JAIN TEMPLE AT MANJESWAR
Chandra Gupta Maurya (321-297 B.C.) and the Jain saint Bhadrabahu, according to
Jain traditions. These men came to Sravanabelgola in Mysore. Later more Jain
missionaries came to Tamil Nadu and converted many Cheras to their religion.
Prince Ilango Adigal, the author of Shilappadikaram, is believed to be a Jain.
The Jains came to Kerala with the rest of the Chera immigrants starting in the
sixth century. The only evidence of their presence in Kerala is the fact that some Hindu temples of today were originally Jain
temples.
The Chathurmukha basti here is an old Jain temple. The advent
of Aryan religions like Jainism, Buddhism,and Hinduism from the north changed
the Dravidian way of life that existed in ancient Kerala. Jainism was the first
to come. The Koodalmanikyam temple in Irinjalakuda, Thrissur district, is
believed to have been originally a Jain temple. Jainism started declining in
Kerala around the eighth century A.D. and nearly disappeared around the 16th
century A.D. Jain shrines still survive in Wayanad, Kasaragod, Alappuzha and
Kochi. The Chathurmukha Basti is unique because there are four idols of
Vardhamana Mahaveera facing four directions. Hence the name chathurmukha (four
faces) and basti (temple).
Now only a few Jain families are remaining in this area. Due to this, looking at
this temple you can see that the small community is struggling very much to take
care and maintain this temple. The old Canara known as Thulunadu was an
important centre of Jain believers.
Still today there are Jains in the
areas of Bankara and Manjeswaram. When Chandra Gupta Mourya who adopted Jain
religion visited South India here also the Jain religion became powerful
.The main deities are Vardhamana Mahaveera and Padmavathi. There are other
deities like Aadeswara Swami, Chandranatha Swami, Santheswara Swami, Vardhamana
Swami and Parsvanatha Swami. The festival of this temple is during Navaratri
Manjeswaram was the headquarters of a Jain kingdom called Bengara-Manjeswar
towards the northern frontier of present Kerala for atleast 500 years from 12th
century onwards (Pathmakumar 43). According to scholars involved in Jain
studies more than 800 families where here and the debris of a destroyed fort is
still found in the region. The relics of an ancient stone temple near the river
mouth of Manjeswar close to the Arabian sea is also a clear evidence of the Jain
antiquity of the place. Manjeswaram still has two Jain temples or Jaina Basatis
on the southern shore of river Manjeswar still called Bengara after the Jain
kingdom. There are also a few surviving Jain families here near Hosangadi to
the west of NH 17 around the Parswanatha Basati.
There is a Chathurmukha Basati housing four idols of Jain gurus Adinatha,
Santinatha, Chandranatha and Mahavira facing to the four directions. This
ancient structure belongs to 12th century according to experts (Pathmakumar 42)
It is situated on a small idyllic hillock and is a green and calm retreat for
the culturally inclined visitor. The Sramana sages loved peace and tranquility
of nature. There are also sacred trees like flowering Asoka underneath which
Naga or serpent idols are worshiped by the ancient Jains. I found plenty of
birds, butterflies and even a peacock there in Jan 2011.
The second temple is the Parswanatha Basati named after another saint or
Thirthankara of Jainism. This temple renovated several times in its long
history is identified as belonging to 14th century. It has idols of
Parswanatha, Pathmavathy Devi, Khusmandini Devi and Saraswati as well. In many
places in Karnataka and north Kerala Mallinatha Basatis are converted to
Mallikarjuna Hindu temples. A Jain family is also attached to this temple. I
met the family who are fourth generation Jain priests called Indrans of the
temple and they informed me that most of the community had migrated to Karnataka
because of various social pressures and extreme marginalization and exclusion
under hegemony.
