Hi there,
Today we are visiting one of the infamous shrines of the Jain community. Jain community is among the few minority communities in India. The discipline, cultural practices, shrines, temples, and peaceful co-existence are some of this community's important remarks.
We are visiting Mohankheda, it is a small village located on the west side of India. The average population is as high as 500 people throughout the year and during the pilgrim days, it reaches as up to as 250,000! This village is known as Mohankheda Tirth and is the place of a great soul who lived here Shri Rajendra Suri Ji.
We reached in the early morning. We came here to stay for a day only, as we also had to cover other cities.
White buildings, that take the color of sunlight will leave you amazed. During the twilight, the buildings look golden in color.
A lot of parts are still under construction. And it takes time due to many reasons, first, the population of the village is just 500! Not much skilled labor is available here.
Secondly, the closest city is as far as 70 miles! And the work of the temple is so detailed that it amazes the viewers.
There are a few disciplines every visitor has to follow. Firstly, the time of breakfast, lunch, and dinner is fixed! Secondly, one should avoid eating onion, potato, or garlic or bringing such products into the complex.
As per the literature prevalent in Jainism - eating onion, and garlic, - distracts oneself from meditation as it has negative effects on energy and thoughts.
Avoiding potatoes is to not cause harm to living organisms that can die while digging up the ground to take out the grown potato.
This signifies the respect that Jainism gives to every organism!
We went to play pool while waiting for the breakfast hours.
Whenever we visit this small city, we try to eat outside of the complex, as not many cafes, or shops are available here due to the low population. Hence, supporting the existing one is much needed.
Yummy Tummy is our favorite hangout space. It is known for Western snacks.
The cafe was closed so we moved to more healthier choice! We had juices and shakes.
The amazing thing here is that despite its low population, this village has its international level high school. They provide scholarships and education at a very affordable price and cover the food, sports, and cultural aspects too.
This is another temple in the complex under construction. They mainly use white marble in the construction.
It has a museum as well that showcases the important events in the cultural history of the Jain community. Many learnings and teachings are in the form of short real-life events. The museum is huge!
There was a baby elephant and it was here for a cultural event.
He was playful and we stayed there for a while to know more about this baby elephant.
This is the central inquiry point for any housing, or event-related queries.
A small-sized temple can take as up to as 5-7 years for its complete construction.
At a few temples, they even mixed different art and construction styles.
This is the main temple, it is almost complete.
The central complex is huge!
Many buildings were built around the temple to accommodate pilgrims.
This was our building, and one can find many staying options here ranging from one single room to multiple bedrooms flat.
A worker working on one of the slabs for the main temple.
We stayed on the third floor and the view from the window was mesmerizing.
No settlements, only agricultural fields as long as you can see.
We went to our rooms to rest till dining hours.
The sun was about to set and the entire white marble buildings were covered in gold plating.
A peaceful moment!
We went to dine, this is a huge building that can accommodate and serve 2000-3000 people at a time!
Electric vehicles are available to move into different complexes.
This is the inside view, you can imagine how huge it is!
After dining, we came out. Now is the time to catch the beautiful Deep-Utsav event. The entire main temple is covered in lights and small oil lamps.
The final dining ends at 1800 PM hours and after that, you have to wait till 0800 AM for breakfast. It is like intermittent fasting.
We went to our rooms, to get well-dressed for the event.
The gate is beautifully decorated which leads to the central temple.
As said, the entire temple is covered in oil lamps.
Rangoli - a beautiful art type in India that uses complex designs and colors to represent joy.
The gate to the central temple is relocated to the east side.
It was a beautiful moment.
It is beautifully crafted, and each piece of the temple showcases the art and detailed designs. That's why it takes so many years to get complete. There was a religious event and the central hall was filled and it was not possible to move ahead.
I took a few pics of the walls that were just behind me. You can see the details and how beautifully they carved out such designs out of the white marble.
After completing the event we went to our rooms to rest as we had to move to the other city, the next morning!
A special capture for you!
Note:
- All the content is mine unless otherwise stated.
- Banner created using Canva.
- Photos were taken from my phone
- Text dividers are from @cryptosharan.
