- Nakoda Parshvanath Temple
Alias:
- Shri Nakoda Jain Temple
- Nakoda Bherav Temple
Nakoda Parshvanath Temple
The Nakodaji Jain tirth belongs to the most famous sacred places of the Jains in Rajasthan. The temple is situated in the hills outside the village Mewanagar (Barmer district) in the western part of Rajasthan. The place is favored by the pilgrims because of its unique atmosphere which surrounds the visitor after entering the temple and the miracles which happened at Nakodaji.
The main idol of the temple is a depiction of Shri Nakoda Parsvanath. It is assumed that the idol was once brought to the temple from a village called Nakoda, which is near Sinduri, hence the place is called Nakoda Parsvanath temple.
According to another local tradition the ancient name of Nakoda was Virampur. It is said that in the third century before the Vikrama era, two brothers named Shri Virasen and Shri Nakoresen, raised two villages, called Virampur and Nakornagar, about twenty miles apart. They also erected two temples; Shri Chandraprabhu Bhagavan temple was built by Virasen while Nakorsen constructed a temple which was dedicated to Shri Suparshva Bhagavan. The establishment (Pratishtha) of both temples was performed by Arya Shri Sthulibhadra Swamiji. The village of Nakornagar existed up to the 13th century CE, but descended after the ravage of Alam Shah. He destroyed the temple but the priests could save the idols and shifted them to Kalidrah village, situated just a few miles apart. Later a great number of Jain followers settled in the Virampur, among them Shri Harakhchandji renovated the old temple and established Shri Mahaveer Bhagwan idol as the Mulnayak. Some ancient records describe the reconstruction of the tirth in 1223. Alam Shah also attacked Virampur in 1280 CE and destroyed the temple. Not until much later, at the beginning of the 15th century, the reconstruction of the damaged temple started. The idols of Nakornagar, kept once at Kalidrah village, returned to Virampur and the idol of Shri Parshwanath Bhagwan was established in the temple as the Mulnayak in 1429 CE. Based on the name of Nakornagar, where the idol once was installed, this place was called from now Nakoda tirth.
Photo by chirag galundia
Photo by nick's nest
Photo by Pawan Chhajer
Shri Nakodaji (Parshvanath)
Photo by Jaintirth
Shri Nakodaji (Parshvanath)
Photo by Ajit 9
Bherav
Photo by Ajit 9