Yasastilaka and Indian Culture

SR No.: 001609
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Krishnakant Handiqui
Publisher: Jain Sanskruti Samrakshak Sangh Solapur
Publication Year: 1968
Total Pages: 566
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Story, Literature, & Culture
File Size: 16 MB

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YAŠASTILAKA AND INDIAN CULTURE
as a parama-bhagavata or fervent worshipper of Vişņu in the Bālāghāt plates. The sacred hill of Rāmagiri with the footprints of Rāma on its slopes, made famous by Kālidāsa in his Moghadüta, was a holy spot in the Vakataka age, and is mentioned as such in the Riddhapur plates of Prabhāvatigupta which were issued from Rāmagiri.' Similarly, the Pattan plates of Pravarasena II (first half of the 5th ceutury A. D.) record the grant of a village called Asvatthakhetaka for the maintenance of a charity hall in honour of the foot-prints of Mahāpuruşa, evidently Vişņu or Rāma.It should, however, be noted that Pravaraşena II himself is described as a parama-mahesvara or a fervent devotee of Siva in Vākāțaka inscriptions.
Further light on the prominent position of Saivism in ancient Deccan is thrown by an inscription of the early Rāştrakūta king Abhimanyu issued at Mānapura. It records the grant of a village called Uņdikavāţikā to a recluse named Jațābhāra in honour of the god Dakşiņa-Siva of Pethapangaraka. It was formerly thought that Dakşiņa-Śiva might be the deity of the great Saiva shrine in the Māhadeva Hills in the Hoshangabad District of Central Provinces; and Pethapangaraka might be Pagāra, the headquarters of the Zamindari of that name. Mānapura could be Mānapura in Malwa, about twelve miles south-west of Mhow, or Mānapura near Bandhogarh in Rewa State. But, as suggested by Prof. Mirashi, it is much more probable that the Manapura mentioned in the inscription of Abhimanyu is identical with Mān, the chief sub-division of the Sātārā District of Bombay Province, through which flows the Māngangā, a tributary of the Bhīmā. It is noteworthy that an inscription of Avidheya, another king of the same family, records the grant of a
1 Thanh: IT'. Rāmagiri is now Ramtek, a wellknown place of pilgrimaga near
Nagpur. At present the centre of interest is the group of temples on the hill overlooking the town. The temple of Ramacandra, about 500 feet above the town, is the most prominent. The others are dedicated to Lakşmaņa, Kausalya, Satya Nārāyana, Lakşmi Nārāyaṇa, Hanuman etc. The temple of Harihara is popularly known as the Dasaratha temple. There are also two temples with huge idols of Narasimha and the remains of a very old temple of the Dwarf incarnation called Trivikrama. One of the temple courts contains a huge image of the Boar Incarnation under a small flat-roofed shrine, An inscription on a wall of the temple of Lakşmaņa contains the names of two kings of the Haihaya family who reigned in Mahākosala (modern Chattisgarh) in the latter part of the fourteenth century A.D., and so gives a clue to the age of the building. It is noteworthy that the aforesaid inscription refers to several Saiva temples, such a Ghapteśvara, Sudheśvara, Kedāra, Ambikānātha, Dharmeśvara, Muktiśvara etc. Besides, there is a Sivalinga called Dhūmreśvara Mahādeva, to whom offerings are made by pilgrims before worshipping Rāma. The linga is believed to represent Sambuka, the Śūdra ascetic killed by Rāma. The presence of the Sivalinga in front uf the temple of Rāma and the enumeration of Siva temples in the inscription mentioned above would seem to indicate the existence of a Saiva cult prior to the foundation of the existing Vaisnava temples. It may also be noted that the group of temples on the hill includes two temples dedicated to Mahisäsura-mardini; and down the hill is a temple of Candikā built of massive blocks of hown stone. For details see
Indian Antiquary, 1908. p. 202 ff. 2 'महापुरुषपादमूलसत्रोपयोज्यं'.