The Rashtrakutas and their Times c20.17

c20.17

have given a munificent gift for the maintenance of a Jaina establishment.¹² Even when he was an avowed Buddhist, Harsha used to worship in public Hindu deities like the Sun and S'iva.¹³ Karka Suvarṇavarsha of the Gujarat branch himself a staunch S'aiva, had given a field to a Jain Vihara at Naosari.¹⁴ Amoghavarsha I was undoubtedly a follower of Jainism, and yet he was such an ardent believer in the Hindu goddess Mahālakshmī, that he actually cut off one of his fingers and offered it to her, being led to believe that an epidemic, from which his kingdom was suffering, would vanish away by that sacrifice.¹⁵ Dantivarman of the Gujarat branch, himself a Hindu, gave a village to a Buddhist Vihara.¹⁶ Brahmanas of Ballal family at Mulgund offered a field to a Jain Monastery in 902 A.D.¹⁷ The records of the Raṭṭas of Saundatti are very interesting in this respect. Mahāsāmanta Pṛthvīrāma, a contemporary of Kṛshṇa II, is known to have erected a Jain temple in c. 875 A.D. His grandson was also a Jain, but the latter's grandson was a follower of Hinduism and is known to have given a grant of 12 nivartanas of land to his preceptor, who was well-versed in the three Vedas. His son Srīsena is known to have built a Jain temple. The Belur inscription of Jayasimha, dated 1022 A.D., is extremely interesting. The donor Akkādevī is described in this document as practising¹⁸ the religious observances prescribed by the rituals of Jina, Buddha, Ananta i. e., Vishnu and Rudra. The temple that she had erected was for Tripurusha i. e. Vishnu, Brahmā and S'ankara. This interesting lady had, not only made a synthesis of Hindu cults but also of all the main religious movements of the time, viz. Buddhism, Jainism, Vaishnavism and Saivism. Another document belonging to the same century¹⁹ opens with a laudation of Jina, followed immediately by that of Vishnu. The inscription informs us that at the desire of the king, the Lord Nāgavarmā caused to be built a temple of Jina, Vishnu, Īśvara and the Saints. What a clear example of wide toleration! A still more interesting case is to be found recorded in the Dambal stone inscription from Dharwar district belonging to the 11th century.²⁰ The donors were the followers of a S'aiva sect called Balanju; the grant drafted by them opens with a salutation to Jain munindras, followed by another to the Buddhist Goddess Tārā and the purpose of the charity was to provide funds for a temple of Tārā and Buddha. The above examples will make it abundantly clear that the view of Prajāpati-smriti,²¹ that a person should not visit a Jaina temple or cremating ground after partaking of a Srāddha feast would have found no acceptance in the Deccan of our period.