Shantinath Mandir, built between 1574 and 1622, is the most complicated Raisi Shah Temple, dedicated to Shantinath in Jamnagar, the 16th Tirthankara. The Shantinath Jain Temple has mirror domes, coloured pillars and intricate carvings.
Shantinath Jain Temple Jamnagar
Contents
- 1 Shantinath Jain Temple Jamnagar
The City of Jamnagar is a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Gujarat. This city was known as Navanagar when Maharaja Kumar and Sri Ranjit Singh built it in the 1920s. The city is in the south of the Gulf of Kutch and on the banks of the Rangamati River.
Jamnagar, also known as Saurashtra, is a beautiful city with some of India’s most extraordinary temples.
Significance
They decorated the walls of Shantinath Mandir with fine murals depicting the lives of various Tirthankaras and other wall paintings (murals). The floor is marble and decorated with typical Jain patterns in yellow, black, white and red. It is one of the major shrines to visit as part of a Jamnagar tour.
Jamnagar is 337 km west of the capital Gandhinagar and recently gained prominence with Reliance Industries, India’s largest private company setting up the world’s largest oil refinery near the village of Moti Khawdi in Jamnagar.
The Essar Oil Refinery had also located near the town of Vadinar. Jamnagar is now known as the ‘Oil City of India’.
What is the History of Shantinath Jain Temple Jamnagar?
Tourists herd here every year to see the greatest gift in history. These tourists come from different parts of India and the world. Jamnagar had named after its founder Jam Rawal.
Jam Lakhaji, the father of Gujarat Emperor Jam Rawal, was gifted 12 villages, but someone killed him in a conspiracy before taking over the villages.
Then Jam Rawal killed the conspirators and avenged his father’s death. Following this, Jam Rawal captured his father’s kingdom. Jamnagar, or the former Nawangarh, is a relatively new city in India.
Legend states that Lord Krishna lived in Dwarka after changing his form to Mathura. Dwarka is now a part of Jamnagar, and the presence of various temples can measure the religious taste of the city.
Before the establishment of the Reliance & Essar Oil Refinery, brass production was the primary activity at the site. Hence it was formerly known as the ‘Brass City’ of India.
Architecture
The tallest fort around the temple has five cells and a 12 by 6 foot (3.7 m × 1.8 m) entrance. Through a grand two-story entrance, an outer courtyard surrounded by buildings separated for the use of the priests opens into a quadrangle of walls with a hall on each wall.
In the middle of the quadrangle, on a 6-foot by 9-foot foundation reached by fifteen steps, is the temple, 78 feet long by 69 feet wide and 731⁄2 high, with great two-story domed porches on three sides.
The Shantinath Jain Temple hall with the dome, the porch rises on two floors, and the top of the hall is a ridge with niches and moulds of greatly carved figures. Inside, there is a hall, porch, aisles or porches around, with a richly designed pavement of various coloured marbles; there are 22 pilasters and 16 pillars and a dome with foil arches and struts on eight pillars.
Inside one wall, a shrine formed mainly of 20 pillars carved with flowers, leaves and vines has seven small figures on either side, a large image of Shantinath in a lotus position, with a golden crown seated on a richly carved marble.
Reaching the Shantinath Jain Temple hall’s upper floor via a stone staircase from the southwest porch, there is a corridor with great shrines containing a large marble seated statue. The Moolnayak in this temple is 90 cm tall and is a white-coloured idol of Shantinath in a lotus position.
Below the hall was an underground chamber with about twenty-five large white marble figures encrusted with precious stones for the eyes, chest, and arms. In addition to the underground shrine, there had a bhonira specially prepared in times of trouble.
Tourist Attractions Near Shantinath Jain Temple
Lakhota Museum:
When one visits Gujarat, one must visit the famous Lakhota Museum at Jamnagar. The Lakhota Museum had housed in a tower known as the Lakhota Palace.
Akshardham Temple:
The Akshardham mandir is one of the most stunning temples in Ahmedabad. Lakhs of devotees come here to worship the deity. There are a few things that most people don’t know about it. Akshardham temple had closed every Monday. They have a sat-chit-Anand water show after sunset, and the current schedule is 7:30 from Tuesday to Sunday.
Bala Hanuman Temple:
The Bala Hanuman Temple had located in Gujarat. Bala Hanuman Temple is one of Gujarat tourism’s most beautiful and popular temples. The Bala Hanuman temple is famous for its constant chanting of “Sri Rama, Jai Rama, Jai Jai Rama” at the corner of the lake.
Nageshwara Jyotirlinga:
This temple had located in Gujarat. It is a part of the chain of twelve temples mentioned in the Shiva Purana.
Interesting facts about Shantinath Mandir
- They built the Shantinath Mandir in Jamnagar, intending to spread the Jain religion to other parts of the world.
- The temple got its name after the sixteenth ‘Jain Tirthankar’ Shantinath.
- In every nook and corner of this temple, you can see references to Jain saints commonly known as ‘Tirthankars’.
- The temple’s walls had adorned with fine frescoes and other wall paintings depicting the lives of various pilgrims.
Best season to visit.
The best season to visit the shrine is in winter. The best months to visit are from September to February.
Climate
High – April to June (45°C during the day and 35°C at night) Average May (35°C during the daytime and 25°C – at night)
Low – December to February (26°C during the day and 26°C at night, 21°C). Rainy season – August to October
Dress Regulation
- The dress code for men is a shirt & trousers, dhoti or pyjama along with the upper garment.
- The preferred dress code for women is a saree or half saree with a blouse or pyjama and chudidhar with a top.
- Shorts, mini-skirts, middies, sleeveless low-waisted jeans and short-length t-shirts had not permitted.
How to Reach
You can reach Shantinath Mandir Jamnagar by air or train. Jamnagar Airport is ten kilometres away from the main city. This airport caters to domestic flights. Jamnagar railway station had also connected to major cities in India.
Address
Shantinath Jain temple,
Sheth Vado, near panch hatadi,
Mohammadi Nagar, Kheda,
Gujarat 387411, India.