318 



Report on the Mackenzie Manuscripts, 



[ApRit 



Section 7. Account of the Jain temple of Parsvana natha Svami 

 at Tirunarrayanen Conda village, in the district of Yelvanachura 

 Coitai, 



It is in the Vriddhachala district : a St'hala maliatmya. ' In a cer- 

 tain wilderness a kind of roots grew which Vedars dug up for food. 

 One day a man of that class saw some growing in the cleft of a rock, 

 and going to dig them up, discovered the image of the above god. A 

 winged creature also appeared, at which the hunter, being dazzled, 

 exclaimed " Appa ! Ayya !" The being said " I am Appa, and Ayya 

 is in that image." The hunter asked for a spiritual vision, and had 

 one enlightened eye given him ; the report of the circumstance led to 

 much discussion among the country people who on consulting, noted 

 various marks about the hills, and concluded that it must have been 

 a place of residence for ancient ascetics. The king of the country, 

 coming to knowledge of these things, treated the hunter handsomely, 

 and had a temple built on the spot. There is then a narrative given, 

 as having happened before this circumstance, to account for the 

 image being found there. This forms a Jaina version of the Pandiya 

 king renouncing the Jaina system for that of the Saivas. By this 

 account the famous ^ppar was born and bred a Jaina; but through 

 ill-treatment of the head ascetic of that system, he went away to the 

 south by way of the Cliola kingdom, and became a Saiva. In consul- 

 tation with Sampantar and Sundarar a plan was formed to convert 

 the Pandiyan king. Jppar by the power of incantations inflicted on 

 him a grievous illness ; and then sent Sampantar and Sundarar with 

 the Vipulhi, saying that if he accepted these he would be cured. 

 He replied that being a Jaina, he could not do so. On their returning 

 with this answer to Appar, the latter inflicted severer pain on the king j 

 and then went personally to him, and said that if his teachers could 

 remove one half on one side, he would remove the other. The Jaina 

 teachers, being sent for, said that to use magical incantation was con- 

 trary to their religion. Jppar then promised to cure the king; to which 

 he consented, through the craft of Appar, and because an evil time for 

 the Jaina system was come. After being cured, Appar asked of the 

 king to allow all the Jaina temples to be turned into Saiva ones, at 

 which he hesitated ; but at length, being gradually overcome, and 

 through previous ignorance of his own system, he was drawn over to 

 become a Saiva ; and he then gave a body of troops into the hands of 

 Sampantar, Sundarar, and Appar, with which they displaced the Jaina 

 images, and turned the fanes into Saiva ones. But on coming to the 



