Nattal Sahu
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Nattal Sahu of Yoginipur (now Mehrauli, Delhi) is the earliest known Agrawal merchant-prince, who lived during the reign Tomara king, Anangapal. His life's account is described in Apabhramsha text Pasanah Chariu (Parshvanath Charitra) of poet Vibudh Shridhar, written in Samvat 1189 (1132 AD) [1] [2][3].
Nattal's father was Sahu Joja. He had two older brothers Raghav and Sodhal.
Nattal was the chief of the Jains of Delhi. He controlled a commercial empire spread through Anga, Vanga (bengal), Kalinga, Karnataka, Nepal, Bhot (Tibet), Panchal, Chedi, Gauda, Thakka (punjab), Kerala, Marahatta (Maharashtra), Bhadanaka (Bayana), Magadh, Gurjar, Sorath (Saurashtra)and Haryana. He was also a minister in the court of Tomar Anangapala.
Poet Shridhara, who was also an Agrawal, had migrated from Haryana to Delhi. Nattala, as a patron, urged him to write the Pasanaha Chariu. Shridhara finished the composition in sam. 1189, and thus became the first known Agrawal author. He describes his patron thus:
सिरि अयरवाल कुल कमल मित्तु,
सुधम्म कम्म पवियण्य-वित्तु
siri ayaravaala kula kamala mittu,
sudhamma kamma paviyaNya-vittu
Nattala Sahu had built a beautiful temple of Lord Adinath. He had the idol installed with an elaborate ceremony:
जैनं चैत्यमकारि सुन्दरतरं जैनीं प्रतिष्ठां तथा|
स श्रीमान्विदितः सदैव जयतात्पृथ्वीतले नट्टलः||
jainaM chaityamakaari sundarataraM jainii.n pratishhThaa.n tathaa|
sa shreemaanviditaH sadaiv jayataatpR^ithviitale naTTalaH||
It is believed that fragements of this temple were used for the Kuvvat-ul-Islam mosque near Qutub Minar[4].
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ History
- ^ Parmananda jain Shastri, Agrawalon ka Jain sanskriti men yogadan, Anekanta Oct. 1966, p. 277-281
- ^ An Early Attestation of the Toponym Ḍhillī, by Richard J. Cohen, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1989, p. 513-519
- ^ Parmananda jain Shastri, Agrawalon ka Jain sanskriti men yogadan, Anekanta Oct. 1966, p. 277-281
