Ashtapad Maha Tirth 02

SR No.: 009860
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Rajnikant Shah, Others
Publisher: USA Jain Center America NY
Publication Year: 2012
Total Pages: 532
Language: Hindi, Sanskrit, Gujarati
Classification: Book_Devnagari
File Size: 26 MB

Page 147

A reconnaissance mission to locate the
Ashtapad Temple KM-III Expedition Report - June 4 to June 30, 2009
John Vincent Bellezza
Introduction The objective of the KM-III Expedition was to determine the precise location of Shri Ashtapad, the most elusive of Jain temples. According to Jain scriptures, the first of the 24 Tirthankar Shri Rushabhdev, the Aadinath Bhagwan, went atop Mount Kailash for sanlekhna (fasting until death). It was at Mount Kailash that Lord Aadinath achieved the glorious Nirvan. To honor and commemorate his father's enlightenment, King Bharat Chakravarti, the eldest of 99 sons, is believed to have constructed Shri Ashtapad, also called the Ratnamay palace, somewhere at Mount Kailash. In Jain literature, Shri Ashtapad is recorded as being eight-stepped, four-sided and probably very extensive. This marvelous edifice is said to have housed the Shri Chovisi (sculptures of the 24 Tirthankar) in the gabhara (main place of worship). Unfortunately, the identity and location of Shri Ashtapad have been lost to time. Jain scholars cite timescales measured in the thousands or millions of years ago to account for its passing, complicating any attempt at scientific analysis. As I understand it, there is also a school of Jain thought which holds that accounts about Shri Ashtapad are metaphorical in nature, encapsulating high spiritual truths, rather than a literal description of a temple edifice. This doctrinal perspective seems to be supported by the words of Bhagwan Mahavir 599-527 BCE (before common era), the 24th and final Tirthankar, when he tells his Jain tapas (saints engaged in austerities) that the one who scales Mount Ashtapad and offers prayers there to all the Tirthakara will surely attain moksha (ultimate release). In his momentous sermon, Mahavir alludes to the identification of Shri Ashtapad as a natural mountain. The findings of the KM-III Expedition encourage the view that Shri Ashtapad is Mount Kailash itself, rather than a man-made temple of epic proportions or otherwise. The reconnaissance conducted yielded absolutely no physical evidence of a Jain monumental presence at Mount Kailash in any chronological period. This absence of discernable Jain ruins and relics occurs in a region rich in Bon and Tibetan Buddhist cultural materials, the monuments and artifacts
The KM-III Expedition was organized and funded by the Ashtapad Research International Foundation, USA. In particular, the time and assistance of Shri Dr. Rajnikant Shah were absolutely essential in the successful launching of the research expedition. Dr. Shah and Dr. Mrs. Shah most generously provided their financial backing and moral support to the members of the KM-III Expedition. It has been a rare privilege to work with such exceptional individuals.
Ref. Vol. XIX Ch. 143 A Pg. 8275-8297
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A reconnaissance mission to locate the Ashtapad Temple