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11th Century Jain Inscriptions found at Doddakanagal in Coorg District

    Tirthankar idol with 11th Century Jain inscription at Doddakanagal.
    Tirthankar idol with 11th Century Jain inscription at Doddakanagal.
    • Found at Doddakanagal Village, Sowvarpet Taluk, Coorg/Kodagu District, Karnataka, India.
    • Doddakanagal is located at a distance of 16 Kms from Somvarpet and 60 Kms from Madikeri.
    • Found in the middle of a field in an abandoned Digambar Jain temple and its surroundings.
    • Inscriptions belongs to 11th Century A.D.
    • Found along the pedestal of a Jain Tirthankar idol, ruined pedestal below a Yakshi and on a stone with the inscription completely worn out.
    • Revelation from the inscriptions – The inscription informs that Sri Tribhuvanamalla Kongalvadeva got the idol made as a homage to all departed souls and with an intention that good fortune should prevail upon all.
    • Inscription found during the field work by researcher Nitin H.P., founder & Executive director of www.jainheritagecentres.com
    11th Century Jain Inscriptions found at Doddakanagal in Coorg District
    11th Century Jain Inscriptions found at Doddakanagal in Coorg District

    Madikeri (Karnataka), 25th November 2022: Three ancient Jain inscription of the 11th century have been discovered at Doddakanagal village in Somvarpete Taluk, Kodagu/Coorg district. Nitin H P, Associate Director – MarTech & Digital at Wipro Ltd. and the founder & executive director of www.jainheritagecentres.com (JHC) found this during his fieldwork recently.

    These inscriptions were found in an abandoned Digambar Jain temple and its surroundings in the middle of the fields belonging to B.E. Sandesh. These inscriptions were found when Nitin went in search of another published Jain inscription at Doddakanagal.

    Details of the Three Inscriptions – Inscription along the pedestal of a Jain Tirthankar idol. Inscription along the ruined pedestal below the Yakshi idol. Inscription on a flat stone.

    Researcher Nitin H P along with the Tirthankar idol.
    Researcher Nitin H P along with the Tirthankar idol.
    Three lines 11th century Jain inscription along the pedestal of a Tirthankar idol found at Doddakanagal village in Kodagu/Coorg district.
    Three lines 11th century Jain inscription along the pedestal of a Tirthankar idol found at Doddakanagal village in Kodagu/Coorg district.

    Inscription along the Tirthankar’s Pedestal Idol
    This is a 3 lines inscription found along the 3’ 3” high idol of a Jain Tirthankar in Kayotsarga (standing posture).

    Inscription’s Summary – Sri Tribhuvanamalla Kongalvadeva, a disciple of Sri Prabhachandra Siddantha Deva who was the disciple of Sri Meghachandra Trividyadeva of Mula SanghaKundakondanvaya Postaka Gachhagot the idol made as a homage to all departed souls and  with an intention that good fortune should prevail upon all.

    Inscription’s Period – “Sri Tribhuvanamalla Kongalvadeva’s name is mentioned in the inscription. Based on other inscriptional evidence Tribhuvanamalla Kongalvadeva’s period corresponds to 1066 to 1100 A.D. Hence the period of this inscription can be attributed to belong to 11th century A.D.”, says Nitin.

    Inscription along the ruined pedestal below the Yakshi idol

    • This is a 4 lines inscription along the ruined pedestal below the Yakshi idol.
    • Inscription’s Summary – Since this is just a small part of a 4 lines inscription not much can be interpreted from this. However, we are able to read the words “Mulasangha” and “Punyartha” on this inscription. This indicates that the person who got it engraved might be a disciple of a Guru who belonged to “Mulasangha” and the word “Punyartha” indicates that this had some content related to well-being of the people. The word “Mulasangha” helps us conclude that this is a Jain inscription.
    • Inscription’s Period – Based on the inscriptional text this inscription can be attributed to belong to 11th century.
    Inscription along the ruined pedestal below the Yakshi idol.
    Inscription along the ruined pedestal below the Yakshi idol.
    14 lines worn out inscription on a stone at Doddakanagal village.
    14 lines worn out inscription on a stone at Doddakanagal village.

    Inscription on a Stone Slab – This is a 14 lines inscription that is completely worn out.In the top are seen the carvings of sun & moon. A few letters seen here are there are readable. Not much can be interpreted from this inscription.

    “This land where the Basadi, idols and the inscriptions were found belongs to Kodavas, the local community of Coorg district and they offer pooja to this deity once a year during the month of April after the first rains. There are no Jain families in the vicinity. It’s up to the Jain community to work towards renovating this mutilated temple and make arrangements to perform daily pooja to the deity and help in preserving the antiquity of Jainism in the district which has dwindled to almost nil over the centuries. The Doddakanagal Jain inscriptions adds more to the antiquity of Jainism in Kodagu district,” adds Nitin who has been researching about the history and heritage of Jainism over the past two decades.

    Doddakanagal is located at a distance of 12 Kms from Shanivarasanthe, 16 Kms from Somavarpete, the taluk center, 62 Kms from the district centre Madikeri and 60 Kms from Hassan.

    Acknowledgment – Nitin has thanked Dr. Ravikumar K Navalagunda (Harihara) for his guidance and help in deciphering the inscriptional text, his father Dr. H.A.Parshwanath, his Mother Smt. H.A.Jayanthi and B.E.Sandesh of Doddakanagal.

    – Jain Heritage Centres News Service

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