The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v1.c11.s8.69

v1.c11.s8.69

What was Bijjaḷa's attitude to the new movement? What were his own convictions? Both the Vira Śaiva and Jaina literary sources say that Bijjaḷa was a Jain, though the Telugu Basavapurāṇamu calls him a worshipper of Pāṇḍuraṅga.³ There is no clear proof, however, that Bijjaḷa was really a Jain. His family was of Śaiva origin, and the Kalachuri insignia which were strongly Śaiva are not known to have been changed in any way during his reign. His inscriptions and those of his successors generally begin with an invocation of Śiva, Harihara, and so on, and many Śiva and Viṣṇu temples all over the country are known to have been repaired or richly endowed during his occupation by himself and his feudatories and officials. The truth seems to be that Bijjaḷa was a Śaiva of the orthodox traditional type who has been stigmatized as a Jain in the Vira Śaiva sources because he was a heretic from their point of view and was therefore represented by them as having been a member of the Jain faction who were their chief antagonists. The strictly impartial attitude attributed to Bijjaḷa in the final stages of the controversy between Ekāntada Rāmayya and the Jains would seem to give support to this view. As for the Jains, they usually tend to describe all important persons as adherents of their own faith, and naturally not much value can attach to such biased testimony.