The ancient sacred place of the Jainas in
South India, sometimes called Jaina Badari, was the Kaṭavapra or Kalbappu giri,
later called Sravana Belagola or Sramana Belagola and Sukla Tirtha in the Jaina
scriptures. Even as early as the Mauryan age its fame had spread in Northern
India and tradition asserts that the great emperor Chandragupta Maurya and his
preceptor Bhadrabahu Srutakevali came and resided here for twelve years.
Chandragupta is said to have passed away here and a cave at Sravanabelagola is named
after him. Regarding the historicity of this episode, Fleet and others were
skeptical. That the tradition is at least as old as the 7th century A. D. is
proved by the Sravanabelagola inscriptions and literary works. Therefore there
is nothing inherently improbable in the tradition and much stronger evidence
must be produced before we can endorse Fleet’s opinion that it was Ekangadhara
Bhadrabahu and Guptigupta of about the first century A. D. who were associated
with Sravanabelagola.
Through the succeeding early
centuries of the Christian Era, Kaṭavapra was the sacred Tirtha attracting Jaina Sadhus of
different Sakhas and different parts of India. The inscriptions of about 700 A.
D. mention the names of several saints who ended their days here. The surnames
Kirti, Sena, Deva, Nandi which distinguish the four sakhas of Mula Samgha,
Konda Kundanvaya were of already prevalent from the beginning of the seventh
century.
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