- Found at Sri Shanthinath Basadi, Samse, Kalasa Taluk, Chikamagalur District, Karnataka.
- Inscriptions below to 15-16th & 19th Century.
- Found along the Padapeetha (pedestal) of Chavvisa (Twenty Four) Tirthanakar idol and Shrutha Skanda.
- Discovered by Ph.D. research student Supritha K N of Kalasa
Kalasa (Chikmagalur District), 18th September 2019: Two Jain inscriptions have been found at Sri Shanthinath Basadi of Samse village, Kalasa taluk. Both the inscriptions belong to different time frame, based on the inscriptional text and period mentioned in the inscription its time frame has been decided.
The inscriptions were discovered when Supritha K N a research student visited Samse during her field. She is perusing her Ph.D. at Kannada University, Hampi on the subject “History and Archaeological study of Kalasa Region” in the Ancient History and Archaeology Department, Kannada University, Hampi under the guidance of Dr.C.Mahadeva.
Inscription along the Pedestal of Chavvisa Tirthankar – This inscription is engraved along all the four sides of the pedestal of Chavvisa Tirthankar idol. It states that “Buyanahalli’s Belli Setty’s grandson, Timmi Setty’s son Padumanna Setty of Simhagadde (the present Narasimharajapura) got the “Padapeetha” of Chavvisa Tirthanakor idol made. Hosapattana’s main deity Sri Vardhaman Tirthankar has been remembered at the inscription’s end. Though the exact timeframe is not mentioned on the inscription based on the inscriptional text it can be concluded that it belongs to 15th-16th Century.
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Inscription along the Pedestal of Shrutaskanda – In the temple is also found a brass idol of Shrutaskanda, an inscription is found along with its pedestal. It states that Heggade of “Samsevara” Village with all devotion got this idol made in Saka Year 1860 AD. It further informs that the idol was engraved by “Kumam”. It can be noted that Shrutaskanda also called as Saraswati holds a very unique position in Jainism and represents the entire Jinagama tradition.
Supreetha says that “the discovery of inscriptions in Kalasa’s Chandranath Basadi and Samsa’s Shanthinath Basadi contribute immensely towards building Kalasa’s history”.
Supreetha has thanked the chief priest of the temple Sri Sudarshan Shetty and the priest Sri Nithin Kumar S.V. for helping her in taking the photographs of the inscriptions. She has also thanked Dr. Ravikumar K Navalagunda for reading through the inscription and her guide Dr.C.Mahadeva.
– Jain Heritage Centres News Service