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CHRONOLOGY OF GUJARAT
grimage to Tārāpura, Kurukulla Sikhara and Vumkara Nagara in Gujarat, which were held sacred under the Buddhist Tāntrism. Tārāpura can be identified with the village near Cambay, and Kurukulla Sikhara may be the Tárangā hill. The third cannot be traced.--( B. Bhattacharya, 22 Buddhist Miniatures from Bengal', Baroda Museum Bulletin, Vol. I, No. I, 1943-44).- Plate LXXIX ).
Jaina Tirtha of Taranga: At Tārangā Hill, which is a Jaina tirtha since Kumārapāla (1143-1174 A.D.), who restored the temple of Ajitanātha, is situated near the small village of Timbā among the hills, on the west bank of the Sābarmati river, in N. Gujarat. There are three peaks, and in the basin of it are situated the Jaina sanctuaries. Near the ravines are two shrines which are Buddhistic. In the Kumārapāla pratibodha of Somaprabhācārya ( 12th century A.D.) in Prākrit-Apabhramsa, in the story of Khapuțācārya, a king named Vatsarāja is mentioned, who though converted a Jaina, had built the temple of Buddhist Tărā:
ताराइ बुद्धदेवीइ मंदिरं कारियं पुव्वं ।
आसन्नगिरिम्मि तओ, भन्नइ ताराउरं ति इमो ।। and the city was called Tārāpura. After becoming a Jaina, Vatsarāja built the temple of Siddhāyikā, the Yakși of Mahāvīra. Thus, even according to the Jaina tradition, Jainism followed Buddhism even on this hill.
Tara on Taranga Hill: Image of Tārā (4' height), locally known as Dharanamātā is housed in a small shrine near the Tăraņa-mātā temple. Nine Buddhist images including one of Avalokitesvara Padmapāņi were noticed. The goddess Varada-Tārā is seated in the lalita pose, on a lotus seat, on which her left leg is folded, with her right foot hanging down and resting on a small lotus. Her right hand, the palm of which is broken off and rests on her thigh, must have been in the varada pose. The left hand, though broken, shows the remnants of the lotus and its stalk. Over the halo of lustre behind her head, there is a picturesque ornament with a double-winged bird, over which on a lotus-seat is seated Amitabha, perhaps, because, she is the counter-part of Avalokitesvara, who emanates from the Dhyāni Buddha Amitābha. Just on the pedestal, in the characters of the late 8th or early 9th century A.D. is inscribed the Buddhist creed :
ये धर्मा हेतुप्रभवा हेतुं तेषां तथागतो ह्यवदत् ।
तेषां च यो निरोध एवं वादी महाश्रमणः ।। There are also four seated Buddhas in a dark cave nearby.-(Plate LXXX).
Buddha from Nagara : A seated image of a Dhyāni Buddha is situated on a small hillock in Nagarā, the ancient site of a city about four miles from modern Cambay. The full-size sculpture can be seen even today in situ.-( Plate LVI b).
Statue of Buddha on Isalva Hill: A full length statue of the Buddha, which was mistaken for Dhundhalimalla, a local saint, was reported to have been found lying on the top of the Isalvä hill, near Valā.--( Annual Report, Watson Museum, Rajkot, 1938-9; p. 29).
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