Nattal Sahu of Yoginipur (now Mehrauli, Delhi) is the earliest known Agrawal Jain merchant-prince, who lived during the reign Tomara king, Anangapal. His life's account is described in Apabhramsha text Pasanaha Cariu (Parshvanath Caritra) of poet Vibudh Shridhar, written in 1132 CE.[1] [2] [3]
Nattal's father was Sahu Joja.[4] He had two older brothers Raghav and Sodhal. Nattal was the chief of the Jains of Delhi.[5] He controlled a commercial empire spread through Anga, Vanga (Bengal), Kalinga (Odisha), Karnataka, Nepal, Bhot (Tibet), Panchal, Chedi, Gauda, Thakka (Punjab), Kerala, Marahatta (Maharashtra), Bhadanaka (Bayana), Magadh, Gurjar, Sorath (Saurashtra) and Haryana.[6] He was also a minister in the court of Anangapal.
Poet Vibudh Shridhar, who was also an Agrawal Jain, had migrated from Haryana to Delhi. Nattala, as a patron, urged him to write the Pasanaha Cariu. Shridhara finished the composition in Vikrama Samvat 1189 (1132 CE), and thus became the first known Jain author. He describes his patron thus:[7]
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 fragments of this temple were used for the Quwwat-al-Islam mosque near Qutab Minar.[2]