HYDERABAD: The Jain community is gearing up for the five-day Pratishta Mahotsav which will include the installation of idols at one of the oldest Jain Temples in city at Karawan Dadawadi. For the three lakh Jains in the city, there are over 20 Jain temples in the city, four of them with 100 plus years of history.
The various activities planned during these five days include a procession on April 26 where a Jain idol put on a chariot will be taken out on a procession, which will start from the Jain Temple at Karwan and will travel up to the Jain Temple at Tallagadda. Nearly 3,000 Jain community people and monks will join the procession, informs Surender Lunia of the community.
On April 27, the installation of four Jain dieties will be held. These include Jindat Surji, Manidhariji, Kushalguruji and Jinachandraji. Nearly 8,000 people to attend the occasion. The new idol installation festival (Pratishta Mahotsav) will be culminate with Dadaguriji. Badi Puja to be held on April 28.
Both the Telugu States have many Jain temples such as Jain Mandir. Warangal is the 2,000-year-old Jain temple of Lord Mahaveer and is a famous place of worship for Jains in the country. Amaravati Jain Teerth temple of Padmaprabhu Bhagwan in Alirajpur village is also well known. Gudivada JainTeerth temple of Parshwanatha Bhagwan is located in Gudivada village in Vijayawada - Machilipatnam route in Krishna district. The idol of the temple is said to be old, belonging to the 8th century period.
Besides being known for their charity work, they are also among the top businessmen and industrialists, many of the prominent authors, justices, administrators and politicians belong to the Jain community. The Jains have the highest literacy rate and they enjoy the highest per capita income in India.