The original Dhavala documents that were in Moodbidri mutt were translated into Hindi by Jain scholars nearly 800 years ago. This benefited North Indian scholars greatly.
This hallowed town known for its Jain relics, Basadis (temples) and the monolithic statue of Bahubali (patriarch of Jainism and icon of sacrifice) is now basking in the light of the revived Dhavala triology (canonical literature of Jainism) in Kannada.
A group of Kannada scholars has brought glory to Karnataka by translating the Dhavala triology into Kannada from Sanskrit and Prakrit. The work, which began 25 years ago, is now nearing completion. In less than two years, the Dhavala triology will be available in Kannada.
The enormity of this achievement could be appreciated when one considers that the translation has not occurred before, even though the trilogy is 2,200 years’ old. The translation work has been carried on quietly for a quarter of a century.
“Although Karnataka is home to two great seats of Jainism — Shravanabelagola (158km from Bangalore) and Moodbidri (35km from Mangalore) — we had no substantial Jain text in Kannada. The original Dhavala documents that were in Moodbidri mutt were translated into Hindi by Jain scholars nearly 800 years ago. This benefited North Indian scholars greatly. Even though Karnataka housed the documents, a Kannada translation was not available all these years,” said the chief editor of the Dhavala triology, HH Charukirthi Bhattaraka Swamiji of Shravanabelagola.
What is the Dhavala trilogy?
The Dhavala, Jaya Dhavala and Maha Dhavala, were written by Jain scholars in about 200 BC. The documents were preserved by Jain scholars, and were housed in the Moodbidri mutt.The work that is being translated into Kannada is believed to have been authored by Acharya Virasena 2,200 years ago.
Prof Subbaiah Shasty of the Bangalore Sanskrit College had begun the work as an individual project, but realising the enormity of the task, handed it over to the National Institute of Prakrit Studies and Research, which came into existence in 1993.
Karnataka’s oldest frescoes
Shravanabelagola is also home to unique and ancient frescoes believed to have been painted at least 800 years ago. Historian Amrit Malla says, “The style of painting dates back to the 12th century. The theme of the frescoes relates to the rise of Jainism at a time when Hinduism was at its peak, and the Mughal invasions were getting more intensive.”
The paintings were made with pure pigments, made from vegetables, rocks and coal. Historians are puzzled by the range of colours used — although green, black and white can easily be drawn from natural sources, it is not clear how the painters also got red, yellow, gold and silver colours.
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