The ''Nābhi-nandana-jinoddhāra-prabandha'' is a 1336

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

book in the

prabandha Prabandha is a literary genre of medieval Indian Sanskrit literature. The ''prabandha''s contain semi-historical anecdotes about the lives of famous persons. They were written primarily by Jain scholars of western India (Gujarat and Malwa) from 1 ...

genre written by the

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

scholar Kakka Suri (Kakkasūri). The main objective of the book is to record the renovation of the

Rishabhanatha Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain c ...

Jain temple A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings ge ...

Shatrunjaya Shatrunjaya or Shetrunjaya ("place of victory against inner enemies") originally Pundarikgiri), are hills located by the city of Palitana, in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India. They are situated on the banks of the Shetrunji River at an eleva ...

, Gujarat, during the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

rule. The work also provides other information, such as a history of the author's spiritual lineage (

gaccha Gaccha, alternatively spelled as Gachchha, is a monastic order, along with lay followers, of the image worshipping Murtipujaka Svetambara sect of Jainism. The term is also used in the Digambara sect. Etymology ''Gaccha'' literally means "who tr ...

) and a description of the Delhi Sultan

Alauddin Khalji Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over lar ...

's military conquests.

Background

Palitana, Shatrunjaya, Adishwar Temple (9721034826)

During

Alauddin Khalji's conquest of Gujarat In 1299, the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji sent an army to ransack the Gujarat region of India, which was ruled by the Vaghela king Karna. The Delhi forces plundered several major cities of Gujarat, including Anahilavada (Patan), Kham ...

, some

temples in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

had been desecrated. In 1315, Alauddin's governor

Alp Khan Alp Khan (died late 1315 or early 1316) was a general and brother-in-law of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji. He served as Alauddin's governor of Gujarat, and held considerable influence at the royal court of Delhi during the last year ...

allowed restoration of these temples. Samara Shaha, a wealthy merchant from Patan, led a large pilgrimage to

, and carried out a renovation of the temples in a grand ceremony. His guide was Siddhasuri, an

acharya In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a tit ...

of the Upakesha-

. This was the fifteenth renovation of the Shatrunjaya temples. During the seventh renovation, an

image An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

from the sixth renovation had been hidden in a cave. Siddhasuri found this image of the Jain

tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a 'ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable passag ...

Adinatha Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain ...

, and Samara had it reconsecrated during the fifteenth renovation. Kakka Suri, a disciple of Siddhasuri, composed ''Nabhi-nandana-jinoddhara-prabandha'' to narrate the story of this fifteenth renovation, as well as the previous renovations. The title of the work means "Narrative of the Renovation of the Temple of the Jina Who is the Joy of

Nabhi King Nabhi or Nabhi Rai was the 14th or the last '' Kulakara'' of '' avasarpini'' (the descending half of the cosmic time cycle in Jainism and the one in which the world is said to be at present). He was the father of Rishabhanatha, the first ' ...

". In addition, the book provides a history of the author's spiritual lineage. The text was completed in 1336 CE (1393 VS). It contains 2344 verses, which provide information about the social, economic, religious and political history of the period.

Description of Alauddin's achievements

Notably, the book also contains 9 verses describing the military conquests of the Delhi Sultan

, a Muslim whose forces had destroyed the temples. Kakka Suri does not list the motives of Muslims in destroying the temples, and suggests that such misfortunes are to be expected in the sinful

Kali Yuga ''Kali Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. It is believed to be the present age, which is ...

. He instead focuses on demonstrating the Jain community's prosperity by describing the lavish renovations. Kakka Suri describes the military conquests of Alauddin as follows:

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Alauddin Khalji Jain texts Sanskrit literature 1330s books