Book Title: Laghuprabandhsangrah
Author(s): Jayant P Thaker
Publisher: Oriental Research Institute Vadodra

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Page 141
________________ 114 simply carries forward the city of Lakhan ävati itself. LPS does not mean that Ratnapuñj a ceased to be the king of L a k h a ņā vati but it simply states that (once ) in spring he went to Srimālapura. There, while going to the garden for spring sports, he saw a pregnant woman holding unbroken rice-grains and a cocoanut-fruit upon which sat an owlet ( durga ) producing notes. The king's astrologer foretold that her son would become the king. Before being buried alive by his police-men she delivered a son who started to be nourished by a she-deer and suddenly there occurred an automatic change in the coinage-dye, the new coins having the impression of the child being protected by the deer. The efforts of the king's men were of no avail when the infant was protected by the royal elephant, the royal horse, the cows and the bull. At last king Ratnapuñj a adopted him and later on this adopted prince, named Sripuñja, became the king. And his daughter was Srimātā. In this way there is no break in the story as related in LPS. It appears from the whole account that not only Laks ma na sena but also Ratnap u ñja and Sripuñja may be historical personages, though, of course, we have no other evidence for the same. We are not in a position to pronounce that the story of Srimātā also may be regarded historical for evident reasons. It may be noted, however, that even today there is a shrine of Rasiyā Vālama (lit. : 'the lover named Rasiya') on mt. A bu ragarded as the abode of the mendicant of that name, which fact can be regarded as hinting at the historicity of the character of Śrim ā tā whom Rasiyā loved and wanted to marry and who, on that account, killed him through miraculous powers. 10. GĀLA-SRIVARDDHAMANASORI-PRABANDHA This prabandha starts with the statement that a small king called Brhaspatirāņā ka ruled at Vå manasthali (which is popular as ) miniature Kā śmira. The name of this ruler is not seen anywhere else and one cannot say definitely whether the name of the ruler of the place at that time (i.e, in the first half of the 13th cent. A.D.) was BỊha spati. All the same it is certain that during that period the town of Và manasthali was under the sway of small rulers known as Țh a k kuras, PK narrates how Vira dh a v ala of Dha vala k k a ka (mod. Dho!a. kā) first requested Sänga ņa and Cām un da, the ruler-brothers of Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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