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168
- (Holy Abu
small but old shrine of Koteshvara ( Kanakhaleshvara ) Mahādeva, now in ruin's. The sanctum and the two Chokīs in front are still standing while the compound of the shrine etc., are totally destroyed. In the shrine is the Shiva-linga as also an image of Pārvatī, in the niches of the adjacent hall are figures of Ganesha etc. There are also a linga and a Shiva-image in the Choki.
The spot is a holy tirtha of the Hindus. An inscription here shows that the shrine was repaired 1 in V. S. 1265 ( Vaishākha shukla 15 ) by a Shaiva monk named Kedārarāshi, a pupil of Durvāsā rāshi (țşhi) when Paramāra Dhārāvarşha, a feudatory chief of the Solankī king Bhima II, was governing this area. Three more old, dilapidated small cells stand near the temple area, with lingas of all the three cells now kept in one of them. (13) Bhima-gupha (cave).
A small cave, 2 at about thirty-five feet from Kanakhaleshvara, under the shade of a big Banyan tree, is known as Bhīma guphā (cave), amongst local inhabitants. (14) Sakkara-Kunda.
Only a few yards away from Bhīma-gupbā, on a lower level is a very small reservoir with a continuous natural supply of water, reached by descending only a couple of
1 The temple needs preservation at the hands of the archæological department. It appears to be an early shrine with a Shikhara in the Western Chalukyan style specimens of which are rare in Gujarāt and Surāşhțra. In plan the temple appears to be pre-mediaeval, assignable to c. 9th-roth century A.D.-Translator,
3 The term cave should not mislead the reader. It is not an artificially carved cave, but a simple natural big hollow in the rock.- Translator.
