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Jāvada of Mandu
189
presentations made by Jāvada, the magnificent ritualistic paraphernalia dedicated by him, and the crowds which and come from all parts of India ( the list of geographical names enumerated fills alone two stanzas ), all this is described in minute detail by Su. in 23 stanzas, perhaps with the intention of laying down for record the ideal way in which such an important function should be arranged. Vi. devotes 17 verses to it, describing even the items of food served to the guests. According to him, the consecration festival cost Jāvada 15 lacs. The Temples
The fabulous generosity of Jāvada has led modern admirers to the statement, for which there is no evidence at all, that he also constructed five big temples of the Tīrtharkaras Rşabha, śāntinātha, Neminātha, Pārsvanātha and Mahāvīra at Mandu. This seems to be an inference unjustifiably made on the basis of An. 1-5, where, by way of a 'Mangalācarana', these five Tīrtharkaras are extolled and then their blessings invoked in st. 6.
मण्डपद्रङ्गशृङ्गाराः पञ्चाप्येते जिनेश्वराः ।।
शास्त्रादौ जावडेन्द्रस्य प्रसन्नाः सन्तु सन्ततम् ।। ६ ।।
“At the beginning of the book, these five Jinas, ornaments of the city of Mandu, be always gracious to Jāvadendra.”
Why the poet chose just these five Jinas, he knows best himself. Mahāvīra's inclusion may have been felt desirable, because the heroes of the poem were all his direct devotees.
In no case, however, could this stanza form a basis for the inference that the temples of those five were the main temples of Mandu. For in his Caitya-pravādi 61 mentioned before already, Kșemendra Gaņi, reporting a pilgrimage to the representative sacred places in and around Mandu, names and describes the five temples of Pārśva, Supārsva, śānti, Sambhava and Ādinātha (Rşbhanātha ) of Mandu itself, besides 17 of places of its vicinity, such as Tarapur, Dhar, Hoshangabad ( which at that time probably
were under the jurisdiction of the Sultan of Mandu62 ) as essential Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only
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