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 t ...
in
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'', mean ...
'' in its design.
History
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 ''
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'', mean ...
'' 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 o ...
.
[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
A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...
, overarching balconies,
chabutras and
jali
A ''jali'' or jaali (''jālī'', meaning "net") is the term for a perforated stone or latticework, latticed Window screen, screen, usually with an ornamental pattern constructed through the use of calligraphy, geometry or natural patterns. T ...
s.
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'' chamber ...
. 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
Dharmanatha was the fifteenth Jain Tirthankara of the present age (Avasarpini). According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Dharmanath was born to King Bhanu Raja and Queen Suvrata Rani ...
, 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 a ...
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 ''A ...
(or a column of honour) in its outer courtyard. It is inspired by the
Kirti Stambha
Kirti Stambha is a 12th-century tower situated at Chittor Fort in Chittorgarh town of Rajasthan, India.
History
Chittor has a history going back several centuries. It was an ancient centre of Jain tradition. Chittor is adjacent to the an ...
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 River, Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It was a majo ...
in
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 ...
. 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 6t ...
. 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 continui ...
minarets of the
Mughal era.
See also
*
Hutheesing family
*
Jainism in Gujarat
Jainism has had a notable following in Gujarat. According to the 2011 Census of India, around 0.959% of the population of Gujarat is Jain. There are several old Jain temples that draw pilgrims from Jains around the world in places such as Palitan ...
*
List of Jain temples
Jain temples and '' tirtha'' (pilgrimage sites) are present throughout the Indian subcontinent, many of which were built several hundred years ago. Many of these temples are classified according to Jain sects. Idols of ...
References
Citations
Sources
*
* Michell, George (1990), ''The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India, Volume 1: Buddhist, Jain, Hindu'', 1990, Penguin Books,
{{Jainism topics
Jain temples in Gujarat
Religious buildings and structures in Ahmedabad
Religious buildings and structures completed in 1848
Tourist attractions in Ahmedabad
1848 establishments in British India
19th-century Jain temples
Māru-Gurjara architecture
Havelis