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in which he was informed that the idol of the Chintamani Parshwanath was lying down at the bottom of a well. He was urged to take the idol out, and install it in a new temple. This man went to a Muniji who was temporarily staying in Surat. He also told the monk that it was impossible for him to build a new temple for the deity for he had only one rupee and a kodi. (A kodi or a sea-shell was a coin of a very small denomination.) The monk gave a small purse to the devotee asking him to put his rupee and the kodi in it. The Muniji told him that he could take out from it as many rupees as he needed one by one for the building of the new temple. At the same time, he also warned the devotee not to empty the purse by turning it upside down. The idol of the deity was then taken out of the well and a new magnificent temple was evantually built. The well is still there in the complex of the newly built temple, but it is sealed off and completely covered now. It must be admitted, however, that there is no historical evidence to support this Jain anushruti or legend.
The compiler of Gujarat Sarva Sangrah mentions that the tomb of Merza Sami was built around 1560 when Rajab Rumikhan alias Khudavandkhan was the administrator of the city. The wooden mosque near the tomb was in fact the site of the original Jain temple. It follows then that the original temple of Shri Chintamani Parshwanath must have been in existence in the fifteenth century. This also shows how prosperous the Jain community was and how the Jain art and culture was subjected to the ravages of time and history.
In his Samayankit Krutikalap Shri Vinayvijaygani mentions for the first time that there are eleven Jain temples in Surat and he mentions and offers his humble prayers to each of the Mul Nayaks i.e. the principal deities of these temples. The Mul nayaks are Adinath (Rushabh dev), Shantinath, Parshwanath, Dharmanath, Suratimandan Parshwanath, Sambhavnath, Umarwadi Parshwanath, Abhinandannath, Kunthunath, Ajitnath and Chintamani Parshwanath. He also mentions that there are three Jain temples in Rander, the principal deities of which are Neminath, Shamalaji and Vrushabhdev. Shri Vinayvijaygani refers to Surat as 'Suratipur' or 'Surati Bander' or the port of Surati.
There are 26 Jain upashrays or monasteries, 10 Jain dharmashalas or caravansarais and 46 Jain temples in Surat. There are a number of private temples in the houses of the Jains. Gopipura and Nanawat are the two posh areas where a large number of highly rich Jain families live in their luxurious houses. The temple of Chintamani Parshwanath is one of the major temples in the city. On the three
38 : Jain Kashthapai Chitra
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