Jirawala Tirth is a
ÅšvetÄmbara
The ÅšvetÄmbara (; also spelled Shwetambara, Shvetambara, Svetambara or Swetambara) is one of the two main branches of Jainism, the other being the Digambara. ''ÅšvetÄmbara'' in Sanskrit means "white-clad", and refers to its ascetics' practi ...
Jain temple
A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings ge ...
in Jirawala village of
Sirohi District
Sirohi District is a district of Rajasthan state in western India. The town of Sirohi is the district headquarters. Abu Road is the largest city in Sirohi District in terms of area and population.
As of 2011 it is the third least populous di ...
in
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. It is situated 58 km from
Abu Road
Abu Road is a city and sub-district in Sirohi district of Rajasthan state in western India, lies on the bank of West Banas River. It is the tehsil and sub-district headquarters and the largest city in Sirohi District in terms of area and popul ...
. The temple is an important ÅšvetÄmbara Jain pilgrimage center, and the Jirawala Parshvanath idol is one of the 108 prominent ÅšvetÄmbara Parshvanath idols.
History
According to Jain belief, the temple dates back to 2,800 years back. Jirawala has been an important Jain centre between 506 CE to 1324 CE and received patronage by multiple Jain acharyas. The iconic idol of Parshvanath, the principal deity of the temple, was found during an excavation. The cow belonging to Brahmin boy ''Kadwa'' used to pour out its milk every day near a cave in Jirawala. Upon hearing about this by Brahmin boy, Jain Seth Dhanna Shah dreamt of a
Parshvanath idol where cow went to pour milk. After the search, the idol was found from the same spot and the idol was installed by Acharya Deva Gupta Suri in 894 CE. An idol of Neminatha was temporarily replaced as mulnayak of the temple.
During
2001 Gujarat earthquake
The 2001 Gujarat earthquake, also known as the Bhuj earthquake, occurred on 26 January at . The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest of the village of Chobari in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch district in Gujarat, India. The earthquake had ...
, the temple structure was damaged and was later restored in 2017 with a cost of .
Architecture
The temple has an ornate architecture. The temple has a large domical structure as the principal shrine with domical 52 sub-shrine along the axis of principal shrine. There a total of 108 idols of Parshvanatha in these shrines each bearing a different name with central shrine housing idol of Jirawala Parshvanatha, the principal deity of the temple. There are total of 60
dhwaja stambha
The dhvajastambha (धà¥à¤µà¤œà¤¸à¥à¤¤à¤®à¥à¤) refers to the flagstaff erected in front of the ''mukhamaṇá¸apa'' (front pavilion) of a Hindu temple. The ''dhvajastambha'' is usually built within the temple walls (''prÄkÄra''). They are t ...
in the temple complex.
About temple
The current structure of the temple dates back to 1134 AD. The temple is considered an important Jain pilgrimage center.
The principal deity of the temple is a white coloured idol of Parshvanatha popularly known as ''Jirawala Parshvanath''. The idol is believed to made using mixture milk and sand. In Shvetambara tradition, idols tend to derive their name from a geographical region, the Jirawala Parshvanath is one of 108 prominent idols of Parshvanath idols. The replicas of Jirawala Parshvanatha is popular among
ÅšvÄ“tÄmbara murtipujaka
MÅ«rtipÅ«jaka (lit. "image-worshipper"), also known as DerÄvÄsÄ« ("temple-dweller") or Mandir MÄrgÄ« ("follower of the temple path"), is the largest sect of ÅšvÄ“tÄmbara, ÅšvetÄmbara Jainism. MÅ«rtipÅ«jaka Jains differ from both ÅšvetÄmba ...
. According to Jain belief, worshipping these local replication idols allow them to directly worship to the original idol. There is a temple with an image of
Neminatha
NeminÄtha (Devanagari: नेमिनाथ) (Sanskrit: नेमिनाथः), also known as Nemi and Ariá¹£á¹anemi (Devanagari: अरिषà¥à¤Ÿà¤¨à¥‡à¤®à¤¿), is the twenty-second tirthankara of Jainism in the present age (). Nemina ...
, too. These temples were attacked and desecrated during Muslim rule but were later renovated by the Jain community. The village was a place of pilgrimage for Jains. Many Jain saints and scholars visited the place and composed the religious books there during the fifteenth century.
The temple also has a ''
dharamshala
Dharamshala (, ; also spelled Dharamsala) is a town in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It serves as the winter capital of the state and the administrative headquarters of the Kangra district since 1855. The town also hosts the Tibeta ...
'' equipped with all modern facilities, including
bhojanalaya
Marwari Bhojnalaya is a popular name among Marwari-style purely vegetarian restaurants in many cities in India. They are all independently owned. The term "marwari" implies that it is intended for Marwari merchants, who are strictly vegetarian and ...
(a restaurant).
See also
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Dilwara temples
The Dilwara Temples or Delvada Temples are a group of ÅšvÄ“tÄmbara Jain temples located about kilometres from the Mount Abu settlement in Sirohi District, Rajasthan's only hill station. The earliest were built by Vimal Shah , a Jain mini ...
References
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External links
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Jain temples in Rajasthan
Tourist attractions in Sirohi district
12th-century Jain temples
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