Hutheesing Temple is a

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

temple in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, India. It was constructed in 1848 by Hutheesing family. The temple blends the old Maru-Gurjara temple architecture style with new architectural elements of ''

haveli A ''haveli'' is a traditional townhouse, mansion, manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. The word ''haveli'' is derived from Arabic ''hawali'', m ...

'' in its design.

History

Huttising's Jain Temple, Camp Road, Ahmedabad (c

The construction of the temple was initiated originally planned by Hatheesing Kesarisinh, a wealthy trader of Ahmedabad who died at the age of 49. The construction was supervised and completed by his wife Harkunwar. The total cost was approximately . The chief temple architect was Premchand Salat. The temples is located outside the Delhi Darwaza.

Lockwood de Forest Lockwood de Forest (June 8, 1850 – April 3, 1932) was an American painter, interior designer and furniture designer. A key figure in the Aesthetic Movement, he introduced the East Indian craft revival to Gilded Age America. As a young man, de F ...

who was a business associate of Muganbhai Hutheesing, the son of Sheth Hatheesing, estimated the cost as "over a million dollars". The temple was built during a severe famine in Gujarat. Building the temple employed hundreds of skilled artisans which supported them for a period of two years. The temple is managed by a Hutheesing family trust.

Architecture

Salat has blended the old temple architecture style with new architectural elements of ''

'' in designing the temple. It uses the Māru-Gurjara style, with many similarities to Bhadreshwar and

Ranakpur Ranakpur is a village located in Desuri tehsil near Sadri town in the Pali district of Rajasthan in western India. It is located between Jodhpur and Udaipur. 162 km from Jodhpur and 91 km from Udaipur, in a valley on the western side ...

.Michell (1990), 278 (quoted); Hegewald The temple is built from white marble. The main gateway porch features architectural elements of wooden ''haveli'' including decorated walls, carved balustrades, overarching balconies, chabutras and jalis. It is a ''nirandhara-prasada'' type of the temple which do not feature an ambulatory passage. The west-facing temple is built on a large platform. The principal temple has three sanctuaries in a row: a ''garbhagriha'' (sanctum), a ''gudhamandapa'' (closed shrine hall with porches), a vestibule and a ''sabhamandapa'' (assembly hall), each having its own

shikhara ''Shikhara'' ( IAST: '), a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India, and also often used in Jain temples. A ''shikhara'' over the ''garbhagriha'' chambe ...

. The principal temple is 52.5 metre high and double-stories. The ''garbhagriha'' on the east end has three ornate spires. The large ridged dome of the ''gudhamandapa'' is supported by twelve ornate pillars. The large protruding porches have ornate columns and brackets with figures on three outer sides. The temple is dedicated to Dharmanatha, the fifteenth Jain Tirthankara, whose marble image is housed in the central sanctum. The principal temple houses eleven deities, six in basement and five in three bay sanctuary. The porch and the outer mandapa each have three domes. There is a good deal of "sharply sculpted" decoration, "but figures appear only at the brackets". The principal temple is surrounded by an open courtyard with a colonnaded

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against ...

with 52 ''devakulika''s (secondary shrines), each containing an image of a deity. The temple is also known for

rainwater harvesting Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), aquifer, or a reservoir w ...

structure. File:Hutheesing Jain Derasar Entrance Gate.jpg, Front façade of the gateway porch File:Hathi Singh Jain Temple 82.jpg, Decoration of the gateway porch File:Gezicht op een doorgang in de Hathi Singh tempel in Ahmedabad Huthi Singh's Tomb. Ahmedabad 2236 (titel op object), RP-F-F02448.jpg, Ornamentation of the doorframe File:Hatheesing jain temple.JPG, Three sanctuaries of the temple File:Hutheesing jain temple.jpg, Decoration of the ''Gudhamandapa'' File:Hatheesing Temple(1).JPG, Ceiling File:Hatheesing jain temple.JPG, ''Sabhamandapa'' File:Hutheesing Jain Derasar Wall Carving Exterior.jpg, Carved exterior wall File:Hatheesing jain temple.3.JPG, Colonnaded cloister

Manastambha

There is a 78 feet high

Manastambha A manastambha (Sanskrit for 'column of honour') is a pillar that is often constructed in front of Jain temples or large Jain statues. In North India, they are topped by four Tirthankara images. According to the ''Digambara'' Jain texts like '' ...

(or a column of honour) in its outer courtyard. It is inspired by the Kirti Stambha at

Chittore Chittorgarh (also Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in Rajasthan state of western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It was a major stronghold ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

. It is six stories in height and enshrines an idol of

Mahavira Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6 ...

. It was built to commemorate the 2500th birth anniversary of Mahavira. Some of the motifs of the column are compared to the

Sultanate This article includes a list of successive Islamic states and Muslim dynasties beginning with the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632 CE) and the early Muslim conquests that spread Islam outside of the Arabian Peninsula, and continuin ...

minarets of the Mughal era.

References

Citations

Sources