Jain Golden Temple, Ajmer

S Balakrishnan *

Yes, Jain Golden Temple ! We all have heard about the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar which, though, I have not had the chance to visit yet. But I was fortunate to visit the Hindu Golden Temple in Vellore .

I was also fortunate to visit this Jain Golden Temple that is situated in Ajmer City, Rajasthan. The name Ajmer immediately brings to our memory only the Ajmer Dargah but Ajmer is also home to this wonderful Jain Golden Temple.

Better known as Soniji Ki Nasiyan, this Jain temple was dedicated in 1865. As most of the Jain temples, this is also an architecturally rich Jain temple besides having a golden hall of museum which is the star attraction.

This is called as the Swarna Nagari "City of Gold" as it depicts events in the life of the first thirthankar 'Rishabha' or Adhinath in glittering gold. This temple belongs to the Digambara Sect of Jainism (sky clad / the monks discard even the cloth). The other major sect is Svetambara Sect (white cloth clad).

A surprising fact is that this Golden Jain Temple is privately owned by the Soni family of Ajmer as it was built by its members, in particular, Seth Raj Bahadur Moolchand Soni and Nemichand Soni.

On completion, the image of Rishabhdev (Adinath), the first of the 24 thirthankars of Jainism, was installed in the sanctum sanctorum on 26 May 1865. Rishabhdev is seated in the "Samavasarana" in which He imparts true knowledge to the suffering humanity,

Though the temple was completed within a few years in 1865, it took almost 25 years - from 1870 to 1895 - for setting up the golden museum. The two-storeyed Svarana Nagara Hall behind the temple has many gold-plated wooden figures depicting events/legends of Jainism. For an instance, it is believed that 1000 kg of gold was used to replicate Ayodhya of the past where Adhinath was born.

Artisans of Jaipur put in efforts to carve out these stories in golden images. A hall of 24 m x 12 m was designed exclusively for this golden display. Seth Moolchand Soni (born in 1830), who built this temple, thought of this museum only after the completion of the temple in 1865.

He felt that such a three-dimensional model on Jainism would effectively teach the religion. But his untimely death in 1891 delayed his dream project that at last was completed in 1895. A 82-feet-high Manastambha was erected in 1953 at the fore courtyard.

One of the richest temples in India, it is also known as Siddhkoot Chaityalaya. After the Svarna Nagri was added to the temple in 1895, it came to be popularly called as 'Sone ka Mandir' or 'Soni Mandir', in reference to the golden structure as well as the family name 'Soni'. Another member of the Soni family, RB Seth Sir Bhagchand Soni, added a library to this temple in 1974, housing rare Jain scriptures for use by research scholars.

In many Jain Temples we come across dislay of Jain legends and also the five auspicious events in the life of a Thirthankara, namely, conception, birth, renunciation, enlightenment, and salvation (moksha or nirvana). This is called "pancha kalyanak". This Ajmer Jain Temple, among all, has the largest and most artistic representation of the pancha kalyanak mythological narrative.

Here, it is of the first Thirthankar, Rishabhadev, which is in accordance with the old manuscript Adi Purana by Acharya Jinasena. The gold leaf covered Ayodhya and Mt. Sumeru (Meru /Maha Meru) were also done in accordance to this text.

The five Kalyanakas of Lord Rishabhdev depict - Garbha Kalyanak (Conception) in mother Queen Marudevi's womb; [father King Maharaj Nabhiraj]. Janma Kalyanak (Birth) in Ayodhya. Tap Kalyanak (Renunciation). Keval Jnan Kalyanak (Omniscience) at Mt. Kailash, and Moksha Kalyanak, again at Mt. Kailash.

No words can aptly describe this golden wonder that has intricate designs on walls and ceiling, statues and huge structures – Ayodhya & Mt. Sumeru. It is said that seeing is believing but here even seeing is not believing ! For a religion that imparts much austerity, what a rich golden temple ! This perhaps indicates the dedication of the Soni family.

The protective glass casing is a mild drawback for photographing as it reflects light. My only regret is that we went there without any prior idea about such a Jain Temple at all and so we could not fully understand the religious legends/stories behind this marvelous work.

Only if a brief guidance had been arranged by the temple authorities, it would have helped us a lot to appreciate this glittering Golden Jain Temple of Ajmer.