Patra–Jagadale Bacaladevi

Summary

Bēcaladevī also known as Patra Jagadale Bēcalaḍevi was the queen consort of King Tribhuvanamalla Bhūjabala Permmāḍideva of the Māṇḍali Thousand kingdom; She was celebrated for her beauty wealth wisdom and valour; In inscriptions she is praised as the lady of wealth for prosperity and wisdom; She actively practised the four gifts of the Jain laywoman: giving alms to ascetics; providing medicine; protecting the frightened; and distributing scriptures; Bēcaladevī was versatile in dance and music and possessed impeccable gait; She often performed before the king and captivated him with her talent; The article recounts how she supported the construction of temples and basadis and distributed land and oil mills to sustain them; She ensured that palm leaf manuscripts of the Dhavalā ṭīkā were copied and made available to scholars; In times of war she counselled peace yet she was also known to vanquish rival singers in music contests; Her father served as a prominent chieftain and she used her influence to appoint capable ministers; Through her patronage Bannigere became a centre of learning and the temple she built attracted devout monks; Historians regard her as a custodian of Jain āgamas; Hampana underlines that Bēcaladevī’s life demonstrates how a queen could use power to uphold religion and culture; Her accomplishments were not limited to the palaces; they extended into civic and spiritual spheres