Page:The Indian Antiquary, Vol. 4-1875.djvu/396

 Decembeb, 1875] TARANATHA'S MAGADHA KINGS. 361 Bholesvara and the K:lb ulcvi temple ; it is so named from a shrine of B a m a in the form of a snng little square room, bnilt by a Prablm named Kasinath Sokaji, about two centuries ago, which contains, besides the image of Rama and the indispensable one of his brother L a k s h - man a, those of Sita, Maruti, and Ganesa. This shrine was rebuilt about seventy years after by one Vithoba Mankoji. It is resorted to by all classes of Hindus, and thongh poor in ap- pearance is said to be rich in fnnds. It is under the management of the P r a b h n s. Vi t hal w a d i. — This is a small narrow lane near Ramawadi, and leads to a temple of Vi- t hal, which is a large oblong hall with a paved area in front, with eight pillars with holes for latfe, which serve to light it at the time of the feasts of the god Vithoba.* This Vithoba of Bombay has all the power and attributes of that ofPandharpura, which specially came there from D w ii r k a in response to the fervent prayers of a devotee of his, a boy of about twelve or fifteen years named P u n da 1 i k a, This boy asked Vithoba to reside permanently near him at Paudharpura, whereupon the god trans- formed himself into a black idol, round which a temple was built soon after. His fame then spread and gave rise to innumerable pilgrimages, and not un frequently to unseemly conflicts among his own devotees, in some of which the god himself suffered mutilation. Some of his worshippers, despairing of resorting to him in person at Pandharpnra, resolved to build temples in differ- ent parts of India dedicated to him. Thus arose Vithobii's temple, or the Vithalwadi, in Bombay. G a n e s w a d i, so called from a temple dedi- cated to the god Ganesa or Ganapati, i3 in one of the most populous parts of Bombay, entirely inhabited by the Vanias, close to the new market. The image of Ganesa is always represented sitting upon a rat. He has four hands, and is said to be the god of wisdom. Ganesa means ' the lord of the troops of Siva.' He is held in high veneration by the Hindus, and nothing is un- dertaken, nor a book written, without invoking him. His name is inscribed at the top of all grants and works. He is said to have written the Muhdbhdtaia as dictated by Vyasa. Those who wish to study the exploits of Ganesa may con- sult the Ganesi Kluttula of the Brahmavaivarta Purdna, Ganesa Puruna, and Gan&aa$ihavaraja t a part of the Bhavishya Purdna. TARANATHA'S ACCOUNT OF THE MAGADHA KINGS. Translated from Vassilief* work on Bvddkuwf l»j Miss E. Lyall. Taranatha transmits to us the order of succession of the Magadha kings in this way : after Ajatasatru, Snbahn reigned for ten years ; he was succeeded by his son S u d h a n u, and, according to Lassen, Dhanubhadra and U d a y i b h a d r a ; after the latter and in the time of Upagupta, his son Mahen- dra reigned for nine years, and Chamasa, son of the latter, reigned for twenty- two years. Chamasa left twelve sons, several of whom mounted the throne, but they could not retain it long. The government fell into the hands of the Brahman Gambh Irasila. At this time (Taranatha, ahapM .) in the Cliam- parnakingdom,which belonged to the Kuru race, there was a king called N emi ta, who was de- scended from theSolarrace. He had six sons born of lawful wives, and besides them he had a son Vithobft ia not a. Sanskrit word, bnt a corruption of imra- (ViBomipati), through the valvar pronouncing it £u or BiUn. Nor ia Yifrbal-another appellation at A s o k a, by the daughter of a merchant, to whom he gave in appanage the town of PAtalipn- t r a, as a reward for his victory over the people of Nepal, who dwelt in the kingdom of K a s y a , and over other mountaineers. Nemita sent his six sons toMagadhato make war against a Brahman who dwelt in that town and enjoyed a very high reputation, and several battles were fought on the banks of the Ganges. Nemita died suddenly, and the grandees raised A a ok a to the throne, but his brothers who had subdued six towns of Magadha reigned over them. A so - k a, however, suddenly made war against them, slew them, and besides their towns seized upon other territories so numerous that his dominions stretched from the Himalaya to the Vindhya mountains. As he had formerly spent several years in pleasnre, he was surnamed K a m a - ViUiolA-A Sanskrit word ; it has been imported into Sans- krit in modern times.— Sec woL EL p. 272, toL IV. p. J2. t Forming a long note, pp. 45-55.