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Dr. Charlotte Krause : Her Life & Literature
for inculsion in the Pravādi. It can well be taken on his authority that the five temples mentioned by him were the main temples of Mandu proper at that time.
The representaive character of the temples of Pārśva and Supārsva of Mandu is anyhow confirmed by the contemporary K. P.
st.1 :
श्रीमन्मण्डपमेरुभूधरधरास्कन्धे निबद्धस्थिती ।।
श्रीमत्पार्श्वसुपार्श्वनिर्जरतरू स्यातां सतां श्रेयसे ।। १ ॥
“May Pārsva and Supārsva, two heavenly trees, as it were standing on the ground of Meru-like Mandapa, be a blessing to good people.”
Besides, every Jaina knows that especially Supārsva has always been considered as the Lord of Mandu, as in the Gujarati poet Rşabhadāsa's much quoted verse63;
माण्डवगढनो राजियो नामे देव सुपास ।
#29797 The Foot TRAI TETE T T 3774 11 4 11
Supārśva as deity of the Jainas at Mandu is also mentioned in Ratnamandira Gani's Upadeśatarangini 64 (p. 135 ), in Khema's Vrddhacaityavandana S, in Silavijaya's and Subhāgyavijaya's Tīrthamālās“ etc. throughout the last centuries but one.
That these five temples, or any one of them, or for the matter of that, any Jina temple whatever, was built by Jāvada, is not even hinted at anywhere in literature nor epigraphy. On the other hand, it is certain that in Jāvada's time, the number of Jaina temples of Mandu was quite considerable. It cannot be said, though, what had happened by then to all those 700 temples, stated by Muni Jayānanda in his Nemāď Pravāsa Gitikā 67 to have been in existence at the time of his pilgrimage in S. 1427, when the number of inhabitants of Mandu was 3,00,000 ! Anyhow, it would lead too far, were we to enter here into details of the previous history of the Mandu Jaina temples, which would have to include Pethada's famous constructions. Suffice it to say that in Jāvada's time, at least those 104 temples were doubtlessly in existence, in each of which he
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