Saturday, May 7, 2011

Massacre of Jains/samanar at Annigeri: Archeological Evidence Found

Annigeri is a town near Hubli in Dharwad District of Karnataka. Recently the archeology department has found 601 human skulls in an excavation. The skulls date back to 10th to 12th century. According to reliable sources, Archeology Department has found very important materials and references mentioned in the Bombay State Dharwad Gazetteer about a massacre that took place near Annigeri.


J M Nagaiah, associate professor of Dr RC Hiremath Institute of Kannada Studies ( KUD), has said that he has discovered the inscriptions, one each at Hottur near Shiggon taluk of old Dharwad district, and at Gawarwad near Annigeri.

According to the Hottur inscription, Chola emperor Rajaraja, during an expedition, had attacked Belaval-300 province with the help of his nine-lakh-strong army and captured Annigeri during 1007-08. The emperor then tried to forcibly convert people into Shaivas (followers of Lord Shiva). He is also said to have ruthlessly chopped people, including children, who refused to be Shaivas. King Sataysharava Irive Bemdag of Chalukyas of Kalyan was ruling Annigeri then.


The Gawarwad inscription says emperor Rajadhiraja I of Cholas, during his expedition, attacked Annigeri, the then capital of Belavan Nadu-300 (comprising 300 surrounding villages). After capturing Annigeri, Rajadhiraja I destroyed Jinnalya, temples built by Jains, and also killed those who opposed the destruction of temples during 1018-1050.
The Hottur inscription is included in `Epigraphy India' (volume No. 16), while the Garwada inscription is included in `Epigraphy India' (volume No. 15). "The two inscriptions are enough to unravel the Annigeri skull mystery," Nagaiah told `The Times of India'.

He said that human skulls discovered at Annigeri must be of those who were killed for opposing Rajaraja's attempts to convert them to be Shiavas, or of those who were killed by Rajadiraja for protecting Jain temples.

"But for these incidents, there are no evidence of massacre (near Annigeri). The skulls must be of those who were killed by the Cholas," he claimed.
"I'm planning to bring the two inscriptions to the notice of State Archeological Department. We will be able to come to a definite conclusion about the skulls after getting the carbon dating test report from Bhuvaneshwar," he said.
(Source: ASD and TOI)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I need pictures of the Jain massacre, as depicted on the Golden Lily tank. But I never seem to be able to find one. Strangely, the Jain organizations I have contacted have no knowledge of this massacre.

Anonymous said...

I need your opinion--Are you much of a scholar on Buddhism, with regard to its co-history, with the Jains, in India?

I have read about the 24 Tirthinkaras, but now I have learned that the Buddhists claim to have 27 Buddha's preceding Guatama Buddha.

If it's true, then that would mean that the Buddhists intermingled with the Jains throughout time immemorial, in India---together.

What' your opinion on this?

Please email me or message me. It is key to my current research.

Thanks. Love your site. Very informative.

Anonymous said...

there are eight tirthankaras mentioned in buddhist literature. please read on web "eight tirthankaras mention in buddhist literature." vidhya vyasani

Unknown said...

Pranam Friend..., I am looking for archeology of Jainism its my research.. if u got anything like why shwetambar sadhus wear particular white clothes plz send details in my mail id kewal4you@gmail.com

P.N. Subramanian said...

When there is a war hundred and thousands of soldiers as well as civilians get killed. Naturally the dead bodies would get buried. It is difficult to substantiate that the skulls discovered belonged to the Samanas or Monks alone.

Unknown said...

As far as my understanding goes, Buddhism is an offshoot of Jainism. If you study both the religions, they are quite similar.

There is 1 primary difference - Jainism differentiates between life based on the number of senses. That is human beings have 5 senses & therefore the value of a human life is more than a plant which has only 1 sense. Therefore, killing a plant an animal, an insect and a human is different in its degree of violence & pain.

While Buddhism believes that a life is a life irrespective of the senses. Therefore, Buddhism does not differentiate between an animal & a plant since both are 1 life. Therefore, over a period of time, with dilution, modern day buddhist followers in the far east have become non-vegetarians.

The Buddhists saints continue to be vegans. They not only avoid non-veg food but avoid even milk products since it is an animal output & that it is typically for the offspring of the cow, buffalo, etc. While Jainism believes that there is no harm in milk products as there is no violence & the animal produces much more milk than the offspring requires.

It is on interpretation issues that both religions became separate.

The main centre of Buddhism is in Bihar which was established around the same time when Samat Shikhar also in Bihar saw 20 Jain Tirthankars achieve Moksh.