An 800-year-old tank in Moodbidri town, also called the Jain Kashi, recognised as a national monument by the Archaeological Survey of India has been fully restored to its 13th century glory. Thanks to the initiative of the ASI, the tank is expected to hold water this monsoon, after a hiatus of over 80 years. The tank, built eight centuries ago by Jain chieftains, was locally known as ‘Bhattrakere.’ The ASI prefers to call it the ‘Ancient Tank’. The existence of the tank goes back to the 13th century AD. It coincides with the discovery of the Dhavala Trilogy documents of the Jain Tirthankaras. The Bettakere was earlier known as ‘Bhattaraka kere’ (Bhattarakas are chiefs of the Jain monasteries); this tank was reserved for the use of the Bhattarakas. Bhatrakere was built on a one-acre land, and it was about 35-40 feet deep. It used to hold water perennially, and there are records in the mutt to show that the tank was used by the Bhattarakas for ritual purposes. ”Restoration work was undertaken such that the original masonry was left untouched, as far as possible. The walls of the tank now are as they were when the tank was originally made. It is dressed in laterite stone, custom-cut from local quarries. Stones were wedged together by sheer alignment, without using any cementing agents.