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15th-century Jain temple in Kerala to be reopened
PALAKKAD, May 14, 2013: A 15th-century Jain temple, which has been in a dilapidated
condition for past several years, is all set for reopening after its
renovation. As a prelude to its re-dedication, a three-day idol installation
ceremony began at the Chandraprabha Digambar temple at nearby Jainimedu
on Saturday attracting devotees from across Kerala and neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The shrine would be opened for daily rituals from Tuesday, temple
sources said. The temple, dedicated to Chandraprabha, the eighth 'Tirthankara', is one
of the few surviving structures in Kerala featuring typical Jain architecture.
According to Jainism, Tirthankara is an enlightened human being who can
be a teacher for those seeking spiritual guidance.
As part of the renovation, the old idol has been replaced with a new one.
Members of Chanraprabha Digambara Basti Devwaswom Trust, which manages
the shrine, said the temple walls, the 'mandapa' and the entrance have
also been redone to restore it to its past glory without affecting tradition and sanctity.
According to local legend, the Jainimedu temple was built centuries ago
by a family of diamond merchants from Karnataka. After one of its male members died during a routine business visit to
the area, his brother built the temple in memory of him as per a sage's
advice. In course of time, their family settled around the shrine. Following
them, hundreds of Jains, most of them diamond merchants from across the
country, came and settled here.
With the presence of several diamond merchants, the place came to be
known as 'manikyapattanam' or 'muthupattanam'. Bedsides the idol of Chandraprabha Theerthankara, the shrine, made of
granite blocks, also houses the images of other tirthankaras and
"yakshas" and "yakshinis" (demi-gods). Source: PTI
ASI claim leads SC to pause temple restoration
New Delhi, April 4, 2013: Efforts to restore a seventh century Jain temple situated at Kundalpur
hills in Madhya Pradesh have been stalled by the Supreme Court on an
assertion by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) that the structure was an ancient monument.
Relying on a 1913 notification, ASI claimed to own the property and
demanded immediate stoppage of all construction and restoration work
carried out in and around the structure by a private trust. But the need
for apex court’s intervention arose after this demand of ASI was rejected by the Madhya Pradesh High Court on September 17 last year.
For the present, the apex bench of Justices SS Nijjar and PC Ghose has
ordered status quo and directed the MP government and the private trust
- Sri Digambar Jain Atishay Kshetra Kundalpur Public Trust, to file their response.
The concern of the ASI was two-fold. Gazette notifications of July 16,
1913 and November 30, 1914 declared the temple a protected monument vesting supervision and control powers with the Central government.
The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958 retained
the existing list of protected monuments without any change. As a result, the Digambar Jain temple or the Bade Baba Jain Temple continued
to be an ancient monument of national importance. Source: The Pioneer
Sri Niraj ji Jain expired at Satna
Satna, March 27, 2013: Sri Niraj ji Jain on 27th
March at Satna, Khari Condolence meeting held at 3 PM today.-
Nirmal Jain, Sharad, Shudhir, Sudhakar and Satish
"I extremely shocked on the said demise of Sri Niraj ji
Jain who was an ideal for me. Praying God to rest his soul in peace,", said Hazrimal Pandya
Tourism development projects pick up pace at Sitthannavasal
TIRUCHI, March 20, 2013: Tourism development projects worth over Rs.35 lakh under way at the
tourist spot of Sitthannavasal have been progressing at a fast pace. The
government has identified the coastal Kodiakkarai village in Manamelkudi
taluk for developing another tourist spot and has sanctioned Rs.28 lakh for development work.
The district administration has drawn up plans, taking into consideration the heritage value of the Jain monument at
Sithannavasal, about 12 km from here. A number of tourism development work was being
executed for renovation of the old tourism attraction units and new ones
at the sprawling space outside the jurisdiction of the Archaeology Survey of India-maintained rock-cut cave temple at
Sithannavasal. The works of construction of boat house (Rs.5 lakh), children’s park
(Rs.8 lakh), renovation of tourist bungalow (Rs.5 lakh), construction of
entrance arch (Rs.12.5 lakh), and sculptures park, statues, developing
the pavement around Muthamizh park, musical fountain (all Rs.5.60 lakh) are in full swing.
At Kodiyakkarai village shore, the government has planned to construct
tourists’ reception centre, dress changing room, toilet block (all at a
cost of Rs.13 lakh), and viewing tower (Rs.15 lakh). Source: The Hindu
Mahamastakabhishek of Bahubali Held at Jain Temple, Shirlalu
Karkal,February 22, 2013: Thousands of devotees witnessed
Mahamastakabhishek, significant religious rituals during Panchakalyanotsav held at Bahubali Basadi located at Siddagiri in
Shirlalu village near here, on Monday February 18. Swami Lalitakeerti of Jain mutt, Karkal; Swami Bhattaraka Charukeerti of
Jain mutt, Moodbidri; Akhil Bharat Jain Milan executive president D Surendra Kuma r and others were present at the occasion.
Tne Mahamastakabhishek Committee executive president M N Rajendra Ku mar,
president Ratna Varma Poovani, chief secretary Professor Gunapal Kada mba
Shirlalu and others involved in efficiently organizing the religious
celebrations. The magic show, skits, folk singing, folk dances that was held to
enthrall the viewers, besides two-hour attractive display of fireworks held at the occasion. Source: Bellevision Media Network
Munishri Kshamasagar Ji become an ascetic at the tender age of 23
February 18,
2013: Munishri Kshamasagar Ji, the disciple of Acharya Shri Vidhyas agar Ji Maharaj is among one of the most respected Jain Munis. Muni Kshamasagar ji, an M.Tech. from the Sagar University, renounced all the worldly pleasures and material belongings to become an ascetic at the tender age of 23 to tread on the path of peace and salvation as propagated by his Guru Acharya
1,500-year-old Jain rock bed with symbols unearthed
CHENGALPET, February 1 4, 2013: A rare Jain rock bed with rockcarvings of
'yantras' was excavated on top of Mottamalai in Narapakkam village near
Chengalpet recently. A yantra is an abstract diagram of symbolic geometric forms which is used as a meditation aid or as part
of rituals.
While searching for ancient monuments, S Jeeva Kumar, a priest in the
Jain temple in Thirukazhukundram, found this 1500-year-old bed surrounded by shrubs in the hill. He immediately informed some Jain
scholars, who after studying the yantras, said the place was once a centre of Jains. "The bed here is a primitive one. When I first saw
this, I was not very sure if it was a rock bed and the symbols were not
clear. So, I searched for some vital clues and found two 'yantras', a square-shaped one and a triangle-shaped one," said K Saravana Kumar, a
Jain scholar and epigraphist. A huge part of the hill has been lost to quarrying. "Quarrying has
killed the hill and its monuments. The marks that it left are still visible on the edges of many rocks. If we explore, we may find more such
monuments here," said Jeeva Kumar. The yantras found in Narapakkam are
similar to those seen in many Jain hillocks of Tamil Nadu, particularly in Kurathimalai near Onampakkam and Thiruppanmalai near Arcot.
"The symbols look similar to the 'Vardamana Vidya' yantra which is used in
Jain rituals. Generally, Jain yantras are found in cloth, paper, wooden
boards, metal plates. The two 'yantras' found denote two different purposes, according to Saravana Kumar. "The square yantra is very
important to Jains. It has four channels and the centre is considered
the energy releasing part. Ascetics sit on the central portion of it andmeditate," he said.
The rock-carvings of yantras are found only in Tamil Nadu, according to
K Ajitha Doss, a scholar. Both Jeeva Kumar and Saravana Kumar are planning to write to the state archaeology department about the new
discovery. "We have informed them, but there is no response. We will
send a letter to the department soon," said Jeeva Kumar. Source: The Times of India
Thieves steal R 45,000 from Jain temple in Indore
Indore, January 31, 2013 (DNA): Unidentified thieves struck at a Jain temple in Annapurna area
late on Tuesday night and decamped with four donation boxes containing cash.
The theft occurred at Adinath Jain temple in Sudama Nagar. When a caretaker of the temple Devendra Jain reached there around 5.30 am, he
found the door open. When Jain entered the temple, he found that four donation boxes kept
inside were missing.
He immediately raised an alarm and soon police was also informed.
During preliminary investigation police recovered a broken and empty
donation box near the temple but the thieves fled with a big box containing over Rs 45,000 as they could not open it, police said.
A large number of members of Jain community and residents of the
locality gathered on the spot and alleged lackadaisical patrolling by
cops as the main reason behind soaring incidents of thefts in the area.
It may be noted that after posh localities of Palasia police station
area, various colonies in Annapurna area have become a hotspot for burglars and thieves and earlier only houses were targeted but for past
few months thieves are targeting temples. Source: DNA
Idol, parasol stolen from Digambar Jain temple
GURGAON, January 19, 2013: Thieves stole a parasol and an idol from a Digambar Jain temple
located in Hans Enclave near Rajiv Chowk. On the received complaint,
the Sadarpolice have lodged an FIR. According to police, Dinesh Jain,
a resident of Delhi, has lodged a complaint with the Sadar police
station about the theft. In his complaint, he stated that he has a
piece of land near Rajiv Chowk, where he maintains a Digambar Jain
Mandir. On Monday night, unidentified thieves took off with stolen a
parasol and an idol from the temple. He received the information about the theft early on Tuesday morning. "We have lodged an
FIR and are investigating. The value of stolen property is reportedly around Rs 15,000," said ASI Shailendra, who is
investigating the case. Source: Times of India
Death of Jain monks sparks violent outbursts across state
Bharuch, January 5, 2013: Wide spread protests have been reported
following the mowing down of two Jain monks by a truck near Asuria village located nine kilometres from Bharuch on Tuesday. Stone
pelting on the police and subsequent lathi charge took place during
their Palkhi Yatra in Bharuch on Wednesday.
More than 10,000 people from the Jain community across the
state gathered in Bharuch to attend the cremation of the two monks.
The route of the Palkhi Yatra of monks Shri Gyanshekhar Vijay Maharaj and Shri Hastigiri Maharaj Sahib was to begin at 9 am from
Srimali Pole Jain Temple in Bharuch to the place where the accident
had taken place. However, the route was changed following insistence
by the police that was protested by the community leaders. The
yatra reached Zadeshwar Chowkdi on the highway causing a massive traffic jam. Efforts were made by Inspector General of Police
Shashikanth Trivedi, Superintendent of Police Gautam Parmar, MP Mansukh Vasava along with MLAs Dushyant Patel and Arunsinh Rana to
maintain calm but they went in vain.
Some miscreants started pelting stones on the police
and the latter resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd. The yatra eventually reached the spot of the accident late in the
afternoon where the bodies of both the monks were cremated. Ajitbhai
R Mehta of Jain Monk Vihar Group based in Surat said, "We
demand a thorough investigation in the accidental deaths of
the monks which we believe is premeditated. We condemn the attitude
of the police. Instead of beating innocent people who came to attend
the cremation of respected monks they need to investigate the killing of saints who spread the message of peace and harmony in the
society." He said that more than 40 monks have been killed in road accidents in the last five years.
Meanwhile, reports of protests by community members have also
poured in from Vadodara, Navsari, Ankleshwar and other places. Source: Times of India |
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