Three historical idols of Lord Adinath belonging to 1145(VS 1202) in the underground chamber at Paporaji In

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, 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 ...

, a Bhonyra ( pra, भोंयरा , sa, भूमिगृह ) is an underground chamber with Jain images. In the past, it was used to conceal sacred idols during times of disturbance. There are several Jain temples in

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central & North India. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion lyin ...

that existed as a concealed bhonyra chamber for several centuries before being rediscovered. In 2001, an entire Jain temple was found beneath a mound known as Rajgadhi Timbo at Umta,

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 ...

. It was apparently buried to protect it from the destruction about 800 years ago. In some regions, it became a common practice to build a bhonyra attached to the temple.

Naya Mandir Naya Mandir ( hi, नया मन्दिर, lit. New Temple) is a historic Jain temple in Old Delhi in India, in the ''Dharampura'' locality allocated to the Jain community by Aurangzeb. History Raja Harsukh Rai, a treasurer in the Mugh ...

in Delhi has a concealed chamber. A visitor in 1876 described it:

In Delhi I found a Jain temple which was wholly unknown to Europeans well acquainted with the city; and on prosecuting inquiry, I got its priest to open to me a concealed chamber containing large statues of several of the
Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a 'ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable passag ...
s richly ornamented.

The chamber has now been given the form of a cave, suitable for peaceful meditation by visiting Jain monks. A few years ago, several Jain idols were rediscovered in a bhonyara in Sanghiji temple,

Sanganer Sanganer is a town/ Tehsil (an administrative division) situated in Jaipur district, Rajasthan, 16 km south of state capital Jaipur. Jaipur has been divided in 13 Sub divisions and Sanganer is one of these 13 Sub divisions. It is famous for ...

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 si ...

. Some of the Jain temples in Ahmedabad have an underground chamber.PERFECT 10: JAIN TEMPLES, Ahmedabad Mirror, Jan 20, 2018 Many of the temples are believed to have been built in a manner where the idols were placed on the lower ground level
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References

{{coord missing, Delhi Buildings and structures in Delhi Indian architectural history Jain architecture

See also

References