Jainism in India

Author(s): Ganesh Lalwani
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 28

JAINISM IN INDIA
of Parsvanatha in a cave on the Udaigiri hill. fine specimen of art.
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This image is a very
Sonbhandar caves, once identified as Sattapanni caves of the Buddhists, are now regarded as Jaina caves in the light of an inscription where it has been clearly stated that Muni Vairadeva had set up the two caves worthy of ascetics and placed the images of arhats in them.
Another spot sacred to the Jainas in Rajgir is Maniyar Math. The name Moniyar Math was originally applied to a small Jaina shrine on the top of an artificial brick mound. In 1851-62 General Cunningham, without destroying the Math at the top, went down to the depth of 21 feet in the well and recovered 3 small figures. One of the figures was a naked standing figure with seven-headed serpent hood which looks like that of Parsvanatha.
Rajgir is also the place where three of the Jaina munis namely Gautama Svami, Sudharma Svami and Jambu Svami had obtained their nirvana. It may also be noted here that Bihar is the province where these three munis were born.
Jaina antiquities in Muzaffarpur-In his journeys for the propagation of Jainism Mahavira had often visited Vaisali (Muzaffarpur). According to some, Vaisali is the birth-place of Mahavira.
1 Lord Mahavira, according to Kalpa Sutra was born in Ksatriya Kundagrama, which was a suburb of the town of Vaisali. His father Siddhartha was the chief of the Jnata clan of the ksatriyas.-Editor.
giri, Udayagiri, Svarnagiri, and Vaibharagiri.-Editor.
According to the Jainas the names of the five hills are: Vipulacala, Ratna