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Shri Ashtapad Maha Tirth - II
potential age, the remains of Shri Ashtapad, if they exist, should be detectable in the poorly developed soils of Mount Kailash.
As for the foundation of a Jain temple in remote antiquity, 5000 or more years ago, this is highly improbable. Intricately constructed temples, like the ones built by Jains in India in the first millennium CE, were not conceived of in the Neolithic. They are also not characteristic of the Bronze Age and Iron Age archaeological records.
Relying on his vast knowledge of Bon scriptures, Lopon Tenzin Namdak, the foremost Bon scholar of our time, has stated categorically that the Jains did not and could not have built a temple at Mount Kailash in ancient times. Examining the archaeological, cultural and environmental evidence as set out above, I can only reach the same conclusion. As for its possible existence somewhere else in western Tibet, this also seems unlikely. During my comprehensive survey of Zhang Zhung archaeological sites in the greater region (a 12-year project) no such evidence for a Shri Ashtapad temple were discerned.
Given the findings set forth in this report, Shri Ashtapad being Mount Kailash itself seems the most likely prospect. If that is the case, then, Shri Ashtapad is a metaphorical temple, an ageless mass of rock and ice, perfect in every way. As Mount Kailash, Shri Ashtapad is the temple par excellence of the Jains, a grand symbol of their noble dharma, the balm of humanity.
A reconnaissance mission to locate the Ashtapad Temple
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