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________________ CHAPTER II GEOGRAPHY AND THE RELIGIOUS SITES The province of Gujarat fills the south-western The three provinces-Ānarta, Saurashtra and portion of Western India. Among the five divisions Lāța--not only did not form one political unit, but of India called the "Five Indies” Western India they were themselves divided, throughout the first is said to have comprised Sindh and Western millenium A. D., among several petty states. But Rajputana, with Kutch and Gujarat, and a portion soon after the 10th century A. D. the territory to of the adjoining coast on the lower course of the the north of the Mahi came to be known as GurjaNarmada. The broad divisions of India as des- ramandala or Gurjarabhūmi, 14 During the 12th cribed in the early Pali texts are rather six than century A. D. the country of Gurjara mandala contifive, and Western India is named Aparanta, 2 nued to be known by this name and by a few other which is taken to represent that part of the country names such as Görjaratra, Gurjarătrā, Gurjaratri, which lay to the west of the Buddhist mid-land and Gūrijarăstra, Gurjaradharitri and Gurjaradharā.15 the north and the south respectively of Dakşiņā. Lāta and Saurashtra, however, were called Gurjapatha and Uttarapatha. On the evidence of the ratrā or Gujarat only by the end of the 13th cenMahabharata it has been pointed out that Aparānta tury or the beginning of the 14th century A. D., included practically the whole of western coast.4 when the Muslims invaded Gujarat, conquered all Aparänta is Ariake of Ptolemy, according to whom these provinces, and applied for the purpose of it extended southward from the Narmada. In the administration the term Gujarat for the whole proPeriplus of the Erythraean Sea Ariake is described vince.18 to have extended southwards from the gulf of Cambay to the north of Abhira. According to R. G. The three traditional divisions of Gujarat also correspond to the three natural zones. Aparta Bhandarkar, Aparānta was the northern Konkan whose capital was Sürpăraka, modern Sopara.? more or less coincides with semi-arid loessic zone, while Lāța corresponds to the fertile projection of In ancient days the region which is now known the western Littoral.17 Saurashtra is formed of as Gujarat had three divisions, viz. Anarta, Saura- sheets of Deccan I ava intersected by swarms of shtra and Läta. It is hard to describe the exact trap dykes. Most of Saurashtra lies below 600 ft., boundaries of these provinces, as they varied during but there are two hill-masses, the Manda hills in the course of time. Anarta consisted of northern the north and the Gir ranges in the south, which, Gujarat, stretching from Kaira to Palanpur or linked by a narrow zone of high altitude, are eroded Vadnagar in the north, and including Dwarka in by rivers flowing in all directions, 18 In Kutch a the west. According to Altekar, Ānarta hardly similar plateau extends from east to west, leaving extended upto Ahmedabad in the south, while on on all sides a narrow coastal plain drained by the west it was bounded by the Rann of Kutch, on rivers. The climate of these three divisions exhithe north by the Abu ranges and on the east by bits a variety of characteristics, which represent a Malwa.9 Saurashtra was the name of the whole transition between the heavy rainfall area of the peninsula, 10 but at times it denoted only the Konkan and the arid Rajasthan. southern portion of Kathiawar, the northern part Physically Gujarat consists of two portions; one was probably included in Anarta. 11 Lata corres- of these is continental and the other is peninsular. ponded to southern Gujarat, extending from the The continental portion consisted of Anarta and south of the Mahi or at times south of the Narmada Läta, while the peninsula was called Saurashtra. upto Daman.12 Bhrgukaccha (Broach) and Nava- The whole territory is bounded on the north by the särika (Navsari) belonged to this province.18 desert of Marwad, on the north-west by the Great Jain Education Intematonal For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org
SR No.006730
Book TitleJaina Temples of Western India
Original Sutra AuthorN/A
AuthorHarihar Singh
PublisherP V Research Institute Varanasi
Publication Year1982
Total Pages362
LanguageEnglish
ClassificationBook_English
File Size27 MB
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