Historical Geography of Ancient India c6.227

c6.227

Gandhamādana.—The Yoginītantra (1/15) mentions this parvata (mountain). The Bhāgavatapurāṇa (IV. I, 58; V. I, 8; X. 52, 3) refers to it as a mountain upon which Brahmā descended. It is described in the Jātaka as a rocky mountain, which was visited by king Vessantara with his wife and children (Jātaka, VI, p. 519). This mountain forms a part of the Rudra Himalaya and according to the epic writers, a part of the Kailāsa range. It is said to have been watered by the Mandākinī. According to the Harivaṃśa (Ch. XXVI. 5-7) King Pururava lived with Urvaśī for ten years at the foot of the Mount Gandhamādana. According to the Padmapurāṇa (Ch. 133) there was a tīrtha (holy place) here called the Sugandha. This Purāṇa (Uttarakhaṇḍa, vs. 35-38) mentions Gandhamādana. Bāṇa describes it as one of the summits of the Himalaya (Kādambarī, Ed. Kale, 94). Kālidāsa mentions the Gandhamādana in his Kumārasambhava (VIII. 28, 29, 75 and 86). A certain ascetic came to Benaras from this mountain to see the king (Jāt., III, 452). There was a cave in this mountain known as the Nandamūla inhabited by the elect (Sāsanavaṃsa, P.T.S., p. 68). This mountain had a big śivaliṅga (Kālikāpurāṇa, 78. 70). To the east of this mountain there existed the Kāma mountain (Ibid., 79. 57). According to the Divyāvadāna (p. 157) Aśoka’s tree was brought from this mountain by Ratnaka, the keeper of a hermitage, and was planted at the place where the Buddha showed miracles. This mountain was visited by the Buddha, when a Brahmin used to live at its foot (Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā, 5th Pallava, pp. 25, 31).