Digambara Jaina Temple is a Jain temple in

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

, in the state of Odisha, India. The temple is on the top of

Khandagiri Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves, formerly called Kattaka Caves or Cuttack caves, are partly natural and partly artificial caves of archaeological, historical and religious importance near the city of Bhubaneswar in Odisha, India. The caves are ...

hill. This hill is honeycombed with a series of rock-cut Jaina caves, commissioned by King Kharavela in the 1st century BCE. The rock-cut caves are protected by

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...

. The enshrining deities are a series of Jaina tirthankara images.

History

The architecture of the temple suggest that it was built out of materials from an earlier temple. According to local legends the temple was constructed by ''

Mahameghavahana The Mahameghavahana dynasty (, 2nd or 1st century BC to early 4th century CE) was an ancient ruling dynasty of Kalinga after the decline of the Maurya Empire. In the first century B.C., Mahameghavahana, a king of Chedirastra (or Cetarattha, i. ...

'' ruler Kharavela in the 1st century BCE. This legend is not supported by the architectural features. According to Alexander Cunningham, The temple structure is estimated to have been built during the rule of

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

based on architecture design. The current structure was built in first quarter of the 19th century.

Architurecture

This temple is built in Pidha style with

Vimana Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also mentio ...

and

Jaga mohan Jaga mohan or Jagamohan or Jagamohana ( or, ଜଗମୋହନ) is an assembly hall in the Hindu temple architecture, especially in Orissa. Overview It is located between the temple entrance and the Garba griha that is to say, the heart of the ...

following the

Kalinga architecture The Kaḷinga architectural style is a style of Hindu architecture which flourished in the ancient Kalinga previously known as Utkal and in present eastern Indian state of Odisha. The style consists of three distinct types of temples: Rekha D ...

. The temple is built using sandstone in

Ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

fashion with triratha plan and tri-anga bada elevation. The vimana and jagamohana features

balustrade 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 ...

windows with vimana follows a square plan and Jaga mohan follows a rectangular plan. The architectural motifs such as ''khakharamundis'' and ''pidhamundis'' in the lower and upper janghas respectively. The temple complex consist of three temple, first temple houses a colossal black stone idol of

Parshvanatha ''Parshvanatha'' (), also known as ''Parshva'' () and ''Parasnath'', was the 23rd of 24 ''Tirthankaras'' (supreme preacher of dharma) of Jainism. He is the only Tirthankara who gained the title of ''Kalīkālkalpataru (Kalpavriksha in this "Kal ...

in a white marble hall.The main shrine houses a white marble 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 ...

along with a large number of Jain idols. The third shrines houses 5 images of Jain

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 ...

Conservation

The temple is maintained by the Bengal, Bihar and Odisha Digambara Jaina Tirthankara Committee. Bimala Devi Jain is the local caretaker.

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