The Trial of Jains

The most famous among the holy shrines of the Jains are undoubtedly the Dilwara temples at Mount Abu, in Rajasthan. This group of five temples dates back to the 11 th century and they are in good condition to this day. Constructed entirely of white marble, the Vimal Vashi Temple is extraordinary rich in ornamentation and sculpture. Built in 1031, this is dedicated to the first Jain Thirthankar Adinath. There is a large bronze image which has eyes of previous stones and a necklace of gems. The Tejpal temple built in 1231, is dedicated to Neminath, the 22nd Tirthankar. A big image, of Neminath with his conch shell symbol carved on hist seat, adorns the principal cell. There are 39 cells containing several images. The large brass image of Adinath in the Pithalhara temple is the tallest of the Dilwara temple and is dedicated to Parsvanath The fifth temple is the Adhar Devi. The temples are about 30 kms from Abu Road railway station.

On the western slope of the Aravalli hills ios the Ranakpur temple, dedicated to Adinath, and a remarkable feature of this shrine is the cluster of 420 pillars in 29 halls.

Within the fort at Jaisalmer in the heat of That desert, are eight temples. The oldest of these shrines, dating back to the 14th century, is dedicated to Parsvanath and contains a Gyanabhandar (storehouse of knowledge) of old books in prakrit and Sanskrit. Many of them are written on Boj patras (palm leaves).

About 60 kms by road from Bhavnagar, in Gujarat, is Palitana, with Shatrunjaya (the place of victory) comprising 863 Jain temples which rise on five neighbouring hills. It is an one-and-half-hour climb to the top and no human being is allowed into the temples after dark. At the Adiswara temple one can see the fabulous temple hewels when the idol is decorated with them at 9 a.m.

The Girnar hills dominate Junaghadh in Gujarat and Girnath is sacred to Neminath. There are 16 temples crowning the hills and in one of these 2452 pairs of feet are depicted in stone slabs to represent the earliest disciples. There is also a triple shrine, built in the 12th century, with the central one in honour of Mallinath.

Ellora's Jain caves, near Aurangabad, date from 800 A.D. and their entrance is at the northernmost end of the ellora ridge. the most important of the five Jain caves is the Indra Sabha.

There are five groups of gigantic sculptures carved out of rock in the Urwahi ravine, Gwalior. There are 22 colossal figures of the Tirthankars and numerous smaller statues.

Deogarh, in Madhya Pradesh, 120 kms from Jhansi, houses the 9th century temples which contain relief figures of the 24 Jain apostles. There are rows and rows of mediating figures on the temple walls of Deogarh.

Among the 22 temples that exist out of the 85 which were built over a thousand years ago at Khajuraho, there are three Jain temples in the eastern group. The Ghantai temple is partly in ruins. An eightarmed Jain goddess riding the Garuda adoms the entrance. The Shantinath temple enclosed within a wall enshrines the image of Shantinath. The third Jain shrine at Khajuraho is an Adinath temple.

The Udaigiri and Khandgiri caves, 10 kms from Bhubaneshwar, Orissa, are important in that it was here that Mahavira gave discourses to people of the area. The marvels of the caves at Udaigiri and Khandgiri are the result of the encouragement given by the 2nd century B.C. Emperor Kharavela. There are some 60 caves at Udaigiri and more than 100 at Khandgiri. There are thousands of relics scagttered in an area called the Dev Sabha. And an ancient tank here has water called Akash Ganga (Ganga from the heavens).

One of the most glittering modern Jain shrines is in Calcutta, Built in 1867, by a famous jeweller, Millions of mirror pieces, stuck in the plaster in the sun.

Vaishali about 90 kms from Patna, is where Mahavira was born and it houses the Jain Prakrit Research Institute, Pawapuri, 38 kms from Rajgir, is where Mahavira attained nirvana. There is the Jalmandir, in the middle of a lake, and the Samosaran Mandir, marking the site from which Mahavira preached. Rajgir itself is of interest to jains, with about 25 temples. Mahavira is believed to have spent about 14 years at Rajgir.

In the south of the country, the most magnificant Jain pilgrimage site is Sravanabelagola, about 100 kms from Mysore. Symbolising renuciation of the world, Lord Gomateswara is sacred to the Jains. An 17 metre high nude statue stands atop the Indragiri hill which has several other temples and 43 images of Tirthankars. Every 12 years there is the mahamastakabisheka when the statue is anointed with kumkum water. Halebid, 16 kms from Belur, houses the famous Hoysaleswara temple near which the Jain Bastis are devoted to Parsvanath, Adinath and Shantinath. Badami, once the capital of the Chalukyas, is 190 kms from Belgum, and has several ancient caves and temples and temples. One of these caves contains sculptures of Parasvanath, Gautamiswami and Mahavira. Also in Karnataka, near the west coast town of Mangalore, is another centre of Jain interest, at Mudbidri. The Chandranath temple here is the finest among 18 bastis. The temple contains 1,000 carved pillars and is built somewhat in Nepali style. Nearby, at Karkala, is the statue of Lord Gomateswara on a hillock.