Historical Geography of Ancient India c9.102

c9.102

Girinagara (Girnar).—It is mentioned in Luders’ List (Nos. 965, 966) as a town. According to the Jaina Anuyogadvāra (Sūya, 130, p. 137) Girinayara or Girinagara was located near the Ūrjayantaparvata. The Junāgaḍh Inscription of Skandagupta mentions Junāgaḍh as the chief town of the native state of Junāgaḍh in the Kāthiāwaḍ peninsula of the Bombay State. It is also known as Girinagara or Girnar, which is also called Ūrjayat in the inscriptions (C.I.I., III). A vassal Yavanarāja named Tusāspha ruled Surāṣṭra as its governor with Girinagara as its capital during the reign of king Aśoka, as we learn from the Junāgaḍh Rock Inscription of Mahākṣatrapa Rudradāman. Close to Junāgaḍh in Gujarat stands the Girnār or Raivataka hill, which is considered to be the birthplace of Neminātha, the Jaina Tīrthaṅkara. This hill contains a footprint called Gurudattacaraṇa. It is sacred to the Jainas, as it contains the temples of Neminātha and Pārśvanātha. It also contains the hermitage of Ṛṣi Dattātreya. The river Suvarṇarekhā (= Palāśinī) flows at the foot of this hill. According to the Jaina Uttarādhyayana Sūtra (Ch. XLV), Ariṣṭanemi died here in his old age. Śricaitanya, the celebrated Vaiṣṇava reformer, visited Girinagara as we learn from Govindadāsa’s Karcā. For further details, vide Law, Some Jaina Canonical Sūtras, p. 180. See also Ūrjayat.