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Outside
the walled area, on the south-east, there is a cave with a recently
erected portico known as the Bhadrabahucave. According to tradition
the Srutakevali Bhadrabahu came to Shravanabelagola and lived in the
cave. The cave enshrines the engraved foot-prints of this
Srutakevali who died here. The foot-prints are worshipped even now.
It is also stated that the Maurya Emperor Chandragupta came here on
a pilgrimage and having received diksha or initiation from
Dakshinacharya, was worshipping the footprints until his death. The
tradition regarding the mogration of Srutakevali Bhadrabahu to
Shravanabelagola along with his disciple Chandragupta, the Maurya
Emperor, briefly runs thus:
Bhadrabahu, the last
Srutakevali, predicted at Ujjain a twelve years drought and famine
in the north, where upon the Jaina community migrated to the south
under his leadership. Chandragupta abdicated and accompanied
Bhadrabahu. On reaching Shravanabelagola, Bhadrabahu perceived the
approach of his last moments, ordered the community to proceed on
their journey and remained there until his death with his disciple
Chandragupta. Chandragupta also lived there for some years as an
ascetic, wroshipping the foot prints of his guru and ultimately died
by the Jaina rite of sallekhana or starvation.
The evidence of local
history, literature and inscriptions of about the 7th century A.D.
and later supports this tradition. The literary works which give
varying accounts of it are the Sanskrit works Bhihatkathakosa
of 931 A.D., Bhadrabahucharita of the 15th centuiry, the
Kannada works Munivamsabhyudaya of circa 1680 A.D. and the
Rajavalikathe of Devachandra. In front of the cave there is another
pair of foot prints and on a large boulder behind these foot prints
are engraved some relievo images of tirthankaras with a guru and his
disciple. The inscription found below the imagers is an epitaph of
Mallishenadeva. |
