Shri Digamber Jain Mandir, Ramkundi, Nahan,Sirmaur,Himachal Pradesh
Nahan is the district headquarters of the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh. Before independence, it was the capital of the Raja of Sirmaur. This state was famous in the country for its pure environment, cleanliness, dense forests, natural beauty, good governance and many exemplary works for public welfare. The kings’ vision of religious harmony was also commendable and unique.
Until 1850, there was no Jain in Nahan. On the invitation of the then king of Nahan, Lala Sardarimal Jain from Fatehpur Shekhawati (District Sikar) of Rajasthan came here to visit and started business in Nahan itself. Originally, Lala Sardarimal’s elder brother Seth Chaudhary Tohanmal had come to Fatehpur from Hisar in 1448 and started living there after becoming the companion of Nawab Fateh Khan of Hisar. Today, Lala Sardarimal ji’s family has 10 generations in Nahan and at present the population of Jains in Nahan is approximately 135. An equal number of people from this family are residing in Mumbai for business purposes and 25 members also live in Calcutta.
According to the 2001 census, the total population of Jains in Himachal Pradesh is 1408 and there are two Digambar Jain temples in Nahan and Shimla. A magnificent statue of Tirthankara Adinathji is also located in the ancient fort of Kangra. There is also a Jain shrine in Nalagarh in Solan district and Nadaun in Hamirpur district. The number of Jains in Nalagarh is around 450 and in Nadaun the number is around 175. Until October 1925, there was no Jain temple or chaitalaya in Nahan and at that time the number of Jains in Nahan was around 100. Therefore, the brothers here did not have any kind of facility in religious practice. Rather, such Jain brothers and relatives who had made a rule that they would not eat food without seeing God, could not come here despite having the desire to come here.
In October 1925, the late Lala Hira Lal Jain fortunately spotted a small eight-metal statue of Lord Parasnath in a Sanatan Dharma temple. This temple is also known as the Miyon Ka Mandir or Lord Parashuram Ji Temple. This statue found in this temple is believed to have been made in Veer Nirvana Samvat 1502 and AD 976. At the request of the Jains here, the king and the Sanatan Dharma brothers handed it over to the Jains. In 1927, a two-story house in the Jain neighborhood was purchased for Rs. 4,225, and construction began. The temple was completed in 1938. Two of the idols in this temple were brought from the Digambar Jain Temple in Saharanpur. The marble idol of Lord Parshvanath, dated Veer Samvat 1548 (1022 AD), was brought from Sadhora. It was established by Jinchand Acharya Dev Sangha and Jivraj Paparawal. Jinchand Acharya was a disciple of Shubhchand, the author of the Pandava Purana.
A wall mural depicts King Soum Shrayans feeding the Adi Tirthankara, Shri Rishabh Dev Ji Maharaj. This Digambara Jain temple also houses a small dharamshala for travelers. It is a common belief that whoever visits the idol of 1008 Shri Chintamani Parshvanath Ji situated in this temple with full devotion, gets the desired result.
Beautiful and a very peaceful place, Digambar Jain temple here looks very much like one jain temple at Mall road shimla. One of the ancient temple in the town.. Beautifully maintained. very peaceful temple in bada chowk.
