Hutheesing Jain Temple

About

The Hutheesing Temple rises just outside the Delhi Darwaza of the old city of Ahmedabad, a serene white marble sanctuary set within a colonnaded courtyard. Built in 1848 by the Hutheesing family of merchants, it weaves together the classical Maru-Gurjara temple idiom with elements drawn from the Gujarati haveli.

The principal shrine is dedicated to Bhagvan Dharmanatha, whose marble image is enshrined in the central garbhagriha. The temple is of the nirandhara-prasada type, without a circumambulatory passage, and rises in two storeys. Its plan unfolds in a line of garbhagriha, gudhamandapa, vestibule, and sabhamandapa, each crowned by its own shikhara, while a richly carved ridged dome above the gudhamandapa is borne on twelve ornate pillars.

The principal temple honours eleven Tirthankaras, five in the upper sanctuaries and six in the basement. Around the central shrine, an open courtyard is lined by a cloister of fifty-two devakulikas, each a small subsidiary shrine housing a sacred image. In the outer court rises a manastambha, a six-storey column of honour about seventy-eight feet tall, raised to mark the 2500th birth anniversary of Bhagvan Mahavira.

The Maru-Gurjara carving here takes its place in the wider Solanki-era tradition that flowered at Bhadreshwar and Ranakpur. The temple is also known for its rainwater harvesting system, a quiet sign of the Jain commitment to care for the elements of nature.

History

The temple was conceived by Sheth Hutheesing Kesarisinh, a wealthy Jain merchant of Ahmedabad. After his death at forty-nine, the project was carried to completion under the supervision of his wife, Harkunwar. The chief sthapati, Premchand Salat, drew up the design. The total cost was about ten lakh rupees, a substantial sum in the mid-nineteenth century.

Construction took place during a severe famine in Gujarat, and the employment offered to hundreds of skilled artisans over two years became itself a form of dana, sustaining the craft community at a time of need. The temple has remained in the care of the Hutheesing family trust ever since.

Significance

Hutheesing Temple stands as one of the most refined nineteenth-century expressions of Jain devotion in India, a continuation of the Maru-Gurjara tradition into modern times. For the Shvetambara community of Ahmedabad and pilgrims who come from across India, it is a place where the path of ahimsa and right vision is honoured in marble and silence.