History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v2.c28.s1.102

v2.c28.s1.102

throughout Rajput history the Achaleśvara temple is a holy place on this mountain. This story related here is thus probably very old and was subsequently amplified with details by the Skanda Purāṇa in its Arbuda Khaṇḍa Chapter 3. (The name of the mountain in the Purāṇa is Nandivardhana while Arbuda is the name of the great serpent seated on whose back the Nandivardhana mount came from Himālaya to this country). The Skanda Purāṇa story, however, makes no mention of any sacrifice by Vaśiṣṭha which plainly is Chand's addition to the ancient legend. From this account of the rise and growth of the Arbuda legend we may conclude that the Abu mountain was a holy place as early as about 250 B. C. and was first inhabited by some Aryans of the Vaśiṣṭha family. It is no wonder that the Paramāras who came to prominence in this part of the country later on, take Vaśiṣṭha as their gotra.