Nandiya Jain Tirth - Bh. Mahavir

Shirohi, Rajasthan

Location : Nandiya, Shirohi, Rajasthan

On the outskirts of the Nandiya town, situated at a distance of 10 Kilometers from the Sirohi Road Railway Station, there are hills covered on all sides by exquisitely charming forests. Here we have an ancient tirtha, in the temple of which there is the idol of Mulnayak Shri Mahavira Bhagavan, 210 cm in height and in Padmasaha posture.

Nandiya was in the old days known as Nandigrama, Nandivardhanapura, Nandipura etc. As one anecdote tells us, this Village was raised by Nandivardhana the elder brother of Bhagavan Mahavira. One other old story current is that the idol installed here belongs to the time of Prabhu Mahavir Swami. The idol is so very much lustrous and artistic that the viewer will feel the very presence of Shri Prabhu.

All the idols of 52 Jinalaya are unique in art; the peaks of the temples also betray a charm of their own, as they are in the midst of exquisite greenery and hills. The other name by which this temple is known is Nandishvara Chaitya. Shri Dharanashah and Ratnashah, the patrons of the Ranakpur Tirtha were residents of this town. Stone Inscriptions on the pillars of the temple belong to a period between V. S. 1130 (1073 CE) and 1210 (1153 CE).

The temple was repaired and renovated in V. S. 1210 (1153 CE) and later on also, from time to time, it has been renovated. The Tirtha is at a distance of 58 Kilometers from Sajjan Road station, and there is no other temple except this Tirtha here. But it seems that there must have been a time when this spot was very prosperous.

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