SH. RAMESH KUMAR MUTHA
On the basis of legends, the mention of the antiquity of Shri Jain Shwetambar Nakoda Parshvanath Tirtha is connected to the Mahabharata period i.e. the time period of Lord Shri Neminath Ji, but from the basic historical evidence its antiquity is V.S. It can be considered to be 200-300 years ago i.e. 2200-2300 years ago. Shri Jain Shwetambar Nakoda Parshvanath Tirtha is one of those ancient Jain pilgrimages of Rajasthan which is a symbol of the superiority of the historical richness and cultural heritage of Khedpatan and Mahevanagar of this region for more than 2000 years. Mahevanagar itself was earlier famous as Veerampur city. Veeramsen established Virampur and Nakorsen established Nakoda city. Even today, Nakoda village is situated on the banks of Luni river on Balotra-Seendhari highway, from where the statue of Lord Shri Parshvanathji, the original leader of this pilgrimage, was found, which was established here and since then this pilgrimage is world famous by the name of Nakodaji. The statue of Moolanayak Shri Parshvanath Bhagwan was consecrated by the founder of the pilgrimage, Acharya Shri Jin Kirtirtansuriji, in V.S. It was done in 1502. Of the other statues here, some are from the era of Samprati Raja, grandson of Emperor Ashoka, and some are from the era of V.S. 1090 and 1205 are mentioned. It is also mentioned that around the year 1500, Virampur had a population of 50 thousand and 2700 families of Oswal Jain community lived here. From the point of view of trade and business, Virampur city (present day Nakoda Tirtha) was the main center of this area.
