CHAPTER 33 – Three Significant Locations nearby Junagadh: Vanthli, Bilkha and Majewadi

Chapter outline and page reference:

Vanthli 324
Bilkha 330
Majewadi 333

Chapter preview (first three pages only):

The three locations discussed below, Vanthli, Bilkha and Majewadi, all within about 16 km from Junagadh, fall within the Vastrapatha Ksetra as described in the Vastrapatha Ksetra Mahatmya of the Skand Puran.

Vanthli
Vanthli is the headquarters of the Vanthli Taluka of Junagadh District. It stands on the bank of the River Uben at a distance of 15 km south-west of Junagadh. It has a railway station on the Junagadh–Saradiya metre gauge section of the Western Railway. Watson (1884) indicated that the census of 1872 recorded a population in Vanthli of 1,308 people but this number sank to 1,249 in 1881 consequent on the famine of 1878–79. As of the 2001 India census, Vanthli had a population of 15,861. Seshagiri (2008) provided the following census figures for the population size of Vanthli: 1901 – 7726, 1911 – 8,201, 1921 – 8,639, 1931 – 9,837, 1941 – 11,613, 1951 – 12,790, 1961 – 12,262, 1971 – 14,846, 1981 – 17,012, 1991 – 16,339, 2001 – 15,858. More recently the population of Vanthli was about 20,000, which included 4,000 Muslims of which about 1,500 people belong to the Memon community. The Scheduled Castes population is 1,323, and the Scheduled Tribes population is 31. The literacy rate in 2001 was 77.71% (males 86.11%, females 68.24%). 10,181 people (64.2%) were Hindu, 5,608 (35.36%) Muslim, 51 (0.32%) Jain, 12 (0.08%) Sikh, 2 Buddhist (0.01%), and 1 other (0.01%) (Seshagiri 2008).
The ancient names of this place are said to have been (i) Devasthali which name was corrupted into Dethali, (ii) Vamanasthali and (iii) Vamanpur or the abode of Vaman, the fifth incarnation of Vishnu. In a local ‘ranastambha’ (battle- or victory-pillar, a monument of war or battle) inscription, dated 1413 AD, the place is called Vamanapura. In the inscription in the Hanivav at the village of Dhandhusar it is called Vamandham, but in the Kumarpal Charitra it is called Vamansthali (Watson 1884). On the other hand, could Vanthli also signify a ‘city near a forest’, such as the Girnar Forest? For example, Singh (2006, page 222) noted, in reference to the important requirement of Harappan culture merchants, of access to luxuriant forests to provide timber for ship building and herbs for medicines: ‘…the medicines in general use in maritime conveyance were supplied to maritime cities of Harappan culture by vanathali or vansthali villages, (villages situated near forests) situated near Girnar Hills, Dwarka-Okha, Saurashtra and so forth.’
The Mahabharat refers to a Vaman Tirth but gives no clue to its locality, but it is almost certain that it is the same as Vamanasthali; for the Girnar Mahatmya states that the central incident in the Vamana incarnation took place at this very place and that the city was founded by Vamana himself (Altekar 1924–5). At one time it was known for its several Jain temples, which were destroyed by King Ajaypal of the Solanki dynasty, who ruled at the great city Anhilwad Patan (modern Siddhpur Patan) from 1173–1176 AD.
Vanthli is one of the five sacred places (panch tirth) for the Jains (Rajyagor 1975), at least for those of Saurashtra. The town now has two Jain temples. The main shrine, located in Aazad Chowk, houses an ancient white idol of Sri Sheetalnath Bhagwan (the tenth Jain Tirthankar of the present age), 150 cm high and seated in the lotus posture. The idol of Shitalnath was discovered in 1900 AD, when it was dug up from the local Gandhi Garden. Based on its style, it has been proposed that this idol, and its original temple at Vanthli, were made by King Samprati (229–220 BC), Ashoka’s grandson (Shree Jain Prarthana Mandir Trust 2002). The new temple was reconstructed and reconsecrated in 1914 AD, and is managed by the Sri Vanthli Tapagach Jain Sangh. In the construction of the temple some stones were used from an old castle at Osam Mountain, about 18 km to the north. Also at Vanthli is the temple of Neminath.
Vanthli is the birth place of many important shravaks (Jain laypersons or householders), such as Kriyasheel, a minister of Sidhraj Jayasingh (1094–1143 AD), the king of Patan, and Sri Sajjan Seth, Sidhraj Jayasingh’s prime minister. These two Jains were important in the 12th century renovation and building of temples on Mount Girnar. Also in the 12th century, Sri Sakaria of Vanthli built Jain temples and adorned the idol of Sri Neminath Bhagwan with a necklace made of diamonds and emeralds. Also born here was the shravak Sri Savchand Seth, who built a temple at the Chowmukhji Tunk of Shri Shatrunjay Tirth (Shree Jain Prarthana Mandir Trust 2002).
According to the Girnar (Vastrapatha Kshetra) Mahatmya, a famous wise Daitya named Bali Raja reigned at Balisthan, modern Bilkha. While he was about to celebrate his 100th yagna, at each of which he sacrificed a horse, the gods became alarmed that on its completion he would capture the throne of Indra. They implored Vishnu to protect them. Vishnu consented to help them and assumed the form of a dwarf called Vaman. When Bali Raja was distributing charity to Brahmins during the performance of this sacrifice Vaman arrived there and requested Bali Raja to give him land covering three paces. To this Bali Raja agreed. Thereupon Vaman, who was god incarnate, assumed a gigantic form and covered the entire earth by one step and heaven by the second step, and asked where he should place his third step. Bali Raja overwhelmed by Vaman’s divine powers offered his head humbly for the third step. Vaman then thrust Bali Raja down to patal or the underworld, of which region he made him the king. Finally, he selected the present site of Vanthli to found his capital, on a site which was recommended by Garga Acharya (Trivedi 1964, page 48). According to Angal (1875) and Watson (1884): ‘A temple of Vaman exists in the town today’, and Rangarajan (1991) reported that: ‘Here in the heart of the town the image of Vamana is still being worshipped.’
It has been suggested by Amarji (1882) that: ‘Vanthali was for a long time known by the name of Patan, but Vahudipal Dhundhlimal the Yogi, who lived in the hills of Dhank, in his wrath pronounced the curse ‘Patan so datan!’ ‘Patan, be buried!’ upon it; whereupon eighty-four towns bearing that name were swallowed up by the earth, and Patan shared the same fate, as may be seen even in our days, since, where ever excavations are made, foundations of buildings, and various things, are dug up. During the tenure of power of the author in this town, two stone horses, each one cubit high, were dug up, with a stone box in which they were, and also other more valuable things in Samvat 1842 (A.D. 1785)’.
Tradition suggests that Vamanasthali was the capital of the Kathiawad Viceroys of the Guptas during the fifth century. There may be no clash with this and the inscriptional evidence that Girinagar (modern Junagadh) was the capital, for the distance between the two towns is only 15 km, both were situated in one and the same Pauranic locality; and it is just possible that the Gupta Viceroys may have shifted in the summer to Girnar Hills from Vamanasthali like the more recent Britsh Viceroys shifting to Simla from Delhi (Altekar 1924–5).
Parnadatta the last local viceroy, says the tradition, was a weak ruler, — a statement which we can accept only if we regard the composer of the Junagadh Skandhagupta inscription (on the Ashokan Edict Rock) as a fulsome liar; but whether weak or strong he was overthrown by his General Bhattaraka who for a time continued to rule at Vamanasthali as a Gupta feudatory. But soon after the death of Skandhagupta (about 480 AD) he declared