Shankheshwar Jain Temple

Shankeshwar Jain Temple
Location within Gujarat
Basic information
Location	Shankheshwar, Gujarat, India
Geographic coordinates	23°30′29.3″N 71°47′15.6″E / 23.508139°N 71.787667°E / 23.508139; 71.787667Coordinates: 23°30′29.3″N 71°47′15.6″E / 23.508139°N 71.787667°E / 23.508139; 71.787667
Affiliation	Jainism
Deity	Parshva
Festivals	Mahavir Jayanti, Diwali
Architectural description
Creator	Sajjan Shah
Date established	1098 CE

The Shankheshwar Jain Temple is located in the center of in Shankheshwar town of Patan district, Gujarat, India. The temple is dedicated to Parshwanath and is an important place of pilgrimage for the followers of Jainism.

In ancient scriptures, this tirth is referred to as Shankhapur. The story is that Ashadhi Shrvak became depressed, and began to ask questions about nirvana, liberation, and salvation. Answering all these questions, Damodar Swami, the ninth Tirthankar, said "Parshvanath will be the twenty-third Tirthankar in the Avasarpinikala (the descending half of the wheel of time). You will be his Ganadhar (prime disciple) named Aryaghosha and attain salvation there." Shrvak then became fully absorbed in praying to Bhagawan Parshvanath and worshipping his idol, which went on to be worshipped in the worlds of gods, demons, and on earth.

In the year 1155 VE (1098 CE), Sajjan Shah built the Shankheshwar Parshwanath Jain Temple temple on the banks of the Rupen river. In 1286 VE(1229 CE), Vastupal Tejpal renovated this temple under the instructions of Shri Vardhamansurisharji Maharaj Saheb. There were 52 idols in the temple. In 1302 VE, the king, awed by the idol and inspired by Shri Uktasuri Maharaj Saheb, renovated the temple substantially. In the fourteenth century VE, the temple was destroyed by Muslims. In the sixteenth century VE, under the inspiration of Vijaysensurishvarji Maharaj Saheb, a new temple with 52 idols was built. In 1760 VE(1703 CE), the sangha built the new temple and got the idol reinstalled. Besides the original sanctuary, the temple has an open square, a decorated square, a vast square and two assembly halls.

The idol of Bhagawan Bhidbhanjan Parshvanath is in a small temple to the right of the main idol, and the idol of Bhagawan Ajitnath is in a small temple to the left of the main idol. The idols of Nagraj Dharanendra, Shri Padmavatidevi, Parshva and Shri Chakreshvaridevi are also in the temple. On the tenth day of the month of Posh, the tenth day of the dark half of the month of Magasar, and during the Diwali days, thousand of pilgrims come to observe a two-day-long fast. At present, Shri Shankheshvar tirth is under renovation. The doors of the small temples on the passage for going round the temple are being enlarged, and the height of their summits will be raised.