Note 13 — Chapter VIII · THE VALABHIS (a.d. 509–766.)

Kárván seems to have suffered great desecration at the hands of the Musalmáns. All round the village chiefly under pipal trees, images and pieces of sculpture and large liṅgas lie scattered. To the north and east of the village on the banks of a large built pond called Káśíkuṇḍa are numerous sculptures and liṅgas. Partly embedded in the ground a pillar in style of about the eleventh century has a writing over it of latter times. The inscription contains the name of the place Sanskritised as Káyávarohana, and mentions an ascetic named Vírabahadraráśi who remained mute for twelve years. Near the pillar, at the steps leading to the water, is a carved doorway of about the tenth or eleventh century with some well-proportioned figures. The left doorpost has at the top a figure of Śiva, below the Śiva a figure of Súrya, below the Súrya a male and female, and under them attendants or gaṇas of Śiva. The right doorpost has at the top a figure of Vishṇu seated on Garuḍa, below the seated Vishṇu a standing Vishṇu with four hands, and below that two sitting male and female figures, the male with hands folded in worship the female holding a purse. These figures probably represent a married pair who paid for this gateway. Further below are figures of gaṇas of Śiva. In 1884 in repairing the south bank of the pond a number of carved stones were brought from the north of the town. About half a mile north-west of the town on the bank of a dry brook, is a temple of Chámundá Deví of about the tenth century. It contains a mutilated life-size image of Chámundá. Facing the temple lie mutilated figures of the seven Mátrikás and of Bhairava, probably the remains of a separate altar facing the temple with the mátri-maṇḍala or Mother-Meeting upon it. The village has a large modern temple of Śiva called Nakleśvara, on the site of some old temple and mostly built of old carved temple stones. In the temple close by are a number of old images of the sun and the boar incarnation of Vishṇu all of about the tenth or eleventh century. The name Nakleśvara would seem to have been derived from Nakuliśa the founder of the Páśupata sect and the temple may originally have had an image of Nakuliśa himself or a liṅga representing Nakulíśa. Close to the west of the village near a small dry reservoir called the Kuṇḍa of Rájarájeśvara lies a well-preserved black stone seated figure of Chaṇḍa one of the most respected of Śiva’s attendants, without whose worship all worship of Śiva is imperfect, and to whom all that remains after making oblations to Śiva is offered. A number of other sculptures lie on the bank of the pond. About a mile to the south of Kárván is a village called Lingthali the place of liṅgas. ↑