Holy Abu

Author(s): Jayantvijay
Publisher: Yashovijay Jain Granthmala

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Foreword]
other lands. They also invoked the help of Buddha's disciples and grand-disciples in the process of creating holy spots. The same phenomenon was true to Jainism and Hinduism. Even aboriginal cult deities like Yakshas and Nāgas were assimilated to the needs of the Buddhist, Brahmanical and Jaina 'pantheons and they gave rise to new Tirthas. The central fact remains that such religious creations resulted in the apotheosis of the Motherland which was the greatest of all Tirthas. The material of Hindu Tirthas is vast as given in the Mahabharata and the Purāņas. A theory of Sthala-Māhātmya was evolved which regards each Tirtha, for the time being, an epitome of the whole country. The accounts in these SthalaMāhātmyas are usually of much topographical value.
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The Jaina tradition, rich and ancient in its great system of philosophy, religion and ethics, presents, in its Tīrthas, an equally charming cross-section of our cultural heritage. Such material is extensive, being recorded in the Tirthamālās or the memories of the pontiffs of the Sangha. Practically all great centres of civilization were counted amongst the Jaina Tirthas, e. g., Mathura, Kampilya, Ahichchhatrā, Hastinapur, Rajagṛha, Kaushambi, Ayodhya, Mithilā, Avanti, Pratishṭhāna, Champā (Bhagalpur ), Pataliputra, Shravasti, Vārāṇasī, Prayaga, Nasikya, Prabhāsa, Dvārakā, etc. Shri Jinaprabha sūri (first half of 14th century) has preserved, in his Vividha-Tirtha-Kalpa, a valuable record of the Jaina religious traditions about their Tirthas. The wandering religious teachers composed hymns or stotras, in praise of various images, which constitute a good record both of their literary activity and also of the religious history of the Sangha. A remarkable institution amongst the Jainas throwing light on their attitude to the Tīrthas is that of the Sanghapatis who from time to time organised, under the guidance of some spiritual teacher or Achārya, a