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GIR
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GIR
Rajgir. At the time of the Ramayana (see Adi, ch. 32) the river Sone flowed through the town. Jarasindhu's palace was situated on the western side of the valley in the space between Baibhara-giri and Ratnâchala. The Rangbhum or the wrestling ground of Jarasindhu is at the foot of the Baibhâra hill, a mile to the west of the Sonbhâoạår cave. Bhima Sen's Ukhara or the Malla-bhumi at the foot of the Sona-giri, close to a low ledge of laterite forming a terraco, is pointed out as the place where Bhîma and Jarasindhu wrestled and the latter was killed after a fight of thirteen days. The indentations and cavities peculiar to such formations are supposed to be the marks left by the wrestlers. Southwards towards Udaya-giri, the road is formed by the bare rock in which occur many short inscriptions in the shell pattern (JASB., (1847) p. 559]. Traditionally the princes were confined by Jarâsindhu at the foot of the Sona-giri. Six miles from Rajgir is situated the Giriyak hill containing the celebrated tower called Jarasindhu-ka-Baithak formerly called the Hamsa stôpa (see Indrasila-guha). The Pañchåna river flows by the side of this hill. Bhima, Arjuna, and Křishņa crossed the Panchana river and entered Jarasindhu's town in disguise by scaling the Giriyak hill, a spur of the Bipula or Chaityaka range (Imperial Gazetteer of India, Vol. V, p. 85). There is, however, a pair of foot-prints within a small temple on the slope of the Baibhara hill on its northern side which are pointed out as the foot-prints of Kțishna, and are said to have been left by him when he entered Rajgir. They reconnoitred the town from Goratha hill, which is now called the Båthâni-ka-Pâhâd, appearing from a distance to have three peaks, five or six miles to the west of Rajgir and north of Sandol Pahad, a hill larger than the Båthâni hill (Mbh., Sabha P., ch. 20). At the foot of the Baibhåra hill on the north and at a short distance from the northern gate, there are seven Kundas or hot springs called Vyâsa, Márkanda, Sapta-Rishi or Saptadhara, Brahma, Kasyapa-fishi, Ganga-Jamuna, and Ananta. At a short distance to the east of these Kundas, there are five hot springs called Sûrya, Chandrama, Ganesa, Rama and Sita. To the east of this latter group of Kundas is a hot-spring called Sringi-rishi-kunda now called Makhdum-kunda after the name of a Muhammadan saint Makhdum Shah, called also Sharfuddin Ahmad, at the foot of the Bipula hill on its northern side. Close to the side of this spring is Makhdum Shah's Chilwa or a small cavern for worship. Just over the entrance to the Chilwa, there is a huge slanting rock said to have been rolled down by two brothers Râol and Lâttâ to kill the saint, but it was arrested in its course by his look. This story is evidently & replica of the Buddhist account about Davadatta hurling at Buddha a block of stone which was arrested in its course by two other blocks. There are the temple of Jarâ Devî near the northern gate and Jaina temples of Mahavira, Pârasnátha, and other Tirthaukaras on the Baibhâra, Bipula, Udaya, and Sona-giri hills. Buddha resided in a cave of Påndava-giri (which is called Ratna-giri on the eastern side of the town) when he first came to Rajagriha (Sutta-nipata, Pab bajjagutta' SBR., vol. X: JASB. (1838), p., 810). Here he became the disciple of Arada first and then of Rudraka; but dissatisfied with their teachings, he left Rajagriha (Asvaghosha's Buddha-charita). While he was residing in & cave called Kçishṇasilâ on the eastern side of Pandava-giri, he was visited by king Bimbisåra (Mahdvagga, 'Pabbajjasutta', 12; and Lalita-vistara, ch. 16). The Sonabhåndár cave on the southern face of the Baibhâra hill within the valley or the ancient town of Rajagriha incorrectly identified by General Cunningham with the Saptapar i cave where the first
