Tuesday, April 25, 2023

What is Lingayata

What is Lingayata?

A Brief Look Into the Evolution of a Term Favoured by Media But Grasped by Few

The current day ‘Lingayatism’ has a past that is rich in literary output and unique in its philosophical teachings.

 Shivanand Kanavi

https://thewire.in/history/lingayata-karnataka-vachanas-sharanas



                        A portrait of Basavanna (1105-1167 CE) by artist Vishakha Kanavi.               

 

A prolific efflorescence of Bhakti literature emerged in the form of vachana – short poetic prose or free verse poetry – in simple Kannada in the 12th century, in North Karnataka. To this day about 12,000 vachanas of this period authored by over a hundred spiritual seekers and saints, including over 30 women have been discovered. These poet saints called themselves ‘Sharanas’. They hailed from almost all classes of society, professions, and castes – including outcastes or “untouchables”. 

They declared that they are a new community to which all those who believed and practiced certain foundational tenets could join on initiation. 

These tenets included: 

1) Equality and mutual respect of all Sharanas no matter what their past caste or community. 

2) Equality among seekers, the Sharanas, without any gender discrimination. 

3) Form of worship was personal and private to a symbol they called ‘Ishta Linga’. It was primarily meditative and yogic. The Ishta Linga could be carried on your body like a pendant and worshipped anywhere. Hence the name Lingayata — one who worships his personal Ishta Linga.

4) They considered all forms of labour and means of livelihood (‘kayaka’) a form of worship, provided the honest earnings from labour (kayaka) are primarily used for social redistribution, called ‘dasoha’. 

5) They stressed the importance of being a compassionate and socially productive human being in this world and in this life. They ignored the other worlds of heaven and hell, as well as theories of rebirth.

6) By asserting the importance of socially productive and honest labour as a form of worship to attain spiritual enlightenment, Sharanas also ignored renunciation and ascetic ‘sanyasa’ as the dominant and preferred path to enlightenment, as preached by the existing forms of Vedic, Agamic, Buddhist, Jain, and other traditions. Thereby they showed a path to spiritual enlightenment for all ordinary householders, farmers, traders, artisans and all working men and women.

7) They insisted on eating together among Sharanas defying the taboos imposed by caste discrimination, as they were all spiritually equal.

They lucidly expressed their views in the people’s language of the region, Kannada, on their spiritual pursuit. They primarily conceived their god as personal and formless. They also critically and incisively commented profusely on prevalent precepts and practices such as: meaningless Vedic and Agamic rituals, animal sacrifices during such rituals, and intermediation of priests in any form of worship. They also opposed rituals associated with animism and polytheism. They rejected temple-based worship dominated by priests and rituals.

They opposed discrimination against women in the spiritual field. They broke the Brahminical taboos which regarded women as inferior and unfit for spiritual self-realisation, because of their natural biological functions of menstruation and child birth. 

Critics of ritual

The Sharanas – also called ‘Vachanakaras‘ – not only ridiculed the Karma Kanda or Vedic and Agamic rituals of yajnahomahavana, animal sacrifice and elaborate temple worship, but they also confronted all those Vedantins and Advaitins who merely spoke of the abstract high falutin ideas of atma-brahma but blatantly practised caste and gender discrimination. Vachanakaras frequently called such hypocrites as ‘vagadvaitins (‘advaitins only in words’).’

Among the Vachanakaras of 12th century, those that stand out with their incisive commentary are Basavanna (1105–1167) and his contemporaries, Allama Prabhu and Akka Mahadevi. Many other Sharanas, over a hundred, also contributed to creating the new ethos and the new community’s norms as well as its metaphysics.

What they advocated in words as well as deeds was spiritually liberating and attracted a large number of working people of all castes including ‘untouchables’, artisans, farmers, traders, and some enlightened Brahmins as well. 

The popularity of the leading Vachanakaras led the poets in the region to write hagiographies of Sharanas in the Puranic style. These hagiographic works were still set in the Puranic and old Shaivite tradition and not the new radical ideas and practices of Vachanakaras. 

 In the 13th century notable works in this regard are Palkurike Somanatha’s Basava Puranamu in Telugu and the great Kannada poet Harihara’s works (in the form of ragale poems) regarding Basava, Allama, Akka Mahadevi, and many other Sharanas. The Kannada version of Basava Purana inspired by the Telugu Basava Puranamu was written by Bhima Kavi in the 14th century.

There was growing popularity and numbers in this new community whose membership was open and inclusive. Unlike other sects of Hinduism, even today one can become a Lingayat through initiation, despite being born into another religion. Soon it led to royal patronage in some Deccan kingdoms like Vijayanagara, particularly during the reign of Devaraya II (reign 1422–46 CE). 

Later important royal dynasties in Karnataka became followers of Lingayatism. It is important to note that these kings and queens considered their faith a personal matter and were equally patronising all religions in their statecraft as was prevalent practice. 

For example, the Nayakas of Ikkeri or Keladi who ruled vast regions of present-day Karnataka and outside (1490–1763); Haleri dynasty in the kingdom of Kodagu (1633–1834) and many other smaller kingdoms. One of the most remembered is the Lingayat queen Rani Chennamma of Kittur (1778–1829), known for her inspiring role in the anti-colonial struggle against the British.

Teachings and literature

Lingayatism attained the features of an established sect with elite patronage and Lingayat literature, which also came to be known at that time as Veerashaiva literature, flourished from the 15th century onwards.

The Vachana and Sharana teachings resurfaced in the form of several compilations and at least four commentaries known as Shunyasampadane (attainment of the void or path to enlightenment). The declarative or dialogic form of many vachanas lent themselves to be cast as part of a spiritual dialogue or a discussion in a peer group. Such a forum of peers was not directly mentioned by Basava or Allama in their vachanas but it was later imagined as a spiritual forum called Anubhava Mantapa (hall of spiritual experience). 

Vachanas were not written either by academic philosophers or for such philosophers, but for ordinary people in their mother tongue, Kannada. Neither were vachanas written as canonical texts or foundational sutras for a new darshana or a philosophical school like Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaiseshika, Purva Mimamsa, Vedanta, etc. 

Vachanas were utterings of mystics based on their spiritual experiences and reflection. While some common tenets, concepts, and approaches can be distilled from the Vachanakaras, one also finds great individuality and diverse approaches among them in search of spiritual enlightenment as opposed to a monolithic philosophical system.

It should be noted that Sharanas were respectful towards Tamil Shaiva saints of an earlier period, known as Nayanars, (6th-8th Century CE)  and called them the ‘63 Puratanaru’ (sixty-three ancients). However, what the Lingayat Vachanakaras did was construct their own radically new community.

The Vachana form continued to be popular among post-Basava mystics till the 18th century, so much so that we have another 10,000 or more Vachanas written in the later period (15th to 18th century). 

The complete Vachana literature edited and published today by the Kannada Pustaka Pradhikara under the general editorship of the late M.M. Kalburgi by the government of Karnataka in two volumes has over 20,000 vachanas. The process of collecting manuscripts, authenticating them, producing critical editions, weeding out spurious ones etc. started in the 1890s and is now more or less complete.

A selection of 2,500 vachanas edited by Kalburgi for Basava Samiti have now been translated, and published under the leadership of Aravind Jatti, into over 20 languages including English, French, Mandarin, Arabic, Angika, Kashmiri, Dogri, Santhali, Bodo, Assami, Odiya, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Urdu, Bengali and so on. More, including Persian, Spanish, Bajjika and so on are in the works.

In the century-long effort in this direction many institutions like Karnatak University, Dharwad; Basava Samiti, Bengaluru and several Lingayat mathas have given institutional support. Many scholars have contributed to editing and interpreting the meaning and intent of Vachanas. To name a few: F.G. Halakatti, C. Uttangi, S.S. Basavnal, Siddheshwara Swamiji, S.C. Nandimath, R.C. Hiremath, S.S. Bhusnurmath, M.M. Kalburgi, L. Basavaraju, H. Tipperudraswamy, M. Chidananda Murthy, V.B. Rajur, N.G. Mahadevappa, A.K. Ramanujan, H.S. Shiva Prakash, D.R. Nagaraj and O.L. Nagabhushana Swamy. 

Today, almost all the Vachanas are available on the internet in a searchable database called Vachana Sanchaya due to the efforts of a team led by O.L. Nagabhushana Swamy (https://vachana.sanchaya.net/ ).

Similarly about 1500 vachanas of Basavanna in Kannada as well as their translation into multiple languages are available at http://vachana.taralabalu.in/vachana.php?poet=137  of the Sirigere Taralabalu Matha.

Vachanas are commonly recited and sung in the villages and towns of Karnataka both in religious and secular functions. Prominent musicians like Pt Mallikarjun Mansur, Pt Basavraj Rajguru, Pt Siddharam Jambaldinni, Pt Venkatesh Kumar and others popularized the singing of vachanas in their classical Hindusthani concerts as well as in Radio, TV and modern music industry in the past nearly a hundred years.

The social, political, and economic circumstances which led to this efflorescence in the 12th century and the 900-year trajectory of this community are still being explored. A significant modern contributor to this multidisciplinary exploration is historian Manu V. Devadevan.

Two forms

By the 15th century, the popular inclusive community of spiritual democracy initiated by Basava and other Sharanas started taking the form of a ‘faith that one is born into’ rather than voluntarily initiated into. Concomitantly high priests emerged to interpret the faith and carry out new rituals along with a large mass of followers of the faith. As traders, landowners, sections of contemporary elite, including some royal families, started joining the faith, there was a move to achieve formal ‘respectability’. 

Historically it took two forms. One was to pay obeisance to Basava and Allama but move away from their radical and experiential approach and instead evolve a formal metaphysics and a spiritual path called “shat sthala” (six stage path) which can be cast in a familiar tradition. This attempt then associated Lingayatism to some form of Advaita. Shakti Vishisht Advaita, Shiva Yoga etc were such new formal labels.

The other attempt by Agamic Shaivism to claim Lingayat as part of old Brahminical Shaivism. This trend headed by so called “pancha acharyas” denied the role of 12th-century Sharanas as founders of Lingayatism, including their radical new ideas and practices. 

In the medieval period the community also started calling itself Veerashaiva along with Lingayat as synonyms. This was contrary to the fact that all forms of Shaivism worshipped a Puranic, anthropomorphic Shiva as their deity, believed to be the resident of the mythical Kailasa, etc. Whereas, the Sharanas of 12th century did not recognise the Puranic Shiva as their deity. Nor did they recognise the associated temples and pilgrim centres like Jyotir Lingas and so on. Though the Sharanas called their deity Shiva, it was a formless Para Shiva. They identified it with void, space, Bayalu, an omnipresent element that is a part of every human being and not residing only in idols and temples, Shunya – not to be confused with the Buddhist Shunyavad – and so on. 

It is also to be noted that from 16th to 19th Century several Lingayat seers interacted with an open mind with Muslim Sufis and saints in the Deccan. As a result, Lingayat Mathas of Savalgi Shivalingeshwara, Shirahatti Fakeer Swamy, Kodekal Basavanna, and others, even today have a large following among both Lingayats and Muslims and both communities participate actively in the annual jatras and Rath Utsavs.

A significant point to note is that in the 1980s and early ‘90s hardly any Lingayat seer among the hundreds of prominent ones, joined the Vishwa Hindu Parishad or supported the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.

The present

There are two major trends in the present day Lingayat community. One is to go to the spiritual roots of the community in the radical teachings of 12th-century Sharanas and Vachanakaras. Many in this segment also believe that Lingayatism should not be identified with Vedic or Agamic Hinduism but a separate way of life and religion, like Sikhism. They base their argument on the radical precepts of the vachanas of Sharanas of the 12th century as well as many practices of the community which are very different from traditional Hindus. For example, all Lingayats bury their dead, as against cremation among Hindus and so on. It is not known when this practice started. Lingayat burial rituals however are different from Islamic and Christian burial rituals. 

Late M M Kalburgi, who was a prominent academic and researcher of Lingayatism and Kannada culture and literature, strongly advocated the recognition of Lingayatism as a separate religion and not as a part of Hinduism. He was backed by many Lingayat seers and intellectuals. There were several large mass rallies held in different parts of Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Delhi during 2017-18 demanding recognition from the Union government of Lingayat as separate religion, like Sikhism. 

The other trend in the Veerashaiva community pays formal obeisance to Basava and other Sharanas but basically adopts various practices of older Shaivism including temple worship. It recognises a priestly class (called Aiyanavaru or Jangamas) among Lingayats to perform rituals. This segment also practises caste discrimination and endogamy within sub groups of Lingayats (based on their former professions) like Jangama, Banajiga, Panchamasali, Sada, Ganiga etc. They also do not object to being part of traditional Hinduism.

Today Lingayats constitute an influential community in Karnataka and exist in significant numbers in Maharashtra, Telangana, and in smaller numbers in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They are found in all professions and classes. 

More than 300 Lingayat mathas (monasteries) have been documented by researchers. Mathas are local and a few of them have a couple of branches. All of them are independent and autonomous with no centralized structure. They are local community institutions supported by land grants from devotees. Some are centuries old and many are more recent. Many mathas have grants from devotees of different castes, communities, and religions. The properties of the mathas are managed by a committee appointed by the devotees in the form of a trust. The committee then invites seers trained in the theory and practice of Lingayatism to provide the local community both moral and religious leadership. Swamijis in these mathas also act as social and moral counsellors and are often approached by devotees to arbitrate in many familial or property disputes. When any Swamiji does not fulfill his role as moral and religious leader in the community there have been cases of removal of a swamiji from a matha by the devotees on grounds of moral turpitude and a new Swamiji installed. 

 Lingayats were able to access modern education under British colonialism due to the efforts of many intellectuals, businessmen and landowners in the community who started several schools and colleges. Significantly, Lingayat swamijis and mathas played a major role in the spread of modern education since the beginning of the 20th century. Many mathas all over Karnataka made special efforts to provide free boarding and lodging for poor students in their Prasada Nilayas without discriminating on the basis of caste and continue to do so. Thus for over a century, lakhs of poor students could get modern school and college education.

These efforts have led to the presence of Lingayats in very large numbers not only in the traditional professions of farmers, traders, and artisans but also in modern professions such as medicine, law, engineering, academia, and administration. Today, with their large presence in the economy and academia, they play a significant role in Karnataka’s political, cultural, and social life.

Shivanand Kanavi is a theoretical physicist, business journalist, author, former Vice-President of TCS, and is currently Adjunct Faculty at NIAS, Bengaluru. Can be reached at skanavi@gmail.com.

The above is excerpted from a contribution by Shivanand Kanavi to “Indians: Civilization and Histories”, edited by G.N. Devy, Tony Joseph, and Ravi Korisettar, published by the Aleph Book Company.


Sunday, May 22, 2022

Book Review: Indian Innovation -By Dinesh C Sharma

 

Jugaad An Insult To Indian Innovation?

By SHIVANAND KANAVI

( https://www.rediff.com/money/column/shivanand-kanavi-jugaad-an-insult-to-indian-innovation/20220506.htm? )

May 06, 2022 10:54 IST
'When resources are few; when frugality demands repairing a broken thing rather than replacing it with a brand new and expensive option, enterprising commoners in rural and urban India improvise on a daily basis and solve their problems with whatever they have,' observes Shivanand Kanavi.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

I am certain that anyone who reads Indian Innovation, Not Jugaad: 100 Ideas That Transformed India will learn something he or she did not know about several ideas that have changed life in India in the last 60-75 years.

I did, despite having spent a good part of my life tracking innovations -- both in India and globally -- and writing about them.

Dinesh C Sharma, a veteran science communicator and the book's author, as well as the publisher, Roli Books, should be congratulated.

In a slim volume of 350 pages, Sharma packs in the history behind literally a hundred ideas. He introduces us to the men and women who brought these transformational thoughts to fruition and contributed to nation-building in a country that was ravished and impoverished for two centuries by colonialism.

These innovations are an integral part of the Indian renaissance (rebirth).

Come to think of it, that's about three pages for a revolutionary or transformative idea.



That's also the beauty of the book.

It tells the story of each innovation succinctly, throws in the main characters behind it and makes us say 'Yeh dil maange more' since each idea probably deserves a book or at least an elaborate case study.

The author has taken pains to define ab initio (from the beginning) much used and abused words like innovation, jugaad, revolution, etc.

He is clearly so incensed by the prejudice that all Indian innovation is jugaad that he makes it a prominent point in the book's title.

Certainly, it would be inappropriate and even derogatory to many of the genuinely innovative ideas in the list if they were to be called Indian jugaad.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

As an aside, however, one need not be very prickly about the word jugaad.

After all, when resources are few; when frugality demands repairing a broken thing rather than replacing it with a brand new, shiny and expensive option, as we often observe in richer economies; when the State's capacity to deliver many services are limited; enterprising commoners in rural and urban India improvise on a daily basis and solve their problems with whatever they have, often exhibiting remarkable lateral thinking.

Of course, such jugaad cuts corners and the solution is generally not robust or long-lasting or even safe. But it helps them survive and carry on as they often have no choice.

At the same time, for example, it leads to the creation of a new gadget like the original Punjabi version of jugaad -- a small village transport with a diesel water pump from the farm acting as the engine!

The author has cast his net wide to gather the list of 100 innovations and has consciously not confined himself to only S&T (science and technology) innovations.

Thus you see that the Indian Premier League, the Navodaya Vidyalayas, Air Deccan, the Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Chipko Andolan, Binaca Geet Mala, Ready Mix Gulab Jamun, Amul, etc, jostle for space with hi-tech and digital initiatives like SITE (Satellite Instructional Television Experiment), the IITs and the IIMs, computerised railway reservation and Aadhaar.

The stories are well told and informative.

If one wants to quibble about the list then I think he could have added the nuclear radiation of agri-products like mangoes, onions and potato for a longer shelf life and export purposes; Bombay Plan of 1944-45 (also known as the Tata-Birla Plan); the development of affordable parallel supercomputers for complex calculations in the eighties, starting with FLOSOLVER; CDAC's GIST which revolutionised all publishing, including the Indian language publishing through DTP in the nineties; DNA fingerprinting for forensics, etc; the Tsunami Warning System 2007-2008 that is helping the whole Indian Ocean littoral; the UPI-based digital payment system which has crossed $1 trillion a few days ago; TIFR (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research); the Indian Statistical Institute and so on.

But then, perhaps marketeers would say that would break the catchy figure of 100!

The reader will be pleasantly surprised by the case studies of the Blue Revolution (marine products), the White Revolution (milk products), the Egg Revolution and even the Yellow Revolution (oil seeds).

However, Sharma cryptically says oil seed production led to 98 per cent self-sufficiency and then fell apart but doesn't elaborate.

Considering the present crisis in edible oils even before the effects of Ukraine-Russia war were felt, one would say a 'Yeh dil maange more' explanation was required from him.

The author has written acclaimed monographs on the history of India's IT industry but disappoints here with a perfunctory treatment of the same, considering that Indian IT exports worth nearly $200 billion are footing our oil and gas, coal and electronics import bill.

All in all, this is a good handbook of Indian innovations to read and refer to.

The writing style is simple and accessible to a wide spectrum of readers.

Shivanand Kanavi is a former VP at Tata Consultancy Services and the former executive editor of Business India. The award-winning author of Sand To Silicon: The Amazing Story Of Digital Technology, he is adjunct faculty at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru.

Sunday, February 6, 2022

N Chandrsekharan (Chandra) brief profile

 This Chandra shines on his own

(appeared in Lokmat Times, Jan 29, 2022)

 


Chandra, the moon, in Indian languages, doesn’t have any light of his own. The pleasant moonlight enjoyed by us all is reflected glory say scientists. But N Chandrasekharan, (59), the young and dynamic Chairman of Tata Sons shines on his own hard work, diligence and leadership qualities in Indian IT and Indian industry as a whole.

Chandrasekharan or Chandra, as he is fondly called by his colleagues and friends has been honoured with Padma Bhushan by the Government of India on this Republic Day, Jan 26, 2022 for his contributions to Indian Industry.

He has had a meteoric rise in the Tata Group, which he joined as a trainee in 1987 in the IT pioneer TCS (Tata Consultancy Services). He went on to become its CEO in 2009 when it had nearly a lakh bright engineers. In Feb 2017 he was chosen by Ratan Tata to head the more than 150 year old Tata Group comprising a hundred companies making software to steel and tea to trucks. It is a dream run by any standards for any young aspiring Indian.

Chandra was born in Mohanur, a village in Tamil Nadu in 1963. He studied in a Tamil medium school and later got a degree in Applied Sciences from Coimbatore Institute of Technology. He then studied computer programming and obtained Master of Computer Applications in the Regional Engineering College, Trichy (now NIT Trichy). He joined as an intern in TCS in 1987 and later became a fulltime employee.

Within a couple of years Chandra attracted the attention of senior management with his hardwork and never say die attitude in completing his assignments in time to the satisfaction of his seniors and the clients of TCS. In the 90’s Chandra was sent on particularly problematic and difficult missions by S Ramadorai and F C Kohli who were then leading TCS. And Chandra proved himself.

S Ramadorai who took over as CEO of TCS in 1996 told the me that Chandra was “Mr Reliable” and successfully completed complex tasks and client projects which many of his peers would have hesitated to tread. Thus he became first unofficially and later officially as Chief Operating Officer, the number two in the company.

TCS became the first Indian IT company to achieve a $1 billion in sales in 2003. Tata Sons of which TCS was till then a division, since its founding in 1968 by JRD Tata and Nani Palkhivala, decided to convert TCS into a company and then take it public through an IPO. The IPO was a great success and the company hasn’t looked back since then.

Today TCS has become the jewel in the crown of Tata Group with nearly 14 lakh crore rupees in market value and last years’ profits of nearly Rs 31000 cores. Chandrasekharan has played a stellar role in its rise as CEO and later Chairman in the last 13 years.

TCS which is vying to be the number one IT services company in the world, and is very close to getting there, has also played a major role in creating a modern digital India by building a large portion of India’s digital infrastructure; its stock exchanges, its dematerialized share depositories, digital banking, Passport Seva Kendras, online reservation of Indian Railway tickets, tsunami warning systems etc etc; in short it has done valuable service in Nation Building while earning valuable dollars through exports.

In 1944-45 J R D Tata and G D Birla were the lead authors of Bombay Plan. In the words of former PM, Dr Manmohan Singh “it (Tata-Birla Plan) defined the framework for India's transition from agrarian feudalism to industrial capitalism. In many ways, it encapsulated what all subsequent Plans have tried to achieve.”

India in the 21st century needs a new plan and vision for its growth and prosperity and all round welfare. Chandra has tried to contribute to preparing this vision through a thought provoking book, “Bridgital Nation” ( 2019).

Since being appointed as the Chairman of India’s largest industrial Group -- the Tatas, five years ago, Chandra has been trying to reshape the group to face the challenges of the present day world and also seize on new opportunities.

Tata’s diversification into defence production, takeover of India’s flag ship airline Air India, entry into the brave new world of semiconductors, electric vehicles etc while trying to reduce debt in older Tata Steel, Tata Motors and make the group more nimble all have his idelible imprint.

The award of Padmabhushan to him preceded by those awarded to Ratan Tata, F C Kohli and S Ramadorai show the role this storied group has played in modern India.

Shivanand Kanavi

(The author is Adjunct Faculty at National Institute of Advanced Studies; former VP at TCS and a business journalist and author of award winning book “Sand to Silicon”)

 

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Wonderful story of Sannati: Interview of Prof S Settar

 

ಸನ್ನತಿಯ ಅದ್ಭುತ ಕಥೆ: ಪ್ರೊ. ಷಡಕ್ಷರ ಶೆಟ್ಟರ ಅವರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆ

 ಶಿವಾನಂದ ಕಣವಿ

 

ಫ಼ೆಬ್ರುಅರಿ ೨೮೨೦೨೦ ರಂದು ಹಿರಿಯ ಇತಿಹಾಸಕಾರ ಪ್ರೊ ಶೆಟ್ಟರ ಅವರು ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಅಗಲಿ ಹೋದರು. ಅವರೊಡನೆ ಜನೆವರಿ ೨೨ ರ ಸಂಜೆಧಾರವಾಡದಲ್ಲಿಇತಿಹಾಸಕಾರ ಪ್ರೊ ರವಿ ಕೋರಿಶೆಟ್ಟರ ಅವರ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಡಿದ ನನ್ನ ಕೊನೆಯ ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆ ಈ ಕೆಳಗೆ. 

ಎಲ್ಲೆಡೆಯೂ ಕುತೂಹಲ ಹುಟ್ಟಿಸಿದ ಕಲಬುರ್ಗಿಯ ಹತ್ತಿರದ ಸನ್ನತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ಉತ್ಖನನ ಮತ್ತು ಬೆಳಕಿಗೆ ಬಂದ ಬೆರೆಗುಗೊಳಿಸುವ ಪ್ರಾಚೀನ ಬೌದ್ಧ ಅವಶೇಷಗಳನ್ನು ಕುರಿತು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ತಿಳಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಉತ್ಸಾಹದಿಂದ ನಾನವರ ಜೊತೆ ಮಾತನಾಡಿದೆ.

 


Rare family portrait of Raya Piyadasi Asoka at Sannati / Kanaganahalli stupa

ಶಿವಾನಂದ ಕಣವಿ: ಸನ್ನತಿಯ ಉತ್ಖನನದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ವಿವರವಾದ ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷಣೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅದರ ಪ್ರಾಮುಖ್ಯತೆ ಕಾಲದಆಂಧ್ರ ಮತ್ತು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಪ್ರದೇಶದ ಬಗೆಗೆ ನನಗೆ ಕುತೂಹಲ. ನೀವು ಇದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಅಧ್ಯಯನ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೀರಿ, ಅಲ್ಲಿಯ ಶಾಸನಗಳನ್ನು ಓದಿದ್ದೀರಿಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಸನ್ನತಿಯ ಕಾಲಮಾನ ಮತ್ತು ಪ್ರಾಮುಖ್ಯತೆಯ ಬಗೆಗೆ ಮಾತನಾಡೋಣ. 

 

ಷಡಕ್ಷರ ಶೆಟ್ಟರ:  ಇದರ ಕಾಲಮಾನ ಬಹುಶಃ ಕ್ರಿ. ಪೂ. ೩ ನೆಯ ಶತಮಾನ ಮತ್ತು ಇದನ್ನು ಸ್ಥಾಪನೆ ಮಾಡಿದವ ಚಕ್ರವರ್ತಿ ಅಶೋಕ ಮೌರ್ಯ ಎಂದು  ಸಂಶಯಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ  ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟವಾದ ಕುರುಹು ಸಿಕ್ಕಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೂ ಕೂಡ  ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಶೋಕನ ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟವಾದ ಶಾಸನವೊಂದಿದೆ ಶಾಸನವು ಭೀಮಾ ನದಿ ದಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದೆಅಶೋಕ ಬರೆಸಿದ  ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟ ಶಾಸನ ಮತ್ತು ಸ್ತೂಪ ಒಂದೇ ಕಡೆ ಇರುವುದರಿಂದಮೂಲ  ಸ್ತೂಪ ಅಶೋಕನ ಕಾಲದ್ದು ಎಂದು ವಾದ ಮಾಡುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಅನುಕೂಲಕರವಾಗಿದೆ. ಆದರೆಅಶೋಕ ಸ್ಥಾಪನೆ ಮಾಡಿದ ಸ್ತೂಪ ಇದಲ್ಲಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಮಣ್ಣಿನ ದಿನ್ನೆಯನ್ನ ಮಾಡಿ ಕಾಲದ ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ತೂಪಗಳನ್ನು ಅಶೋಕ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಆದರೆಈಗ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿರುವ ಸ್ತೂಪ ನಂತರದ ಶಾತವಾಹನರ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಿದ ಬಹಳ ಭವ್ಯವಾದಸುಂದರವಾದ ಸ್ತೂಪವಾಗಿದೆಪ್ರಮಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಮರಾವತಿ (ಆಂಧ್ರ) ಸ್ತೂಪದಂತೆ ದೊಡ್ಡದಿಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೂ ವಾಸ್ತುಶಿಲ್ಪದ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಅದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಇಲ್ಲ ಎನ್ನುವುದು ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಗಮನಾರ್ಹ ವಿಷಯ.

ಅಶೋಕನ ಕಾಲದಿಂದ ಹಿಡಿದು ಶಾತವಾಹನರ ಕಾಲದ ಅಂತ್ಯದವರೆಗೂಸುಮಾರು ಐದು ನೂರು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಕಾಲದವೆರೆಗೆ ಅವನು ಕಟ್ಟಿಸಿದ ಸ್ತೂಪ ಇತ್ತು ಎಂಬುದಕ್ಕೆ ಕುರುಹುಗಳು ಸಿಗುತ್ತವೆಆದರೆ ಶಾತವಾಹನರ ಕಾಲದ ನಂತರ ಇದು ನೈಸರ್ಗಿಕವಾಗಿಯೇ ಬಿದ್ದುಹೋಗಿದೆಮೇಲ್ಭಾಗದಿಂದ ಯಾವುದೋ ಒತ್ತಡ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿಭೂಮಿ ಬಿರುಕಾಗಿ ಇಡೀ ಸ್ತೂಪ ಮಣ್ಣಿನೊಳಗೆ ಕುಸಿದುಬಿದ್ದಿದೆಹೀಗೆ ಬಿದ್ದ ಪರಿಣಾಮ ಅದರ ಸುಂದರವಾದ ಮೂರ್ತಿಗಳು ಮಣ್ಣಿನೊಳಗೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿಕೊಂಡು ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಸುರಕ್ಷಿತವಾಗಿವೆಅವುಗಳಿಗೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ಅನಾಹುತಗಳಾಗಲಿಲ್ಲ.

ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಏಕೈಕ ಸ್ತೂಪ ಇದುಆಂಧ್ರ ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ನೂರಾರು ಸ್ತೂಪಗಳು ಸಿಕ್ಕಿವೆಸುಮಾರು ಎಪ್ಪತ್ತು-ಎಂಬತ್ತು ಭೌದ್ಧ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಗಳು ಸಹ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿವೆಆಂಧ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಪ್ರಖ್ಯಾತಿ ಪಡೆದಿರುವ ಸ್ತೂಪಗಳ ಸ್ಥಾನಗಳೆಂದರೆ ಅಮರಾವತಿಜಗ್ಗಯ್ಯಪೇಟಗಂಟಸಾಲಬಟ್ಟಿಪರೋಲುನಾಗಾರ್ಜುನಕೊಂಡ ಆಗಿವೆನಾಗಾರ್ಜುನಕೊಂಡ ಒಂದರಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಸ್ತೂಪಗಳು ಸಿಕ್ಕಿವೆಆದರೆ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿಯವರೆಗೂ ಒಂದೂ ಸ್ತೂಪ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿರಲಿಲ್ಲಈಗ ಕನಗನಹಌಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದೆ.

 

ಶಿವಾನಂದ ಕಣವಿ: ಅಶೋಕನ ಕುಟುಂಬದ ಶಿಲ್ಪ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದೆಯೆಲ್ಲಾ ಅದು ಸಮಕಾಲೀನದ್ದಾ ಅಥವಾ ನಂತರದ್ದಾ?

ಷಡಕ್ಷರ ಶೆಟ್ಟರ:  ಅದು ಅಶೋಕನ ಮೂಲದಿಂದ ಬಂದದ್ದು ಎಂದು ನಂತರದ ಅರಸು ಮನೆತನದವರು ಅಶೋಕ ನೆನಪಿಗಾಗಿ ಅವುಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿಸಿದ್ದುಎರಡು ಪ್ಯಾನೆಲ್ ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳು ಸಿಕ್ಕಿವೆಒಂದು ಅಶೋಕ ಮತ್ತು ಆತನ ಹೆಂಡತಿ ಇರುವುದುಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಅಶೋಕ ಯಾವುದೋ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವುದುಇದಲ್ಲದೇ ಶಾತವಾಹನರ ಅರಸರ ಅರ್ಧ ಡಜನ್ಗೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳೂ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿವೆಇದು ಯಾಕೆ ಮಹತ್ವದ ವಿಚಾರ ಎಂದರೆನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಚಿತ್ರವುಳ್ಳ ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ, ಪೋರ್ಟ್ರೇಟ ಕಲ್ಚರ್ ಮೊದಲು ಬಂದಿದ್ದೇ ಇಲ್ಲಿಇದಕ್ಕಾಗಿಯೂ ಸನ್ನತಿ ಪ್ರದೇಶ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಮಹತ್ವ ಪಡೆದಿದೆ.

 

ಶಿವಾನಂದ ಕಣವಿ:  ಅಶೋಕನ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಇದು ಮುಖ್ಯವಾದ ಸ್ಥಳಅದರಲ್ಲಿಯೂ  ಪ್ರಮುಖವಾಗಿ ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಭಾಗದ ಆಡಳಿತಕ್ಕೆವ್ಯವಹಾರಗಳಿಗೆ ಇದು ಪ್ರಧಾನವಾದ ಸ್ಥಳವಲ್ಲವೇ?

ಷಡಕ್ಷರ ಶೆಟ್ಟರ:  ಅಶೋಕನ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಪ್ರದೇಶ ಬಹಳ ಮುಖ್ಯವಾದ ಪ್ರದೇಶವಾಗಿತ್ತುಏಕೆಂದರೆಅಶೋಕನ ಶೇ.50 ರಷ್ಟು ಮಹತ್ವದ ಶಾಸನಗಳು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿವೆದೇಶದಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲಾ ಒಂಬತ್ತು ಶಾಸನಗಳು ಸಿಕ್ಕರೆನಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಒಂಬತ್ತು ಸಿಕ್ಕಿವೆಹಾಗಾಗಿಪುರಾತನ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಪ್ರದೇಶ ಬಹಳ ಪ್ರಾಮುಖ್ಯತೆ ಪಡೆದಿತ್ತು ಅಂತ ಹೇಳಬಹುದುಆಗ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಎಂಬ ಕಲ್ಪನೆ ಇರಲಿಕ್ಕಿಲ್ಲಆದರೆ  ಪ್ರದೇಶ ಅಷ್ಟೊಂದು ಪ್ರಮುಖ್ಯತೆ ಪಡೆದಿತ್ತುಅಶೋಕನ ನಂತರ ಆಂಧ್ರ ಪ್ರದೇಶಕ್ಕೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಒತ್ತು ಕೊಡಲಾಗುತ್ತೆಬೌದ್ಧ ಧರ್ಮ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪ್ರಸಾರವಾಗಿದ್ದು ಆಂಧ್ರ ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿನಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿ ಆಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲಏತಕ್ಕೆ ಆಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂಬುದು ಬೇರೆ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ

 

ಶಿವಾನಂದ ಕಣವಿ: ಇದರಿಂದ ಶಾತವಾಹನರ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ  ಸ್ತೂಪಗಳು ಬಂದವು ಅನ್ನಬಹುದು. ಇದರಿಂದ ಶಾತವಾಹನರೂ ಸಹ ಬೌದ್ಧರಾಗಿದ್ದರು ಎಂಬ ನಿರ್ಣಯಕ್ಕೇನಾದರೂ ಬರಬಹುದಾ?

ಷಡಕ್ಷರ ಶೆಟ್ಟರ:  ಅರಸರ ಧರ್ಮದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಹೇಳುವುದು ಕಷ್ಟವಿಶೇಷವಾಗಿ ಆಗ ಶಾತವಾಹನರ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಭೌದ್ಧ ಧರ್ಮದ ಪ್ರಸಾರ ಇದ್ದ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಅವರು ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹ ಕೊಟ್ಟರುಆದರೆ ಶಾತವಾಹನರ ಅರಸರಿಂದಲೇ ಇದು ನಿರ್ಮಾಣ ಆಗಿತ್ತು ಎಂಬ ಸೂಚನೆಗಳಿಲ್ಲಒಂದು ಸ್ತೂಪ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣ ಆಗುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಅರಸರು ಬೇಕಾಗಿದ್ದರುಅರಸರಿಲ್ಲದೆ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣವಾದ ಸ್ತೂಪಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲಗುಹಾಲಯಗಳನ್ನು ಕೆತ್ತಿಸಿದ ವಿಷಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಅರಸರ ಪಾತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ನಾವು ನೋಡುತ್ತೇವೆನಾಸಿಕ,ಭಾಜೇಕಾರ್ಲಾ ಅಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲಾ ಅರಸರೇ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆವ್ಯಾಪಾರಿಗಳುಭಕ್ತರು ಸಹ ಸ್ತೂಪ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣಕ್ಕೆ ಕೊಡುಗೆ ನೀಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಸ್ತೂಪಗಳನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟುವಾಗ ವ್ಯಯಕ್ತಿಕವಾಗಿ ಕೆಲವರು ನೆರವಾಗಿದ್ದುಒಂದೊಂದು ಕಂಬ ಒಬ್ಬೊಬ್ಬರು ಕೊಟ್ಟು ಶಾಸನಗಳನ್ನು ಬರೆಸಿದ್ದಾರೆಇದನ್ನು ಅಲ್ಲಗಳೆಯಕ್ಕೆ ಆಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ

 

ಶಿವಾನಂದ ಕಣವಿ: ಸನ್ನತ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲವು ಪ್ರಾಕೃತ ಶಾಸನಗಳು ಸಿಕ್ಕಿವೆ ಅಂತಾರಲ್ಲಇದರಿಂದ ನಾವು ಏನೇನು ಕಲಿಯಬಹುದುಏನು ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಸಿಗುತ್ತೆ.

ಷಡಕ್ಷರ ಶೆಟ್ಟರ:  ಇದೇ ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಸುಮಾರು ಮುನ್ನೂರು ಶಾಸನಗಳು ಸಿಕ್ಕಿವೆಇದರಿಂದ ಅದ್ಭುತವಾದ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಸಿಗುತ್ತೆಅಮರಾವತಿ ಸ್ತೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಸುಮಾರು ಮುನ್ನೂರು ಶಾಸನಗಳು ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದ್ದವುಇದಾದ ನಂತರ ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮುನ್ನೂರು ಶಾಸನಗಳು ಸಿಕ್ಕಿವೆಎಲ್ಲವೂ ತುಂಡು ಶಾಸನಗಳೇಅವು ಏನು ಹೇಳುತ್ತವೆ ಅನ್ನುವುದಾದರೆಒಂದೊಂದು ಶಾಸನ ಸ್ತೂಪದ ಭಾಗಗಳನ್ನು ಯಾರಾರು ದತ್ತಿದಾನ ಕೊಟ್ಟರು ಎಂಬ ಹಿನ್ನೆಲೆ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಕೊಡುತ್ತವೆದಾನ ಕೊಟ್ಟವರು ಬಿಕ್ಷುಬಿಕ್ಷುಣಿ ಯಾಗಿದ್ದರಾಅಥವಾ ಜನಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರಾಗಿದ್ದರಾ ಅಥವಾ ವ್ಯವಸಾಯಸ್ತರಾಗಿದ್ದರಾ ಎಂಬ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಇವು ಬೆಳಕು ಚೆಲ್ಲುತ್ತವೆ. ನನಗೆ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಕುತೂಹಲ ಮೂಡಿಸಿದ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ವಿಚಾರವೆಂದರೆಆರಂಭದ ಕಾಲದ ಭಾಷೆಅದರಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ವಾಸ್ತುಶಿಲ್ಪದ ಶಬ್ಧ ಸಂಪತ್ತು ಆರ್ಕಿಟೆಕ್ಚುರಲ್ ವೊಕ್ಯಾಬುಲರಿಬೇರೆ ಸ್ತೂಪಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಲಿಸಿದರೆ  ಸ್ತೂಪದ್ದು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ವೈವಿದ್ಯಮಯವಾಗಿದೆಉದಾಹರಣಗೆ ಹೇಳುವುದಾದರೆಸ್ತೂಪದ ಸುತ್ತಲೂ ಇರುವ ಪ್ರದಕ್ಷಣ ಪಥಇಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಸ್ತಂಭಗಳನ್ನು ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕಡೆ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಕಂಬಸ್ತಂಭ ಅಂತ ಕರೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆಆದರೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಇವುಗಳನ್ನು ಪಾಯಕ ಎನ್ನುವ ಶಬ್ಧವನ್ನು ಬಳಸಲಾಗಿದೆ ಪಾಯಕ ಎನ್ನುವ ಶಬ್ಧ ಬೇರೆಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಬಳಕೆಯಾಗಿಲ್ಲಹೀಗೆ ಅನೇಕ ವಾಸ್ತುಶಿಲ್ಪದ ಪದಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ವೈವಿದ್ಯಮಯವಾಗಿವೆಇದಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲ ಸ್ತೂಪದ ವಿನ್ಯಾಸವನ್ನು ಸಹ ಬದಲಾವಣೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗಿದೆಯಾವ ಸ್ತೂಪದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಕಾಣದ ಕೆಲವು ವಿಶೇಷತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣಬಹುದುಇದುವರೆಗೂ ಪೋಟ್ರೇಟ್ ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಚರ್ಚೆ ಮಾಡಿದ್ವಿಇದನ್ನ ಪಕ್ಕಕ್ಕಿಟ್ಟುಸಾಂಚಿ ಸ್ತೂಪದಲ್ಲಿರದ ವಿಶೇಷತೆ ಇಲ್ಲೇನಿದೆ ಎಂದರೆಪೂಜೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಭಕ್ತರು ಹೋಗಿ ಪುಷ್ಪಗಳನ್ನು ಚಿಮ್ಮುವಾಗ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಪುಷ್ಪಗಳು ಒಂದೆಡೆ ಸಂಗ್ರಹವಾಗಲು ಪುಷ್ಪ ಪಟಿಕೆಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿದೆಬೇರೆಲ್ಲಿಯೂ  ವಿಶೇಷತೆ ಇಲ್ಲಸ್ತೂಪದ ಸುತ್ತಲೂ ನೂರಾರು ಪಟಿಕೆಗಳನ್ನು ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ.  ಪಟಿಕೆ ಅಂದರೆ ಬಾನಿಯ ಆಕಾರದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದುಬಿದ್ದ ಪುಷ್ಪಗಳು ನೇರವಾಗಿ ಬಂದು ಪಟಿಕೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಶೇಖರವಾಗುತ್ತವೆಇದಲ್ಲದೆ ಮಳೆ ಬಂದಾಗ ಸ್ತೂಪದ ಮೇಲೆ ಬಿದ್ದ ಮಳೆಯ ನೀರು ಸಂಗ್ರಹವಾಗಿ ಹೊರ ಹೋಗಲು ಸಹ ಇವು ಅನುಕೂಲಕರವಾಗಿವೆ ಪುಷ್ಪ ಪಟಿಕೆಗಳು ಬಹಳ ವಿಶೇಷವಾದ ಅಂಶಇತರೆ ಸ್ತೂಪಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಐದು ಸ್ತಂಭಗಳಿದ್ದರೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಸ್ತಂಭಗಳಿವೆಇವು ಏನು ಸೂಚಿಸುತ್ತವೆ ಎಂದರೆಬುದ್ಧನ ಜನ್ಮಅವನ ನಿವೃತ್ತಿಅವನ ಜ್ಞಾನೋದಯ ಮತ್ತು ಅವನ ಸಾವು ನಾಲ್ಕು ಘಟಕಗಳನ್ನು ಸೂಚಿಸುತ್ತವೆಇಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ವಿಶೇಷವೇನೆಂದರೆಎರಡನೇ ಹಂತದಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ತೂಪದ ಸುತ್ತಲೂ ಕಲ್ಲಿನ ಪಟಗಳನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆಸುಮಾರು ಆರಡಿಗಿಂತ ಎತ್ತರದ  ಪಟಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸುಂದರವಾದ ಜಾತಕ ಕತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಡಿಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಮೆತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆಅನೇಕ ಜಾತಕ ಕತೆಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲಿವೆ ರೀತಿಯ ಜಾತಕ ಕತೆಗಳುಆಮರಾವತಿಸಾಂಚಿ ಸ್ತೂಪದಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲಸಾಂಚಿಯಲ್ಲಂತು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಹೆಬ್ಬಾಗಿಲುತೋರಣ ಬಿಟ್ಟರೆ ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳೇ ಇಲ್ಲಸಾರಾನಾಥ್ನಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಸಹ ಇಲ್ಲಭೌರತ್ ಅಶೋಕನ ಕಾಲದ್ದಾಗಿದ್ದು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲಇಲ್ಲೇನಿತ್ತು ಎಂಬ ಕುರುಹು ಸಹ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಹಾಗೆ ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಲೂಟಿ ಮಾಡಿಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆಅಲ್ಲೂ ಜಾತಕ ಕತೆಗಳು ಹೊರಗಡೆಗೆ ಅಂದರೆ ಪ್ರದಕ್ಷಣ ಪಥದ ಒಳಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ  ಜಾತಕ ಕತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕೆತ್ತಲಾಗಿದೆಜನರು ಪ್ರದಕ್ಷಣೆ ಹಾಕಬೇಕಾದರೆ  ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ ಅರ್ಥ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕೆಂಬ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಕೋನದಿಂದ ಕೆತ್ತಲಾಗಿದೆಇದು ಅಮರಾವತಿಯ ವೈಶಿಷ್ಟ್ಯಕನಗನಹಳ್ಳಿಯ ವೈಶಿಷ್ಟ್ಯವೆಂದರೆ ಪ್ರದಕ್ಷಣೆ ಹಾಕಬೇಕಾದರೆ ಭಕ್ತರ ಮನಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಕದಲಬಾರದು ಎಂದು ಪ್ರದಕ್ಷಣ ಪಥ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ಶೂನ್ಯವಾಗಿದೆಇಲ್ಲಿ ಏನನ್ನೂ ಕೆತ್ತಿಲ್ಲಮನಸ್ಸು ಅತ್ತಿತ್ತ ಹೊರಳಲಿಕ್ಕೆಕುತೂಹಲ ಮೂಡಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲಪಥದ ಮಧ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಬುದ್ಧನ ಪಾದಗಳನ್ನ ಬಿಟ್ಟರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಏನೂ ಇಲ್ಲಇದೊಂದು ಭಕ್ತರ ಗಮನವನ್ನು ಕೇಂದ್ರೀಕರಿಸುವ ವಿಧಾನವಾಗಿದೆಆದರೆ ಅಮರಾವತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅಶೋಕನ ಹಿನ್ನೆಲೆ ಗೊತ್ತಾಗಲಿ ಎಂದು ಅಧ್ಬುತವಾದ ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳನ್ನು ಕೆತ್ತಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆಇಲ್ಲಿ ಶಿಲ್ಪ ಪರಂಪರೆಯನ್ನ ಕೈಬಿಟ್ಟಿಲ್ಲಸ್ತೂಪದ ಮೇಲೆ ಅಂಟಿಸಿದ ಫಲಕಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಎರಡು ಹಂತದ ಭಾಗ ಮಾಡಿಒಂದು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಫಲಕ ಸುಮಾರು ಏಳು ಎಂಟು ಅಡಿ ಎತ್ತರದ ಪಲಕಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಎರಡು ಭಾಗ ಮಾಡಿ ಜಾತಕ ಕತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆಇಷ್ಟು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಪ್ರಮಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಜಾತಕ ಕತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕೆತ್ತಿಸಿರುವ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ನಿದರ್ಶನ ಎಲ್ಲೂ ಇಲ್ಲಅಜಂತಾ ಪೇಂಟಿಂಗ್ಸ್ನಲ್ಲೂ ಇದಾವೆಅಮರಾವತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಣ್ಣ-ಸಣ್ಣ ರಿಲೀಫ್ಸ್ ಇದಾವೆಆದರೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗಾತ್ರದ ಫಲಕಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆತ್ತಲಾಗಿದೆ ಎನ್ನುವದೇ ವಿಶೇಷಜಾತಕ ಕತೆಗಳಲ್ಲದೆ ಬೇರೆ ಕತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಸಹ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನಿರೂಪಣೆ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆಬುದ್ಧನ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳ ವಸ್ತು ಏನಾಗಿತ್ತು ಎಂದು ಅವನ ಪೂರ್ವ ಕಾಲದ ಅಂದರೆ  ಜನ್ಮವಲ್ಲದೆ ಪೂರ್ವ ಜನ್ಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಏನಾಗಿತ್ತು ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುವುದೇ ಜಾತಕ ಕತೆಗಳುಇದಲ್ಲದೆ ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಾದ ಘಟನೆಗಳು ಬೇರೆಮುಂದೆ ವಿಶೇಷವಾಗಿ ಪ್ರಸಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದ ಘಟನೆಗಳು ಬೇರೆಬುದ್ಧ ಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಕಡೆ ಹೋದಾಗೆಲ್ಲಾ ನಡೆದ ಘಟನೆಗಳಾಗಿವೆಸಿದ್ಧಾರ್ಥನ ಕತೆ ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಕತೆಯಾಗಿದೆಒಂದು ವಿಶೇಷ ಏನೆಂದರೆ ನಮಗೆಲ್ಲಾ ಗೊತ್ತಿರುವ ಹಾಗೆ ಸಿದ್ಧಾರ್ಥ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಕಡೆ ಹೋದನಾಲ್ಕು ಅವಗಡಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದ ಎಂಬ ಕತೆಯಿದೆಯಲ್ಲಇದು ಯಾವುದೇ ಜಾತಕ ಕತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅಥವಾ ಶಾಸನದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಕತೆ ಹೇಗೆ ಬಂತು ಎನ್ನುವುದೇ ವಿಸ್ಮಯಈಗ ನಾವು ಕಾಣುವ ಪಠ್ಯಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವಂತೆ ಅವನು ನೋಡಿದ ನಾಲ್ಕು ವಸ್ತುಘಟನೆಗಳಿಂದ ಮನ ನೊಂದು ಅರಮನೆ, ಮಡದಿ, ಮಗುವನ್ನು ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿದ ಎಂಬ ಕತೆ ಎಲ್ಲೂ ಇಲ್ಲಇದೊಂದು ಕಟ್ಟು ಕತೆಇದರಲ್ಲಿ ಎರಡು ಮೂರು ಭಾಗಗಳು ಬರುತ್ತವೆಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ಬೇರೆ ಸಂಗತಿಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಿಅವನ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ನೋವಾಯಿತು ಎಂಬುದು ಎರಡನೇ ಭಾಗ. ಆದರೆ ಕಟ್ಟುಕತೆಗೆ ಅವಕಾಶವಿಲ್ಲನಮ್ಮ ಕನಗನಹಳ್ಳಿಯಾಗಲಿಅಮರಾವತಿಯಾಗಲೀಸಾಂಚಿ ಸ್ತೂಪವಾಗಲೀ ಎಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಇದರ ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪ ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಕತೆ ಯಾವಾಗ ಬಂತು ಹೇಗೆ ಬಂತು ಎಂಬುದು ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ.

 

ಶಿವಾನಂದ ಕಣವಿ: ಸಿದ್ಧಾರ್ಥ ಹೆಂಡತಿಮಗುವನ್ನು ತೊರೆದು ಹೋದ ಎಂಬುದಿದೆಯಲ್ಲಇದು ಬರೀ ಕತೆಯೋ ಅಥವಾ ಎಲ್ಲಾದರು ನಿದರ್ಶನವಿದಿಯೋ?

 

ಷಡಕ್ಷರ ಶೆಟ್ಟರ:  ಕೆಲವು ಕಡೆ  ತರಹದ ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷಣೆ ಇದೆಆದರೆ ಇದು ಪ್ರಧಾನವಾದ ವಸ್ತು ಅಲ್ಲಮಾಯಾದೇವಿ ಆತನ ತಾಯಿಜನ್ಮ ಕೊಡುವುದು ಪ್ರಧಾನ ವಸ್ತುಆಕೆ ನಿಂತುಕೊಂಡೇ ಹಡಿಯುತ್ತಾಳೆಒಂದು ವೃಕ್ಷ ಹಿಡಿದುಕೊಂಡು ನಿಂತೇ ಜನ್ಮ ನೀಡುತ್ತಾಳೆ ಎಂಬುದು ಅಧ್ಬುತಅದಕ್ಕೆ ವಿಶೇಷವಾದ ಸ್ಥಾನ ಇದೆಎರಡನೇ ವಿಷಯವೆಂದರೆ ಅವನು ನಿವೃತ್ತಿ ಆಗಿಕಾಡಿಗೆ ಹೋಗುವುದನ್ನೇ ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮವಾಗಿ ತೋರಿಸುವುದುಒಂದು ಕುದುರೆ ಹೋಗುವುದುಮತ್ತೆ ವಾಪಸ್ ಬರುವುದುಇದು ಯಶೋಧರನ ಅಂತಃಪುರದ ವಿವರಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇದು ಸಿಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲಅಲ್ಲಿ ಅವನಿಗೆ ವೈರಾಗ್ಯ ಬಂತುಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋದ ಎಂದಷ್ಟೇ ಇದೆಅವನಿಗೆ ಮಗು ಆಗಿದ್ದುರಾತ್ರಿ ವೇಳೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮನೆ ತೊರೆದ ಎಂಬುದೆಲ್ಲಾ ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳ ಕತೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುತ್ತವೆಬಹಳ ಕುತೂಹಲ ಏನೆಂದರೆತಾಯಿಯನ್ನು ಹೈಲೈಟ್ ಮಾಡಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆಸಿದ್ಧಾರ್ಥನಿಗೆ ಜ್ಞಾನೋದಯವಾಗಿ ವಾಪಸ್ ಬಂದಾಗಮಾಯಾ ದೇವಿ ಹಡೆದ ಕೂಸನ್ನ ಸಾಕ್ಷ ವಂಶಕ್ಕೆ ಪರಿಚಯ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಡುವ ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶವಿದೆಆದರೆ ಬುದ್ಧನು ಮದುವೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಡುವ ವಿಷಯವಾಗಲೀಅವನ ಸಂಸಾರದ ವಿಷಯವಾಗಲೀ ಯಾವುದೂ ಇಲ್ಲಅವನು ದೇಹವನ್ನ ದಂಡಿಸಿದ ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪ ಬರುತ್ತೆಶಾಕ್ಯ ಮುನಿಯ ಊಹಾತ್ಮಕ ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷನೆ ನಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲಇಂತಹ ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷಣೆಗೆ ಬಹುಶಃ ಗಾಂಧಾರ ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಹತ್ವ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದೆ ಅನ್ನಿಸುತ್ತೆಇದನ್ನು ನಾವು ಇನ್ನೂ ಪೂರ್ತಿಯಾಗಿ ಅರ್ಥಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡಿಲ್ಲ ಕತೆಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ನಾನು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಹೇಳಲಿಕ್ಕಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲಏಕೆಂದರೆನನಗೆ ಕೂಡಲೇ ಗೊತ್ತಾಗಿದ್ದು ಪುಸ್ತಕದಲ್ಲೇಲ್ಲಾ ಓದಿದ ಹಾಗೆ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಅವಘಡಗಳ ನಡೆದ ನಂತರ ಅವರಿಗೆ ವೃರಾಗ್ಯ ಬರುತ್ತಲ್ಲಾ ಎನ್ನುವ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿದಾಗ ಏನೂ ಅರ್ಥವಾಗಲಿಲ್ಲಯಶೋಧರೆಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆಯಾಗಲೀ,  ಅವರಿಗೆ ಮಗು ಆಯಿತು ಎನ್ನುವುದಾಗಲೀ ಯಾವುದಕ್ಕೂ ಆಧಾರವಿಲ್ಲ.

 

ಶಿವಾನಂದ ಕಣವಿ: ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಬಳಸಿದ ಪ್ರಾಕೃತ ಭಾಷೆಮಹಾರಾಷ್ಟದ ಪ್ರಾಕೃತವೋ ಅಥವಾ ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ಕನ್ನಡತೆಲುಗು ಮಿಶ್ರಿತ ಪ್ರಾಕೃತ ಭಾಷೆಯೋ ?

ಷಡಕ್ಷರ ಶೆಟ್ಟರ:  ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಬಳಸಿರುವ ಪ್ರಾಕೃತ ಶುದ್ಧ ಪ್ರಾಕೃತವಾಗಿದೆಇದಕ್ಕೂ ಸ್ಥಳೀಯ ಭಾಷೆಗೂ ಯಾವುದೇ ಸಂಬಂಧ ಇಲ್ಲಆದರೆ ಪ್ರಾಕೃತ ಬಾಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಕೆಲವು ಪದಗಳು ಮುಂದೆ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಬರುತ್ತವೆಯೇ ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು ನೋಡಬೇಕಷ್ಟೆಇದು ಯಾವ ರೀತಿಯ ಪ್ರಾಕೃತ ಎಂತ ಹೇಳಲಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲಶಾತವಾಹನ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಪರಂಪರೆಯಿಂದ ಬಂದ ಪ್ರಾಕೃತ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಇದೆಇದನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಾ ಭಾಷಾಂತರಿಸಿಪ್ರಕಟಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆಇದನ್ನು ನಾನು ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಬಳಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದೇನೆ.

 

 

ಶಿವಾನಂದ ಕಣವಿ:  ನೀವು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಇಷ್ಟು ಅಶೋಕನ ಶಾಸನಗಳು ಇದೆ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತೀರಿಕೊಪ್ಪಳದ್ದುಬಳ್ಳಾರಿದಂತೂ ದೊಡ್ಡವು ಶಾಸನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸನ್ನತಿಯ ಪ್ರಾಮುಖ್ಯತೆಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಏನಾದರೂ ಉಲ್ಲೇಖವಿದೆಯೇ?

ಷಡಕ್ಷರ ಶೆಟ್ಟರ:  ಅದಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲಸನ್ನತ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಸ್ತೂಪಪ್ರದೇಶದ ಹೆಸರೇ ಇಲ್ಲಅಮರಾವತಿಯ ಹೆಸರಿದೆಆದರೆ ಸನ್ನತಿಯ ಹೆಸರಿಲ್ಲಇದು ಒಂದು ಸ್ತೂಪ ಕೇಂದ್ರವಾಗಿತ್ತು ಜನವಸತಿ ಕೇಂದ್ರವಾಗಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಎನ್ನಬಹುದುಸ್ತೂಪದ ಹೆಸರಿದೆ ಪ್ರದೇಶದ ಹೆಸರಿಲ್ಲಹೀಗೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿಯಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲಆಂಧ್ರದದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕ ಸ್ತೂಪದ ಹೆಸರುಗಳು ಬೌದ್ಧ ಕೇಂದ್ರಗಳು ಹೀಗೆ ಇವೆಮೊದಲು ಸ್ತೂಪ ಕೇಂದ್ರಬೌದ್ಧ ಚೈತ್ಯಾಲಯಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದವುಆನಂತರ ಅವುಗಳ ಸುತ್ತಲು ಹಳ್ಳಿವಾಸಸ್ಥಳ ಬೆಳೆದಿದೆ ಎನ್ನಬಹುದು.  ಅಷ್ಟರೊಳಗೆ ಬೌದ್ಧಮತ ಅವನತಿ ಆದ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಕೆ  ಕೇಂದ್ರಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಅಷ್ಟೊಂದು ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪ ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಕೇಂದ್ರಗಳಿದ್ದ ಬಿಕ್ಕುಗಳು ಎಷ್ಟು ಜನ ಇದ್ದರುಯಾರು ಎಂಬುದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಸಿಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲಆದರೆ ಸನ್ನತಿ ಒಂದು ಸ್ತೂಪ ಕೇಂದ್ರಮೋನಾಸ್ಟಿಕ್ ಸೆಂಟರ್ ಆಗಿತ್ತು, ಭಿಕ್ಕುಗಳು ಸಹ ಇದ್ದರು ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಬಹುದು.

 

ಶಿವಾನಂದ ಕಣವಿ: ಈಗ ನಾಳಂದದ ಬಗ್ಗೆಹೊಯೆನ್ತ್ಸಾಂಗ್ ನಂತಹ ಪ್ರವಾಸಿಗಳು ಬರೆದಿರುವುಂತೆ ಸನ್ನತಿಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಏನಾದರು ತಿಳಿದುಬರುತ್ತದೆಯೇ?

ಷಡಕ್ಷರ ಶೆಟ್ಟರ:  ನಾನು ನನ್ನ ಪುಸ್ತಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಸಂಶಯ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಪಡಿಸಿದ್ದೇನೆಅಶೋಕನ ಮೂಲ ಆಡಳಿತದ ಕೇಂದ್ರಸ್ಥಾನ ದಕ್ಷಿಣದ ಸುವರ್ಣಗಿರಿ ಎಂಬುದಿತ್ತು ಸುವರ್ಣಗಿರಿಗೂ ಕನಕಗಿರಿಗೂ ಭಾಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಲವು ಸಾಮಿಪ್ಯಗಳಿವೆಇದು ಉತ್ತರ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಭೀಮಾ ನದಿ ಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿದೆಅಂದರೆ ಕೃಷ್ಣಾ ನದಿಗಿಂತ ಮೇಲಿದೆಸುವರ್ಣಗಿರಿಯ ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದ ಶಾಸನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ಇರುವುದರಿಂದ ಸುವರ್ಣಗಿರಿ ಮತ್ತು ಕನಕಗಿರಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧವಿರಬಹುದು ಎಂತ ಅನಿಸುತ್ತೆಭಾಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕನಕ ಮತ್ತು ಸುವರ್ಣ ಒಂದೇ ಅರ್ಥ ನೀಡುವುದರಿಂದದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಪ್ರದೇಶವು ಅಶೋಕನ ಆಡಳಿತ ಕೇಂದ್ರವಾಗಿತ್ತು ಎನ್ನುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಅವಶೇಷಗಳಿವೆಕನಕಗಿರಿ ಎನ್ನುವುದು ಇತ್ತೀಚೆಗೆ ಬಂದಿದ್ದಾಗಿದೆಇದು ಭೀಮಾ ನದಿ ತೀರದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದುಸನ್ನತ್ತಿಯಿಂದ ಐದು ಕಿಲೋಮೀಟರ್ ದೂರದಲ್ಲಿದೆಸನ್ನತ್ತಿಕನಗನಹಳ್ಳಿ ಒಂದೇ ಕಾಂಪ್ಲೆಕ್ಸ್ ಆಗಿದೆ.

 

ಶಿವಾನಂದ ಕಣವಿ: ನಿಮ್ಮ ಲೇಖನವೊಂದರಲ್ಲಿ ನೀವು ಮಾಹೀಶ್ಮತಿ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದೀರಿಇದರ ಬಗೆಗಿನ ಉಲ್ಲೇಖ  ಶಾಸನದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುತ್ತಾ?

ಷಡಕ್ಷರ ಶೆಟ್ಟರ:  ಹೌದು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಬರುತ್ತೆಇಲ್ಲಿನ ಶಾಸನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಪಟ್ಟಂತೆ ಎರಡು ಮುಖ್ಯವಾದ ವಿಷಯಗಳು ತಿಳಿಯುತ್ತವೆಮಹಿಶಮಂಡಲದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಹಿಶೆ ಅನ್ನುವ ಉಲ್ಲೇಖವಿರುವುದು ಒಂದುಕುಪ್ಪಣ ಎಂಬ ಕೊಪ್ಪಳದ ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪ ಕೂಡ ಬರುತ್ತೆಸುಮಾರು ಒಂಬತ್ತು ಶಾಸನಗಳನ್ನ ಅಶೋಕ ಹಾಕಿದರು ಸಹ ಯಾವ ಶಾಸನದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ  ಪ್ರದೇಶದ ಹೆಸರನ್ನು ಹೇಳಿರಲಿಲ್ಲಅವು ಎಲ್ಲಿಯವು ಅಂತಲು ಗೊತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲಅಶೋಕನ ನಂತರ ಈಗೇನು ಕೊಪ್ಪಳ ಅಂತ ಕರೆಯುತ್ತೇವೆ ಅದು ಕುಪ್ಪಣ ಎಂದಿತ್ತುಎರಡನೇ ಶತಮಾನದಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಕುಪ್ಪಣ ಅಂತ ಬರುತ್ತೆಕುಪ್ಪಣದ ಇಬ್ಬರು ಭೌದ್ಧರು ಹೋಗಿ ದಾನ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರು ಎಂದು ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ಶಾಸನದಲ್ಲಿ ಅದರ ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪ ಬರುತ್ತೆಕುಪ್ಪಣದ ದಾನಿಗಳು ನಾವು ಮಹಿಶಮಂಡಲದ ಒಂದು ಭಾಗ ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾರೆಅಂದರೆ ಆಗಿನ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಪ್ಪಣದವರೆಗೂ ಮಹಿಶಮಂಡಲ ಇತ್ತುಕುಪ್ಪಣದ ನಿವಾಸಿಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದ ಇವರು ಕನಗನಹಳ್ಳಿಗೆ ಬಂದು ದಾನ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರು ಎಂಬ ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾಪ ಬರುತ್ತೆ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಆರಂಭದ ಇತಿಹಾಸದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಇರುವ ಬಹಳ ಮುಖ್ಯವಾದ ವಸ್ತುವಾಗಿದೆನಾವು ಕನ್ನಡ ಶಾಸನಗಳನ್ನು ಅಧ್ಯಯನ ಮಾಡಿಕನ್ನಡದ ಇತಿಹಾಸ ನೋಡಲು ಹೋದಾಗ ಅಷ್ಟು ಸಮರ್ಪಕವಾಗಿರುವುದಿಲ್ಲಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರಾಕೃತಸಂಸ್ಕೃತದಂತಹ ಇತರ ಭಾಷೆಗಳ ಶಾಸನಗಳನ್ನು ಸಹ ನೋಡಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ

 

ಶಿವಾನಂದ ಕಣವಿ:  ಇದುವರೆಗೆ ಪ್ರಯಾಣದಿಂದ ಆಯಾಸವಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ ಇತಿಹಾಸಕಾರನಲ್ಲದ ನನ್ನಂಥವನಿಗೆ ತಾಳ್ಮೆಯಿಂದ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಸಮಯ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿರಿ, ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆ ಹಂಚಿಕೊಡಿರಿ. ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ

(ಶಿವಾನಂದ ಕಣವಿ, ಭೌತವಿಜ್ಞಾನಿ; ಹಿರಿಯ ಪತ್ರಕರ್ತ; ಟಾಟಾ ಸಮೂಹದ ಮಾಜಿ ಉಪಾಧ್ಯಕ್ಷ; ಸಧ್ಯ ನಿಯಾಸ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಅತಿಥಿ ಪ್ರಾಧ್ಯಾಪಕ).

 

(ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆಯ ಲಿಪೀಕರಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಹಾಯ: ಪ್ರೊ. ಪವನ ಗಂಗಾಧರ

ಶ್ರೀ ಪ್ರಗತಿಪರ ವಿದ್ಯಾವರ್ಧಕ ಪದವಿಪೂರ್ವ ಕಾಲೇಜು,

ಮಾವಿನಗಳ್ಳಿಗುಬ್ಬಿ ತಾಲ್ಲೂಕು,

ತುಮಕೂರು ಜಿಲ್ಲ)