Showing posts with label Jain temples. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jain temples. Show all posts

Friday, October 17, 2014

Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir

Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir is located in Delhi,India. It is the oldest and best-known Jain temple in  India. It is directly across from the Red Fort in the historical Chandni Chowk area.
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,  built in 1656. An impressive red sandstone temple today , Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir is popularly known as Lal Mandir "Red 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.

Sravaanabelagola

Shravanabelagola is a city located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is 158 km from Bangalore. The statue of Gommateshvara Bahubali  is one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Jainism, one that reached a peak in architectural and sculptural activity under the patronage of Western Ganga Dynasty of Talakad. Chandragupta is said to have died here in 298 BC (Before christ)  after he became a Jain monk and assumed an ascetic life style. Jainism in this place is above two thousand years old.
Shravanabelagola has two hills, Chandragiri and Vindhyagiri. Acharya Bhadrabahu and his pupil Chandragupta Maurya are believed to have meditated there. Chandragupta Basadi, which was dedicated to Chandragupta Maurya, was originally built there by Ashoka in the third century BC. Chandragiri also has memorials to numerous monks  who have meditated there since the fifth century AD, including the last king of the Rashtrakuta dynasty of Manyakheta. Chandragiri also has a famous temple built by Chavundaraya, who was a disciple of Nemichandra.
The 58 feated tall statue of Gomateshwara is located in Vindhyagiri hill. It is the world's largest monolithic stone statue.