JOIN USStone inscriptions and sculptures related to Jainism, more than 500 years old, were discovered in Sulugodu village, under Handrangi Gram Panchayat, in Konanur hobli, Hassan district, on Monday.
A farmer, who was using an excavator to dig his field, discovered these sculptures and inscriptions. A few sculptures of Jain Thrithankara Mahaveer were unearthed recently in the same village.
The sculptures have been kept at the Basaveshwara temple nearby. With some more statues and inscriptions discovered on Monday, locals opine that the lands surrounding the Basaveshwara temple should be excavated and hoped to find more such statues.
History
The village was known as Sulugodu about 450 to 500 years ago and was under the control of Palegar Somaraja. After his name, it was called Sulugodu Somapura since 50 years.
According to Shivappa, a senior citizen, princess Chandanadevi meditated in a Jain Basadi during the rule of Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana. Palegar Somaraja had removed the Mahaveer’s statue from the Jain temple and had installed Nandi statue, he added. A Jain basadi is found at a distance of five kilometres in Kodagu district and is being conserved by the department of Archaeology and Museums. This is proof to show that jains lived in the region, said the villagers.