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Early in the 8th Century Muslim invasion began and in 712 A. D. Muhammad-bin-Qasim attacked Sindh and after defeating Dāhir, the king of Sindh, he carried on mass massacres. In the beginning temples were wantonly disecrated. The temple of the Sun at Multan was ravaged and its treasures were taken away by Muhammad-bin-Qasım'. After this Muhammad Ghazni destroyed and plundered many temples that fell in the way of the Ghaznavide army. He destroyed all the property of the temples ruthlessly, broke the idols, damaged the artistic beauty of the temples and burnt the literary collections preserved in them. There was no safety at all and all round there was bloodshed, forced conversion to Muslim religion and burning of the manuscripts and other literary and artistic treasures.
MANUSCRIPT LIBRARIES DESTROYED BY MUSLIM INVASION.
According to the Muslims the Quran contains the whole truth and it is the only book which should exist. If books written in various languages are in accordance with the Quran, there is no necessity that they should survive because the Quran embodies their contents and if they are against the Qurān they deserve to be destroyed These were the views of the Khalifás and the General of Khalifa Umer who conquered Alcxenderia in Egypt in 640 A. D. destroyed the famous Library thereafter having obtained ordered from Khalifa. There was a big collection of books in that library written in various languages but they were all burnt down.?
In India also the Muslim Invaders destroyed numerous temples along with the books which were collected in them Mahmûda Ghazni alone looted scores of temples and destroyed whatever was found in them. He conquered whole of Upper India and dtstroyed the religious, cultural and literary works ruthlessly. Thus old and valuable literary wealth of the Jainas was destroyed by the Muslim invaders
WHY GRANTHA BHANDĀRS IN OUT OF WAY PLACES.
Due to this dangerous insecurity, system of establishing the Grantha Bhandārs in out of way places was adopted so that there might be less danger of attack The famous Jaina Bhandar of Jaisalmer was established only with the idea that in such a desert there were less chances of the attacks Moreover in the temples underground rooms were constructed and at the time of attack all the manuscripts and other materials of artistic beauty used to be concealed in them. We find such rooms in most of the temples. In the temple of Sängāner, Āmer, Nāgaur,
1 History of Muslim Rule by 1swari Prasad p. 37 2 History of India by Eliah page 415-16
