Mandar Parvat (Mandar hill) is a small mountain situated in Banka district under Bhagalpur division of state of Bihar. This awesome isolated, singular boulder hill appears as a gigantic monolith rising at a height of 700’ is aptly connected with a popular mythical tale of immortality in Hindu Puranas.

The mythological tale of Hindus describes this hill as Sumeru Parvat, the churning pole of Amrit Manthan (Nectar of Immortality). Due to this mythical association, the hill has assumed considerable religious significance and had been a place of pilgrimage up till now. The patterns that are visible on the rock are believed to have created by the mythical Great Snake while the churning took place between the Devs and Asuras.

It is said that Raja Chhatra Sen of the Chol tribe, who lived before the time of the Muhammadans, erected the oldest temples at the summit. Some of the carvings on the rocks are taken by some to be shell writings. Mandar Hill is also very important as it has the unique image of Vishnu, probably the only sculpture in Bihar where Vishnu, in his man-lion incarnation, has not been shown as tearing Hiranyakashipu. The statue is 34 inches high and made of black stone. It belongs to the Gupta period.

An inscription of Gupta King Adityasena has been discovered on the ‘Mandar Hill. This inscription relates that both he and his queen Sri Konda Devi had installed an image of Narahari (Man-lion), an incarnation of Vishnu, on the hill, and that the queen performed an act of piety by excavating a tank, known as Papa Harini, at the foot of the said hill. Papa Harini was also known as Manohar Kund.

In the memory of the 12th Jain Tirthankara Vasupujya who attained nirvana here, a Jain temple is also built on top of this hill.

The puranas refer to various sacred places on the hill which is also believed to be the abode of Vishnu under the title of Madhusudana or the destroyer of a demon called Madhu who was killed by Vishnu and then covered by the Mandar hill.

Source:

http://www.explorebihar.in/the-history-of-mandar-hill-and-its-religious-significance.html

http://www.tourismandfood.com/