Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir

Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir (श्री दिगंबर जैन लाल मंदिर) is the oldest and best known Jain temple in Delhi India. It is directly across from the Laal Quila in the historical Chandni Chowk area.

It is known for an avian veterinary hospital (bird hospital) in a second building behind the main temple.

Located just opposite the massive Red Fort at the intersection of Netaji Subhas Marg and Chandni Chowk, Digambar Jain Temple is the oldest temple of the Jain religion in the capital, originally built in 1656 [Bharat ke Digambar Jain Tirth, Volume 1, Balbhadra Jain, 1974] . An impressive red sandstone temple today (the temple has undergone many alterations and additions in the past and was enlarged in the early 19th century), the Digambar Jain Temple is popularly known as Lal Mandir.

History

Modern Delhi was founded by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658) who built what is commonly known as the old city or old Delhi, surrounded by a wall, with the main street Chandni Chowk in front of the Red Fort of Delhi, the imperial residence.

Jahangir invited several Jain fianciers to come and settle in the city and granted them some land south of the Chandani Chauk around Dariba Gali. He also permitted them to build a temporary structure to house a Jain temple. The Jain community acquired three marble idols installed by Jivaraj Papriwal under the supervision of Bhattaraka Jinachandra in Samvat 1548 (1491 AD) for the temple. The main idol is that of Lord Parshvanath, the 23rd Jina.

It is said that the deities in temple were originally kept in a tent belonging to a Jain officer of the Mughal army.

During the Mughal period, the construction of a shikhara for a temple was not permitted. This temple did not have a formal shikara until after India's independence when the temple was extensively rebuilt.

In 1800-1807, Raja Harsukh Rai, the imperial treasurer obtained imperial permission to build a temple with a sikhara in the Jain neighborhood of Dharamapura, just south of Chandani Chauk. Thus temple, known for fine carvings, is now known as the Naya Mandir (new temple).

Miracle of the musical instruments

It is said that Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb used to be bothered about the sound of musical instruments, specially nagara drums, emanating from the temple. He ordered that the music be stopped. He still continued to hear the instruments. He sent someone to have them stopped. It is said that the royal servants found that the musical instruments are playing by themselves.

The Temple complex

A manastambha column stands in front of the temple.

The main devotional area of the temple is on the first floor. It is reached by ascending to the terrace after crossing the small courtyard of the temple, surrounded by a colonnade.

There are a number of shrines in this area but the main shrine is of Lord Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism. Born in 599 BC in the ancient republic of Vaishali (Bihar) as a prince, he renounced all worldly pleasures and comforts and went in search of 'Moksha' (salvation). Soon he attained keval-jnana (Enlightenment), and spent the rest of his life preaching to the people all over the country about the eternal truth of life and ways to attain Moksha. Though some believe that he was the founder of Jainism but he was in a real sense the reformer of an existing faith who reorganized and presented the tenets of the religion in a form suitable to the period.

The statue of Lord Adinath, the first Tirthankara of the Jain religion is also present here, along with the shrine of Lord Parasnath, the immediate predecessor of Lord Mahavira. The temple is quite popular among the people as devotees come and make offerings such as fruits, grains, rice and even candles. The place is very peaceful and the ambience is really soothing especially due to the shining of the gilded paintwork of the shrine area under the lights of butter lamps and candles.

In 1931, a Digambar Jain monk, Acharya Shantisagar arrived in Delhi. He was the first Digambar Jain monk to visit Delhi after a gap of eight centuries. There is a memorial marking this historical occasion.

Visiting the temple complex

There is also a bookstore in the complex where a wide range of literatures on Jainism is available, apart from unique curios and souvenirs related to the religion. Visitors should take off their shoes and all other leather goods and hand it to the concerned person before entering the temple complex.

See also

* Naya Mandir Dharampura
* Jainism in Delhi

External links

* [http://uncannyvalley.org/uv/charity-birds-hospital/ Charity Birds Hospital]
* [http://www.jainsamaj.org/temples/digambar-2912.htm Photo and Brief Description]

References