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140
[Holy Abu
But it has been observed, upon a critical inspection, that the central image represents the first Tirthankara Ādishvara Bhagwan, to his right is the image of Pārshvanātha and to the left is installed an image of the Jina Shāntinātha, All inquiries have failed to show when the image of Mahāvira was replaced by that of Ādinātha. It may be noted that the local people have always believed that it is a shrine dedicated to Lord Mahāvīra.
The shrine has a courtyard all round enclosed by a small wall. It has a Gūdhamaņdapa with a shikhara on it; in front of the sanctum is an open platform meant for a Navachoki and a Sabhāmaņdapa both of which were either destroyed completely in the past or were never erected.
Besides the three sculptures noted above, there are 3 loose small figures of Jinas from a Chovisi- Jina-Pața as also a mutilated slab representing the twenty-four Mothers of the Jinas. In absence of a single inscription in the shrine, it is impossible to say when it was originally built. However, it seems that it was built after the fourteenth century of Vikrama era since Jina prabha sūri, the author of the Vividha-Tirthakalpa, who lived in thir age has not mentioned it in his Arbudakalpa wherein he refers to only the Vimala Vasahi, the Lūņa Vasahi and the Mahāvira shrine built by Kumārapāla on Mount Ābu. Shri Somasundara sūri, in his Arbudagirikalpa composed towards the close of the fifteenth century V.S., refers to the worship of Shri Shāntinātha in the newly built Jaina shrine at Oriyāsakapura (Oriyā). This would suggest that the shrine was built towards the close of the fifteenth century V.S. (i.e. between c. 1400-1450 A.D.) and that originally an image of Shri Shāntinātha was installed as the mūlanayaka. In later repairs a new image of Shri Mahāvira was installed as the mūlanāyaka whereupon people called it a shrine of Mahāvīra.
Every year a new flag is hoisted here on the Māgha Shukla 5, the Vasanta Panchami day (marking probably the date of its original consecration ceremony).
