Jagdish Temple is a large

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

temple in the middle of

Udaipur Udaipur () (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic capit ...

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 ...

, just outside the royal palace. It has been in continuous worship since 1651. A big tourist attraction, the temple was originally called the temple of Jagannath Rai but is now called Jagdish-ji. It is a major

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

in Udaipur.

Overview

The Jagdish Temple is raised on a tall terrace and was completed in 1651. It attaches a double-storey Mandapa (hall) to a double-storey saandhara (with a covered ambulatory) sanctum. The mandapa has another storey tucked within its pyramidal samavarna (bellroof) while the hollow clustered spire over the sanctum contains two more, nonfunctional stories. To reach the main shrine, one must climb 32 marble steps, intercepted by a Brass image of

Garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is a ...

in the end, being the mount (

vahana ''Vahana'' ( sa, वाहन, or animal vehicle, literally "that which carries, that which pulls") denotes the being, typically an animal or mythical, a particular Hindus, Hindu God is said to use as a vehicle. In this capacity, the vahana ...

) of God

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

. Shri Jagdish Temple is the most beautiful example of

Iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

, consisting of three stories of hand carved stone, with a steeple nearly 79 feet high and is the largest temple of Udaipur. Lanes taking off from many of the sheharpanah (city wall) converge on the Jagdish Temple. The most beautiful event in the temple is the annual Rath Yatra. It was built by Maharana Jagat Singh in 1651. Jagdish Temple is a splendid example of either Māha Māru or

Māru-Gurjara architecture Māru-Gurjara architecture, Chaulukya style or Solaṅkī style, is the style of West Indian temple architecture that originated in Gujarat and Rajasthan from the 11th to 13th centuries, under the Chaulukya dynasty (also called Solaṅkī dyna ...

, decorated by beautiful and ornate carvings. A short walk from the city palace will bring you to this temple. The temple sanctum has an idol of the deity Lord

Jagannath Jagannath ( or, ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, lit=Lord of the Universe, Jagannātha; formerly en, Juggernaut) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister ...

, in local parlance of God

or God

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

, carved out of a single black stone, resplendent with four arms, flowers and finery. Four smaller shrines, dedicated to Lord

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...

Surya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...

, Goddess

Shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and rep ...

and Lord

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

form a circle around the main shrine, housing the idol of Lord Vishnu. It is said that an estimated RS 1.5 million (or 1,500,000) ($22023. 21) was spent to construct the building in 1651.

Gallery

File:Carved elephants on the walls of Jagdish Mandir.jpg, Elephant carvings on Jagdish Mandir File:Jagdish_Temple_05.jpg, Women during a prayer File:Jagdish Temple - sculptures du sikhara.jpg, Mural Statues and Sculptures File:Udaipur_Temple_Street_(1580568439).jpg, festive decorations File:John_Gleich_-_The_Jagdish_Temple,_Udaipur,_Rajasthan.jpg, Painting by

John Gleich John Gleich (2 November 1879, Memel – c. 1927) was a Baltic-German merchant, painter and publicist; best known for Oriental and maritime scenes. Life and work After completing his education, he worked as a merchant but, in his spare time, t ...

(1879 - c.1927) File:20191207 Jagdish Temple, Udaipur, 0609 7008.jpg, Sculptures on wall. Instrument resembling Rudra veena, far left. File:20191207 Jagdish Temple, Udaipur, 0608 7004.jpg, Sculptures of musicians and dancers. File:Jagdish Temple 10.jpg, God

in the temple. File:Udaipur-Jagdish-Tempel-02-2018-gje.jpg, Stone inscription about the temple.

References

External links

Sanctum and Deity

Jagdish Temple Udaipur

{{Hindu temples in Rajasthan Tourist attractions in Udaipur Vishnu temples Religious buildings and structures completed in 1651 Hindu temples in Udaipur 1651 establishments in the Mughal Empire Māru-Gurjara architecture