A Brahmi Tablet from Parkala, Udupi: The earliest reference to Jainism in Tulu Nadu
Summary
Dr P. N. Narasimha Murthy’s paper ‘A Brahmi Tablet from Parkala, Udupi: the earliest reference to Jainism in Tulu Nadu’ challenges the conventional belief that Jainism entered coastal Karnataka only in the 12th or 13th century. He opens by noting that Tulu Nadu, a fertile strip between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats, provided a hospitable environment for Jainism. Previous historians, citing a paucity of early inscriptions, had concluded that Jainism reached the region around the 12th century. Murthy reviews works by local and regional scholars—including Polali Seenappa Hegde, B. A. Saletore and K. V. Ramesh—and points out that none could produce evidence earlier than a 1215 A.D. inscription from Mudabidri. He then recounts the discovery of a circular laterite tablet at Parkala near Udupi. The tablet, originally serving as a burial capstone, was rescued from debris by local youth and eventually came into Murthy’s hands. Unlike clay seals found elsewhere, this tablet is cut from laterite and bears three lines of Brahmi script reading ‘Yapaniya’ twice and ‘Avaniya’ once. After consulting epigraphist K. V. Ramesh, Murthy dates the script to the 5th century A.D., pushing back the earliest Jain inscription in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts by two centuries. He explains that the Yapaniya sect emerged around the 2nd century A.D. in Karnataka and served as a bridge between the Digambara and Svetambara traditions. The tablet’s reference to Yapaniya ascetics, coupled with evidence of a post‑cremation burial of three monks, implies an established Jaina presence in the region by the 5th century. Murthy also interprets the term ‘Avaniya’ as a Tamil rendering of Yapaniya, suggesting cultural interaction between Tamil Nadu and coastal Karnataka. The discovery thus corroborates Murthy’s earlier hypothesis that Jainism reached Tulu Nadu before the 5th century and invites further research into early Jain epigraphy.
AI-generated summary, automatically checked against the article text.
Conclusion
Murthy’s discovery of the Parkala tablet offers tangible evidence that Jainism flourished in coastal Karnataka centuries earlier than previously assumed. The tablet’s fifth‑century script, its repeated invocation of the Yapaniya sect and the hint of Tamil connections imply a dynamic religious landscape in which Jain ascetics from different regions interacted. By pushing the epigraphic record back to the 5th century, the find challenges the notion that Jainism arrived only in the late medieval period and underscores the need to re‑examine the early history of Jainism in Tulu Nadu.