Location of Rishabdeo Temple, History of Rishabdeo Temple, Architecture of Rishabdeo Temple.
Location of Rishabdeo Temple:
This ancient Temple is also known as Kesariyaji Jain Temple because of the tradition of worship of the idol by Kesar (Saffron) and due to the black color of the idol, this is locally famous as ‘Kalia Baba’. It is situated at a distance of 65 Km South of Udaipur City on Udaipur-Ahmedabad Road in Village Dhulev (District Udaipur, Rajasthan) on the banks of river Koyal (Kumarika) surrounded by the hills of Aravalli ranges.
History of Rishabdeo Temple:
This Temple is dedicated to Lord Rishabdev Ji, the 1st Jain Tirthankar. It is said that the idol of Lord Rishabdev was brought here from a village named Khoonadary which was once a prosperous city which underwent destruction during the Mughal period. It is said that this idol was reverenced in the 8th to 9th Century A.D. The Temple has many inscriptions dating back to 1424 A.D., 1515 A.D., 1696 A.D., 1806 A.D. indicating that it was repaired and renovated from time to time.
Architecture of Rishabdeo Temple:
This artistically built Temple has very beautiful doors, arches, walls and 52 pinnacles with 52 spires on the top. The entrance of the Temple has two elephants carved out of black stone. The main Temple has the 3.5 feet high black stone idol of Lord Rishabdev Ji. The idol is seated in Padmasana posture and has long hair touching the shoulders. There are two Oxen carved on the platform where the idol is seated, which represent the 16 dreams of Tirthankar’s mother.
Besides the main idol, there are 23 other idols and out of them, 2 are standing and 21 are in a sitting posture. All these idols are made up of Ashtadhatu (eight metals) and encircle the idol of Lord Rishabdev. Just before the courtyard and in front of the main Temple, there is an idol of Mata Marudevi, the mother of Lord Rishabdev, seated on a marble elephant. In the North, there is the image Goddess Chakreshvari Devi and in the South is the image of Goddess Padmavati Devi. A huge fair is held every year in the month of Chaitra (March) on the birthday of Lord Rishabdev.
At a distance of about 2 Km from this Temple, there is a place known as Pagliyaji, where the footprints of Lord Rishabdev are placed in a cenotaph and are worshiped.
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