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hillé 2 (Bhagalpur District), etc. The Pärasnāth bill, named after Pārsvanátha, the 23rd Tirthankara, who lived and died there, is the highest mountain in South Bihar. Beglar refers to an old Jain temple on the northern slope of the hill called Madhuban and says that it contains numerous sculptured stones of the ancient period.63 Bloch, however, says that the oldest remains he saw were a number of foot-prints of various Jain Tirthankaras, which had been consecrated on the 9th February, 1969.8 4 On the summit of the hill is the main temple enshrining the foot-prints of Pārsvanātha consecrated on the 17th February, 1793 ; but the temple is of much later date. The large temple on the southern slope of the hill called Jalamandira enshrines the modern statues of eight Tirthankaras. Although the Jain texts speak of very high antiquity of this place, the temples are all of recent dates.
The Mandār hill, the sacred place of the Jains, about 30 miles to the south of Bhagalpur, is associated in Hindu mythology with the famous epico-Purāņic story of the Amsta-pianthana or the churning of the ocean.* The place was visited by Buchanan, Franklin, Beglar, Bloch, R. B. Bose and R. L. Mitra, etc.
Beglar and Bose refer to a structure on the foot of the hill consisting of a large enclosure, surrounded by a wall built by stones and bricks. According to Bose, the building has 'a large hall in the centre with an adjoining verandah in front and six dark rooms on the side-only lighted through small apertures in the perforated windows, which are of various devices'.88 He says that its 'roof was composed of long and spacious marble slabs, supported upon huge stone beams'.
62 Ibid., Vol. I, pp. 46ff. ; 51ff., ASR, Vol. VIII, pp. 130ff. ; Buchanan, Bhagalpur, pp. 122f.; ASI, AR, 1903, pp. 8f.
63 ASR, Vol. XIII, p. 73.
*(The Mandara of Indian mythology is apparently not the hill near Bhagalpur.-Bd.1
64 ASI, AR, Bengal Circle, 1902-03, p. 13. See also Hunter, op. cit., Vol. XVI, pp. 216ff.; BODG-Hazaribagh, pp. 202ff, [There is an error in the date.Ed.]
65 Ind. Ant., Vol I, pp. 46ff.
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