Jain temples of Khajuraho

Adinath temple at Khajuraho

During the Chandela rule, many towns in Bundelkhand, including Khajuraho, were home to large and flourishing Jain communities. At Khajuraho the Jains apparently lived on the east side of town. A number of Jain temples from that period have survived in this part of Khajuraho in various states of preservation. Many Jain inscriptions from the Chandela period can be seen at Khajuraho.[1] All the Jain temples are now enclosed within a compound wall constructed in early 12th century, with the exception of the Ghantai temple. These temple are part of UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other temples in Khajuraho Group of Monuments.

Temples

Two of the large temples still stand in a good state of preservation.

Parshvanath Temple

This temple contains an inscription dating from 954 AD by its builder Pahila, mentioning donation of gardens and requesting future generations to safeguard the temple. It mentions Chandella Dhanga as the reigning king.[2]

A well known early magic square is found in this temple.[3]

Most-perfect magic square from the Parshvanath Jain temple in Khajuraho


7 12 1 14
2 13 8 11
16 3 10 5
9 6 15 4
transcription of
the indian numerals

This is referred to as the Chautisa (Thirty-four) Yantra, since each sub-square sums to 34.






Adinath Temple

The Adinath Jain temple contains an idol with an inscription dated to year 1027 during the rule of Chandella king Madanavarman.

Shantinath Temple

The Shantinath Temple is a modern composite structure that incorporates sections of several temples and has several shrines. The main section has a 15-foot-tall (4.6 m) idol of Lord Shantinath with an inscription of year 1028(V.S. 1085).

Ghantai Temple

Main article: Ghantai temple

The Ghantai Temple was built around 960 AD by Chandela kings of Khajuraho. This temple was dedicated to lord Rishabha as Chakreshwari is seen in this temple along with Nine planets and Gomukh yaksha.

See also

References

  1. ↑ B. L. Nagarch, Jaina Inscriptions of Khajuraho, Dr. Hiralal Jain Smriti Granth, 2001
  2. ↑ Khajuraho ke Jain Mandir, Niraj Jain, 2000
  3. ↑ William Symes Andrews (1908) Magic Squares and Cubes. Open Court Publishing Company
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