Attimabbe (950-1020) was a noblewoman of the Western Chalukya Empire. Born around 950 AD in a place called Punganur, she was the daughter of the rather important Mallapa, who had the fancy title of "Dandnayaka" bestowed upon him by King Tailapa II. Mallapa was a big shot in court and a devout follower of Jainism.
Fast forward a few years to 965 AD, and our Attimabbe tied the knot with Nagadeva, the eldest son of Dhallapa, a Chief Minister and general, no less! Dhallapa was quite the character himself, apparently brilliant, brave, and victorious in all sorts of battles. Nagadeva seems to have followed in his father's footsteps, even getting credit for victories in Gujarat and Vengi. So, Attimabbe married into a real power couple family! They even had a son named Paduvala Tailap or Anniga.
In 984 AD, Nagadeva was killed in battle, leaving Attimabbe a widow at the tender age of 34. Even King Tailapa II himself came to offer his condolences – that's how significant her family was!
But did Attimabbe let this get her down? Absolutely not! She turned her attention wholeheartedly to her Jain faith, living a pious life. And this is where she truly shines! This remarkable woman was so generous that the poet Ranna honoured her with the title "DanaChintamani", which rather grandly means "Jewel among donors". BrahmaShiva also sang her praises, giving her a whole string of impressive nicknames like "gunadakhani" (a mine of virtues) and "Jain sasna rakshmani" (a protector of Jain teachings). Clearly, she made quite the impression!
What did this "Jewel among donors" actually do? Well, for starters, she's credited with causing the construction of 1500 Jain shrines during her lifetime, plus one more special one in Lakkundi called Brahma Jinalaya.
As if that wasn't enough, she also had 1500 Jina images made and gifted them with gold bells and lamps for daily worship. And if you were a Jina preacher or scholar, you were in for a treat! Attimabbe had 1000 copies of the Shantipurana made on palm leaves and distributed them as "Shastra Daan" – a donation of scriptures.
Even after her time (she passed away around 1020 AD), Attimabbe's legacy lived on. So many other noble women were compared to her for their charity and virtue. The Karnataka government even created an award in her name for a deserving female candidate every year, and 1994 was declared the year of Attimabbe!