________________
BEDION
ARTXIXIXI
TOPTAPIDO
UN MET
AND
esas
JAIN TEMPLES OF RANDER AND SURAT
We have no written documents about Surat that belong to ancient ages. Nevertheless we find a number of allusions and references to the city in old Sanskrit and Gujarati poems. Besides, we have quite a few inscriptions on and documents regarding the metal images and idols in the Jain temples that belong to the fifteenth to the nineteenth century. All of these point out that from times immemorial, Surat has been referred to and known as Suryapur that is a city dedicated to the God of Sun. Some of the places in and around Surat have close links with one another and with the deity presiding over the city. Surat is situtated on the bank of the river Tapi which is belived to be the daughter of the Sun. Rander, situated on the northen bank of Tapi derives its name from Rannade who is the wife of the Sun god. Ashwanikumars were the two sons of the Sun god and Ashwani kumar is the name of a renown ghat on the bank of Tapi. Utran, a small town in the northen vicinity of Surat, derives its name from Uttarayan which is the day when the Sun begins to move towards the tropic of Cancer. Etymologically the name Surat can be derived like this : fît > Tyî > L > Jet > pat > 49 > Similarly the name Rander can be derived like this: Ta Prakrit +03 (UTP or city) > FER > > TE > TE.
Rander has become almost an integral part of Surat now. But it was not so all through out the past. Rander is undoubtedly more ancient than Surat. Its links wth the past can be traced back as far as
30 : Jain Kashthapat Chitra
Jain Education Intemational
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
