Shri Dig. Jain Atishaya Kshetra Gopachal
Parsvanath Vanasthali, Gopachal Marg, Near Phool Bagh, Gwalior (M.P.) Pin – 474002
Phone 0751 – 2427778, 2310593
Gopachal Atishaya Kshetra is situated in a fort at Gwalior. This place is famous for magnificent idols of Jain Tirthankars. It is one of the ancient forts of India and is said to be the gateway to Southern India from north.
The number of idols on this hill is about 1500. The idols are all of different sizes which ranges from 6 inch to 57 feet in height. All the idols are carved by cutting the rocks in the hills. It looks like as if the whole fort is a big temple as all the idols have been places almost every where. Most of the idols were made in the period of King Dungar Singh & Keerti Singh of Tomar dynasty. The period of these idols is said between V.S. 1398 to V.S. 1536.
There is a very beautiful & attractive miraculous idol of Bhagwan Parsvanath in padmasana seating posture 42 feet in height & 30 feet in width. It is said that in V.S. 1557, Mughal emperor Babar after occupying the fort ordered his soldiers to break the idols. When the soldiers tried to break the thumb of the foot of the idol, a miracle occured and invaders were forced to run away.
Gopachal is the place of precept by Bhagwan Parsvanath and is also the place of salvation of Shri 1008 Supratishtha Kevali.
In the period of Mughals the idols were destroyed mercilessly, broken fragments of those idols are spread here & there in the fort.
Nearby cities:
Agra 110 km (By Road), 115 km (By Train)
Jhansi 105 km (By Road), 98 km (By Train)
Sonagiri 70 km (By Road), 68 km (By Train)
Shivpuri 110 km (By Road), 100 km (By Train)