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Shri Ashtapad Maha Tirth - II
Probable Sites of Ashtapad
1) Mount Kailash 2) Bonari near Kailash 3) Barkha plains 4) Tarboche 5) Nandi Parvat 6) Mountain between Serlung Gompa and
Gyangdrag Monastery 7) Gyangdrag Monastery 8) 13 Drigung Kagyu Chorten, 9) Probable site of Ashtapad known as Gombo
Phang or Trinetra or Mahakal 10) The site was detected using satellite data
by Mr. P.S. Thakker and known as Dharma King Norsang.
Plain of Barkha
Fig.2: Locations of potential Ashtapad Sites
2. Archaeological Evidence a. Period of Rushabhdev It is first necessary to have a rational estimate of the Rushabhdev's era (period) since the figures mentioned in the scriptures are difficult to understand. Rushabhdev was a very gifted king and he taught strategies of war, art (or script) and agriculture. Scriptures are replete with his praise as the inventor of "asi, masi and krishi", literally translated as swordsmanship, ink and agriculture. This is partly corroborated by the work of P. C. Roychoudhury (1956) who, based on archaeological excavations of Mohenjo-Daro, discussed below, puts the date of Rushabh at the end of Stone Age and the beginning of Agriculture age. If indeed these three traits of modern civilization were initiated by him then it is also archaeologically important and can serve as a milestone in the history and evolution of civilized society. Advent of agriculture is therefore an important time marker and we will discuss it below. Frequent travels of Bharat and Rushabhdev back and forth from Vinita (believed to be modern day Ayodhya, in Uttar Pradesh) to Ashtapad and the route they took also needs some explanation since we do not wish to resort to their supernatural powers. In this discussion we should, therefore, bear in mind the various elements of uncertainty, for example, in geographical references in the scriptures, whether there was another, now forgotten town of Ayodhya in Tibet or Ashtapad was a small mount outside the present day Ayodhya. This doubt can be partly clarified if some Jain artifacts are found in Tibet as mentioned below.
b. Carbon-14 ages relevant to onset of agriculture age in India We first discuss the evidence for initiation of agricultural activity in India. Age of grains found at various archaeological Sites can be determined using the highly precise carbon-14 dating The Quest for Ashtapad
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