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The Temples in Kumbhariya
The prabandha inside the Purātana Prabandha Samgraha thus narrates this episode: 'Once Pāsila, son of the minister Gogā of Ārāsaņapura, on becoming a pauper, went to Pattana on an agricultural errand. There, in the Rājavihāra, he began to take measurement of the (huge cult) image. Noticing him so doing, the daughter of Thakkura Chādā who at that point happened to come to the temple, inquired: "Brother, taking thus the measurement of the image as you do, (may I assume that) you intend to get made such one?" (Thereupon) he replied: “Sister, if I ever can get it made, you must come (to Ārāsaņa) on the occasion of the consecration ceremony." After this happening, he went back to his town. For the purpose of acquiring funding for making the image (as he had ardently desired), he went to the temple of (the Brahmanical goddess ?) Ambikā for fasting. After ten days of fasting, the goddess appeared before him and thus uttered: "Ask for the boon. (I will grant it)." "Let it be that I can build a temple like the one built by the King (Siddharāja Jayasimha)." Goddess indicated to him a site and showed him there the mine. While the work of mining was underway, his guru visited him and inquired whether his wish was fulfilled. Replied he: "with the grace of Lord (Jina) and guru.” Angered thereupon as the goddess was, she commanded him at once to quit (the site). The mine then caved in. What he had in the meanwhile got (by sale of metal ? marble ?) was 45,000 dīnārs. He soon after commenced the work on building the temple (the core of the jagatīs ?) of brick. Next he visited Pattana, met Chādā and his daughter and requested the tradesman's daughter to attend the installation ceremony. Deva sūri and the tradesman's daughter went (to Ārāsaņa). The consecration took place in A.D. 1137. At the expense of nine lacs, the sister (Hāṁsi) built a hall called Meghanāda. After the main narrative account over, the prabandha-writer quotes the same verse as did Somadharma and following it one more which purports to give the date S. 1193/A.D. 1137 of the consecration of the image/temple.
Filtering out the mythical and miraculous, the sum and substance of the anecdotal accounts is that, Pāsila, the meansless son of the late ?) minister Gogāka of Ārāsaņa, was impressed by the magnitude of the Rājavihāra and its monumental cult image at Aşahillapāțaka which, as known from the Prabhāvakacarita and other sources, was built by king Jayasiṁhadeva Siddharāja in A.D. 1127. Then on he had been dreaming of building such a magnificent temple and, when some fund he could master, forthwith had begun with an ambitious plan. Apparently, however, even when he may have made efforts, ultimately the shortage of funds did not allow him to complete the complex. Luckily for him, impressed by his religious zeal, Hāṁsi, the
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