Book Title: Mahavira Nirvan Bhumi Pava Ek Vimarsh
Author(s): Bhagwati Prasad Khetan
Publisher: Parshwanath Shodhpith Varanasi

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Page 228
________________ २०८ : महावीर निर्वाणभूमि पावा : एक विमर्श made of hurdles, the place for cooking being plastered with clay on the inside. P. 355. Parraona, when I saw it, contained about 700 houses. A few had two stories, and a few were tiled, but by far the greater part consisted of miserable thatched huts. The Raja's castle occupied one corner, and the whole had been surrounded by a ditch and bamboo hedge. Last year it had suffered much from fire, on which occasion about 200 families retired to the Saran district; and on the day after I left it, another very destructive fire took place, which will probably occasion a similar desertion, although Saran is overstocked with people but those near Parraona are dissatisfied with the present management of their country. The town had considerable manufactures of sugar, nitre, and cloth, and advances were made from the Company's factory at Gazipoor for the two latter; but those for cloth have for two years been discontinued. Simra contains about 100 houses; no other place deserves the name of a town. The Moslems have no place of worship at all remarkable; a monument of brick dedicated to Shah Burhan, about four miles east from Parraona, attracts a few votaries every Thursday night. The chief religious assembly of the Hindus is at Bangsi-ghat on the great Gandaki, where 50,000 bathe on the full moon of the month Kartik. At Kaharaliya, south and east from Parraona about 3 coss, there was about 15 years ago an image of the great god placed under a tree, and called Kubernath. No one know how it came there, and it attracted little notice, until an Atithi covered it by a small temple of brick and propagated an account of its power. Five thousand votaries now attend at the Sivaratri, and from 500 to 700 in the mouth Vaisakh. At Pureni south and west about 6 coss from Parraona, there is a place (sthan) dedicated Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org


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