Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 2.djvu/477

Rh grew over him.] A triple-headed cobra rises up under each hand, and there are others lower down."

"The village of Mūdabidure in the South Canara district," Dr. Hultzsch writes, "is the seat of a Jaina high priest, who bears the title Chârukirti-Panditâ-chârya-Svâmin. He resides in a matha, which is known to contain a large library of Jaina manuscripts. There are no less than sixteen Jaina temples (basti) at Mûdabidure. Several of them are elaborate buildings with massive stone roofs, and are surrounded by laterite enclosures. A special feature of this style of architecture is a lofty monolithic column called mânastambha, which is set up in front of seven of the bastis. In two of them a flagstaff (dhvajastambha), which consists of wood covered with copper, is placed between the mânastambha and the shrine. Six of them are called Settarabasti, and accordingly must have been built by Jaina merchants (Setti). The sixteen bastis are dedicated to the following Tīrthankaras: — Chandranatha or Chandraprabha, Nêminâtha, Pârsvanâtha, Âdinàtha, Mallinâtha, Padmaprabha, Anantanâtha, Vardhamâna, and Sântinâtha. In two of these bastis are separate shrines dedicated to all the Tirthankaras, and in another basti the shrines of two Yakshīs. The largest and finest is the Hosabasti, i.e., the new temple, which is dedicated to Chandranâtha, and was built in A.D. 1429-30. It possesses a double enclosure, a very high mânastambha, and a sculptured gateway. The uppermost storey of the temple consists of wood-work. The temple is composed of the shrine (garbagriha), and three rooms in front of it, viz.,the Tirthakaramandapa, the Gaddigemandapa, and the Chitramandapa. In front of the last-mentioned mandapa is a separate building called Bhairâdêvimandapa, which was built in A.D. 1451-52. Round its base runs a