See the Famous Jain Temples of Kumbharia in North Gujarat in India

There are many places of pilgrimage for the Jains in State of Gujarat in India. Jain caste is highly religious and they firmly believe in their god, which is Mahavir Swami and subsequent 24 tirthankars. One such famous pilgrimage spot is Kumbharia Jain temples, which are located near famous Ambaji temple on Danta-Ambaji highway in Banaskantha district in Gujarat State in India. There are in all five temples here at Kumbharia. These temples are of lord Neminath, Parshvanath, Mahavir swami, Shantinath, and Sambhavnath. These temples were built in the year 1043 by Vimalshah, who was the minister of King of Gujarat, Bhimdev, the first.

These temples are well connected by road from all the major cities of Gujarat State through State transport buses. All the buses going to famous temple of Ambaji pass through these famous Jain temples, which are around 7 miles away from Ambaji temple. It is a belief that Ambaji Mata encouraged Vimalshah to build these temples by appearing in his dreams. There were 105 such temples built here. But 100 temples were got destroyed as Vimalshah thought high of himself as he constructed such beautiful temples. He realized his mistake subsequently and prayed to Lord Mahavir to save remaining last five temples. The lord accepted the prayer and these five temples were saved. The temple of Neminath is the biggest of all and is made up of pure, white marble. The pillars of all the temples, walls, balconies, and top dome have the moat beautiful engravings pertaining to Jain religion.

The writings on the pillars prove that these temples are around 1000 years old. The temples reflect the social and religious customs of Jainism. All the statues of the temple are decorated with costly diamonds, and gold ornaments. There are 24 other temples here all around the main temple, one each for each tirthankars. The temples look very good in spite of the fact that they were built before around 1000 years. The temple complex remains open for visitors from 10 am to 5 pm everyday. The temples are under the control of archeological department, which is under Central government of India. It is advisable to avail government approved guide services as this will help in understanding the history of these temples. The guide charges are around Rs.200 ($5) per trip of the entire temple complex, which can take around 4 to 5 hours. You will need to walk around 2 miles in all while visiting these temples. Most of the pilgrims visiting Ambaji temple make sure to visit these famous and beautiful Jain temples.

You can easily reach Kumbharia by hired car or taxi or even by bus from Ambaji. The best time to visit these temples is during the winter from October to March. You can plan to start at around 9 am from Ambaji and can easily reach back by around 1 pm so as to have your lunch in the town of Ambaji. There are only few small restaurants at Kumbharia temple complex that can only supply tea, coffee, cold drinks, and some few native Indian snacks. Hence, it is advisable to either carry your lunch with you or come back to the town of Ambaji and have lunch. Make sure to carry the bottled drinking water with you. The temples are located in the thick forests and there are no hotels etc to stay overnight here. Moreover, the threat of wild animals like tigers, bears, and the leopards is real in view of the thick forest nearby. In view of the same, it is not advisable to move around this place after evening hours. Many pilgrims come here on feet from as far as Ahmedabad, which is around 200 miles away. If you are traveling from Ahmedabad to Ambaji in your own or hired car, you can stop on your way and visit these exquisite temples, even before entering Ambaji town. Make sure to carry your camera with ample spare film rolls to capture the most exquisite beauty of these ancient temples. Though the location of these temples is slightly odd, thousands of pilgrims visit these temples every year from all over the world.

I would strongly urge all my AC friends to visit this beautiful place as it is very easy to reach these temples from famous temple of Ambaji that is visited by almost all the Hindus while they are in India.