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PLACES OF PILGRIMAGE
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Ayodhyā: In the Faizabad district of U.P., birthplace of Rşabha, Ajita, Abhinandana, Sumati and Anantanātha, respectively the first, second, fourth, fifth and fourteenth Tirtharkaras, associated with many other events of Jaina religious history including a visit by lord Mahāvīra; has three big temples and five small shrines.
Śrāvasti: Identified with ruines of Saheta-Maheta in district Bahraich of U.P., birthplace of Sambhava, the third Tirthankara; once a very celebrated city, visited by Mahāvīra several times; has a small temple. The near-by Pabhosā hill is supposed to mark the site of Padmaprabha's austerities and enlightenment, and possesses an ancient Jaina cave with inscriptions, and a modern temple which is more than a hundred years old.
Vārāṇasī: (headquarters of district of same name, in U.P.), birthplace of Supārsva, and Pārsva, the 7th and the 23rd Tirtharkaras respectively, also visited by Mahāvīra; was for long the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kāšī. The city has several Jaina temples, those associated with Supārsva and Pārsva, being located in the Bhelupura and Bhadaini localities; close to the Buddhist centre at Sāranātha ( a suburb of Vārāṇasī) is the site known as Simhapurī, the birthplace of Śreyāmsa, the eleventh Tirtharkara which has a fine Jaina temple. A few kilometres up the Gangā, near the river bank, is the temple of Candrapurī, believed to be the birthplace of Candraprabha, the 8th Tirtharkara.
Kākandi: (identified with ruines of Khukhundo in district Deoria of U.P.), the birthplace of Puşpadanta, the 9th Tirthankara; possesses ancient Jaina ruins.
Bhaddilapura or Bhadrikāvatī: (identified with the town of Vidiśā in Madhya Pradesh), birthplace of tenth Tirthankara, Sitalanātha; has several Jaina temples, as also ruins of some very old ones. In the nearby Udayagiri hills there are several
