Shri Shankheshwar Tirth stands in the heart of Shankheshwar town in Patan district. Its moolnayak, Shri Shankheshwar Parshwanath, is a white idol in padmasan, about 182 cm tall, and is counted first among the 108 Parshwanath tirth. For Shwetambar Jains it is one of the most important pilgrimages, often spoken of as second only to Shatrunjay, and the Shankheshwar Parshwanath stavan is among the most sung Jain prayers.
The legend of the idol
Tradition holds that the idol is immeasurably old. In an earlier time-cycle, Ashadhi Shravak learned from Damodar Swami that he would become a ganadhar of the future 23rd Tirthankar, Parshwanath, and had idols of Parshwanath made; one of them is the idol worshipped at Shankheshwar.
The best-known story links the tirth with Shri Krishna. When Jarasandh's magic weakened Krishna's army, Bhagwan Neminath advised Krishna to observe an attham tap. Pleased, the deities gave him this idol of Parshwanath, and water from its snatra puja revived the soldiers. Krishna blew his conch (shankh) in victory, and the place came to be called Shankhapur, later Shankheshwar.
A thousand years of renovation
Sajjan Shah, minister of the Solanki king Siddhraj, rebuilt the temple in Vikram Samvat 1155 (1098 CE) on the banks of the Rupen river. The ministers Vastupal and Tejpal renovated it in VS 1286 (1229 CE), and it was renovated again in VS 1302.
In the 14th century the temple was destroyed in the time of Alauddin Khilji, and the idol was hidden underground to keep it safe. A new temple was built in the 16th century, and in VS 1760 (1703 CE) the Sangh built a new temple and installed the idol once more. The present temple dates from the early 19th century, and its shrines are still being renewed today.
The temple
The temple, in the Maru-Gurjara style, has a sequence of open, decorated and grand mandaps, two assembly halls and the inner sanctum, ringed by devkulikas whose white shikhars and flags are the tirth's best-known sight.
Beside the moolnayak are shrines of Bhidbhanjan Parshwanath on the right and Ajitnath Bhagwan on the left, with Dharanendra, Padmavati and Chakreshwari Devi. The complex also has an upashray, ayambilshala, gyan bhandar and pathshala.
Festivals and nearby temples
Posh Dashami, the birth anniversary of Parshwanath Bhagwan, is the tirth's great day, when thousands of devotees come and many observe an attham tap; Diwali and Mahavir Janma Kalyanak also draw large crowds.
Around the main temple are the 108 Parshwanath Bhaktivihar, the Agam Mandir, the Bhaktamar temple with its 84 yantras, and the Dadawadi, all worth a visit.