All India Jain Temples and Tourist Places

Author(s): B C Nagraj
Publisher: ITI Jains Association, Bangalore

Page 13

ALL INDIA JAIN TEMPLES
AND TOURIST PLACES
1. DELHI : (Capital City of the Country)
On the plains of Delhi, where now stands the splendid modern capital of India, Cities have risen & decayed several times, only their ruins mark the sites where once they stood as many as seven times. Delhi is one of the most ancient and historical city, was known as Indraprashta as early as the time of Mahabharatha.
Shajanabad or old Delhi, as it is now called, has many architectural masterpieces. The Redfort dominates the city and stands as a mute symbol of Mughal Glory.
Delhi is an important centre for jains since the olden days. Many jain temples were destroyed by Muslim rulers. The mosque near Qutub is constructed mainly from the demolished parts of jain temples.
There are about 67 Jain digambar temples in and around Delhi. The important temples are as follows. (1) Digambar Jain Lal Mandir : (This is located at the entrance of Chandni Chowk opposite to the Redfort). This is the most ancient one out of all the jain temples of Delhi and was constructed in 1656 A.D. The main deity is Lord Parshwanatha - consecrated by Jinachandra Batttarak in 1491 A.D. The statue is a 2 34 feet height marble and is in padmasana posture. Yakshi Padmavathi devi statue has also been installed which attracts number of devotees. (2) Digambar Jain Parshwanatha Mandir, Jayasimhapura (Jain Temple Road, near Cannaught Circus Madras Hotel).
This is famous as ‘Bada mandir' and Khandelwal Mandir. Bhagawan Mahavir is the main deity here. Apart from this, statues of Chandraprabha, Neminatha, Prashwanatha are also there. (3) Mahavira Digambar Jain Temple: (Vaidya wada galli connected to Chandni Chowk)
This temple was constructed in 1471 A.D. by Khandelwal Digambar Jain Panchayat. The temple has many idols and manuscripts.