Collection, Creation and Research
Dr. Rajnikant Shah
I would like to take you back in time, to the end of the 20th century. It was then that Shri Sangh first granted me permission to construct our new temple.
By the end of the year, plans were drawn, submitted, and approved. The final plans were approved by the city in November of 2000 and the construction was completed in the year 2005. The building was awarded the "Best Religious Building" by the Queens Chamber of Commerce, New York.
Now let's go to the main temple on 2nd floor. The area is small but many things needed to be accommodated. We wanted to accommodate Shri Chovisi around Bhamati area, however, due to the limitation of space, I could not do it. Then something unusual happened, I saw a couple of statues carved in gemstones in our office, one of which was a Tirthankar idol carved in Amethyst. This inspired me to carve 24 idols of Shri Tirthankars in gemstones and accommodate them in the Bhamati area. Thus the concept of Ratna Mandir was evolved. Our building architect, Ms. Rashmi Sen, helped a great deal with the design, drawing, and execution of the plans.
Then I happened to visit a temple in Jaipur, my hometown as well as the color stone business center, to learn about temple construction, check the designs, idols and Pat details. While walking around the temple, I saw a Pat of the Ashtapad. I had heard a little about Shri Ashtapad that it was made of Crystal (Sfatik) and Gemstones (Ratnas). I began to wonder if I could use these idols and recreate a replica of Ashtapad. This was the second turning point, when building Shri Ashtapad became my dream. Looking back, it was easy to dream but twice as hard to accomplish. I had no idea on where to start this project. I spoke with my cousin, Naveen Shah, who introduced me to Shri Dineshji Mohnot and I asked him to help us to make a sample replica of the Ashtapad, which he enthusiastically agreed to.
We all worked together, designing the Ashtapad on a piece of wood and then on serpentine. It took us a couple of months to finalize the concept. By April 2001 the 1st model of Ashtapad Tirth was ready. The 1st Model was 2 Dimensional, and V x V in size.
I took the model to Mumbai where late Pujya Yashodev Suriji Maharaj gave his blessings before it was brought to New York.
We then started working on the 2nd model, which was also 2 dimensional but larger in size, 2' x 2'. It was in the 3rd model that we changed the design to 3 dimensions which was carved from Serpentine stone. Story carvings were added to the model. Finally a 3' x 3' model of the Ashtapad along with story carvings was installed at the 74th street temple - the temporary abode for Shri Mahavir Swami - Mulnayak.
It was in the 5th model that we transitioned from carving in serpentine to crystal. The 5th Ashtapad model was 3' x 3' and carved from natural crystal. This model was first exhibited at Mumbai. There we received very enthusiastic response and reports. This model was finally installed at the new JCA temple building on the 4th floor conservatory at Ithaca St, Elmhurst, Queens, New York.
As devotees saw these models in various exhibits, many suggestions were received. Shri Pramesh Bhai Gandhi requested for Asht Pratiharya design, which I frankly said that it would not be possible to carve in Crystal. A couple of years went by, and Muni Shri Ramyadarshanvijay M.S. also asked for a similar design to be incorporated into the Ashtapad model. I realized it was possible and decided to try to incorporate the Ashta Pratiharya design in the model. We first tried carving it in marble and gained some success. We then moved to Crystal and finally all 24 Crystal gokhalas in the Ashtapad model were fully carved with Ashta Pratiharya design. Now all the 24 Tirthankar idols carved in gemstones are installed in ornate gokhalas carved with Ashta Pratiharya design.
As we progressed in the project, I happened to visit a temple in New Delhi, where I saw a model of the Ashtapad with a 5 Shikhar design. Till then all models were made with peaks of mountain at the top. Upon discussing this observation with Muni Shri, he also suggested to incorporate the Shikhar design into the Ashtapad model. I agreed to correct the design, only to realize this was a major change in design, and we would have to change all the upper crystal blocks of the mountain. We started by redesigning and redrawing the model. Ultimately we created an Ashtapad Tirth replica with 5 Shikhar design with Kalash and a Dhwaja, which was incorporated in the 10th model.
As the work continued in Jaipur, before carving the final 14.7" x 13'.1" model, we decided to carve a full size marble model, to ensure no mistakes were made on the final crystal carving of the Ashtapad model. By the end of the year 2008, the final crystal model was ready. This model was exhibited at the JITO conference in Mumbai in January 2008. It was an arduous task to transport and assemble the Ashtapad model in Mumbai, but the joy and appreciation by over five hundred thousand devotees made every obstacle vanish.
The final 11th Ashtapad model was made out of rough crystal stone imported from Brazil, weighing 7.5 tons. The rough stones were cut into blocks and subsequently a total of 59 crystal blocks were used, each weighing 50 to 750 lbs. These blocks were set on a steel frame weighing over a ton. It took 3 years, 3 engineers, 2 architects, and our team to finalize the structure of a frame which would be able to hold a concentrated weight of 10 tons.
Simultaneously to the Ashtapad model designing and creation, various colored gemstones were collected and imported from all over the world to carve idols of the 24 Tirthankars. Each idol is made from a single piece of gemstone as found in nature. Each idol is carved precisely as per religious rules and measurements. All stones are certified by the Gemological Lab. For example a few of the precious gemstones used to carve the idols are a midnight blue Lapis Lazuli from Afghanistan, a rare deep pink Rhodocrosite from Argentina, and a translucent lavender Amethyst from Brazil.
Special thanks to the Mohnot family (Shri Nareshji, Dineshji & Rakeshji). Without their dedication, many of my dreams would not have been accomplished. They have actively managed all the exhibits in India. It was the artisans from Jaipur whose skill and hard work helped to carve each model and idol to perfection.
It took 5 years to construct the temple, another 5 years to complete the art work and finally this was the 10 year journey of how a replica of Ashtapad Maha Tirth was installed in the JCA temple at New York.
There are five floors in the building, each representing different Jain traditions. To the best of my knowledge this is the only temple in the world that does not have the names of donors in the building. The finished building was handed over to Shri Sangh on Nov. 28th 2004, and Pratishtha was performed in June 2005. It has been five years since the temple has been operational. We recently celebrated the 5th anniversary of all of our 5 traditions at our JCA temple in June of 2010- A unity in diversity.
In the last five years, after the JCA temple was inaugurated, I continued to work on Jain art to embellish the building. Over 500 pieces of artwork: Pats, posters, paintings and panels were displayed throughout the building in stairs, lobbies and halls. I often wonder how we accommodated over 500 pieces of art work in such a small space of 65' x 65'.
We have talked about one side of story of the construction of the JCA temple and the Ashtapad model. However, the other side of the story was to learn about Ashtapad and locate its whereabouts in the Himalayas. This took us deep into ancient Jain literature. We started collecting literature from scriptures and from various other sources. Padmashri Kumarpal Desai was our driving force. All the collected literature and research work was put together and published in XX different volumes. Now these pages have been examined for a 10% selection, and the upcoming summarized literature will be published as Ashtapad Granth in 2 parts. Part 1 is a collection of historical articles collected from scripture relating to Ashtapad and the development and construction of the Ashtapad Tirth. Part 2 consists of articles on the possible whereabouts of the Ashtapad as written by archaeologists and scholars based on data from research trips to Mt. Kailash.These 2 parts of the granth will become a reference Granth to Ashtapad for generations to come.
As per the scriptures, the Ashtapad Tirth is lost (Lupt) in time. It is believed to be situated in the Kailash Mansorovar area. We made 3 research trips to the Kailash Mountain in search of the Ashtapad Maha Tirth. Many scholars, scientists, archeologists, geologists and space satellite experts were involved. To date we have found only some clues but have not been able to locate the Maha Tirth. An Ashtapad Research International Foundation (ARIF) was established, which organized four seminars and various lectures to discuss all research related issues. I wish to thank all reasearch team members, scholars and scientists for their help and guidence in this project.
Shri Rishabhdev era was the dawning of world civilization and if Ashtapad is located, it will tell us about early growth of human civilization. This will open a new chapter on world history and will become a potential source of information about religion and culture of that period.
All 3 research trips to Mt. Kailash have been funded by members of JCA and other Sadharmik brothers. JCA trustee board (past and present), executive committees and all members have been extremely helpful and supportive to all various research projects.
Niranjana, my wife, has been my backbone. She took care of our family and supported me in every way possible, from trekking to Mt. Kailash in blistering cold to reading and correcting errors in papers. She has taken my passions and made them her own. It has been because of her care and concern that I have been able to finish this ten year endeavor. I would also like to thank my family members who remained patient with me during this period.
Kumar, my brother, has taken care of the business while I was involved with the temple, and his wife, Mridulaben, supervised the construction of the temple building.
I am especially grateful to my cousin, Naveen Shah, and his wife, Prabhaben, who coordinated all the work in Jaipur and helped me during all the exhibits in India.
We have organized over twenty exhibits in many major cities all over the world to raise awareness about the Ashtapad Maha Tirth. The 1st exhibit at Mumbai was blessed by late Pujya Shri Yashodevsuriji M.S. and the second exhibit at Surat was blessed by late Pujya Shri Ramsuriji Dehlawala M.S. The exhibit with JITO took place in January 2007; there I was introduced to Pujya Shri Nayapadmasagarji M.S. He gave a great deal of encouragement and blessings. The exhibit at Mumbai, JITO 2008, was a grand success. Over 500,000 people visited and paid their respect to Shri Chovisi and Shri Ashtapad Maha Tirth. We are thankful to many individuals, trustees & volunteers who helped during exhibitions and seminars.
Pamphlets & flyers were duly distributed during exhibitions & seminars to make people aware about Ashtapad and on going research.
This is the first time in history that a model replica of the Ashtapad Maha Tirth has been sculpted from crystal and all 24 Tirthankars idols have been carved out of colored gemstones and installed on the crystal mountain. It is worth mentioning that there aren't any replicas carved out of natural crystal and gemstone of Shri Ashtapad Tirth, similar to the original one made by King Bharat Chakravarti. You may find limited number of Tirthankar idols carved out of gemstones.
It will not be out of place to mention another small but important story here. 1st exhibit in year 2004 at Mumbai was organized which I could not attend. After few days when I returned to India I was given visitors books. While traveling from Mumbai to Jaipur in the train ride I read those books - I virtually had tears in my eyes. Many people wrote and requested an Ashtapad Tirth should be made in India. Since then it was in my mind and heart to make an Ashtapad Tirth in India when I complete my work at JCA, New York. Project plans are already on paper and we are working to achieve this next milestone. It took nearly seven years when finally the project in India was declared by Pujya Naypadmasagar M.S. before leaving Chennai after Ashtapad exhibit there in January 2011.
This is not only a replica of a tirth, but it is also a huge piece of art. You will be mesmerized by the radiance of the twenty-four colorful gemstone idols on a backdrop of pure white crystal. Installation of these idols was a history making event. The mountain soars high; it is open to the sky and looks magnificent in the sunlight and colorful with artificial lights in the night. You have to visit this masterpiece in order to truly appreciate the beauty of this work of art.
To put plans on paper is easy but to carve gemstones is a different story - a totally different world. We have tried, are trying, and will keep trying until it is achieved, and achieved to the best of our knowledge, workmanship and creativity!
Now you can visit the temple at New York and worship at the Ashtapad Tirth until the original one is traced and located. Not only will you be visiting the Ashtapad Tirth, you will also be visiting the only temple where all five Jain traditions worship together - A UNITY IN DIVERSITY.
Jai Jinendra.
