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SHRI
KANGRA TEERTH (HIMACHAL PRADESH)
Author:
Capt. Vimal Kumar Jain, 572, Asiad Village
New Delhi - 110 049, Tele : 26493538 , Mobil : 9811449431
Believed
to have been established by Katoch King Susharm Chandra in
the Mahabharat period, this ancient "Teerth" went
into oblivion due to various circumstances. Its existence
was fortunately discovered with the publication of Vigyapti
Triveni (VT). VT was written in Vikram S. 1484 as a long
letter by Upadhyaya Jay Sager ji giving detail to yatra
undertaken by the jain sangh from Faridpur (Sindh) to Kangra.
The manuscript of the travelogues was discovered by Shri jin
Vijay ji at patan in 1916. It was published in a book form,
titled "Vigyapti Triveni". After a long and
arduous efforts, the Jain Sangh partially succeeded in
reclaiming the teerth. Jains are now allowed to perform Puja/Aarti
of lord Adhinath. The idol however is in the possession of
the Archaeological Department and is kept in a small shrine
within the fort. An idol of Ambika, Shasan Devi of 22nd
teerthankara lord Naminath is housed in another small
shrine.
Kangra
is situated in the ancient "Trigart" land. The
Kangra fort, also called Nagar Kot, contains the ruins of
the old Jain temples and the idols mentioned above. A new
temple complex has been built at the foot of the fort and
has good facilities for stay of yatris.
JAIN
CONTEXT IN KANGRA'S HISTORY
Introduction
Kangra, situated in the idyllic surroundings of Shivlik
hills in the present day Himachal Pradesh in India was not
only an important Jain Centre in the olden days but also an
important place of pilgrimage for Jains from all over India.
This was on account of a legendary Jain Temple dedicated to
Lord Adhinath, the first Jain Teerthankara. Kangra Was
dubbed as a 'Mahaterth' and won the epithet of 'Shatrunjaya
of the North' it is a dark chapter of Indian history that
the very existence of this important place went into
oblivion. So much so that it went out of Jain consciousness
itself. It was because of a number of factors, the last one
perhaps was the devastating earthquake which hit the region
in 1905 causing almost a complete obliteration of whatever
remained of the jain temples. A miraculous survivor was the
idol of lord Adinatha which in spite of its large size
remained undamaged. However its existence remained unknown
to the Jains till a change occurrence. This will be narrated
later.
The
Legend
The legend holds that during the Mahabharata war, King
Susharma Chandra Katoch of Trigart desh, fought on the side
of Kauravas against the Pandavas. He was responsible for
launching the attack on Virat Nagar. When Kauravas got
defeated, Sushrama Chandra retreated to the hiil. He built a
fort and founded the city of 'Susham pur' in the 'Sapadalakash'
presendoy 'shivalik' hills The fort itself was was earlier
called 'Khangargarh' or Kangdak witch appears to have
evolved into modern day's Kangra. Slowly the habitation
around the fort also came to acquire the name Kangra instead
of 'Susharmpour' or' Nagarkot'. The earliest reference to
Khangargarh is available in 'Vividh Teertha Kalpa' written
by Acharya Jin Prabha Suri.
The
inscription at Baijath Paprola (Keergram) temple supports
the conclusion that Kangra is the new name of Susharmpur/Nagarkot.
There
are some very interesting and noteworthy points in the
connection. The first is the legend that the temple of lord
Adinath, the first Jain Teerthanker and the fort were
miraculously brought about by Goddess Ambika during the
reign of King Susharma Chandra. The legend states that the
King, one day, decided to abstain from all food till he had
darshan of Lord Adinath at Shatrunjay, This was very far of
place. Goddess Ambika, the kuldevi of Katoch King and
Shashan devi of 23rd Teerthanker, lord Neminath, overnight
brought about the existence of the temple dedicated to lord
Adinath at the fort to save the king from certain death due
to starvation as per the Jain scriptures, Lord Neminath was
a contemporary and a cousin of Lord Krishna. He was about to
get married to Rajimati, daughter of Raja Ugrasaen, when he
decided to renounce the world.
The
story goes that Krishana engineered a strategy so that
Neminath chooses to renounce the
world. Otherwise Neminath with his extreme strength power
would have been a threat to Krishna's supremacy. It may not
be out of place to mention here that account of battle
between Kauravs and Pandavas in Mahabharat amply demonstrate
the worldly wisdom diplomatic skill of Lord Krishana.
Goddess Ambika, though common to both the Hindu and jain
pantheon of goddesses, occupies an exalted position amongst
the jain as the Shashan Devi of lord Neminath. Accounts of
various pilgrimages to Kangra bear references to the worship
of Ambika along - with the worship at the temple of Adinath
at the fort. Incidentally, the oldest extent idol of Ambika
is understood to be a jain idol.
The
Fort
The Fort is built on a narrow strip of a hill feature at the
confluence of two rivers, Ban Ganga and Manjhi (also called
Patel Ganga) the hill has sides, with a sheer drop of about
400 fits to the riverbed. The Kangra Township lies to the
Northeast. The hill feature on which the fort is located is
connected to the township by an isthmus about 50m wide. The
topography imparts role in the long uninterrupted rule of
Katoch King in the area down to the medieval times.
Presently, the fort contains only scattered ruins of the
jain temples and a surprisingly intact large jain idol of
Lord Adinath. The idol is carved in dark gray stone with
locks of hair falling on shoulders on either side. Its size
is (39.5x31x17.5) with symbol of the "bull"
engraved on the seat. This large idol appears to have been
the presiding deity in the surrounding areas till at least
the attack of Mahmud Ghazni in 1009 AD and probably till
much later. Till the devastating earthquake of 1905 witch
caused considerable havoc, the fort form 1909 AD onward had
a long history of wars and occupation by various garrisons
of the Muslims, Gurkhas, Mughal, Sikh and finally the
British@. The various building and temples inside the fort
saw many misadventures by the 'occupation forces'. The
entire fort was declared a "protected monument" by
the then Punjab Government in 1909*
Jain
history of Kangra
For many centuries till the twentieth the jain connection
with Kangra remained a forgotten chepter of history. In
1872-73, Sir Alexander Cunningham was first to notice the
remains of old Jain temple in the Kangra fort and in Kangra
town. Although some of his observations show his inadequate
familiarity with jain tradition, but the details mentioned
by him are sufficient to show a significant presence of jain
ruins both in the the fort as well as the town ship. But in
sprite of sir cunningham's discovery in 1872-73 and later
reports by Buhlar other the jain connection of Kangra
remained almost unknow in the Jain consciousness till a
change discovery of a manuscript called "Vijnapti
Triveni" by Muni Jin Vijaya during his studies at
paten. Vijnapati Triveni is a travelogue of pilgrimage
undertaken in VS 1484 (1427 AD), from Faridpur in Sindh to
Nagarkot (Kangra) and back. Vijanpati are usually the
accounts of activities of the monks during their various
sojourns undertaken at the behest of their guru. The term is
also applied to the formal request by Jain Shravak Sanghs to
their guru praying him to come for Chaturmas to their place
to direct all the religious activities during that period.
Quite often such vijnaptis were long, poetic, illustrated
and containing many details of the local area and people as
well as information of surrounding area. The historians
especially the jain historians will forever remain grateful
to Muni Jin Vijay ji for having done a sterling service by
publishing the contents of Vijanpati Triveni in 1916 AD and
thus bringing to life a forgotten chapter of Jain history.
It also underlines the importance of examining the vast
reservoir of jain manuscripts, which may reveal new facts
about Indian history. About Kanga, Sahitya Vachaspati
Bhanwarlal Nahata did further study and research this
contained a summary of various reference to Kangra in Jain
literature as well as a compilation of various compositions
on Kangra Mahateerath by various Jain monks and shravaks who
went to Kangra on pilgrimage during the years 1391-1634.
Conclusion
From the above it is clear that Kangra was an important
center of pilgrimage for Jains and was considered as a
mahateerth. Cunningham, Buhlar, Dr. K. N. Seetharam have all
discovered wide spread Jain ruins in the area, which
corroborates the prominence of Jain shrines described in the
various travelogues. There is no doubt that katoch dynasty
had a number of king who were follower of Jainism and a few
more who patronized it. This show that there is an urgent
need for detailed research in to old history of Kangra. Phone:
01892-265187
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Mail
to : Ahimsa Foundation
www.jainsamaj.org
R051004
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