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. |
