Historical Evidence
This account in the BDJ Directory is supported by
significant historical evidence. In the main temple there is no inscription on
the pedestal of the idol of Bade Baba. However on the left side of the door
there is an inscription which has 10 verses followed by some prose. An translation
is given here.
Om Namah Siddhebhyah.
Year of Samvat 1757, magh sudi 15, on Monday.
1-2: In year 1757 of Vikrama, Magh sudi 15 Monday,
during Magha Nakshatra, the temple of Lord Vardhaman, the teacher of the world,
was completed.
3-4: In Mulasangh- Balatkaragan,-Sarasvatigachcha,
in the anvaya of Kunadakunda, lord of the monks, there was great monk
Yashakirti, wise, ocean of virtues, who was worshipped by the entire sangha.
5. His successor was Lalitakirti, wise, learned in
the Jain scriptures, having retired from world, wearing the garb of the Jina,
whose feet were worshipped by the Indras.
6. His successor was Dharmakirti, the author of
Ramadevapurana, steadfast in Jain Dharma, embodiment of knowledge, who gave
valuable discourses.
7. His successor was Padmakirti, brilliant like the
sun, deep like the ocean, who had conquered his senses, who was like a bridge
to cross the worldly ocean.
8. His successor was Surendrakriti, who was
virtuous, who had traversed the forest of words, (i.e. literature) who was a
great tapasvi with kindness in his heart.
9-10. His
pupil --- (the name is not clearly read) had the auspicious temple of
Lord Mahavira restored using funds raised from shravakas, as asked by his guru
Surendrakirti on seeing the ruined but beautiful shrine; so that the Dharma
will be renewed and will grow.
Prose part 1: When Dharmasagar, having finished his
life in Mandirtila (?) village, went to heaven and some of the vedis in the
shrine were not yet finished; then his pupil, the learned Brahmachari Namisagar
had the vedis etc finished and had this dated inscription installed.
Prose part 2: The shrine has been built during the
rule of Chhatrasal, the ruler of rulers, the descendant of the Gaharvar kings
of Kashi, glorious like the sun, conqueror of great rulers, with strong arms
and who can discuss the scriptures of the six philosophies. May it be auspicious.
The first line of verse 10 has not been clearly
read. The reading in the BDJ Directory 1 is “(shu)chi
brahma …ra” where as in other readings 2 it is “suchandra
…”. We thus do not know the exact
name of the person who initiated the work, except that he was a pupil of
Bhattaraka Surendrakirti. It is possible that the inscription was
“Brahma-Dharmasagar”. “Brahma” was a popular short form of brahmachari. It was
a common term for scholars who were pupils of bhattarakas.
The valuable gifts of Chhatrasal including chhatra
and chamar made of gold and silver were plundered during the disturbances of
the Ghadar of 1857AD. Some of the brass
utensils including a massive ghanta (gong) bearing his name were still present
in the storage some time ago 1.
The Bhattarakas mentioned in the inscription belong
to the Chanderi Patta of Balatkaragana-Sarasvati Gachchha 3,4.
The seat at Chanderi (Dist. Guna) was established by Devendrakirti in Samvat
1473. At that time Chanderi already had been a major Jain center for many
centuries. Around this time the local
administration of Chanderi had come in the hands of a Khandelwal Jain family
from Rajasthan. This family continued to have
the hereditary chaudhari title right until the end of the Maratha
(Scindhia) rule. The bhattarakas of
Chanderi generally came from the Parvar community who are numerous around
Chanderi 5. The
Chanderi seat has been referred to as the Jerahat seat by Dr. Joharapurkar 6.
The lineage of the bhattarakas of the Chanderi seat
is given below. Note that Devendrakirti was one of the several pupils of
Bhattaraka Padmanandi of Delhi Patta.
Devendrakirti (Chanderi
Mandalacharya)
Tribhuvanakirti
Sahasrakirti/Ratnakirti
Padmanandi
Gunakirti
Yashakirti (Jasakirti)
Lalitakirti
Dharmakirti
Padmakirti
Sakalakirti
Surendrakirti
Bhattarak Surendrakirti was tenth in line from
Devendrakirti. He had presided over sevaral pratishthas. Several available contemporary inscriptions of sam.
1744 and 1746 mention him. Pandit Phoolchandra Siddhantashastri has written
that Surendrakirti may have been the last bhattaraka of Chanderi 7.
However he points out that the Bhattaraka seat at Sironj, a branch of the
Chanderi seat continued for another century 8.