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Foreword]
of Ambā Bhavānī which points to its association with the wide-spread cult of the Mother-Goddess. Later on the place was believed to be sacred by the Jainas who soon converted it into a real Tirtha of art and beauty. It is problematical whether Arbuda of the Ṛgveda, I.51.6. has any geographical significance. Most probably it had not and was only a personal name. The Mahabhārata includes three different versions of Tīrtha-Yātrā, in the Āraṇyakaparvan, named after Pulastya (chapters 30-83), Dhaumya (chs. 85-88) and Lomasha (chs. 89-153), the Dhaumya version being the shortest and earliest, and the other two, much inflated, incorporated in the text about the postGupta period. The Pulastya narration refers to Arbuda stating that it was the son of Himalaya, that it had a deep crater or chasm (chhidra) and that it had the celebrated hermitage of Rshi Vasishtha. The first point is borne out by the fact that mount Abu represents the highest point between the Himalayas and the Nilgiri, its Guru-Shikhara being 5650' above the sea-level. Possibly Ābu, like the Himalaya, was also thrown up in one of tectonic movements of the earth. The tradition of Vasishtha's hermitage at Abu played an important part in later history, when it was claimed that the various Rajput clans originated from the fire-pit of sage Vasishtha. Be that as it may, the fullest exploitation of this most picturesque hill-top was left to the genius of the Jaina benefactors.
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Rising from the desert as abruptly as an island from the ocean, Abu presents, on almost every side, steep and rugged scraps some 4000' high and the summit can best be approached by ravines cut into its sides. When the summit is reached, it opens out into one of the loveliest valleys imaginable, cut up everywhere by granite rocks of the most fantastic shapes and the spaces between them covered with trees and luxuriant vegetation. The picturesque
