Naya Mandir


Naya Mandir is a historic Jain temple in Old Delhi in India, in the Dharampura locality allocated to the Jain community by Aurangzeb.

History

, imperial treasurer in the late Mughal period, constructed a large and ornate Jain temple in the Dharampura locality of Old Delhi in 1807 during the rule of Mughal Emperor Akbar II with a cost of about 8 Lakh rupees, then an enormous amount. He was able to obtain the royal permission to construct a shikhara for the temple for the first time during the Mughal rule. Thus temple is known as the Naya Mandir, since an older Jain temple, now known as the Lal Mandir already existed.
When the temple construction was almost finished, Harsukh Rai stopped the construction. When the representatives of the Agrawal Jain community approached him and asked about it, he claimed that he has run out of money and needed donations from the community to finish the construction. After accepting modest donations, Harsukh Rai declared the temple to be panchayati and finished the construction.
During the festivities of temple consecration, the festive pandal was raided by a local group and the gold and silver objects were plundered. Harsukh Rai complained to the Emperor, who ordered that they be returned.
The temple houses an important collection of manuscripts.

The Naya Mandir Maha-purana manuscript

The Naya Mandir book collection includes a rare illustrated manuscript of Maha-purana of Acharya Jinasena. This manuscript dated to 1420 CE is a rare surviving example of Jain art in early 15th century.

Accounts of Nineteenth-century visitors

After the 1857 Ghadar and during the early 20th century, this was the temple referred to as the Jain temple of Delhi by several European visitors.
E. Augusta King in 1884 describes the temple as:
Some visitors describe the shrine as a "large wedding-cake".
James Fergusson, in his famous "History of Indian and Eastern Architecture" describes the temple as:

Concealed chamber

At one time many Jain temples contained a concealed chamber to preserve statues during troubled times to hide them. Naya Mandir also has a concealed chamber. A visitor in 1876 described it:
The chamber has now been given the form of a cave, suitable for peaceful meditation by visiting Jain monks.

Nearby Jain temples in the Dharampura/Dariba

Chetyalayas are generally small private temples.

Gallery