Jaina Archaeology Outside India

Author(s): Jineshwardas Jain
Publisher: Bharat Varshiya Digambar Jain Mahasabha

Page 28

fact prooves the following verse of the pooja: 'Charon meru samaan bakhano, bhupar bhadrasal van jano. There are 72 such temples situated in an area of 260 sq. kms around the Angkor city. On the fourth level of this temple there are four water tanks on each four corners. These remind us the verse in Pachmeru Pooja as: "Ek ik disha chaar shubh bavari, ek ik lakh yojan jal bhari.' There are about 900 inscription written in sanskrit, pali and Brahmi script. One of the inscriptions found here describes the height of these Merus in hundreds of yojanas which is again in consonance with pooja verse as 'Ooncha yojan sahas chattisam, panduk van sohe giri sheesham'.
However, Mr White converts these distances or heights in terms of feet as Mentioned in National Geographic :[1]
4,63,000 yojanas = 673 ft
The height of the central towers has been measured as 700 ft above from the ground level which comes to be equivalent to 5,00,000 yojanas which matches well according to jain literature. One another inscriptions mentions that a brahaman named Kaundkaundinya came from India, This information is found in jain literature also as Kundakunda went to videha region to listen the sermons from existing kevali at that time. According to this fact it has been surmised that this region is Videha region as per Tillya panati. The inscription shown in the fig. ( ) contains the name of Shanti Tirthankara. ANGKORTHOM (Nagara Dhama)
Jayavarman 's principal architectural achievement was the rebuilding of his Angkorthom. At a distance of 1.6 km from Angkor vat is situated a city called Angkorthom in the center of which is situated the famous Bayon temple-A 52 towered temple which is a replica of Nandishwar
Dveepa temple in Borobudur with the only difference that there are 52 towers here, whereas in Borobudur there are 72 stupas each containing one human sized statue. The central tower contains four statues facing all the four sides and in four levels. Hence, there are in total 16 statues in one tower. (See Fig. ). He raised this on the site of the old city, Yashodharpura. A stone's throw from the Plaza stood the Bayon, the temple of temples in Jayaverman's new city, the capital Angkorthom.
The main entrance to the sanctuary is a gateway surmounted by a tower with large deity's faces sculptured on all its four sides. It is said that Bayon was
28