PICTURE SPEAK

ABANDONED: The Jabareshwar temple

Despite its being a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958, the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI) has no concrete information on its historical significance. ASI officials say that the structure is a Hemadpanti style temple dedicated to the 23rd Tirthankar of the Jain community. An official from the ASI's Pune office says, "The temple was under the Aurangabad circle of the ASI, and was later shifted to Mumbai, Pune and now Solapur. Therefore the information was lost in transition. In any case, not much has been written about this temple."

Surrounded by small eateries, garment stores, tailoring and grocery shops, the temple hardly gets any attention, except from the odd foreign tourist. Its exterior is stunning, with several sculptures depicting states of euphoria. Black stone steps lead to cool interiors painted in different colours. Walls are adorned with photographs and idols of gods and goddesses. Inside, the Nandi bail (Nandi the bull) guards the Shivling. As no one comes to pray here, there are no priests.

Even the locals know little about the temple. Hemant Nikam, a resident of Phaltan, says, "It is unique to Maharashtra because in all other Shiva temples, the Shivling has a south-to-north orientation. However, in this temple, it is placed from east to west. Similarly, the door is on the north, unlike elsewhere, where the door is towards the east."

Another local, Vijay Kumar Shah, 72, a Jain follower, says the Jabareshwar temple was originally a Jain temple built during the Silhara Dynasty. "There was a huge Jain idol inside the temple earlier, but it got lost during the Mughal period. Later, the Marathis in the area placed a Shivling in the structure and notified it as a Hindu temple," he says.

It is strange that Phaltan, which has around eight huge Jain temples, does not even find a mention among the pilgrimage sites listed by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). Prithviraj Patil, GM, MTDC says, "The District Promotion and Development Council must recommend it as a pilgrimage centre; only then will the government consider it for religious tourism."

One can only hope that the authorities will soon take note of this beautiful heritage site and bring it out of oblivion.

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