Overview

At a distance of 83 km from Warangal and 81 km from Hyderabad, the 2000 years old Jain Temple of Mahavira is located in Kolanupaka village (also called as Kulpak) in Nalgonda district. The temple is decorated with beautiful images of Tirthankaras and it’s one of the important Jain pilgrimage sites in the country. It is an important pilgrimage center for Swetambara Jains of South India.

The architecture of the temple is stunning with wonderful carvings on the temple walls. The Jain temple of Kolanupaka was made using red sand stone and the pillars of temple are made out of white marble. The temple was in a ruined condition for years and was renovated in late 20th century. The temple was renovated by employing more than 150 artisans from Rajasthan and Gujarat. The old garbhagruha was preserved and a complete new temple was created surrounding the existing tower. The temple is spread over in an area of 1 acre, out of a 20 acre land used for dharamshalas and guest houses. Regular visitors are not allowed to enter into the inner section of the temple which is restricted for people with pooja cloths only.

There is also a temple called Someshwara Temple which was established by Chalukya’s about 800 years back in Kolanupaka.

Sthala Puranam

The main temple of Kolanupaka is said to have been built by Emperor Bharata, son of King Dushyanta and Queen Sakuntala. The Jaina dharma was widespread in the Dakshina desa until around the 4th and 5th centuries CE. Kolanupaka was one of the prominent centers of the Jaina dharma from early times. About 20 Jain inscriptions have been found there. Kolanupaka flourished as Jain center during the Rashtrakutas period.

This temple has three main idols of Gods, called as Tirthankars. These are of Lord Rishabha, Lord Neminath and Lord Mahavir. The statue of Lord Mahavir has been made out a single jade and is about 140 cm in height. The statue of Lord Rishabha, who is also known as Lord Adinath, has been carved out of a green stone. Historically, it has been popular as Manikya Swami. There are eight idols of various other Tirthankaras, placed on both sides of the temple. Every Tirthankara has been built with their own unique style. The statue of Lord Mahavira has been carved with an image of Lion, while there is a bull on the pedestals of Lord Rishabha. A cobra with multi heads has been carved as an umbrella over the statue of Lord Parshawnath.

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Location

Links

https://www.trawell.in/telangana/warangal/jain-temple-kolanupaka