Udayan Mantri and His Sons –
Ämbad and Bähad

Udayan Mantri (Minister)

The Solanki dynasty was the golden period for the state of Gujarat and the prosperity of the State reached its peak during the reign of King Kumärpäl. The credit for attaining this position mainly goes to his chancellors who were known as Mantris. It is interesting to learn that many of the chancellors of the
Solanki period were Jains. The contribution of Udayan Mantri and his sons Ämbad and Bähad to the rise and success of King Kumärpäl was substantial.

 

Originally, Udayan was a simple merchant in a village named Vägharä near the town of Jälore, Rajasthan. He could hardly make ends meet and was passing his days in hardship. His wife Suhädevi suggested they move to a place with better economic prospects. During this time, King Siddharäj was ruling the state of Gujarat, and its prosperity was increasing by leaps and bounds. Hence Udayan thought about migrating to Gujarat.

 

At that time, King Siddharäj of Gujarat had built a new town named Karnävati (Amdäväd) in the memory of his father Karnadev. Since Karnävati was a fast growing city, Udayan decided to move there. He did not know anyone there so he first went to the local Jain temple. When Udayan arrived a religious lady named Lachchhi was worshipping in the temple. As she came out, she noticed the new young couple and asked them where they were from. Udayan replied that they were from Rajasthan and he was looking for some business in Karnävati.

 

Lachchhi was a compassionate lady. As she knew the newcomers were Jains, she took them home and treated them as her guests for a couple of days. Then she gave them an old house for shelter. Udayan settled there and started a small business. Luck favored him and within a short time he earned and saved enough to renovate the old house. While digging the ground, he came across a hidden treasure. Since he was honest, he took the treasure to Lachchhi and offered it to her because it belonged to her. She declined to accept it stating that since the property had been given to him, the treasure also belonged to him.

 

Udayan now had enough money to start a large-scale business. He made lots of money and in due course became the wealthiest man in Karnävati. The State also recognized his status and gave him the position of the first citizen of Karnävati. In that capacity, he rendered valuable service to the people of Karnävati.

 

At that time, the city of Khambhät (about 80 miles from Amdäväd) was the most lucrative seaport on the western coast of India. Politicians competed with one another to get the position of governor in that city. Due to the proven capability of Udayan he was appointed governor of Khambhät in 1120 A.D. He held that position for a fairly long period. Two major events have been attributed to him during his tenure as governor.

• At the suggestion of the queen mother, Minaldevi, he abolished the pilgrim tax of Bholad

• He helped Devchandra-suri to initiate a five-year old boy, Chängdev, who had the potential to shine as a great sage. (Later on Chängdev became the great Jain Ächärya Shri Hemchandra)

His loyalty to the king was unquestionable. He hesitated to help Kumärpäl who was roaming from town to town hiding from King Siddharäj. However, when Kumärpäl came to Khambhät in search of shelter, Hemchandra Ächärya advised Udayan to help him. Since Udayan highly respected the Ächärya, he agreed to hide Kumärpäl in his basement. Shortly thereafter, king Siddharäj died and Kumärpäl became king of Gujarat. King Kumärpäl kept Udayan in his position as governor of Khambhät and later brought him to Pätan (capital city of Gujarat) to work as his trusted advisor.

 

Udayan had not forgotten how religion had helped him during his bad times. He therefore used his wealth and position to promote Jainism. As a token of his devotion to the faith, he constructed several Jain temples. Three of them are recorded in Jain history. One was the temple known as Udayanvihär in Karnävati, another was Udävasahi in Dholkä (near by town of Karnävati), and the third one whose name is not recorded was in Khambhät.

 

During the later part of Udayan’s life, Kumärpäl sent him to subdue Sumvar, a notorious bandit in the Saurashtra region. In that mission, he had to pass through Palitänä. He decided to go on a

pilgrimage to Shatrunjay hill. To commemorate the pilgrimage, his statue has been erected on a camel’s back in a small temple on the way to the main complex on the hill. That place is now mistakenly known as 

Päp Punya Ni Bäri (window of good and bad Karma).

At that time, there was a wooden temple on the hill. While Udayan was worshipping there, he saw a mouse take a lit wick in its mouth and roam about. Udayan recovered the wick from the mouse, but he realized that the temple could be set on fire by a mouse. He therefore vowed to construct a new temple there.

 

He succeeded in his expedition against Sumvar, but he was badly wounded in combat and his death was imminent. On his death bed he told his sons about his vow to reconstruct a new temple at Shatrunjay hill. They promised him that they would fulfill his vow.Thereafter, he died peacefully knowing his

vow would be fulfilled.

 

Ämbad and Bähad:
Udayan had 4 sons, named Ämbad, Bähad, Chähad, and Sollak. Ämbad was a poet and a bold warrior. He became the chancellor of King Kumärpäl. He constructed the western walkway on Shatrunjay hill now known as Gheti Ni Päg. He expanded Udävasahi of Dholka and renovated the well-known temple of Shakunikävihär at Bharuch.

 

Ämbad had pledged his allegiance to Kumärpäl and served him with utmost sincerity and loyalty. When Kumärpäl’s successor King Ajaypäl came to the throne, he began to undo everything Kumärpäl had stood for. As a result, Ämbad decided to resist him with all the means at his command. Ajaypäl sent troops to sub due him. Ämbad, however, refused to be subdued and died fighting Ajaypäl’s troops.

 

The second son Bähad (also known as Vähad) was a politician and statesman. He first worked for King Siddharäj, and under King Kumärpäl’s regime he became the king’s trusted right hand person. When
Kumärpäl undertook the renovation of Somnäth temple, the project was entrusted to Bähad who carried out the work very well.

 

In order to honor the pledge to his father, Bähad undertook the construction of a grand temple on Shatrunjay. The temple was completed in 1155 A.D. But soon after, portions of the temple fell down due to intense wind. Bähad then arranged to reconstruct the fallen parts so it could withstand high winds in the future.

 

There is an interesting anecdote associated with the construction of that temple. When Bähad undertook the work, many people wanted to contribute to the project. A list of donors was prepared in order

to accommodate them. At that time, there was a poor man named Bhim who earned his livelihood going from place to place selling Ghee (refined butter). He went to the place where the list was being prepared.He had an intense desire to contribute to the project, but he had only one coin, the one he had earned that day. How could he speak about donating such a small amount when people were contributing thousands of coins? Bähad noticed his eagerness and called him to his side. He gently asked Bhim to contribute whatever he wanted. Naturally Bhim hesitated. Hesitatingly, he said that he wanted to contribute the coin he had earned that day.

 

Bähad not only accepted the offer, but also wrote Bhim’s name at the top of the donors’ list. When he was asked to explain, Bähad said that the other donors, including him, had contributed a part of their wealth while Bhim had contributed his entire wealth.

 

It so happened that when Bhim returned home his wife asked him to fix a wooden post to restrain their cow. As he was digging, he came across a box buried in the ground. As he opened it, he saw that it contained gold coins and other valuables. He thought it was the consequence of his contribution to the temple and took the entire wealth to Bähad as his contribution to the temple. The construction project was completed in 1157 AD at a cost of 29.7 million coins and the opening ceremony was performed on a grand scale in the presence of Shri Hemchandra Ächärya.

 

The life story of Udayan, a religious and hard working Shrävak, is very inspiring to all of us. He was always humble and never forgot his benefactors. He raised brave and virtuous sons, Ämbad and Bähad, two gems of the Jain Sangha. Bhim’s generosity is also praiseworthy. Bähad’s act of putting Bhim’s name at the top of the donors’ list demonstrates his unbiased leadership and true understanding of religion.