The temple, located at the intersection of Chandni Chowk and Netaji Subhash Marg, is the oldest in the capital and one of the oldest Jain Temples in the country. It was constructed in the year 1656, according to the Jain scholar Balbhadra’s compendium of Digambar Jain shrines in India. According to this compendium, the temple was built during the reign of Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal Emperor. It is stated by Balbhadra that a Jain officer belonging to the Mughal Army used to keep a tirthankara idol for personal worship, in his tent. Other army officers, of Jain faith, were gradually getting attracted to this tent for worship. Subsequently, in 1656, a Jain Temple was constructed at this very site where the tent existed. This temple was known as the “Urdu Temple” at that time, because of it being situated in an area called the “Urdu Bazaar”. Among the several legends that exist about the temple, one states that Aurangzeb, Shah Jahan’s successor and son, once ordered a complete ban on all musical instruments within the temple. But, miraculously, drum sounds would still be heard coming from the temple in spite of Mughal officers checking the temple regularly. When Emperor Aurangzeb heard about this miracle and visited the temple, he finally lifted the ban.
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The present day buildings of the temple, however, were built after the Mughal Empire’s fall, and this later construction is believed to have begun in 1878. Balbhadra states that within the temple, one of the many idols is from 1491 and was installed originally by Bhattaraka Jinachandra. It’s believed that deities in this temple were originally placed in a tent, which belonged to an officer of the Mughal Army belonging to the community of Agrawal Jains.
In front of the temple, stands a manastambha column. The first floor is where the main devotional place of the temple lies. One reaches this place by ascending to the terrace after crossing the temple’s small courtyard, which is surrounded by a colonnade. This area consists of a number of shrines, but the main shrine is dedicated to Lord Mahavira, who was the last Tirthankara of the present era of Avasarpani, according to Jain cosmology. In this temple, there also exists the statue of Rishabhanatha, who was the first Tirthankara. Also present is Lord Parshvanath’s shrine, who was Lord Mahavira’s immediate successor. This temple place happens to be very calming and peaceful. The ambience is believed to be very soothing as a result of the gilded paintwork’s shine.
Acharya Shantisagar, a Jain monk of the Digambar sect, arrived in Delhi in 1931. He happened to be the first Jain Digambara monk to visit the city after a huge gap of eight centuries. In this temple, there exists a memorial marking of this historical and special occasion.
The colour of this temple’s walls seems to be overflowing across the street, which is why the temple is called the Lal (Red) Temple. One can make out the different layers with which the temple has been constructed. Red sandstone can be found on the rightmost corner of the temple, and this is the same material with which the Red Fort is constructed. When viewed from the side of Chandni Chowk, our attention is caught by a white peak. Visitors often feel that the overall look of the temple and the feel of being present here is magnificent and peaceful.
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