110
[APRIL 5, 1872.
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
pagoda, one comes quite suddenly on the great wall—almost unbroken and entire.
It is uni
formly sixteen feet thick, but its height differs at various places.
It commences in the Ran
bhūm plain, and then runs in a direct line to the summit of the hill, a distance of 2300 feet. From this point an enormous embankment runs across the valley to the foot of Baibhār, and now bears the name of Jarāsandha's band.
his congregation, was made and consecrated by Sri Amrita Dharma Văchaka.” In another of the series of temples :—“On the 9th
of the waxing moon in the month of Phalguna, Samvat 1504, by Santha Sivarāja, &c. of the noble Jatada race.”
On Sönárgir :—
“In the auspicious Khadatara Fort [garh), the
image of Sri Adinatha, &c.” The other inscrip
At
tions are similar, and the dates 1819, 1823,
the top of the mountain the wall turns to the
(on Udayagir) 1816, (Ratnagir) 1830 Samvat occur. I will only give one other at length. It
east, following the crest of the central branch
of Sonargir, which now takes an almost semi circular form, to a distance of 4100 feet. The wall at this point runs down the ravine, crosses
comes from Vipulagir, and runs as follows ;“On Friday, the 13th of the waxing moon, in
it close to the source of the Bângañga torrent,
was current, Samvat 1707, [A. D. 1650], Suy
then ascends the slope of the southern branch of
the hill, and passes first along its ridge and then
ama and his younger brother Gobardhana, sons of Lakshmidasa and his wife Vananihälä, of the
down its western slope till it ends in the foot to the west of the stream, as nearly as
caused certain repairs to be done to......... in
possible 12,000 feet from its commencement in
the Ranbhūm plain. The fort at which it ends is about half the size of the one on the opposite side of the torrent.
I have thus succeeded in
tracing the great wall which formed the artifi cial defence of the valley, but strange to say, popular legends, so far from connecting it with any such purpose, make it the evening walk of the Asura king—the spot where he used to enjoy the cool mountain air after the fatigues of the day. Before giving some account of the wild ravine to the west of the valley, it may be interesting to say something of the Jaina pagodas which still adorn the hills. They are maintained and
the month of Aswina, when the Saka year 1572
Vihára Vastüvya family, of the Dopada gotra, Rājagriha.” Bābu Rajendralala Mitra remarks, that in this inscription all the proper names
have the title ‘sangha' prefixed to them, and this shows that the individuals in question be longed to a Buddhist congregation.” In one of the temples at the summit of Wi
pulagir I found the following :—“on the 7th of the waxing moon in Kärtika this statue of
Mukhtigupta, the absolutely liberated sage, was
made by Sri Sanga, on the “Sri Vipulachala
hill,
and consecrated by the preachers of salvation.” The Charana on Ratnagir bears the following:— “Om, Salvation. On the 6th of the waxing moon in the month of Māgha, Samvat year 1829, Shā Manikchand, son of Bulakidasa of
specimens of them.” In the temple dedicated to Munisuvrata, on the Vipula-hill, I found the following :-" On the 7th of the waxing moon in
the Ganghigotra, and Osa family, an inhabitant of Hugli having repaired the temple on the Ratnagiri hill in Rajagriha placed the two lotus like feet of the Jina. Sri Pârşvanātha there.” I conclude with the oldest inscription, which is on Sonárgir—“On the 9th of the waxing moon in the month of Phalguna, in the Samvat year 1504 . . . . of the Jātada Gotra, Rāmamāla Varma Dasa, son of Sangha Manikadeva, son of the wife of Sangha . . . barāja, son of San gha Búnarāja, son of Sangha Devarāja.” The most recent of the inscriptions is dated on late as Samvat 1912, or A. D. 1855. I purpose in the next part to trace the route
the month of Kārtika, Samvat 1848, the image
of Hwen Thsang amongst the hills and valleys
of the supremely liberated sage who attained salvation on the Vipula mountain, together with
to the west of Rājāgriha.
repaired by
subscriptions collected all over
India, and are yearly visited by thousands of pilgrims from Gwalior, Bombay, Calcutta and Murshidābād. They all contain charanas, or, impressions of the sacred feet of the Tirthan karas—generally carved in black basalt, but sometimes in marble, and invariably surrounded
by a Nāgari inscription. I have taken copies of the whole of them, but many have become very indistinct, on account of the oil, ghi, &c. with
which they are annointed. The following are
(To be continued.)
- These readings and translations were made by Babu Rajendralala Mitra, for whose valuable assistance I cannot be
too grateful.
