Shri Digamber Jain Atishya Kshetra Mandir, Sanghiji is an ancient Jain Temple in

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 made of red stone. The ancient Shri Digamber Jain temple of Sanganer is 16 km from

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

History

This temple is a major Jain pilgimage center. The idol of the principal deity of this temple, Lord

Rishabhanatha Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain c ...

(Adinatha), the first

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 ...

, is supposed to be 4000 years old. The last phase of this temple was completed in the 10th century A.D., according to the inscription of V.S. 1011 in one of the Toranas.

About temple

In the underground portion, there is located an ancient small temple guarded by the ''

yaksha The yakshas ( sa, यक्ष ; pi, yakkha, i=yes) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in ...

'', nature spirits. The sacred temple has seven underground floors which are kept closed due to old religious beliefs and visitors are not allowed to see them. It is said that only a Balyati ascetic Digambara saint can enter it and can bring out the idols of this underground temple for a limited period, which is declared and decided previously. The temple also has a '' dharamshala'' equipped with all modern facilities, including

bhojanalaya Marwari Bhojnalaya is a popular name among Marwari people, Marwari-style purely vegetarian restaurants in many cities in India. They are all independently owned. The term "marwari" implies that it is intended for Marwari merchants, who are strictl ...

(a restaurant).

Architecture

The Jaina temple follows Nagara architecture. The temple features a highly decorated arched entrance. The temple has a double storey gateway with first storey sumounted by an Nagara style arched

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 temple features a sky-high ''shikharas'' and the inner sanctum is a stone shrine with eight sky-high ''shikharas'' (pinnacles). Sanghiji temple is considered a great specimen of Hindu and Jain architecture. The larger shrine was built using marble and sandstone in the 10th century and the smaller shrine is rich with ornate carvings of the temple; using the white marble is comparable to that of

Dilwara Temples The Dilwara Temples or Delvada Temples are a group of Śvētāmbara Jain temples located about kilometres from the Mount Abu settlement in Sirohi District, Rajasthan's only hill station. The earliest were built by Bhima-1 and supposedly de ...

Mount Abu Mount Abu () is a hill station in the Aravalli Range in Sirohi district of the state of Rajasthan in western India.The mountain forms a rocky plateau 22 km long by 9 km wide. The highest peak on the mountain is Guru Shikhar at above s ...

. The decorative features such as flying arches, bracket figures, carved pillars, and lotus ceilings are a feature of

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 ...

Idols

The inner temple has three pinnacles; in the centre is an idol of Parshwanath with seven serpent hoods. All around it is carvings of lotuses, creepers and elephants pouring water from pitchers held in their trunks. The main idol is that of Adinath, installed in the shrine behind this. In 1999, Muni

Sudhasagar Muni Shri Sudhasagar Maharaj is a Digambar monk initiated by '' Acharya Vidyasagar''. Life A part of Jain sangha of Sant Shiromani 108 Aacharya Shri Vidyasagar ji Maharaj, sudhasagar ji is a very knowledgeable saint in the clan of saints of J ...

visited the temple and brought thirty-nine valuable Jain idols. He claimed that he brought the idols from the fourth underground floor and encountered many ''yakshas'' (in the form of snakes) protecting the treasure.

Gallery

File:Sanghiji - Vedi.jpg, Front Vedi File:Sanghiji - top.jpg, Shikhar File:Sanghiji Jain temple - Rishabhanatha idol.jpg, Rishabhanatha idol File:Sanghiji - carvings on wall (1).jpg, Murals on the wall

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Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi is a premier government-funded arts organization in India. It is an autonomous institute under the Union Ministry of Culture (India), Ministry of Culture. History The Indira Ga ...

** ** ** {{Jainism topics Jain temples in Rajasthan Buildings and structures in Jaipur 10th-century Jain temples Tourist attractions in Jaipur