The ancient sacred place of the Jainas in South India, sometimes called Jaina Badari, was the Kaṭavapra or Kalbappu giri, later called Sravana Belagola or Sramana Belagola and Sukla Tirtha in the Jaina scriptures. Even as early as the Mauryan age its fame had spread in Northern India and tradition asserts that the great emperor Chandragupta Maurya and his preceptor Bhadrabahu Srutakevali came and resided here for twelve years. Chandragupta is said to have passed away here and a cave at Sravanabelagola is named after him. Regarding the historicity of this episode, Fleet and others were skeptical. That the tradition is at least as old as the 7th century A. D. is proved by the Sravanabelagola inscriptions and literary works. Therefore there is nothing inherently improbable in the tradition and much stronger evidence must be produced before we can endorse Fleet’s opinion that it was Ekangadhara Bhadrabahu and Guptigupta of about the first century A. D. who were associated with Sravanabelagola.

Through the succeeding early centuries of the Christian Era, Kaṭavapra was the sacred Tirtha attracting Jaina Sadhus of different Sakhas and different parts of India. The inscriptions of about 700 A. D. mention the names of several saints who ended their days here. The surnames Kirti, Sena, Deva, Nandi which distinguish the four sakhas of Mula Samgha, Konda Kundanvaya were of already prevalent from the beginning of the seventh century. Among the places mentioned in these early inscriptions are Ulikkal,

Agare, Kottara, Veguru, Alpura, Cittur, Adiyarenadu, Dakshina Madhura, Kittur, Malanur, Inungur, Velgola etc.
In the ninth century Jainism became a predominant religion in Karnataka under the patronage of the Rastrakutas and their subordinates the Gangas, and we have several examples of many orthodox Brahmin families accepting Jainism. The Brahmana families from Vengi in Andhra sought the patronage of the Rastrakutas and the Calukya feudatories and having accepted Jainism, rose to eminence in the field of Kannada literature. Pampa, Ponna and Vadi ghanghala Bhatta Munjalarya adorned the court of the Rastrakuta emperor Krsna III in the tenth century. The poet Ranna says that in that Kali age the greatest patrons of Jainism, in the order of increasing importance, were Butuga, Marula, Nolambantaka, Cavunda Raya, Samkara Ganda and Attimabbe.