Book Title: Holy Abu
Author(s): Jayantvijay
Publisher: Yashovijay Jain Granthmala

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Page 206
________________ Lana-Vasahi ] slab is preserved) was Shantinatha originally (as the inscription on the pedestal shows, though of course, the Jina later replaced and worshipped to-day is Suparshvanatha ).1 The patta is divided in eight sections or panels, the first one from the bottom shows a royal hasti-shālā, an ashvashālā, then a palace, a king sitting on a simhasana attended upon by an umbrella-bearer and a person with a fan. Then there are soldiers, elephants, horses, etc. The third panel contains a figure of Lakshmi, lustrated by elephants and with the Nine Mythical Treasures (Nava-nidhi) beside her. On one side of the goddess are a heap of jewels and Surya riding on a horse with seven heads. On the other side of Lakshmi is a beautiful elephant with the moon above and a heavenly car or a palace on one side followed by an auspicious pitcher. The remaining panels show reliefs of dancers, actors, musicians, rows of elephants, horses, soldiers etc. 13 (24) In the second bay in front of Cell 16 is represented (in seven sections) a scene from the life of Parshvanatha, (fig. 42) depicting the origin of Hasti-KalikundaTirtha or of the city of Ahichchhatra (modern Rāmnagar in U. P.). The first panel shows elephants and horses 2 1 However a satisfactory identification of the relief is still not reached. There are figures of elephants, horses, sun, moon, garlands, trees, empty simhasanas and so on. These cannot be explained either as the fourteen dreams, the fourteen jewels of a Chakravartin or as the aşhṭamangalas etc. 2 The origins of these two tirthas are as follows: A king called Karakaṇḍū once ruled over Champa, the capital city of Anga-desha, in the age of Parshvanatha (about 2754 years ago). In the vicinity of this city of Champa, there was a forest known as Kadambari, with a mountain called Kunda. Here wandered an elephant, Mahidhara by name, and leader of a big group of elephants. Once while Parshvanatha

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