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Shri Ashtapad Maha Tirth
When the Ashtapad project was undertaken, in the initial stage a lot of valuable information about the tirth was provided by Babubhai Kadiwala. Then Shri Kailashsagarsuri Gyanmandir of Koba provided useful details. Pramesh Gandhi, Bharat Hansraj Shah, Dr. Lata Bothra and others also extended their helping hand. The volumes were displayed wherever the sacred idols of Ashtapad were exhibited and Jains and non-Jains evinced keen interest in the project. The volumes were released in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Los Angles and New York. Twenty such volumes are ready. Dr. Rajnikant Shah thought of culling some very important information and details from these volumes and preparing a new volume and it has now seen the light of the day.
It is a Herculean task to collect information from ancient volumes and through satellite about the lost Tirth. In order to accomplish this task, the editor had to refer to not only the Jain and Hindu scriptures but also to volumes written in the old Tibetan script. Tours to the Himalaya regions were arranged for scientists, scholars and geologists. Efforts were also made to collect archaeological and climatic evidence and through satellite useful data was obtained, which indeed is a rare thing. The Ashtapad research project helped to unearth information about the earliest human civilisation and also about Mt. Kailash and Mansarovar, Second part of this volume will incorporates all these details and it will be a guide to scientific research into a very ancient subject.
Dr. Rajnikant Shah is neither a historian nor a researcher nor a scholar, but the volume shows what an individual can achieve if he is passionate about what one does. He has been working for the last 10 years and at last his painstaking research has resulted into a very exclusive volume.
The Asthapad Maha Tirth Ratna Mandir in New York will inspire future researchers to undertake researches into Jainology, and the crystal and gem stones will enkindle devotion in them. It is also hoped that the stories about Ashtapad carved from gem stones will help the next generation to imbibe the Jain culture.
The search for Ashtapad Tirth is still on and how long it will be on, one does not know. The present volume, which is a gold mine of information and the Ashtapad Ratna Mandir in New York, is with us today and I express my feeling of joy for the same.
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