Kothara is a village and a
Jain pilgrimage center located in
Abdasa Taluka of
Kutch district of
Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
, India.
History
Kothara was an estate (''
jagir
A jagir (), ( Hindustani: जागीर/جاگیر, ''Jāgīr''), ( Marathi: जहागीर, ''Jahāgīrá'') also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar ( Zamindar ...
'') founded during the reign of Godaji (1715-1718), when Godaji, the ruler of
Cutch State
Cutch State, also spelled Kutch or Kachchh and also historically known as the Kingdom of Kutch, was a kingdom in the Kutch region from 1147 to 1819 and a princely state under British rule from 1819 to 1947. Its territories covered the present ...
, gave the
Mundra
Mundra is a census town and a headquarter of Mundra Taluka of Kutch district, Kachchh district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. Founded in about the 1640s, the town was an important mercantile centre and port thr ...
estate to his brethren Haloji. Haloji founded towns of Kothara, Kotri and Nagrachi.
In the past, the village had a sizeable community of traders who lived in
Zanzibar
Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...
and
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
. The village has several houses with rich architecture, which belonged to these traders.
Geology
Kothara lies in hot, arid and dry region of Kutch. The Arabian Sea is on its west and
Rann of Kutch
The Rann of Kutch is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan. It is located mostly in the Kutch district of the Indian state of Gujarat, with a minor portion extending into the Sindh province of Pakistan. ...
on north.
Connectivity
Bhuj
Bhuj () is a city and the headquarters of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Etymology
According to legend, Kutch (Kachchh) was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to King B ...
, the nearest railway station and airport at a distance of 80 kilometers,
Suthari, the nearest sacred place is at a distance of 12 kilometers and
Mandvi
Mandvi is a beach town with municipality in the Kutch district, Kachchh district (Kutch) in the States and territories of India, Indian state of Gujarat. It was once a major port of the region and summer retreat for Maharao (king) of the Cutch ...
is at a distance of 58 kilometers. Buses and taxis are available.
Shantinath Jain temple
The Jain temple dedicated to
Shantinath
Śāntinātha () or Śānti is the sixteenth of Jainism in the present age (). According to traditional accounts, he was born to King Vishvasena and Queen Aćira of the Ikshvaku dynasty in the north Indian city of Hastinapur. His birth date ...
, the sixteenth
Tirthankara
In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...
, was completed in 1861 (1918 V.S.) which was considered the richest temple of Kutch then. The temple cost £40,000, one-half was given by Shah Velji Malu and the other in equal shares by Shah Keshavji Nayak and Shivji Nensi; Osval Vanias of Kothara.
The Shantinath statue was formally installed by Acharya Ratnasagarsuri of Achal Gacchha. This temple is also named ‘Kalyan Tunk’. This chief temple is compared to the Meruprabha temple. Also, this temple is a pilgrimage for the Jain community. It has a rich heritage, Jain community performs the pooja at this temple. People from the different parts of the country visit this temple.
Through a very rich two-storied entrance gate, an outer yard surrounded by buildings set apart for the use of priests, opens into a walled quadrangle with a shrine in each wall. The domed hall, ''mandap'' rises in two stories, and over the shrine is a spire with richly carved figure niches and moldings.
Inside, the hall, ''mandap'', surrounded by aisles or verandahs, with a richly designed pavement of different coloured marbles, has twenty-two pilasters, and sixteen pillars, and a dome supported on eight pillars with foiled arches and struts. Inside of a wall, chiefly formed of twenty pillars richly carved with flowers, leaves and creepers, is the shrine; where, supported on either side by seven small figures, is a large image of Shantinath crowned with a golden crown, and seated cross-legged on a richly carved marble throne. The upper story of the hall, reached by stone steps from the south-west porches, has a corridor with rich shrines each containing a large marble sitting image.
[ ] Below the hall there is an underground shrine, with about twenty-five large white marble figures with precious stones let into the eyes, chests, and arms.
Gallery
Entrance to Jain Temple.JPG, Entrance to Shantinath Jain Temple
Inside the Jain Temple - Colourful and artistic.JPG, Inside the Jain Temple
Carving outside Jain Temple.JPG, Carving on walls
File:Picturesque of Lord.JPG, Picturesque inside temple dome.
File:Late Shri Kunvarji Narshi Lodaya (Patel).jpg, Kunvarji Narshi Lodaya - local philanthropist.
References
* This article incorporates
Public Domain
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text from
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{{Authority control
Villages in Kutch district
Buildings and structures completed in 1862
1862 establishments in India
1710s establishments in India