Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Dilwara temple of Chennai - Jain Temple


Chennai, the gateway to South India, is a city where you can find the amalgamation of all cultures. Sowcarpet is th e locality in Chennai where the majority of North Indians and Jains live. There is a beautiful white marble Jain temple located in Mint Street of Sowcarpet. The architectural inspiration of this temple dedicated to Chandraprabhu Swamy was derived from the Dilwara temples near Mt. Abu in Rajasthan. This temple is new. However, in the same site  there was one of the oldest Jain temples of Chennai city named Swetambar Jain temple was located.
The Chandraprabhu Swamy Jain temple aka Naya Jain Mandir in Mint street has the shrine elevated from the ground level. The main shrine has the marble idols of Chandraprabhu Swamy, the eight Jain Tirthankar along with two disciples on his either sides.

The left side of the main shrine has the shrine of Parshvanath, the 23rd Tirthankar. The right side of the main shrine has the shrine ofAdinath, the first Tirthankar. The idols of other small Jain deities such as Vijaya Yaksha, Vasupoojya Swamu,Muniswartha Swamu, Mallinath, Seemandhar Swamy, Jwala Devi, Padmavathy and Main Bhadra are also present in the temple. There is a dhyan mandap in the basement. The corridor (prakara) of temple has idols of various deities similar to that of Hindu temples.

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