Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir

SHRI DIGAMBAR JAIN LAL MANDIR

Chandni Chowk, Delhi, India

God

Parshvanatha is the main deity of this temple, who is an incarnation of Jain Tirthankara.

Interesting Facts

The temple compound has a famous Bird Hospital. The Birds Hospital, calls itself the only institution of its kind in the world, treats about 15,000 birds a year has been run for 60 years in the building built in 1957 under the instructions of Acharya Deshbhushan Maharaj, hospital itself was started in 1930.

Best Season To Visit

The best season to visit the temple is Winter season. The best months to visit are September to February.

Weather

Highest - April to June (24°C during day and 20°C during night)Average - May (28°C during the day and 22°C during night)Lowest - December to February (20°C during day and 16°C during night)Monsoon season - August to October

Dress Code

For men the dress code is Shirt & Trouser, Dhoti or Pyjamas with upper cloth.
For women the preferred dress code is saree or half-saree with blouse or chudidhar with pyjama and upper cloth.
Shorts, mini-skirts, middies, sleeveless tops, low-waist jeans and short-length T-shirts are not allowed.

Do's & Dont's

Do bathe and wear clean clothes before you enter the temple.
Do respect ancient customs and co-piligrims while at temple.

Smoking and drinking is prohibited in this temple.
Chewing betel leaves, tobacco, gutka and spitting inside temple is strictly prohibited.

transport connections

Name	Distance	Contact Number
Chandni Chowk Bus Stop	1.6 KM	02528-222590
Chandni Chowk Railway Station	1.7 KM	139
Indira Gandhi International Airport	196 KM	0124-3376000

Railway Station Name	Distance	Contact Number
Chandni Chowk Railway Station	1.7 KM	139

Airport Name	Distance	Contact Number
Indira Gandhi International Airport	196 KM	0124-3376000

Architecture

A Manastambha column stands in front of the temple. The main devotional area of the temple is on the first floor. It is reached by ascending to the terrace after crossing the small courtyard of the temple, surrounded by a colonnade. There are a number of shrines in this area but the main shrine is of Lord Mahavira, the 24th and last Tirthankara of the present Avasarpani era (half time cycle of decreasing happiness as per Jain cosmology). Born in 599 B.C. in the ancient republic of Vaishali (Bihar) as a prince, he renounced all worldly pleasures and comforts and went in search of ‘Moksha’ (salvation). Soon he attained Kevala Jnana (Enlightenment), and spent the rest of his life preaching to the people all over the country about the eternal truth of life and ways to attain Moksha. Though some believe that he was the founder of Jainism but he was in a real sense the reformer of an existing faith who reorganized and presented the tenets of the religion in a form suitable to the period.

The statue of Adinath, the first Tirthankara is also present here, along with the shrine of Lord Parshvanath, the immediate predecessor of Lord Mahavira. The temple is popular among the Jains. The place is very peaceful and the ambience is really soothing especially due to the shining of the gilded paintwork of the shrine area under the lights of butter lamps and candles. In 1931, Acharya Shantisagar, a Digambara Jain monk arrived in Delhi. He was the first Digambara monk to visit Delhi after a gap of eight centuries. There is a memorial marking this historical occasion.

Religious Significance

Old Delhi was founded by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1628–1658) who built what is commonly known as the old city or walled city, surrounded by a wall, with the main street Chandni Chowk in front of the Red Fort, the imperial residence. Shah Jahan invited several Agrawal Jain merchants to come and settle in the city and granted them some land south of the Chandani Chauk around Dariba Gali. He also permitted them to build a temporary structure to house a Jain temple. The Agrawal Jain community acquired three marble idols installed by Jivaraj Papriwal under the supervision of Bhattaraka Jinachandra in Samvat 1548 (1491 A.D.) for the temple. The main icon is that of Tirthankara Parshva. It is said that the deities in temple were originally kept in a tent belonging to an Agrawal Jain officer of the Mughal army. During the Mughal period, the construction of a shikhara for a temple was not permitted. This temple did not have a formal shikhara until after India’s independence when the temple was extensively rebuilt. In 1800-1807, Raja Harsukh Rai, the imperial treasurer obtained imperial permission to build a temple with a shikhara in the Agrawal Jain neighborhood of Dharamapura, just south of Chandani Chauk. Thus temple, known for fine carvings, is now known as the Naya Mandir “New Temple”. The Gauri Shankar temple next to the Lal Mandir, was founded about a century later in 1761 by Appa Gangadhara, a Maratha Brahman in the service of the Scindia when Delhi was under their influence. It also has been significantly rebuilt in the past few decades.

History

The temple was originally built in the year of 1658 and it was later enlarged and renovated in the early nineteenth century. It is said that a temporary structure to house a Jain temple was being permitted to be built during the Mughal period. The main deity was of Tirthankara Parshva. The temple then consisted of three marble idols that were kept under the supervision of a Jain officer who belonged to the Mughal Army.

Temple Timings

Day	Timings
All Days	06:00 AM - 01:00 PM	05:30 PM - 09:00 PM

Tours

Airports

Airport Name	Distance
Shamshabad	40 KM
Lorem Ipsum	12 KM

Railway Stations

Railway Station Name	Distance
Secunderabad	10 KM
Nampally	12 KM
Begumpet	6 KM
Lingampally	20 KM

Bus Stations

Bus Station Name	Distance
MGBS	35 KM
CBS	28 KM
kukatpally	20 KM
Lingampally	30 KM
Uppal	35 KM

Private Transports

Transport Name	Distance	Contact Number
Private Transport	8 KM	9546858757
Private Transport1	8 KM	9546858757
Private Transport1	8 KM	9546858757
Private Transport1	8 KM	9546858757
Private Transport1	8 KM	9546858757