Shri Sherisa Tirth stands in Sherisa village of Gandhinagar district, a short drive from Kalol. Its moolnayak, Shri Sherisa Parshwanath, is a black idol in padmasan, about 165 cm tall, worshipped as a remover of obstacles and fulfiller of wishes. The present temple of carved pink stone, with a white-pillared mandap and a tall shikhar, was built in the 20th century around idols recovered from the ruins of the old tirth.
The legend of the one-night idol
By tradition Sherisa was once part of a great city called Sonpur. In the 13th century of the Vikram era, Acharya Devendrasuri is said to have been guided to a special stone, and a sculptor from Sopaarak, believed to be blind, carved the great image of Parshwanath from it in a single night while fasting.
The same story tells that the Acharya brought three more images from Kantipuri that night by the power of mantra. An inscription on a broken parikar records that the ministers Vastupal and Tejpal installed an idol of Neminath here in the same century, and a tirth stavan of VS 1562 sings of Sherisa's glory.
Ruin and revival
After the 16th century of the Vikram era the tirth was plundered and fell into ruin. In VS 1955 several Jain idols were dug out of the ruins and kept for a time in a cowherd's house.
Inspired by Acharya Vijay Nemisurishwarji, Sheth Sarabhai Dahyabhai of Ahmedabad built a new temple, and the idols were installed in it on Vaishakh Sud 10, Vikram Samvat 2002, under the Acharya's guidance, with the Sheth Anandji Kalyanji Pedhi arranging the pratishtha.
The temple and its idols
The east-facing temple rises on a long flight of steps, its white marble mandap set against pink stone shrines and a richly carved shikhar.
In the bhoyra (underground chamber) is the ancient Lodhan Parshwanath, an especially moving image. The temple also has Neminath Bhagwan with Ambika Devi, among the idols recovered from the old site.