________________
[ 145
During the reign of Maharana Kumbha, a Jain temple was33 built here in V. E. 1507 (1451 A. D.) within the fort, which guards the town. The temple is now in a dilapidated condition Originally it was an elaborate structure consisting of Garbha-Grila Guidh Mandap, Trik Mandap, Ranga Mandap, Ballanaka, Devakulikas etc. It continued in worship for a long time. An inscription dated V. E. 1660 (1604 A. D.) Posh Budi 13 incised on pillar of the temple records names of holy visitors: Jnan Kushal, Jay Kushal etc. Another record informs us that in V. E. 1675 (1618 A. D.) Amrita Vijay, Nem Vijay, 31 Kanak Vijay and other Jain monks passed the rainy season there.
Nandia :
Nandia lies at about 6 miles from Sajjanpur Road railway station. The present name is a distortion of the earlier name which appears in old manuscripts and other literary sources as Nandigram, as well as Nandipur and Nandivardhanpur. The village is surrounded by high ranges of the hills. There is a big Jain temple dedicated to Mabavir in the northern side of the village containing an inscription 35 dated V. E. 1130 (1073 A.D.). It records the construction of a step well near the Nandiyakachaitya by a man called Shivgana. This clearly implies that the tem was built before that date. There are other inscriptions in the temple; one of them is dated V. E. 1201 (1144 A.D.) incised on a pillar 36 of the Sabha Mandap, and records the construction of the pillar by Shresthi Nimba and Bhepa. The temple was in worship from the 11th century A D. The Parshwanath-Charita composed37 in V. E. 1436 (1379 A. D.) reports that the Mahavir temple of Nandia, consisted of a highly elevated plan. In another temple dedicated to Shantinath, there is an icon of Parshwanath
33. ibid V No. 446. 34. ibid V No. 447. 35. ibid No. 452. 36. ibid No. 453. 37. Jain Tirth-Sarva Sangrah Vol, I Pt. II,
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org