Jain Center Los Angeles CA 2008 09 Pratishta Souvenior

Author(s): Jain Center So CA Los Angeles
Publisher: USA Jain Center Southern California

Page 72

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Interior of Jinalaya Hasendra Shah
The interiors of the Derasar were planned simultaneously with the Cultural complex. The community's expressed wishes were the basis for the interiors of Jinalaya. The foremost consideration was that this should be distinctively a place to have a positive spiritual experience, yet should be no less ornate than the Cultural complex itself.
The entrance, with its distinct white carved marble, attracts anyone's attention and is inviting enough to pull one into this magical place. As one enters the small foyer area, she is surrounded by a soothing white ambiance. The ceiling of the foyer area is the prelude to what one would experience upon further exploration of this temple. The entire temple was designed with the idea to implement some of the elements of the renowned Delwara and Ranakur Jain temples in India.
As one goes upstairs to the main temple, one feels a cooling sensation upon noticing the dazzling carved panels of the ceilings, which reflect the famed carvings of the Delwara temple. There is a beautiful Mandovar over the entrance of Jinalaya as one enters the antechamber of the Derasar. In this area, eight Yaksha (Dev) and Yakshini (Devis) are located in individual Gokhlas. The four Devs are Ghantakarna Vir, Manibhadra Vir, Nakoda Bhairavnath, and Bhomiayaji: Jains consider them to be Samakiti Devs. They are all devotees of Tirthankar Bhagwan and are endowed with higher abilities. Jain devotees seek them out as protectors against negative spirits in their pursuits of Bhakti towards Tirthankar. The four Devis located in this area are Padmavatidevi, Ambikadevi, Saraswatidevi and Chakreshwaridevi.
Ornate, carved marble Torans provide a beautiful transition from the Dev/Devi area to the Rang Mandap area. When standing under the Rang Mandap and looking up at the carved dome, visitors may think they are standing inside the Vimal Vashi temple of Delwara. A special effort was made by Nipul Shah of San Diego to create this dome, generally, carved marble domes cannot be created when temples are located in earthquake zones.
All the pillars are clad with white Ambaji marble panels and four main pillars supporting Rang Mandap are specially carved to bring the flavor of Ranakpur. Each of the pillars has a different carving design.
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The Gharbha Gruha entrance was designed with beautiful pillars and Torans made of the same white marble used throughout, giving the area a rich introspective feeling. The seats of Tirthankar Bhagwan were also enriched with carvings. The main altar will have Mahavir Swami in the center, Rushabha Dev on the right side of Mahavir Swami, and Parshvanath on the left side of MahvirSwami. One side of the main altar will have a Digmbara Tradition Pratimaji, and the other side will have a Swetambar tradition Pratimaji. The walls of Garbha Graha are made from solid white Ambaji Marble, conveying a feeling of strength in one's faith. As one goes around the Bhamati area, she will get to do Darshan of all 24 tirthankars in beautiful and distinct Gokhlas.
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Outside of Garbha Graha, on the two front sides of Dearsar there are two Gokhlas, each with a carved pedestal. One of them is for Simandhar Swami, a current Tirthankar in Mahavideh Kshetra, and the other is for Padmanabh Swami, who is believed by faithful Jain devotees to be the first Tirthankar of the next Chovisi.
A portion of the inside walls of Derasar will be adorned by four carved Marble Tirth Pats depicting significant historical Tirths associated with the Tirthankars. They are Shatrunjay, Girnar, Sammet Shikhar, and Pavapuri. These tirths are considered to be the holy places where Tirthankars and many others attained Moksha (Nirvana).
Outside the west wall of the temple/rang mandap, there are two additional Gokhlas where two Guru Pratimas are being installed. The two Pratimas are Guatamswami, Mahavir Swami's first and chief disciple (Ganadhar), and Sudharma Swami (Gandhar and First Acharya), torchbearer of Mahavir's preaching for the future.
The beautiful area outside of the temple will be equally decorated with carved ceiling panels and pillars as well. Additionally, an area will be designated as an exhibit area and its walls will be adorned with the replicas of the art paintings depicting Mahavir Swami's life in the popular five Kalyanaks. Artwork on this wall will also depict the lives Mahavir lived before and after achieving Samyaktva in the life of Naysar. All in all, Mahvirswami's complete spiritual journey will be portrayed. Complementing this portrayal will be a display of Rushabha Dev's Pagla Deri and a Samvosaran Temple, both of which will be made of white marble. The Pagla Deri will be located in front of the depiction of the 3rd Purvabhav of Mahavirswami as Rushabhdev's grandson, and the Samvosaran Temple will be placed near the last pictorial display of Mahavir Swami delivering a sermon.
Equally important to the Derasar and complementing the area is Aradhna Hall, which is designed exclusively for members' religious and spiritual pursuits. Because of the nature of these pursuits, the hall does not have many distractions, but maintains a distinct appeal for spirituality. It will have a Navkar Mahamantra in the center of the wall behind the stage. This will be a beautifully carved panel of white marble depicting the Maha Mantra surrounded by carved pillars on the sides and a Toran atop. Also on the side of the walls, there will be four other displays, which will accommodate slokas, Acharya images, and Granthas. The walls will depict Srimad Rajchandra, Kundkundacharya, Hemchandracharya and Yashovijayaji as well as Atma Siddhi, Samay Sar, Kalpa Sutra and Acharang Sutra (or other Agam), which are slokas from literature.
This Jinalaya and Aradhana Hall will fulfill the community's dream of having a place worthy of worship and meditation that will last for generations.
Hasendra Shah is the Past President of Jain Center of Southern California. He can be contacted at Hasendra@gmail.com. D22222222222222222eeeeeeeeeeeee22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222