Holy Abu

Author(s): Jayantvijay
Publisher: Yashovijay Jain Granthmala

Page 89

Holy Abu
The ancient Gurjjara or Gujarati culture extended North and North-westward of Abu to Bhinmal and Jalor, on borders of Sindh upto Thar-Pārkar districts, upto Mandor and Ośia in the Jodhpur State. During the Solanki rule Ābu remained an important part under the Paramāra feudatories of Chandrāvatī and it was because of its remaining an integral part of Gujarat, that Vimala Shāha and Vastupala-Tejapāla could build such magnificent Jaina shrines on the mountain. The dialect of Abu and of the Sirohi State, of which Abu formed a part upto the end of the British rule has structurally been a part of Gujarāti language,1 even after the separation of Gujarāti and Rājasthānī from the main block. Abu seems to have been noticed by Megasthenes who refers to a Mount Capitalia, with gold and silver mines near it. It may be Kapisthala (modern Kaithala in Karnal district Punjab) of the Puranas. It may however be noted that tradition speaks of Shri (Goddess of Wealth and abundance) being worshipped at Bhillamāla and the Jaina traditions refer to the hill fort of Jalor as Suvarṇagiri and say that there were gold mines at or near this Suvarnagiri. 3
The celebrated Mount Abu (Arbuda or Arbudachala of ancient Indian texts) is situated in 24°. 36′ N. and 72°. 43' E., 17 miles Northwest of the Abu Road (Kharāḍī) Station on the Ahmedabad-Delhi metre-gauge main-line of the Western Railway. It is about 425 miles North of Bombay, 115 miles from Ahmedabad, 275 miles from Jaipur, and about 424 miles-south west from Delhi.
The annual mean temperature on Abu is about 70°,
1 Called Sirohi-Gujarati by Sir G. Grierson, Linguistic Survey of India, Vol. IX. pt. 2, p. 88.
2 Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. I. P. 53 f.
3 The above account on pp. 1-6 is added by the Translator.