Moodabidri (Mangalore District), 28 February 2011: The Sri Dhawalathraya Jain Kashi Trust has appealed to the district administration to stop blasting in the basadi's vicinity and also make provision for a by-pass for the NH-13. This comes after a granite roof slab of the historic Thousand Pillar Basadi at Moodbidri on Saturday was dislodged due to the blasting.

Trust seer Swastishree Charukeerti Bhattaraka said the blasting activities nearby and the traffic movement on the NH which is just 200 metres from the basadi had caused cracks in many of the slabs. However, nobody was injured in the Saturday's incident, he said.

He has urged the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to make provision for a bypass so that the heavy movement of vehicles can be diverted away from the fragile basadi site. The seer said the basadi was in a dilapidated state and needed urgent intervention from the government to preserve it.

He said the cracked stones slabs are in the process of being replaced, but urged the government to provide funds and stop blasting activities to preserve the structure. - News Courtesy: Times News Network

Kolkata (West Bengal), 9 March 2011: An 88-year-old Jain monk breathed his last on Monday afternoon, after embracing the voluntary fast to death called Santhara, sanctioned by Jain scriptures. Munisree Yasawai Sagarji Maharaj of the Digambar community took neither food nor water for 51 days.

In a rare honour to Yasawai Sagarji, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation reserved the wooden pyre of Kashi Mitra burning ghat from 2am to 10am on Tuesday for his cremation. In fact, Jain leaders had applied to KMC the day the monk started his fast to reserve the pyre for a month. The KMC agreed. There is no precedence for this in the KMC's history.

On Tuesday, mayor Sovan Chatterjee personally asked chief municipal health officer J C Roy to pass an instruction to the sub-register of Kashi Mitra crematorium to arrange for everything. According to tradition, the monk was cremated in a sitting posture on the wooden pyre.

Yasawai Sagarji passed away at 3.25pm on Monday. He had decided to breathe his last through meditation and by fasting unto death two years ago, soon after becoming munishree', but his guru, Bardhaman Sagarji Maharaj, allowed it on January 17, said Dinesh Bajaj Gangwal), a senior member of the Parashnath Digambar Jain Belgachia temple trust. The trust immediately applied to KMC to reserve the pyre.

However, keeping the wooden pyre reserved led to an untoward incident about three weeks ago when a group of people from a north Kolkata locality created a furore after being refused to use it.

The KMC, which had reserved the wooden pyre at Kashi Mitra burning ghat for Munisree Yasawai Sagarji Maharaj, had to issue a fresh order after a family demanded to be allowed to use it.

The civic authorities then told the Parashnath temple trust that in honour of the fasting monk, the wooden pyre would be reserved for four hours. "We asked the temple trust to inform us about the demise of the monk immediately so that we could ask the sub-register of Kashi Mitra crematorium to keep the wooden pyre reserved as a token of respect for the Jain saint," said MMiC health Atin Ghosh.

A resident of Belgaum in Karnataka, Yasawai Sagarji Maharaj was attracted to Jainism at the age of 60 years. A father of four, he devoted himself to a saint's life 10 years ago, when he left family for good. Thereafter he attained three important feats of a Jain monk Brahmachari, Chhullak and Munisree.

His brother, Devegouda Jinjouda Patil, was present when Munisree Yasawai Sagarji Maharaj breathed his last. "He was always a devout person in search for the ultimate truth' all his life," said Patil. According to sources in the temple, the monk's son and all three daughters also camped at the Belgachia temple to witness the rare' event.

Dinesh Bajaj thanked KMC and Kolkata Police for cooperating with them for the last rites. The funeral procession of the monk was attended by 10,000 devotees and senior monks, Bajaj said. - News Courtesy: Times News Network

Chandigarh, 4 March 2011: Panchkula will soon be on the world Jain tourism map with the world's tallest idol of the 23rd Tirthankar Bhagwan Parshvanath being installed at a new temple in Sector 18. The 7.3 feet tall idol will be erected by the middle of this month.

''The idol is unique as it has water oozing out of 1,008 hoods of cobras,'' said Upadhyayshri Guptisagar, one of most revered scholars and saints of Digambar Jains in the world, while talking to press during an interview here.

Guptisagar revealed that the artisans took six months to make the idol and were paid more than they expected but he did not reveal the amount. The saint is himself stationed at Digambar Jain temple in Sector 27 to oversee the arrangements.

''The statue is made of black marble from Makrana in Rajasthan. The final trials of water flow from the mouths of all cobras are going to be undertaken next week,'' he said, adding that the throne of the idol has intricate artistic work.

Guptisagar said the Tirthankar Parshvanath finds reference in Vedas also for turning adversities into opportunities and bliss, the elevated human with a Midas touch. ''This part of India does not have a single Parshwanath temple,'' he said.

Guptisagar, who does not wear clothes according to a level of sainthood attained in the Digambar Jain order, will walk down from Madhya Pradesh to install and consecrate the idol between March 11 and 16 at Panchkula. The saint has 30 publications to his credit and is pioneer of a Jain school that concentrates efforts on public welfare. He does not sleep even for three hours a day.

He explained that Jains are one of the highest per capita income and wealth-holding communities in India and their saints live the toughest life amongst all religious people of the world. Digambar Jain saints don't possess even a single piece of cloth or utensil. They eat and drink only once in a day holding food and drink in the hollow of their palms, he said. - News Courtesy: Times News Network

Moodabidri (Dakshina Kannada District, Karnataka), 2 March 2011: One of the largest Jain pilgrimage centres in the world is now in a shambles.The city of Moodbidri, which houses several wonders of Jain architecture, has now fallen prey to modernisation.

The city’s culture-rich temple, the Tribhuvana Tilaka Chudamani, popularly known as the 1000-pillar Basadi, is gradually beginning to lose its charm. The temple, built in 1430, is now a sorry sight, with its crumbling walls and damaged roofs— thanks to the highway traffic and heavy-duty mining in the vicinity. In fact, the temple complex that houses a sub- shrine called Bhairadevi Mantap developed cracks and a part of the cornice fell off on Tuesday.

The three-storey temple complex is managed by a private trust called Dhavala Thraya Trust under the Jain Mutt of Moodbidri. The trust has very less monetary benefits and absolutely no resources to manage the temple’s huge complex.

“The degeneration has been fast during the last three years. The trust has been restoring it from time to time, but the massive stone structures have now started developing cracks and the delicate stone cornices have started crumbling. A huge stone cornice broke and crumbled on Tuesday. When I inspected the spot with some Jain leaders and engineers, I found out that the temple and its sub-shrines are damaged,” said swamiji of Jain Mutt Bhattaraka Charukirti Panditacharyavarya.

“I have appealed to the government many times, but in vain. The mining for granite is being carried out at least in three places surrounding the temple. In addition, the loud highway traffic is also a cause for the temple’s present state.”

An official in mining and geology department said that the mining activities were taking place in close proximity to Basadi. Due to heavy explosives, the temple’s stone structures are falling apart, he said.

Moodabidri MLA Abhayachandra Jain said, “Basadi’s management has to use the resources available to maintain the temple. Sadly, the temple has been guarded as a mutt property, citing the donation of land by Vijayanagara king Krishnadevarayain 1430.” - News Courtesy: DNA

Patan (Gujarat) , 26 February 2011: Four ancient Jain idols and 29 pillars of a temple belonging to 12th or 13th century were recovered in Jangral village, about 25 km from Patan during an ongoing digging work for the construction of a primary health centre building. The digging work has been stopped.

"As many as 29 carved pillars and four Jain idols, two of which are badly damaged and believed to belong to 12th or 13th century were unearthed and we conducting examination on the same," said director of state archeological department RS Rawat.

"The pillars carved out from marble are supposed to be the parts of the temple," said mamlatdar. The recovered articles are kept in a room of the PHS under police custody. We are awaiting reply from archeological survey department," added mamalatdar.

Talking to TOI Rawat said, "Ancient treasure is buried in Patan and nearby region. Earlier also, monuments belonging to 12 to 13th century era when Jainism was the dominating religion have been discovered."

"Several temples built right from Mount Abu to Mehsana Patan and Suredranagar district belong to the Jain sect, he added.

Recently in January, seven damaged idols, nine crunches and a temple bell were recovered from Rah village in Tharad taluka of adjacent Banaskantha from the field of a farmer. - News Courtesy: Times News Network

Moodabidri (Dakshina Kannada District, Karnataka), 22 February 2011: Moodbidri: Jain Swamiji Takes Umbrage at Rama Jois Report
Moodbidri, Feb 22: Swastishri Bhattaraka Charukirti Panditacharyavarya Swamiji of Moodbidri Jain Math has criticised the report by Justice (retd) Rama Jois recommending bringing Jainism within the ambit of Hindu Endowment Act.

Jainism, although like a brother to Hindu faith, has retained its distinct language, literature and culture, differently from Hinduism. The then-government had agreed to the representation made in 1997 not to included the Jain faith under the umbrella of Hindu faith. Hence, the community would condemn the proposal before the government to include it in accordance with the Rama Jois report, the Swamiji has said.

He further points out that the report, prepared by a non-Jain like Jois, contained many factual inaccuracies. The Hindu and Jain faiths have co-existed in harmony for centturies and it is not right to drive any wedge between them, he says. He also affirms that the Jain community is the one which has been paying highest amount in taxes to the government and justice should be done to it. - News Courtesy: Mangalorean.com

JANUARY 2010