Shri Sire Mandir, Jalore Rajasthan
Sire Temple – Jalore History
Sire Temple – Jalore
Near the Swarnagiri Fort situated on the Kanakachal hill situated in the middle of Jalore city, there is another hill in the south-west direction which is called Kanyachal or Kanyagiri, whose height is 2000 feet and a Sire temple is built on it. The Sire temple is dedicated to the famous saint of Nath sect, Yogi Jalandhar. It is the holy place of Nathji. It is said that Jalandharnath ji had performed penance in the Bhanwar cave located here and had shown miracles with his yogic penance to Ratan Singh, the then Parmar ruler of Jalore.And King Ratna Singh was made to roam in the sky due to which King Ratna Singh, being overwhelmed, considered Jalandharnath ji as his Guru and got a Shiva temple built in front of Jalandharnath ji’s cave in Vikram Samvat 1708 or 1651 AD. This temple is known as Ratneshwar Temple.
In 1803 AD, Bhim Singh, then occupying the throne of Marwar (Jodhpur), tried to kill his younger brother Man Singh in an attempt to kill all his potential heirs to the throne, then Man Singh ji fled from there and went to Jalore Fort. When he took refuge, Bhim Singh ji sent a huge army to attack Jalore fort and capture Mansingh but For many years, the army of Jodhpur remained surrounded by the Jalore fort but could not penetrate the fort and finally in 1803 AD, when the supplies in the fort ended, Mansingh ji, in despair, talked about a compromise with the commander of the Jodhpur army, Singhvi Indraraj and When it was decided to vacate the fort till Diwali, Yogi Guru Ayas Devnath of Nath sect, who was doing penance on the hill near the fort, sent a secret message to Mansingh ji that he Param Yogi Jalandhar Nath ji has said in the dream that if he (Mansingh) resists till Kartik Sudi 6 and does not vacate the fort, then he will become the ruler of Jodhpur. Man Singh ji accepted Yogi’s advice and resisted for a few more days and in the meantime, on Kartik Sudi 4, 19 October 1803, the ruler of Jodhpur, Bhim Singh ji died and Inder Chand Singhvi, the commander of the Jodhpur army which had laid siege outside Jalore fort, died. Mansingh ji himself was taken to Jodhpur with much pomp and show and he was crowned.
After becoming the ruler of Jodhpur, Mansingh ji had renovated the Mahamandir in Jodhpur and the Ratneshwar temple and ashram of the Nath sect located at Kanyachal mountain in Jalore to express his gratitude towards Guru Ayas Devnath of the Nath sect and Mansingh ji had renovated the Jalore fort. The palace and many other construction works were done.
Presently the construction work of concrete road is going on in Sire Temple. At the beginning of the climb to the temple, a huge entrance gate and Udhaan have been constructed. And in the middle, there is a life-size statue of Siddha Shantinath Ji Maharaj, who had passed away some time ago. The people of Jalore have immense faith in Shantinath Ji. Due to the efforts of Shantinath Ji, the whole temple has been transformed.
There is a wall around the temple. There are gates in all directions of the wall. On going inside, there is a pond or stepwell whose water is considered miraculous. Going further from the stepwell, there is a statue of a huge elephant on which the elephant’s face is carved on both sides and a palanquin is built on the elephant in which Nath Yogi is seated.
The Bhanwar cave in which Jalandharnath ji performed penance has been made completely of marble by the devotees. There is a marble pavilion outside the womb temple of the cave, around which there are artistic pillars on which the statues of Nath Yogis are carved. There is an archway for entry. The workmanship inside the dome is also worth seeing. Paintings related to Nath Yogis have been done all around inside the cave. The painting has gold work in it.
There is a platform in front of the Bhanwar cave on which there are high posts on both sides, on which the statues of Nath Yogis are seated, mainly Suanathji, Bhavaninathji, Bhairunathji, Hansanathji, Fulnathji, Sevanathji,There are mausoleums of Punnanathji, Kesaranathji and Bholanathji. There is also a shrine built in the temple, outside of which some mausoleums are also built. The temple complex also has Mardana and Janana Mahal built by Marwar ruler Mansingh ji. There is an ancient well in front of Ratneshwar temple and a little further there is an inscription below which there are a pair of feet.
A huge land in a part of the temple has also been developed as a nursery, over which an iron net has been installed, probably for the growth of some special species of plants. Apart from this, there is an unbroken Dhuna in the temple complex. And there is also an Amrit Vachika. There are kitchens and restrooms for the visiting travelers and devotees.
