Year: 2023

Osian The Mahavira temple of Osian (also Osia or Osyan), located on the western edge of the town and a long way from the Hindu temple-hill, has found entry into about all the mayor books on Indian art and architecture. The same cannot be said, regrettably. of other, equally splendid Jaina temples. The easy access...

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer, the desert city. is about three and a quarter centuries older than Bikaner. Even more ancient is Lodurva, seventeen kilometres north-west of Jaisalmer. Once a royal city. Lodurva was overrun by Muslim forces and totally destroyed in 1152. The present temple, dedicated to Parshvanatha, is of a later date. About halfway to Lodurva,...

Bikaner The desert city of Bikaner was founded, with the valuable help of Jaina families, in 1488, at a time when in north India Indo-Islamic art had firmly established itself. The best known and best preserved four Jaina temples situated at the eastern outskirts of the city are important examples of this period. It is...

Ladnun A few day's sojourn in the Rajasthani town of Ladnun (pro- nounced Labrong), situated half- way between Jaipur and Bikaner (or Ajmer and Bikaner) and also accessible from Jodhpur by direct bus, can be recommended with- out reservation. It offers, apart from some noteworthy temples and the Terapanth Vishva Bharati Instintion founded by Acharya...

Ajmer Ajmer's main attraction is for the Jainas the prominently situated Nasiayan Digambara Temple, or rather the two-storied Svarana Nagara Hall behind the temple, better known as the Mu- seum. Both the temple and the museum were built and are still owned by the Sony family of Ajmer. The temple, dedicated to Rishabha or Adinatha...

Sanganer The township of Sanganer ten kilometres south of Jaipur (take a bus near the Jaipur Ajmer Gate), is of great interest to students of Jaina art. In the local Shvetambara temple it is the painted interior that attracts one's attention; whereas the Digambara Sanghiji Mandir (above and left) abounds in exuberant carvings in marble...

Rajasthan Of all the Indian States and Union Territories, Rajasthan has the highest percentage of Jainas to its total population, namely 1.82 per cent, followed by Maharashtra with 1.50 per cent (see appendix). In Jaipur, the biggest city in Rajasthan, there are, one is told, about three hundred Jaina temples, both Digambara and Shvetambara. Most...

Hastinapur Hastinapur, the legendary capital of the Mahabharata epic outside of which the great battle between the Pandavas and the Kurus is thought to have been fought Delhi and Hastinapur Ganges, on whose western bank this famous city once stood, has in the course of many centuries found a new bed some distance to the...