Jain temple – Pawapuri
Posted On October 21, 2011
If you are fascinated abut visiting temples and want to visit a Jain temple then do visit the Jain temple at Pawapuri. Located in state of Bihar, this place is around 87kilometres from the city of Patna. Located on the railway line of Bakhtiarpur Ranger, this is a place which is visited by many who want to feel the ambience of a Jain temple.
Some 2600 years back, this was the main portion of the kingdom of Magadha. It was then called the Madyama Pawa or the Pawapuri. There was a King called Ajatshatru who was the son of a king called Shrenik. King Shrenik was a great disciple of Lord Mahavira who was the Magadha king then. When Ajatshatru started ruling the kingdom, then the king of Pawapuri was King Hastipal. Then Lord Mahavira came to this place of Pawapuri and stayed in the Rajikshala of King Hastipal.
Thus the land of Pawapuri is very blessed and pilgrims across the world come here to see this land. Tehre is a temple called the jal mandir. This is a temple which lies in the centre of a beautiful lake. This lake has many lotuses which bloom and give a great look to the entire place. The Charan padukas of Lord Mahavira is the presiding deity of the temple. Everyone comes to Pawapuri and visits the jal mandir.
Lord Mahavira attained omniscience on the banks of the River Rju kula and preached Jainism across the country. He went to various places and taught the doctrines. He reached this city of Pawapuri and sat on a slab of stone in a park which had lot of ponds. He didnt move from this place and went into meditation and quit the entire idea of mortal nature. He became a Siddha and this was in the last quarter of the night of the 14th day in the month of Kartika.
Pawapuri has five temples – The Samosaran, the Gaon Mandir, the jal Mandir and the New Samosaran. There is another temple that has been built by the Bibi Mehetab Kumari.
There is also a Digambar Jain Mandir here which lies near the Jal Mandir.
The Gaon mandir is the place where it is said that Lord Mahavira breathed his last. King Nandivardhan who was the elder brother of this great saint Lord Mahavira built this temple.
The Jal Mandir is the place where the mortal remains of the great saint lies. The temple is built in the shape of a vimana and has a bridge made out of stone. It is around 600 feet in length and the bridge goes from the banks of the lake to the temple.
It is said that Lord Mahavira got salvation in the park which lies near Pawapuri and there are many ponds around this area. Today the site of nirvana is the place where the Bihar Sharif is. There is a magnificent Jain temple which lies in the centre of a huge lake. This is the place which is respected as the tirtha kshetra by all. The Digambara and the Svetambaras have considered this to be the place of nirvana.
