Does Bombay come from“Bimbasthan”? A mixed Ma-rathi-Sanskrit inscription inthe Nagari script dating asfar back as 1368 and referring

to Mumbai as “Mahim Bimbasthan” hasbeen found at the Bhabha Atomic Re-search Centre at Deonar by a team fromMumbai University and Sathaye College.

This and more will be talked about onSaturday when the team holds a day-longseminar at Mumbai University to presenttheir documentation of antiquities theyfound scattered around the megacity — beit in the slums as idols, in a police groundthat came to light during a digging oradorning a police station.

The fragmented inscription is a shash-an patra (government notice) referring toking Hambirrao and announcing the ap-pointment of a desala (administrator) anda donation. There are also references toMarol, Nanale (near Mankhurd) and Deo-nar. King Hambirrao, a vassal of FirozShah Tughlaq, is mentioned in the Mahi-kavatichi Bakhar (News of Mahim) a de-tailed account of Mumbai between the 11thand 16th century AD, prior to Shivaji. TheBakhar was written in four stages and fi-nalized as a single text in the 17th century,said A P Jamkhedkar, a well-known ar-chaeologist and chancellor of Deccan Col-lege (an autonomous body) in Pune.

“The archaeological study carried outby Mumbai University and Sathaye Col-lege documents all that is mentioned in theBakhar. Temple remains, brick remainsbelonging to the pre-Deccan Sultanate(pre-14th century) period have been foundat Marol. This particular investigation hasbeen very fruitful,” said Jamkhedkar.

The explorations have thrown up an-tiquities dating back to the 10-13th centuryAD — the period when the Shilhara Yadavand Bimba dynasties ruled Salsette, themain island of Mumbai. Mahikavati ormodern-day Mahim was the capital of theBimba dynasty that migrated from Guja-rat. The Shilharas, who ruled over Thane,were their contemporaries and related tothe Yadavs of Devgiri (Daulatabad).

The exploration, which began with thediscovery of seven caves at Kanheri, San-jay Gandhi National Park (first reported inTOI on January 17, 2016), was conductedby the Centre for Extra Mural Studies(MU) and the Department of Ancient Indi-an Culture, Sathaye College, Vile Parle.

Interestingly, most of the artefacts(all in stone, chiefly basalt) have taken onlatter-day avatars, mostly in temples, andsince temples were centres of economicactivity, they helped in their preserva-tion. Suraj Pandit, head of the Depart-ment of Ancient Indian Culture, SathayeCollege, who led the exploration with stu-dent researcher Sandeep Dahisarkar,took TOI on a tour of the marvels.

Clara. Lewis@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: Fifteen suburbanrailway stations, includingKalyan, Dadar and Bandrawill get free WiFi facilitiessoon. The railways have decided to set-up the facility,similar to the one at MumbaiCentral, at 15 stations, including nine on CentralRailway and six on WesternRailway.

Union railway ministerSuresh Prabhu tweeted, “WiFi Update: 15 stations inMumbai. Kalyan, Dadar (CRand WR), Bandra completed.Soft launch in week.” Hefurther tweeted, “Work onKurla, Panvel, Thane, CST,Khar. Launch by 15 Aug.”

The other stations areVashi, Wadala, Dombivli,Badlapur, Mulund, Belapurand Chembur on Central Ra-ilway; the Western Railwaystations are Churchgate,Andheri, Virar and Borivli.

As many as 50,000 peoplecan connect to the facilitystarted at Mumbai Centralin partnership with Googleon January 22.

For the first hour, usersgets full speed, and after thatthe speed gradually decrea-ses. The WiFi can be acces-sed in concourse areas andon platforms of suburban

and long-distance trains.The user will have to se-

lect Railwire when he swit-ches on to the Wi-Fi mode.She will then have to feed inthe mobile number to get aone-time-password (OTP) onthe mobile phone. On ente-ring the OTP, the user can ga-in access to the free WiFi.The WiFi bandwith is capab-le of HD video streaming, be-sides allowing customers todownload movies in lessthan five minutes.

15 more rly stnsto get free WiFi

ManthanK.Mehta@timesgroup.com

YOU CAN DOWNLOADMOVIES IN 5 MINS

Sculptures dating between the 10th and 12th century AD adorn the base of four pillars. Policemen on dutysaid they were brought from Mahim fort. One is a dikpal, a deity counted among seven others who protect

the eight corners of the Earth as per Hindu mythology. The second is what seems like a part of a temple design,and the third is a hero stone (they depict stories of valour in a naval or land battle). Here, the stone, which hasan inscription, depicts a naval battle. The fourth and standout piece is a beautiful sculpture of Hanuman

Priceless Pillar Art At Mahim Police Station

Among Mumbai’s oldest temples to guard against pestilence, it hasseveral sculptural fragments and architectural elements used for

construction of a temple plinth. A 12th century carving of Shiva andsculptures of women (most probably part of pillar decoration) are beingworshipped for decades

Shitladevi Temple, Mahim

Near a public toilet is a shrine to Amba mata. It is,in fact, a keechak (mythical creature who works

as a load-bearer, normally seen on the upper part ofpillars) mounted on a lion (a latter-day addition)

Shrine At B K Marg, Mahim

Digging for constructionthrew up a temple

foundation. In a rare case,the state archaeologydepartment filed a formalcomplaint against thepolice for illegallyexcavating an archaeologysite without permission.Now, fragments of thetemple lie neatly arranged under a banyan tree, undisturbed, butalso unnoticed. Among the artefacts are a large stone medallionthat was part of the ceiling, a keechak (that normally functionsas a bracket), stones bearing the mason’s signature, etc

Vijayanagar PoliceCamp, Marol

Partially broken sculpture, butone can clearly see a lotus in

one hand, It’spossibly arepresentationof Brahma, butis todayworshipped asa female deity. There are over800 sculpturesscattered across Marol-Maroshi.Akash Pawar, a studentresearcher, pointed out sun andmoon carvings on stones beingworshipped at the PimpaleshwarMahadev mandir along with akeechak. At the GaneshwadiMandir, MIDC, a stone dwarpal(door-keeper) is beingworshipped

Kamala Devi Mandir,Marol-Maroshi

As you enter from the Marol side, in the fields is asmall shrine with a stone sculpture of a cow and

a calf known as gai vasru or dhenugal. It isindicative of fertile land given in donation

Motif Of Fertility In Aarey Colony

This slumadjacent to

the SanjayGandhi NationalPark is amongthe oldersettlements ofMumbai andfinds mention in a 1906 ASIreport. Theoldest templehere isdedicated toGaodevi.Actually, a herostone is beingworshipped as the deity. It is oftenadorned in a sari

Devipada,Borivli

Near the Aquaria club (saidto be built on a filled-up

lake) stand three spectacularhero stones. They were savedthanks to the Koli communitythat worships them as Ekviradevi. The stones depict navaland land battles in three parts:the death of the warrior, hisascent to heaven and a jar ofnectar at the top. Depiction ofnaval battle on a hero stone israre: there are only three suchcases recorded in Maharashtra,and all are in Mumbai

Eksar Village,Borivli

Behind this well-known temple lie heaps of carved stones dating back to the 10-12thcentury, some bearing the mason’s signature. The trustees have preserved some, such

a keechak, a head of Shiva, and a broken gadhegal (insulting boundary marker). An ancientstone head of a tiger has been painted as a leopard and fixed to one of the back walls

Ram Mandir, Goregaon

In the Kanheri valley lies a sculpture ofthe Goddess Tara with an attendant,

dating back to the 6th century. It is theonly one of its kind in the cave complex.It confirms the presence of the fullydeveloped Mahayana Buddhistpantheon

Sanjay Gandhi NationalPark, Borivli

Photos by Uma Kadam

Teams From Two City Institutes That Found New Kanheri Caves Fan Out And Meticulously Document Antiquities Dating As Far Back As The 11th Century

Mumbai is ‘Bimbasthan’ in 12th century tablet

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THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAIFRIDAY, JULY 15, 20166 TIMES CITY

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Hindutava leader Sadh-vi Prachi, who has onmore than one occa-

sion hogged headlines withher sensational statements,said on Thursday that prea-cher Zakir Naik is guilty of“spreading terrorism” andthat the person “who beheadshim and hangs his head fromthe tallest tree” can take ho-me Rs 50 lakh as reward.

Prachi, who was in Harid-war on Thursday, said, “Anyperson who goes to SaudiArabia, beheads Naik will geta Rs 50 lakh-reward.” She sa-id Naik was “spreading terro-rism" under the garb of beinga religious preacher. “He is aterrorist who supports terro-rists. This man has brought abad name to religious prea-chers and need to be punis-hed,” she added.

Maintaining that therewas “evidence” to link him

with the recent terror attacksin Dhaka, Prachi said: “Heshould not be spared at anycost. He is not a religious pre-acher but a person who ismisguiding others.”

According to her, thereare many others who wor-king in a “similar style”.“There is an immediate needto arrest and interrogate allpeople like Naik who work asreligious preachers,” she sa-id, adding, “At the same time,a thorough check is requiredat all madrassas as they, too,play an instrumental role inpromoting terror activities.”

Prachi also claimed thatshe has been getting threatcalls from a “number in someforeign country” to eliminateher. “The caller has threate-ned to eliminate me. ByThursday evening, I had rece-ived around 15 such telepho-ne calls,” she said, addingthat she has approached SSP(Haridwar) Rajeev Swaroopin the matter.

Behead Naik, get`̀50L: Sadhvi Prachi

Kautilya.Singh@timesgroup.com