Jagdusha

Jagdu Shah / Jagdusha was a Jain merchant, who was original native of Mandavi,Kutch, Gujarat.

Jagdu Shah was a renowned merchant who lived in Kutch, India in the 13th century. He owned many ships, which he used to travel west to Persia, Arabia and Africa. He traded mainly in grains, cotton and spices He also was a great philanthropist and even today is remembered for his charitable and philanthropic deeds.

Jagdu Shah was son of a Jain merchant named Solsha, who later migrated from Mandavi to Bhadreshwar. He inherited his father's business and expanded trade and earned great wealth. He married a pious lady named Yashomati and had one son.

He was given titles of honour like Sheth and Shahsaudagar and Daan-veer. Jagdu Shah was so rich that when in years 1257–1259, a great famine struck Kutch he distributed free food continuously for three years across Cutch and Kathiawar, saving thousands of lives. His name and fame for this generosity gained so much that famine came to be known as Jagdu Shah's famine. Today, there are various stories,poems,etc. about his generosity in many languages.

Jagdu Shah is known to have renovated the old Bhadreswar Jain Temple around 1259, that is 1315 according to the Vikram Samvant calendar. Further, he is said to have built a fort around Bhadreshwar for protection of port-city. Also he is said to have spent funds for renovation of Hindu temples. Further, he is credited to have even built a mosque in Bhadreshwar, for the benefit of Muslim traders, who used to come by ship for trading. These mosques called Duda Masjid and Duda vaav located at Bhadreshwar, are very old and which are reliably dated to the late 12th century, meaning they predate the well-known Islamic architecture of Ahmedabad by 250 years or so, making them in all likelihood the first mosques built in India

...
Wikipedia