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the glory of his kingdom. One day while he was enjoying a sojourn in a forest he saw mist disappear at sunrise. This made him realize the transient nature of life. He was inspired to become a sky-clad ascetic and indulge in meditation. After the formal two day fast he was served food by King Punarvasu. After a continuous period of rigorous austerities for three years he attained omniscience. All his life he wandered around spreading his spiritual message. In the end he attained nirvana at Sammeda śikhara. Based on his preaching a large religious organization was formed. His attending deities were Brahmehva Yaksa and Jwalamalini Yakṣiṇī.
Bhadrapur/Bhadrakapurī where Bhagavāna Śītala Nātha was born is at present a village called Bhondala in Hazaribagh district of modern Bihar state. The place where he got initiated and attained omniscience is now called Kolhu hill. This place is in Chatara tehsil of Hazaribagh district and is five to six miles away from Bhondal village.
In 1899 famous archaeologist Śrī Nandalal Dey had explored this area. He recognized it as Mankula hill where the Buddha had spent his sixth cāturmāsa (monsoon stay). He also said that the temples and images in this area were Buddhist. But in 1901 Dr. M. A. Stone wrote an article proving that all the images and temples of this area were, in fact, Jain and this hill was the pious place of birth of Bhagavāna Šītala Nātha. Not only this, there are numerous ancient Jain images also available at nearby places including Satagavān, Kundavilā, Balarāmapura, Orama, Dārikā, Charrā Katarāsagadha, Pavanapura, Pākavīra, and Tela Kupi. Near Bhondal village there is a village called Śrāvaka and a hill also bearing the same name. All this indicates that this place also was a great Jain center and a large area surrounding this place practiced Jain faith. There are two paths to climb Kolhuā hill. Climbing from Ițavāriā and going approximately one kilometer we find a 1.75 ft. statue of Bhagavāna Pārsva Nātha. The non-Jains call it dvārapāla (gate-keeper). Two kilometers further we find ruins of a parapet wall after which there is a pond 300 x 700 yards. This area was excavated by the government. A Sahasrakūța temple, containing 2.5 inches tall fifty statues was found. The area around the pond abounds in damaged and intact Jain images and ruins of Jain temples. South of the gate in the parapet wall, their is a temple of a family deity which was a Jain temple originally. Further south of the temple is a cave where there is a Pārsva Nātha image almost one yard tall. In another nearby cave
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