PLACES

SHIRPUR

Situation: Shirpur, is a large village in Washim tahsil with a population of 8285 according to the Census of 1971 and is situated in 20⁰ 10' 30" north latitude and 77⁰ 1' east longitude, 15 miles to the north-east of Washim. This electrified village has a police station and a post and telegraph office providing telephone facilities. Wells form the main source of water supply. There are two ginning and Dressing factories in the village. A weekly market is held on every Wednesday. Three primary schools and a high school known as the Shirpur Vidyalaya provide educational facilities to the local people. There is a dispensary as also private medical practitioners. A veterinary dispensary is also located in the village. It is mainly an agricultural village with betel vines and jowar, cotton, orange and sour lemon as the principal crops. The village had once three forts and a wall. Now only an earthen gadhi in dilapidated condition remains.

Shirpur was the headquarters of a pargana of 60 villages divided between tour deshmukhs, of whom three were Brahmans and one was a Maratha. By the end of the 17th century, Shirpur was among the villages given as a present to Ambikabai, the daughter of Rajaram who was married to Mudhoji, the son of Ravjagdev of the other branch of Dhanaji Jadhav. At the same time the right to sardeshmukhi also passed on to her In 1752, it was included in the mokasa of Khanderay Kashi. During the Muslim Rule, the trunk road from North India to Paithan and Aurangabad which was the headquarters of the Moghal Viceroy of the Deccan passed through this village and, as such, this road was the route of army movements of the Moghals.

Shirpur is one of the most important pilgrim centres of the Jains who regard it as their Benaras. Jain pilgrims from all over the country visit this place.

Temples: At present there are four Jain temples in the village, viz., the Antariksha Parshvanath Basti Mandir, the Pavali Digamoari Mandir, the Parshvanath Shvetambar Mandir and the Chintamani Parshvanath Digambari Mandir.

Antariksha Parshvanath Mandir.-The chief object of interest at Shirpur is the temple of Antariksha Parshvanath which is also known as the Basti Mandir being in the middle of the village. This temple is said to have been built about 250 years ago. The lnam Record about this temple which was registered in 1867 corroborates the above mentioned fact. The temple is believed to have been built by Onkaniasji Shravaji of Knarngaon.

The story told about this temple is that two Jain demons ailed Khara and Dushana made the image of cowdung and sand and used to worship it. They hid it in a pit beside a river on the side of a hill near Werul (Ellora) a village near Aurangabad in the then Nizam's Dominions. Long afterwards Ila or Ilaka Raja of Ellichpur happened to pass by the spot and to see a little pool of water, no larger than might be contained in a cow's hoof-mark. He suffered terribly from white leprosy, but on applying this water to his body was immediately cured. He was a Jain, and every night his queen had been accustomed to take the germs of the disease from his body and, not being allowed to kill them, put them in a tin ease till the morning, when they were replaced. She now asked how he had been cured, and went with him to the spot, where she prayed to the unseen god to manifest himself. That night the image appeared to her in a dream and directed that it should be dug up and conveyed in a cart to Ellichpur but it warned her that the king, who was to drive the cart himself must on no account look back. In fact he looked back near Shirpur and the image remained suspended in the air. The king built over it the temple of Pavali- a Hemadpanti building having neither arch nor mortar. Presently the god expressed disapproval of this and directed that another temple should be built at the cost of a panch, and the present temple was built accordingly.

The temple has a small campus the main gate of which was built in 1880. The entrance to the temple lacing the east, is decorated with designed and carved metal covering, while the threshold of the same displays coins from the Moghal, the Nizam and the British regimes which are fixed there. This entrance leads to a gabhara also known as Digambari Vedi. On the right of this Veat there is another Vedi of Veersen Svami. There are 15 images of Jain Saints on this Vedi.

The main temple with the shrine of Antariksha Parshvanath is underground, about 8 feet below the ground surface, and is below file gabhara referred to above. While proceeding from this gabhara to the sanctuary (devhara) of Antariksha Parshvanath, one cornes across the Vedi of Mahavira Svami, a Jain Tirthankar. Tins sanctuary, though not very spacious, is decorated on the ceiling and with arches on solid pillars. It is built in stone masonry and furnished with while marble tiles, It is also furnished with electric lights.

The principal object of worship, the idol of Antariksha Parshvanaith appears to be made of black stone of the local variety though a section of Jain devotees believe that the idol is made of sand mixed with cow dung. The idol appears to be a fine specimen of sculpture and is about three and a half feet high. It is in a typical meditative posture which is known as dhyanastha ardha-padmasana. There is a hood of the cobra on the top of the idol. Jain devotees believe that the idol was in a floating position in the past and has come to rest on ground at only one point subsequently. However, a plausible explanation of its position as it appears to the human eye is that the idol is supported on the base at one point and is balanced in such a way that its entire weight is supported at that point. The principal interest about the same is that except for one point the entire idol is floating, and is hence called antariksha. The idol touches the ground a! its right knee. A piece of cloth can be passed through the space between the idol and its base.

To the right of the main shrine is an altar (Vedi) of Adinatha Svami which contains an ancient image of Anantanatha Tirthankara. By the side of the image of Anantanatha Tirthankara are carved 14 images of the 14 Tirthankaras. The image of Anantanatha contains an inscription said to be in Brahmi characters. Next to this altar, there is another altar of the Goddess Padmavati who is considered as the Yakshini (the female demigod) of Parshvanatha. The image of Padmavati prepared about a century ago is in white marble and is beautiful. To the right hand side of the Goddess is the altar of Devendrakirti Svami. There are five more altars, known as Panchmeru. Of these four altars contain the image of Parshvanatha. In the ninth altar is the ancient Digambar image of Panchaparameshihi. Made in black stone, the image of Panchaparameshthi is broken at the legs. It is said Io have been broken by one of the nobles of Aurangzeb Other idols are in white marble said to be 300 to 400 years old.

Below this sanctuary at a depth of about seven to eight feet one comes across another cellar which contains the shrine of Chintamani Parshvanath and two idols of Kshetrapalas. This whole construction which can be said to be a Sabhamandapa is in Hemadpanti style and is supported on four pillars.

At the top of the main temple is a dome and a terrace to the east of which is the nagarkhana. On the parapet wall are carved the figures of Digambar Jain idols.

By the side of the temple are four dharmashalas including the one recently constructed by the Shvetambars which provide accommodation to pilgrims. In the pavilion in the temple premises religious discourses are held.

Pavali Digambar Jain Mandir.-The other Jain temple at Shirpur is known as the Pavali Digambar Jain Mandir which is located at the outskirt of the village.

To the left of the temple is a well whose water cured the white leprosy of the king Ila. Local people even now claim that the water of this well has curative powers.

It is said that the brave warriors from the family of the Jadhavs of Sindkhed were invited and settled at Shirpur with a view to protecting the shrine from the ravages of the Muslims. These Jadhavs were known as Pavalkars and were vested with the responsibility of protecting the temple up to the end of the last century when both Shvetambars and the Digambars agreed to shoulder the responsibility of protecting the temple themselves.

This temple, which appears to he unfinished, bears an abraded inscription over its eastern door-way, to one side, with a date which has been read as Samvat 1334 (A. D. 1412), and the name Antariksha Parshvanatha. Mr. Couseus was of the opinion that the temple was begun during the early Muhammedan invasions of the Deccan, at least a hundred years before the dale of the inscription, and that the work was abandoned lest the iconoclastic zeal of the invaders should be excited, and subsequently resumed when their zeal had subsided into the tolerance of rulers, at which time, probably, the image of Parshvanath Antariksha was installed. He also suggested that the old temple was finally abandoned after the commencement, but before the completion of the brick skikhara in hybrid, style and owing to the insecurity of temples during the contests of rival Muhammedan powers in the Deccan. The plan of the shrine is star-shaped and the walls are decorated with bands of arabesque, no images being carved except in the three principal niches, these figures being hose and detachable if necessary. Mr. Cousens suggested that the people of the Deccan had heard before the arrival of the Musalmans of their hatred of images and that Hindu temple-builders of this period introduced bands of arabesque and plain mouldings as an exterior decoration in place of the profusion of images which formerly prevailed in order that there should be nothing outside to excite the enmity of the Musalmans. The entrance doorway of the hall is elaborately carved and images occur here, but they would have been hidden by the porch, had it been completed. On either side of the door-way are nude Jam figures and over the lintel is a small seated Jina. In the shrine are two small marble Jinas, neither of them being Parshvanatha.

The temple constructed in Hemadpanti style with black stone has an entrance door from which the main sanctuary is visible The temple proper is situated at a low level so that the early morning rays of the sun fall directly on the shrine. After entering the entrance gate one comes across an audience hall with four pillars. The exterior portion of the main temple bears artistic carvings. The audience hall in the main temple has three gateways with a plethora of artistic carvings over them. Each of the doorways bears Digambara images carved on the three sides of the door-frame. All the four pillars of the audience hall bear the beautiful carvings of the devotees dancing and playing instrumental music. The ceiling of the audience hall bears an impress of exquisite sculpture. The interior of the dome is decorated with artistic swans in rejoicing mood.

On three sides of the inner chamber, which is renovated with marble tiles, are three altars upon which are sealed three Images, all in white marble, the chief being that of Parshvanatha said to have been as old as the samvat year 1432 (1510 A. D.). The exterior of the inner chamber is pentangular and the pillars are nicely decorated. It is said that 11 images were excavated from the cellar below the audience hall in 1928. The temple was not properly maintained upto 1966-1967 when it was brought under proper upkeepment and maintenance.

'The image of Parshvanatha' according to the old Akola District Gazetteer 'is said to have been set up in the present temple on Vaishakh Shuddh, 3 Vikrama Samvat 555, or about 1500 years ago', but there is no evidence of this. It further states, Two images of Parshvanatha in white marble are said to have been placed in the Pavali temple about 20 years ago'. Pilgrims come throughout the year to visit this shrine also.

Vighnahara Prshvatnath Shvetambar Mandir.--The third Jain temple in the village known as the Vighnahara Parshvanatha Shvetambar Mandir was built in 1964 In front of the temple is erected the statue of the chief donor. This exquisite modern construction contains a magnificent audience hall (sabha-mandapa) above which there is a dome covering the entire audience hall. The dome is remarkable for being akhand (monolithic). The dome above the gabhara, 35' in height could be reached through a screw type staircase from the terrace. Above the dome are also placed the images of tirthankaras. The inner chamber (gabhara) is constructed in superior white marble brought from Jaipur. It contains the fine artistic. shrine of Vighnahara Parshvanatha in black in able. The entrance door to the inner chamber is artistic and bears beautiful carvings including different creeper designs with two counchch shells. In the inner chamber, besides the main shrines there are five other shrines in white stone. In the circuambulation of the temple there are carved the images of 24 tirthankaras. The entire building is painted in fine colour and decorated with exquisite designs.

Chintamani Parshvanath Mandir.-The fourth temple in the village is known as the Chintamani Parshvanatha Mandir and was constructed by the Digambar sect of the Jains in 1970. This is a small temple as compared with the other three.

Pilgrims from all over the country visit the main temple and along with it others too throughout the year. However, the chief fair is held for three days in Karttika (October-November). Various explanations are given of the name. Shirpur. Some refer it to a saint called Siddha Purusha others to the fact that aborigines here offered a vessel of milk in a jaikar who spoke Persian and called the place 'milk-full,' others to a corruption of Shripal, a second name of Raja II a who brought the wonderful image. while yet others say the image is a form of Vishnu and the village is named after his wife Lakshmi or Shri.

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