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Holy Abu
but without riders, followed by male and female dancers (dancing in pairs) in this and the next panel. The fourth panel shows Parshvanatha standing in meditation with a cobra behind giving him shade with expanded hoods and attended upon by devotees carrying pitchers, garlands, incense-burners etc. The remaining panels show riders on was wandering as a monk (before he obtained Kevalajñāna), he came to this Kunda and began meditation in the Kayotsarga posture. The elephant Mahidhara turned up. At the sight of the Lord, the elephant obtained knowledge of his previous birth and reflected-"Formerly in my birth as Hemandhara, as I was so much stunted in height, the young people used to mock at me. Tired of incessant ridicule, I tried to commit suicide by hanging myself on a rope tied to a branch of a tree. A pious Jaina, Supratishtha by name, saw me and saved me. Knowing the facts about my attempt at suicide, he took me to a Jaina monk who taught me the practice of Jaina Doctrine. Spending the rest of my life as a pious Jaina, I died and am reborn here as an elephant. Now if I worship the Lord, I shall attain happiness." Thinking thus, the elephant daily worshiped the Lord with fresh water and lotuses carried in the trunk and lived like a pious Jaina. Delighted at this, some Vyantara gods and goddesses came and, worshipping the Lord, began dancing before him. King Karakaṇḍū came to know of this wonderful devotion of an animal and went with his retinue to worship the Lord. But meanwhile the Lord had left the place whereat the King was very much disappointed and thought himself very unlucky and a sinner, as he could not obtain the benefit of the sight of the Lord, which even an humble animal like the elephant was lucky enough to obtain. While he was thus lamenting, a beautiful image of the Lord, nine cubits in length, came out, by the grace of the snake-deity Dharanendra. The king was much delighted, worshipped the image with great devotion and installed it on the spot in a temple which he specially erected for the purpose. The tirtha became famous as Kalikunda-Hastikunda-Tirtha.
