Palakkad:
The ancient Jain temple in Palakkad district, representing typical Jain architecture, is all set to reopen after renovation. The historic Digambar shrine, of Chandraprabha, the eighth Thirthankara in Jainism, was in a dilapidated condition for long. Suffering ravages of time, its brickworks were damaged and cracks appeared on the temple walls. However, through massive renovation which began two years ago, the structure has been restored to its past glory and is expected to be open on next year. Digambar Jain temple at Jainimedu, located about three km from Palakkad town, was built by a family of diamond merchants who came from Kanakahalli in Karnataka centuries back. Three merchant brothers - Ejjenna Shetty, Doddu Shetty and Payappa Shetty - used to visit Kerala for trade. During one such visit, the second brother -- Doddu Shetty - died of some illness. Their brother's untimely demise saddened the two others. They visited Elacharya Muni, a Jain saint living in the area to find a way to relieve themselves of their sorrow and built the temple in memory of the deceased brother. They later settled around the shrine with their families and in due course of time around 400 Jains came to be settled in and around the temple. As majority of them were pearl and diamond merchants, the place later came to be known as " Manikyapattanam" (diamond town) and "Muthupattanam" (pearl town). The place also came to be known as 'Jainimedu' due to the presence of the Jain temple. It is believed that, the temple was built between BC 100-500. Some say that our ancestors had roots in Gomadhagiri in Magadha in ancient India. But some others believe, they had come from Karnataka.
