Aharji Jain Teerth is a historical pilgrimage site for

Jainism 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 bein ...

located in

Aharji Aharji is a historical pilgrimage site for Jainism in India. It is located in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, on the road from Tikamgarh to Chhatarpur. This place is famous for Jain Temple. Aharji Jain Teerth Aharji is a place full ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

, on the road from

Tikamgarh Tikamgarh is a town and a tehsil in Tikamgarh district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The city serves as a district headquarters. The earlier name of Tikamgarh was Tehri (i.e., a triangle) consisting of three hamlets, forming a rough ...

to Chhatarpur.

Aharji Jain Teerth

Aharji Jain Teerth is famous for the miraculous 18 feet monolithic idol of Lord (

Shantinath Shantinatha was the sixteenth Jain tirthankar of the present age (Avasarpini). Shantinatha was born to King Vishvasena and Queen Aiira at Hastinapur in the Ikshvaku dynasty. His birth date is the thirteenth day of the Jyest Krishna month of the ...

) in

Kayotsarga Kayotsarga ( , pka, काउस्सग्ग ) is a yogic posture which is an important part of the Jain meditation. It literally means "dismissing the body". A tirthankara is represented either seated in yoga posture or standing in the kayo ...

posture. The main temple is famous for the beautiful monumental image of Lord Shatinath from the Chandella period. Aharji was a major Jain centre during the Chandella period. The inscriptions in this temple date back to 1180 CE ( V.S. 1237). It was the last major temple to be built here in the Chandella period. Several other smaller temples were built here at the same time as the main temple. Excavations have found a large number of Jain images that were installed here from 954CE to 1275 CE (VS 1011 to V.S. 1332), spanning the reigns of six Chandella rulers. The inscriptions give the names of 32 separate Jain communities that had built these temples, including

Golapurva Golapurva is an ancient Jain community from the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh. History Jainism had a continuous presence in the Bundelkhand region since antiquity. Jainism was flourishing during the Gupta period at Vidisha region. The D ...

, Parwar, Khandelwal,

Golalare Golalare (Sanskrit गोलाराडे, Hindi गोलालारे ) is a Jain community of Bhadawar and Bundelkhand region in India. Their original center is the Bhind-Etawah region on the banks of the Chambal river. Some of them have ...

, Jaiswal, etc.

Shantinath image inscription

The Shantinath image has a long inscription on it that mentions that two brothers, Jahad and Udaichandra, belonging to the

Grahapati Gahoi is a merchant Vaishya-Baniya community in central India. Gahois are divided into 12 gotras, each gotra is divided into six ''all''s. They have traditionally interdined with the Parwar Jain community of Bundelkhand. The "Grahapati" family ...

community, built the temple during the rule of Chandella ruler Paramardhi, who is well known as Raja Parmal in the popular ballad Alha-Khand. They were the descendants of the builders of the Sahasrakuta temple at Banpur, Lalitpur. The image was carved by a sculptor named Papat Trivedi. mentions that several Chandella inscriptions mentioning the

individuals have been found and that they were noted for their significance and donations.

Gallery

File:18 ft tall idol of Lord Shantinath at ahaar ji near Tikamgarh(1180 ad).jpg, The Idol of

Shantinatha Shantinatha was the sixteenth Jain tirthankar of the present age (Avasarpini). Shantinatha was born to King Vishvasena and Queen Aiira at Hastinapur in the Ikshvaku dynasty. His birth date is the thirteenth day of the Jyest Krishna month of the ...

File:Aharji Mural at Nainagiri Samosharana.jpg, Aharji Mural at Nainagiri

Location

The place is located in Taluka – Baldeogarh, District – Tikamgarh,

, about 25 km from Tikamgarh. The management committee is Shri Digamber Jain Siddha Kshetra Aharji Prabandhakarini Samiti, Nearby Cities include

and Chhatarpur

References

External links