Identification of the Siddharaja‑Saras
By P. K. Gode
Summary
In this paper the author attempts to identify the lake called Siddharāja‑Saras, mentioned in the Sarasvatipūrana and in Hemacandra’s chronicles, with an actual tank at Patan in Gujarat. The Purana describes the lake as having temples dedicated to the ten incarnations of Viṣṇu (Dāśāvatāra tirtha), numerous shrines to Śiva, Nāgara temples and an esplanade of a thousand lingas. After examining these descriptions and comparing them with the Sahasralinga tank constructed by the Chaulukya king Siddharāja Jayasiṃha in Patan, the author notes striking correspondences: Hemacandra records that the king built a reservoir adorned with 1,008 Śaiva shrines, and the site is still called Sahasralinga (“thousand lingas”). Inscriptions and architectural fragments from the tank support the identification. The author argues that the Sarasvatipūrana’s account of Siddharāja‑Saras is a legendary embellishment of this historical reservoir and that later Jain writers mislocated it by confusing Sarasvatī with the Rupanarayana river. He concludes that the Siddharāja‑Saras of legend is none other than the Sahasralinga tank at Patan, built by Siddharāja Jayasiṃha in the 12th century, and that Hemacandra’s testimony should be taken as authoritative.
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Conclusion
By comparing descriptions in the Sarasvatipūrana and Hemacandra’s chronicles with surviving remains at Patan, the author identifies the legendary Siddharāja‑Saras with the Sahasralinga tank built by the Chaulukya ruler Siddharāja Jayasiṃha. The matching details—the ten incarnations of Viṣṇu, the multitude of Śiva lingas and the number of shrines—suggest that the Purana preserves a hyperbolic memory of this monument. Recognising the Sahasralinga tank as the historical prototype resolves confusion about the lake’s location and underscores the reliability of Hemacandra’s testimony for Chaulukya history.