Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c21.s3.t9.23

v2.c21.s3.t9.23

We have to decide as to the people who thought it worthy to die in this manner. The travellers who noted the custom were certainly correct in their assertion that there was such a rite in the Vijayanagara Empire. But it cannot be maintained with Barbosa that it was prevalent among the Liṅgāyats, nor with Nuniz, among the Telugus. The evidence of inscriptions is more conclusive on this subject. The people who died in the manner related above were the Jainas, most of whom, as is well known, were merchants and traders like the Liṅgāyats. The popularity of this kind of death was due to the precedent set by famous Jaina teachers and influential Jaina nobles. We shall first give one or two examples of the death by *samādhi*, as they called it, among the humbler classes of the Jainas. These again were called Gauḍas. A record dated A. D. 1458 relates that Siriya Gauḍa of Kuppe died, and his wife Tangaṇṇa Gauḍi fell into the tomb along with him (*ātana kūḍe samādhiyana (n) u kūḍidaḷu*).³ Then again in A.D. 1465 Kavaḍi Bela Gauḍa's wife Lākhayi Herggaḍi entered into the linga (*surag oḍadu liṅgada oḷagādaḷu*).⁴ In about A.D. 1509 when Haraūr Chāuṇḍa Gauḍa's son Bomma Gauḍa went to *svarga*, his wife Bommi Gauḍi, sitting in the tomb (*samādhi kuḷitu*) also went to *svarga*.⁵