Lodurva Temple Town

Distance : 16km from Jaisalmer

¤ History of Lodurva

Lodurva is the original capital of the Bhattis, before Jaisal built the Jaisalmer fort in 1156. The town of Lodurva is much older than Jaisalmer and was sacked several times, most notably by Mahmud of Ghazni in the 11th century when he was en route to Somnath, and then by Mohammad Ghori in the next century. The latter invasion persuaded Jaisal to abandon Lodurva, and he shifted his capital to Jaisalmer, making Bhoj the last ruler of Lodurva.


¤ Main Attractions

¤ The Parshvanath Temple

The Parshvanath Temple is the main Jain temple which predates the temples of Jaisalmer just as the town itself is more ancient. The temple was destroyed in 1152, but was reconstructed in 1615 by Seth Tharu Shah and further additions were commisssioned in 1675 and 1687. Its Torana Dwar or main archway is probably the most ornate of its kind in Rajasthan and interestingly, the sentry outside is a Rajput, not a Jain. The inner sanctum of the temple contains an image of the prophet Parshvanath in black stone with a multi-hooded serpent canopy.


¤ Kalpavriksha(Celestial Tree)

Inside the temple complex is the Kalpavriksha or the celestial tree. A tree was once believed to have grown here, and when it died it was substituted by a true to life sculpture in an alloy of eight metals, making it an ‘eternal tree’ symbolising enlightenment. The copper leaves are believed to have the power to fulfil the wishes of any devotee. On the temple’s outer wall there is a low – relief carving on stone, reportedly inhabited by a black cobra who’s been living here for 400 years. Rumour has it that he comes out 10-15 times every summer and anyone catching a glimpse of it is blessed with good luck.


¤ Rishabhnath Temple

This is the second of the Jain Temples at Lodurva, located near the ruins of the palace of Moomal and the once gushing watercourse of the river Kak. The temple was commissioned by a wealthy Marwari Seth Sachcha and constructed in 1479. The Jain Kalpa Sutra (holy book) lists the qualities of Rishabdevaji thus: "That he was a man of great beauty, modest, clever and in complete control of his senses. That he lived 20,00,000 years as a prince and no less than 63,00,000 years as a king." Legend further states that he neglected his body for 1,000 years and then deeply meditated for three and a half days, depriving himself of all food and water. After which, according to Hermann Jacobi in Jaina Sutras, he reached the infinite. Rishabhnath is considered to be the first of the Jain fordmakers, whose symbol is a bull which also happens to be the meaning of his name. The bull – although not coincidentally – also happens to be an animal much revered by the followers of Shiva.


¤ Shambhavanath Temple

The third important Jain temple in Lodurva (as the name suggests) is dedicated to the Jain fordmaker Shambhavnath whose symbol is the horse. The whole temple complex is surmounted by an octagonal pyramidal roof, and a fortification wall nearby suugests that the community was apprehensive about defilement of their places of worship by aggressive Muslim and Hindu groups. A temple in each corner of the complex is dedicated to a different saints; Rishabhnath in the southwest, Parshvanath in the northeast, Ajitanath (whose symbol is the elephant) in the southeast and of course Shambhavnath (of the horse symbol) in the northwest. All these temples date back from 1618.


¤ A Romantic Story attached to Moomal ki Meri

Moomal was a princess who lived on the banks of the river Kak in a palace called Moomal Ki Meri, and the story behind the monument is both romantic and tragic. Apparently suitors from all over courted her, enchanted by her great beauty but she spurned them all. Mahendra, the prince of Amarkot, was also attracted to the lovely Moomal and managed to bribe her maidservant into revealing the secret entrance to the princess’s boudoir. Surprising Moomal one day in this manner, he managed to win her over, and they became lovers.

Mahendra would speed every night on his camel Cheekal to Moomal Ki Meri, and depart at the crack of dawn. Strife between the two kingdoms made their legal union impossible. One day Soomal, the princess’s sister wishing to see Mahendra, disguised herself as a wandering ministrel and waited with Moomal in her chambers. As fate had willed it Mahendra was delayed that night and the two sisters fell asleep in each other’s arms. Mahendra, when he finally arrived was incensed to see his beloved in what he presumed to be another man’s arms, and he flounced off never to return.

After many months of pleading and letters written in vain, Moomal set off for Amarkot disguised as a bangle seller. There she managed to seek an audience with Mahendra to play a game of chess with him. During the game she noticed that Mahendra’s eyes were wet and she asked him, "What makes you so sad?" Mahendra replied: "The birth mark on your hand reminds me of one whom I loved dearly but lost to another." Whereupon Moomal revealed herself and told him the truth. The misunderstanding over, they embraced each other passionately, but their separation had weakened both their hearts considerably and they died in mutual embrace. To this day the romance of the star-crossed lovers can be heard from the balladeers of Jaisalmer, and the ruins of Moomal Ki Meri lie on the sand drifts of the banks of the river Kak which has been dry ever since.