User:Amit2014hsshrma

mandarachal parvat

The Mountain used to extract nectar and toxic by Gods and Evil. According to the legend commonly believed, it was here that Vishnu had defeated the notorious giant Madhukaitab in a battle that had lasted for ten thousand years, ultimately the Mandar Hill had been thrust over the body of Madhukaitab, so that the monster could not do any further harm to the earth. We have also referred to the legend, to be found in the Puranas and the Mahabharata, that this hill was used for churning the ocean to extract the nectar from its bosom (Samudra Manthan). It is known that, with the break-up of the Gupta Empire, the later Guptas of Magadha, whose connections with the imperial Guptas have not been fully ascertained, established supremacy over Magadha. Adityasena, son of Madhava Gupta, was the eighth king of this line and came to be known as a greatadministrator. An inscription of Adityasena has been discovered on the 'Mandar Hill. This inscription relates that both he and his queen Sri Kondadevi had installed an image of Narahari (Man-lion), an incarnation of Vishnu, on the hill, and that the queen performed an act of piety by excavating a tank, known as Papaharini, at the foot of the said hill. Papaharini was also known as Manohar Kund.

The Mandar Mahatmya, a portion of the Skanda Purana, describes Mandar Hill. It is said that Raja Chhatra Sen of the Chol tribe, who lived before the time of the Muhammadans, erected the oldest temples at the summit. Some of the carvings on the rocks are taken by some to be shell writings. Mandar Hill is also very important as it has the unique image of Vishnu, probably the only sculpture in Bihar where Vishnu, in his man-lion incarnation, has not been shown as tearing Hiranyakashipu. The image is 34 inches high and made of black stone. It belongs to the Gupta period.