Mediaeval Temples of the Dakhan c13.s9.20

c13.s9.20

A T Aundha, some forty miles to the south of Bāsim, in Haidarābād territory, is one of the twelve famous *jyotirliṅgas* of India in the temple of Nāganātha. The town is of some importance and considerable trade, standing, as it does, at the crossing of the trade routes from Nirmal and the Sirpur forests to Jālna and Aurangābād, and from Haidarābād to the Berārs. A very heavily-built stone wall originally surrounded the town, portions of which still exist. It is very pleasantly situated in a level and well cultivated plain surrounded by an amphitheatre of hills. Upon the east and south it is approached by rather steep and rough passes which ascend from the lower country on those sides. It has the appearance of being an ancient place, for parts of very old walls still exist, which are far older than the crumbling ones which now partly surround the town. Ancient Jaina temples, as well as Hindu ones, once flourished here, their remains now being the foul-smelling abodes of the bat and owl.