Very little is known for certain about Acharya Manatunga; scholars date his refined Sanskrit poetry to about the early 7th century. Both Svetambaras and Digambaras claim him, and both tell a famous story. Tradition says a king, wishing to test the power of Jain monks, had him bound and shut in a prison behind many locks. As Manatunga sang verse after verse in praise of Bhagwan Rishabhadeva, the locks broke one by one, and he walked out free.
The details differ. In the Svetambara account, recorded in the Prabhavakacharita of 1277 CE, the hymn has 44 verses and the story is set in Varanasi under King Harsha; in the Digambara account there are 48 verses and 48 locks, and the setting is Dhara in Malwa under King Bhoja. Scholars see these as later stories. What all agree on is the hymn itself: the Bhaktamara Stotra, named from its opening words about the devoted gods bowing, is sung daily in homes and temples.
