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Jain Tirthas in Madhyadesha
2. CHANDPUR 1
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Dr. Klaus Bruhn
(HAMBURG)
The deserted and dilapidated town of Chandpur in the Jhansi District has lent its name to a group of medieval temples, Hindu and Jain, whose remains are scattered over a wide area near the ruins of the former town. The temples are situated on both sides of the railway track, about three miles to the north of Dhaura Railway Station (Bhopal-Jhansi Line) and midway between Dudahi and Deogadh. As one comes from Bhopal, one will find the Hindu temples to the left and the Jain temples to the right of the rails. Nearby is the small modern village of Jājpur. The Hindu remains include a theriomorph Varāha with an inscription dated saṁvat 1207, an inscribed monolithic pillar, and a fine Nandi bull lying in front of a ruined Siva temple whose garbhagrha houses a wellpreserved sahasralinga. Noteworthy for their artistic merits are the Nandi-bull and most of the numerous slabs built by the Public Works Department into the enclosure wall round the Siva temple. The Varāhamurti and the Siva temple are situated on the banks of an artificial lake. The Jain monuments include the colossal image of a Jina (housed in a closed structure with plain walls), the
extant porch of a temple, and numerous slabs out of which we have selected two for a more detailed description. Tradition has it that the Jain temples were built by a Jain merchant "Parah Sah" (Mukherji (see below] p. 32). Almost all the Jain remains are situated within a small fenced compound bordering on the railway track.
Before entering into a discussion of the two pieces reproduced as Figs. 1 and 2, we have to acknowledge that it was Stella Kramrisch who for the first time directed the attention of the art-historians to the sculptural remains of Chandpur. In vol. II of her book on the Hindu Temple, she reproduced two photos (by R. Burnier) from Chandpur, one a partial view of the Nandi-bull (Pl. LVIII), the other a full view of a seated Jina (Pl. LVII)2. The credit for the exploration of the site goes again to Cunningham and P. C. Mukherji3. We hope that the present contribution helps to elicit some
(1) For the first article (on Dudahi) refer
to Jain Yug, November 1958, pp. 29-33. - In footnote 2 (p. 29) of that article read "(purānas etc.)" after "literature.". On p. 32, left column, line 13 from bottom read "executed" instead of "expected". On p. 33, left column, line 9 from top read "received" instead of "receive".
(2) Onp. 397 of the Hindu Temple it is stated
that PI. LIV shows an image from Chandpur. Actually the reproduced slab is built into the right outer wall of Jaina
temple No. 24 at Deogarh. (3) A. Cunningham: Archaeological Survey
of India, Vol. X, p. 96 ff., Calcutta 1880. -P. C. Mukherji : Reports on the Antiquities in the District of Lalitpur, p. 31 ff., Roorkee 1899.-H. Hargreaves : Annual Progress Report of the Superintendent, Hindu and Buddhist Monuments, Northern Circle, for the year ending 31st March 1915, Appendix p. VIII; .... 1916, Appendix p. II.
