Jain Journal 1976 04

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 31

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JAIN JOURNAL
such a fine figure of Lord Sitalanath as he had been dreaming so far. With due reverence he immediately took out the image. When he came out he looked for the saint to express his gratitude, but by that time he had left the place and was nowhere to be seen. Badridas came back to Calcutta and the idol was installed in the temple with due ceremony in 1868 A.D. by his preceptor Sri Jinakalyan Suri. It may be mentioned here that this very idol of Lord Sitalanath had already been consecrated in the seventeenth century by Sanghapati Chandrapal of Agra. It would be interesting to note here that it was only after the building of this temple that Jauhari Badridas came into limelight and won the favour of the British Government, as mentioned earlier.
It would not be possible to give here a vivid depiction of this centre of
sts' attraction at Calcutta. The whole of the exterior of the temple surrounded with beautiful lawns and colourful flowerbeds and having a magnificient pond in front is most gorgeously ornamented with brilliant mosaics, excelling in beauty and elegance any other in any part of the world. Within the temple, the walls, ceilings, arches and pillars have beautiful enamel paint and the floors are most lavishly decorated with a profusion of glittering mosaics of striking beauty. The work of stone and glass is fantastic with their bewildering shades of colour and design. From the ceilings hang fine chandeliers of hand-cut glass in variegated colours and the cornices running along from pillar to pillar are ornamented with hand-painted panels depicting several Jaina Tirthas and scenes from Jaina history and mythology. These paintings are about 40 in number and are such a treasure of art as leaves its spectator spellbound at the glamorous vision. One of the paintings in 63" x 17" size presents a very vivid picture of the ceremonial Jaina chariot procession at Calcutta on the occasion of Kartiki Purnima in which among others Rai Bahadur Badridas can also be recognised as a bearer of the palanquin of Lord Jina. At the end it may be said that this beautiful Sitalanath Jinalaya also known as Parasnath Jinalaya, the Garden Temple or the Badridas Temple, of Calcutta is a unique Jaina monument of the modern times. It is a living memorial of its builder's love for art and it has immortalised his name for posterity.
The material for this article has been derived from Dr. J. P. Jain's 'Pramukh Aitihasik Jain Purus aur Mahilayen'; the folder Jain Garden Temple' issued by the Jain Information Bureau, Calcutta; the 'Sardha Satabdi Smrti Granth', Calcutta; and information supplied by Sri Ganesh Lalwani, Editor, Jain Journal.