



Unrelenting austerity? But did it not spark awesome creativity inarchitecture, sculpture, painting and poetry? Ancient tongues Tamiland Prakrit are rich with literary contributions from the Jain monks.Shravanabelagola (Karnataka), Palitana (Gujarat), Bawangaja (MadhyaPradesh), Shikharjin Madhuban (Bihar) stun the eye with theirmagnificence.



Shrine cluster

Moodbidri, our destination, known as Kshemavenupura and Jain Kashi,has a cluster of 18 shrines. Enter the 1,000-pillaredTribhuvanatilaka chudamani (crest jewel of the three worlds) basadi,and you see the realisation of a vision as vast as it is intricate.Known also as Chandranath basadi honouring the eight-foot tall figureof Bhagwan Chandranath, and Hosa basadi to signify its agelessbeauty, the temple's many mantapas are supported by pillars. No twoare alike. Each has its own design, some achieving incrediblydelicate results on granite.



Built in 1430 by local chieftain Devaraya Wodeyar, with additionsmade in 1962, this shrine has a 60 feet tall monolith manasthambha(erected by Queen Nagala Devi) that rivets your gaze. Circle theshrine and you see Chinese dragons and African giraffes jostling withlocal elephants and mythical yalis, testifying to prosperous tradeand protean imagination. The sloping roof is propped by carved posts,and ruddy wooden bars bloodshot under the noon sun.

Karnataka's hotbed of Jain religion

By Kamala Vasudevan

The Jaina religion found a safe and welcome sanctuary in Karnataka and enjoyed a golden period during the Medieval period. The Karkala region became the most important centre of Jaina religious and cultural activities.

Although the question as to when Jainism entered Karnataka is yet to receive an accurate answer, there is little doubt that this religion had made its home here in the early centuries of the Christian Era.

The oldest and most sacred Jaina centre at Shravanabelagola dates back to the 3rd century BC when Acharya Shrutakevalin Bhadrabahu camefrom distant Pataliputra to the Southern regions with 12,000 followers.

Legends say that when he arrived in Shravanabelagola, he sensed the end of his journey and after dismissing his followers and bidding farewell to them, and keeping the company of only one of them, committed the rite of Sallekhana, a rite of ritual suicide, here.The disciple was none other than the celebrated Maurya King Chandragupta who continued to live on this hill worshipping the foot prints of his teacher and later he too followed his teacher in committing Sallekhana. There are two monuments on the hill recalling this event,a rock cut cave called Bhadrabahu cave and a structural shrinecalledthe Chandragupta Basadi.

The great Tibetan historian Taranatha has noted that Chandragupta'ssuccessor and grandson Bindusara, (298- 273 BC) ruled over parts of Karnataka and his celebrated son, king Asoka, (269-232 BC) sent his envoys to Banavasi, the then centre of power in Karnataka and amonghis rock edicts, ten are to be found in different parts of Karnatakalike Koppal, Maski, Brahmagiri etc.

Another legend in this regard is that of Samprati, the grandson of Asoka, an ardent Jain himself, who sent envoys to Maharashtra, Andhraand Tamil Nadu to propagate Jainism. Thus, we can assume that Karnataka never suffered from any political and geographical isolation and was exposed to the religious. political and social influences of Buddhism and Jainism from the north right from the dawn of recorded history.

By the 10th century, the mighty Ganga warrior Chamundaraya commissioned the colossal statue of Bahubali to be installed on the Indragiri hill. Around the base of the hill in the village of Shravanabelagola there sprung many Jaina Mathas, schools of religious teachings. The Chaturmukha Basadi is one of them. A number of temples or Basadis too were erected around this region, and these places of worship were store houses or Bhandaras of many illuminated manuscripts executed in great perfection by artists, some in palm leaf in the early years and later around the 12th and the 14th century, paper became the preferred carrier for transcribed texts.

One of the greatest Jaina woman Attimabbe, widow of a Chlukyang eneral who was a Shaivaite, built a staggering 1500 Basadis and is supposed to have patronised the three medieval poets, Ranna, Pampa and Janna. Many of these Basadis except about 35 or so have been vandalised and altogether destroyed with no one to care for them, butthe one at Lakkundi called Brahma Jinalaya has been somewhat restored to its former glory.

Many ruling dynasties in Karnataka like the Satavahanas, Kadambas and the Gangas were tolerant of other religions even though many of them were followers of Shaivism and made generous grants of land and wealth to the propagation of Jaina institutes and temples. The Talagunda inscriptions refer to Kakushtavarman (405-430 AD), a Gangaruler, built a large tank for the temple which is referred to in the inscriptions as Siddhalaya, possibly referring to some ancient Jaina monk who could have installed the icon in this temple.

He was succeeded by Vishnuvardhana (1108-152 AD), the most famous ofthe Hoysala rulers. The royal household encouraged both Shaivism and Vaishnavism. The Hoysala kings and their queens and wealthy ministers built many Jaina temples during their reign. Digambara sect of theJain religion became popular and this resulted in many Jain Basadis and temples being built resulting in new architectural and sculptural innovations, all named after the Hoysala dynasty.

The temples of Kambadahalli and Sravana Belagola duringVishnuvardhana's rule, the Trikuta Basadi in Cholasandra byNarasimhaI, the Satinatha Basadi in Jinanathapura during the reign of Viraballala II along with many Vaishnava and Shiva temples were built during the reign of the Hoysala dynasty.

But the most prominent supporter of Jainism was the Ganga kingMarasimha II (AD 961- 974) who later died committing Sallekhana, a Jaina religious rite that calls for voluntary death by starvation bythe devotee. In the Deccan, the Rashtrakutas too patronised Jainism and Amoghavarsha of this dynasty (AD 814-880) was an ardent Jain himself. Since the Rashtrakutas and the Gangas had matrimonial alliances with each other, Chandroballabba, the daughter of Amoghavarsha was married to Butuga, the Ganga heir , giving a nimpetus to the spread of Jain religion and art and sculpture. The famous Dance Drama tradition of Karnataka, the Yakshagana introduced many Jaina subjects in its performances. The story of Bahubali or Gommateshvara became a perennial favourite.

The history of Jainism in South India is actually the history of Jainism in Karnataka, even though historical evidences say Jainism came to the South during the time of the 12th Tirthankara,Vasupujya,who was senior to the more famous Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara.The religious tolerance in Karnataka was favourable to the advent of Jainism. The Jaina temples are called Basadis after the root word in Sanskrit "Vasati" meaning residence.

The Basadis housed not only the sanctum but also living quarters forthe ascetic monks to practice their austerities specially during the severe monsoon when they were forbidden from travelling. TheseBasadis are sometimes called Chaityas or Chaitalayas where thedevoutgathered for worship offered to the Tirthankaras and attendantYakshas and Yakshis and discourses were held here by the scholarlymonks. If the Basadi has images of three Tirthankaras, it is knownas "Trikuta Basadi" or "Ratna-traya."

If the Basadi opens on all four sides as in the Karkala example, then it is called "Chaturmukha Basadi". If there are five images of Tirthankaras installed in the sanctum, it is called "Pancha Basadi. "When all the 24 Tirthankaras are worshiped in a Basadi, then it is called "Chaturvimsati- Jinalaya." Apart from the Jaina Tirthankaras, the attendant Yaksha or Yakshis are also offered worship, likeYakshinis Padmavati whose image is found in all Basadis, and Jwalamalini, Yaksha Dharanendra etc. The Jaina architecture is distinct in its design and to be found only in the coastal regionsofKarnataka. The Jinalayas don't boast elaborate ornamentation, but are completely plain and simple in design and is usually rectangular in shape.

The traditional Gopura or super-structure seen in Hindu temples overthe sanctum is absent here or the Mahadvara or entrance doorway. The massive Chaturmukha Basadi of Karkala stands majestically on the topof hill and is a grand sight with its four sided tiled roof andimmense doors and statues of Jaina religious figures. It is entirely built of stone, pillars are prominent as in all Jaina structures.Itsimmense four faceted roof is supported by huge stone pillars that are simple with small carved figures at the base. A closed passage runs through the four sides for circumambulation of the devotees.

The main god in the sanctum in the Chaturmukha Basadi is Chandranatha who is shown standing with many attendant minor deities, including Padmavathi.

This Basadi is more recent in origin that the famous Sravanabelagolaor the Brahmajinalaya at Lakkundi and is extremely well preservedwith green lawns neatly kept. From the Basadi, on a clear day, onecan see the figure of Bahubali at Sravanabelagola , an extraordinarysight indeed. There are many legends attached to this Basadi and itcould be a wonderful visit for anyone. Several stone steps lead upto the temple.