Jagdish Temple is a large

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

temple in the middle of

Udaipur Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, 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, historical ...

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 (; ; Vedic Sanskrit: , ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the D ...

in the end, being the mount (

vahana ''Vāhana'' () or ''vahanam'' () denotes the being, typically an animal or mythical entity, a particular Hindus, Hindu deity is said to use as a vehicle. In this capacity, the vāhana is often called the deity's "mount". Upon the partnership b ...

) of God

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

. 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 In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a relig ...

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 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 dynasty). Although or ...

, 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 (; formerly ) is a Hindu deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India as part of a triad along with (Krishna's) brother Balabhadra, and sister, Subhadra. Jagannath, within Odia Hinduism, is the supreme god, '' Purushot ...

, in local parlance of God

or God

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

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

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

Surya Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchaya ...

, Goddess

Shakti Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refer ...

and Lord

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

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.

Naruji barhath

Aurangzeb attacked Mewar and plundered Udaipur, the citizens were safely escorted to Panarwa a hilly region by Rana Raj Singh but 63 temples in and around Udaipur were plundered and many villages were burned down by Aurangzeb's general Taj Khan. The Mughal army was eventually starved because of the scorched earth techniques and guerrilla warfare used by the Rana. Aurangzeb after a failed campaign left Mewar to his son Akbar and retreated to Ajmer. During that time naruji barhath a

charan Charan (IAST: Cāraṇ; Sanskrit: चारण; Gujarati: ચારણ; Sindhi: چارڻ; IPA: cɑːrəɳə) is a caste in South Asia natively residing in the Rajasthan and Gujarat states of India, as well as the Sindh and Balochistan prov ...

warrior fought bravely to protect jagdish mandir from Aurangzeb army. He martyred himself while fighting to mughal armyOne of their ancestor Barhath Naruji fought Aurangzeb’s force while protecting Jagadish temple in 1680 and Gave up his life in this endeavour.https://www.socialsciencejournal.in/assets/archives/2024/vol10issue5/10088.pdf

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 (1879 - c.1927) File:20191207 Jagdish Temple, Udaipur, 0609 7008.jpg, Sculptures on wall. Instrument resembling

Rudra veena The ''rudra veena'' () (also spelled ''rudraveena'' or ''rudra vīnā'') — also called the ''bīn'' in North India — is a large plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music, especially dhrupad. It is one of the major types of '' vee ...

, 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 1650s establishments in India 1650s establishments in the Mughal Empire 1651 establishments in Asia Māru-Gurjara architecture