Kanch Mandir
| Kanch Mandir | |
|---|---|
| Name | |
| Other names: | Temple of Glass, Kanch Ka Mandir |
| Devanagari: | काँच मंदिर |
| Location | |
| Country: | India |
| State/province: | Madhya Pradesh |
| Locale: | Indore |
| Architecture and culture | |
| Important festivals: | Mahavir Jayanti |
| Number of temples: | 1 |
| History | |
| Date established: | 1903 |
| Creator: | Seth Hukumchand |
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Kanch Ka Mandir (काँच मंदिर in Hindi), literally Temple of Glass, is a famous Jain temple in Indore, built by legendary Seth Hukumchand Jain. The construction began sometime around 1903.
There are other temples in India known as Kanch Ka Mandir. Most of them are Jain temples. These include
- Kanch Ka Mandir at Kanpur[1]
- Kanch Ka Mandir at Champanery
- Kanch Ka Mandir at Mahaveerji
- Kanch Ka Mandir at Chamatkarji
- Kanch Ka Mandir at Shivpuri
- Kanch Ka Mandir at Vrindavan
Kanch Ka Mandir of Seth Hukumchand Jain
Sir Seth Seth Hukumchand Jain was a legenday trader and one of India's industrial pioneer. He built a mansion at Itwaria Bazar[2] called Shish Mahal and adjacent to it the Kanch Ka Mandir, both elegantly built using a white stone. Externally the temple is built as a medieval mansion complete with a canopied balcony and a shikhara.
The interior of Kanch Ka Mandir is entirely covered by glass panels and mozaics; including the floor, columns, walls and the ceilings.[3] Seth Hukumchand hired craftsmen from Jaipur and some even from Iran to work on the temple. The ornametations follow the old and medieval Jain style, with the major innovation being the use of multicolored glass and mirrors.
In the main Garbhagriha, the idols of the Tirthankaras are flanked by mirrors on both sides, thus their images are seen infinite times.
The more than 50 panels created using muticolored mirror pieces illustrate:
- Stories from Jain tradition
- jain concepts like ashta-karma, sapta-vyasan etc.
- Samosharan of Lord Jina and Nadishwar dvipa
- Depiction of major Jain tirthas
- Historic events - consecrecation of the temple with portraits of the family members of Seth Hukumchand.
Photography of the interior is generally prohibited.
The temple serves as a central institution for Indore Jains, some processions start or terminate at the Kach Ka Mandir.[4]
Festivals
Jain festivals are celebrated with great enthusiasm at the Kach Ka Mandir. On Sugandh Dashami, special mandalas are constructed using multi-colored rice-powder.[5]
Collective kshamavani (festival of forgiveness) in Indore is organized here as a central institution, even though it is also celebrated at other Indore Jain temples.[6]
Annual rath-yatra on a golden palaki is taken our from here.[7]
Notes
- ↑ Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers: Hamirpur Govt. of Uttar Pradesh, 1959
- ↑ Kanch Mandir http://wikimapia.org/148432/Kanch-Mandir
- ↑ Kanch Mandir http://www.indorecity.net/tourist-attractions/kanch-mahal.html
- ↑ कांच मंदिर इतवारिया से निकलने वाली दिगंबर जैन समाज के महामुनियों की रथयात्रा http://prabhatkiran.com/Webforms/Channel_News_Details.aspx?contentId=2503&masterId=1
- ↑ दशमी पर महके जैन मंदिर http://www.bhaskar.com/2008/09/11/0809110945_jain_mandir.html
- ↑ काँच मंदिर पर सामूहिक क्षमावाणी आज http://hindi.webdunia.com/religion/religion/jainism/0809/16/1080916017_1.htm
- ↑ स्वर्ण रथयात्रा काँच मंदिर से http://hindi.webdunia.com/religion/religion/news/0804/17/1080417034_1.htm
External links
- Jaina Architecture in India, Comprehensive study of Jain architecture with high quality photos.
- , Photos of Mulnayak in Jain Temples
- Kanch Mandir on MyindoreCity.com, with the photos History of Kanch Mandir, Indore.