________________
of the Sattpanni Cave are situated in the rocky scrap of Vaibhara Hill just below the Jain temple of Adinath.
In the Buddhist scriptures there are ample references to Mahavira proving the historicity of his activities. It is an established fact that Mahavira had visited Rajagriba several times and bad preached his creed. It may be recalled that one of the Tirthankars, Muni Subratnath, was born at Rajgir. It may also be mentioned that the Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsiang, who visited India in the 7th century A. D. noticed Nirgranthis (free from fetters) on the Vaibhara Hill.
Another spot sacred to the Jains in Rajgir is the Maniyar Math. The name of Maniyar Math was originally applied to a small Jain shrine built in 1780 on the top of an artificial brick mound, 19 ft. 8 inches in height, near the centie of the Hill in the enclosed plan of old Rajagriha. In 1851-62 General Cunningham without destroying the Math at the top, went down to a depth of 211 feet in the well and recovered 3 small figures 19 feet from the surface. One of the figures was a naked standing figure with a seven-headed serpent hood, which looks like that of Parasnath.
The District Gazetteer of Patna has the following description of Maniyar Math :-"To the south-west of the modern village is a hollow mound which probably marks the site of a Stupa, 60 feet high, built by Asoka. In the centre of the valley between the five hills was a brick mound, nearly 20 feet high, on the top of which was a diminutive Jain temple called Maniyar Math, built in 1780.
The excavations carried out by Dr. Block in 1908-09 disclosed a brick structure, which Sir John Marshall is inclined to consider as a colossal linga, round the base were ten stucco images arranged in reaches divided by pilasters, which Dr. Block assigned to the early Gupta period. These images were in excellent preservation when first un-earthed but have now almost entirely disintegrated. In addition to Siva and Ganesa, Banasura and a linga, there were six nagis,
93
