________________ It is truly a wonderful, unique place, a city of temples,for, except a few tanks, there is nothing else within the gates. Through court beyond court the visitor proceeds over smooth pavements of grey cunam, visiting temple after temple-most of them built of stone quarried near Gopnath, but a few of marble; all elaborately sculptured, and some of striking proportions. And, as he passes along, the glassy-eyed images of pure white marble, seem to peer out at him from hundreds of cloister cells. Such a place is surely without a match in the world : and there is a cleanliness withal about every square and passage, porch and hall, that is itself no mean source of pleasure. The silence too, except at festival seasons, is striking; now and then in the mornings you hear a bell for a few seconds, or the beating of a drum for as short a time, and on holidays, chants from the larger temples meet your ear, but generally during the after part of the day the only sounds are those of vast flocks of pigeons that rush about spasmodically from the roof of one temple to that of another. Parroquets and squirrels, doves and ringdoves, abound, and peacocks are occasionally met with on the outer walls. Satrunjaya indeed might fitly represent one of the fancied hills of eastern romance. Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org
