Rise and Glory History of Halari Visa Oshwals

Author(s): Rati Dodhia
Publisher: Rati Dodhia

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Part II. Migration to Cutchh
depredations this region became separated from Sindh. Today Cutchh is barren, sandy and treeless, a desert.
A poet writes about Cutchh: 'Sant suta bhala, Bhakto je bhom ma, Pir podhya jyan dhame dham, Dungare dungaree deriyo, Khambhiyo Khodanti game gam. Desh shangar datar Jagdu tani, bhaviya Bhadravati bhar harni, Bharti Mat ne kholale khelti, dhanya ho! dhanya ho! Cutchh ni dharni ,' Translation: Land full of seers, devotees and saints (pirs). Temples on the top of mountains, shrines in the villages. The motherland of the philanthropist Jagdu Shah, Land of the most auspicious pilgrimage like Bhadravati. Playing in the lap of Mother India much salutation to you O! Land of Cutchh.
The City of Bhadravati
Near the seacoast 2500 years ago there was a city called Bhadravati, which was ruled by King Siddhsen of the Hari dynasty. In that city lived two Jaina couples, Shresthi (merchant) Shri Devendra and his wife, and Vijay Seth and Vijay Sethani.
Shreshthi Devendra and his wife practiced celibacy for the whole of their life and earned respect as an ideal, pious couple. On one occasion they had the opportunity to listen to a discourse by a Jaina monk and they were so impressed that they wanted to build a temple and to install an image of Lord Parshvanath. Twenty-three years after the nirvana of Lord Mahavir the temple was built and Kapil Kevli performed the ceremony of installing the image. After that Bhadravati became an important Jaina place of pilgrimage (tirth dham) in Cutchh. As it was near the coast it also became a busy harbor and a business center.