Attimabbĕ

Attimabbĕ (950- 1016 ca) was an aristocrat and philanthropist associated with the Southern Chalukya empire. Daughter of Mallapa, a ‘jaina-brahmana’ general under Taila II, she was married to Nāgadeva, another chieftain in Taila’s command.

Attimabbĕ patronized several jaina hagiologies in Kannada. She sponsored the production and distribution of a thousand copies of Ponna’s Śāntināthapurāṇam, and commissioned Ranna to write the Ajita-tīrthaṅkara-purāṇa-tilakam [ATPT], wherein she is praised profusely. Ranna styles her Dānacintāmaṇi – Wish-fulfilling stone of Charity, and named his daughter Attimabbĕ, presumably after his benefactress.

Attimabbĕ built the Brahmajinālaya temple at Lakkuṇḍi, and the Lakkuṇḍi inscription (1007 CE) besides giving several important details regarding Taila II and Sattiga’s career, has a panegyric to Attimabbe’s munificence. One encomiastic verse on Attimabbe is repeated here from Ranna’s ATPT [unnata-kukkuṭa..1.60]. She continued to be praised as a paragon of jaina devotion and charity in poems and inscriptions long after her time.