Page:The Indian Antiquary Vol 2.djvu/282

 252 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. [September, 1873. station is that of the tutelary goddess of Abu,— Arbuda M a t &. It is a small rock-temple formed out of a natural cleft on the side of the hill and overlooking the station. The rock is surmounted by a small white shrine, built more for ornament than use, or, as one of the Jogis told me, it is meant to catch the eye from a distance, and this it certainly does from all sides. The approach to this temple is by a rough stair of some 450 steps, through a shady grove of mango and a few champd trees. As soon as a stranger is seen, there is a frantic rush to close all the doors, so that I could see nothing of tho interior of tho place, which must however be very small. One of the attendants told me that there was nothing but one large idol inside, no inscriptions or ancient relics. The place is evidently one of some sanctity: many pilgrims were present when I was there, waiting to pay their devoirs to the goddess. The view of the station from the terrace is very fine—in fact the most extensive I have seen. As usual, the temple stands on the edge of a dry mountain torrent, but there is a spring of good water close by. Delwada:—Distant half a mile from the foot of the hill on which Arbuda MatA stands, and about a mile north from the station,* are the celebrated temples of Delwada or Devdlwddd (the ‘ place of temples’)—undoubtedly among the most beautiful Jaina temples in India. Tod, in his Western India, has so fully described them, and his opportunities for investigation, knowledge of the people, their language, and religion, were such as to render it useless to attempt adding to his account, f G a u m u k h, or, as it is also called,(Bastonji,’ the shrine of Vasishtha, is situated fully 500 feet down the south-western slope of Abu, and about three miles from the station. The path is a tedious one, and the temple is reached by a long flight of steps from the summit. The de¬ scent is shaded by luxuriant foliage on all sides, and the spot is a favourite one for the sports¬ man, as sambur are frequently met with in the neighbourhood, and one or two tigers frequently prey upon tho cattle of tho Brahmans liv¬ ing at the temple. Tho first object on reach¬ ing tho temple is the fountain supplied by • Delw&dA is in latitude 24° 361' N., longitude 72s 40* E., and 3,040 feet abovo the sea-level.—Ed. f Travels in Western India, pp. 101-113. See also ! Fergneson, Picturesque Illustrations of Architecture in i water from a spout in the form of a cow’s head, whence the name of the place. There are two small Bhrines on the edge of the tank, one con¬ taining an image of Mahadeva, the.other of GaneSa; there are also two inscriptions on the Bides, but they are too much worn to be legible. Close by is the temple, a plain brick edifice, surrounded by a high wall. The shrine of Vasishtha stands alone in the middle of the quadrangle. I could not gain access to the interior, though I much wanted to, as I heard an inscription was to be found inside which gave the date of the brass figure standing outside facing the door, under an ovate-formed cupola, as described by Tod.J Tod affirms that he is one of the Dhar Pramaras, the last of his race, and that he is supplicating the Muni for an act of violence and sacrilege committed by him. He has, however, none of the usual marks of royalty about him, such as are seen on the figure with the bow at Achalesvara, and his position is the common one of all the memorial tablets in marble or stone. There are several small marble figures (bearded), both alone and with females beside them, in different parts of the temple. It is worthy of note that in nearly all the bearded figures I have come across, particularly those with swords, there is a boss, either oval or round, at one side of the head. It may be noticed close to the head of the brass figure, as well as in several of the other sketches. It is in noway connected with the head, and is not a shell, as I at first sup¬ posed. On the dress of the Dhar Pramara, as we must call him upon Tod’s authority, are several pieces of silver let in, of the Bhape of our masonic emblem the square. I also noticed the same sign in the hands of some of the figures in the painted room at Achalgarh. Whether the design is acoidental or emblematic I must leave others to determine. The figure of Syam Nath mentioned by Tod§ is certainly a work of art, only surpassed by the Man-Lion incarnation, to be spoken of further on. There are two smaller temples in the enclosure, one dedicated to Patalesvara, the other to Mahadeva, but they contain nothing worthy of note. I noticed an emblem || of the shape of a square trough or dish with five balls in it: it is the only one to be seen on Abu. Hindostan, pp. 89, 40; and History of Architecture (ed. 1867), vol. II._pp. 622-625,633—Ed. X Western India, p. 118. § lb. p. 119.
 * A yon*.—Ed.