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9. DIGAMBARA JAIN NAYA

MANDIRThe Digambara Jain Naya Mandir isanother important Jain temple. Anexquisite sandstone gateway greetsthe visitor at the entrance. Built in1807, by Lala Harsukhrai, the templeinterior is adorned with paintingsand intricate floral motifs.

10. KUCHA USTAD HAMIDThis is a street named after Ustad Hamid, Shahjahans master-builder,and he probably lived here. It is entered through a g ateway which hastwo bays with a three-pointed arched entrance.

11. GALI GULIYANThis is a street famous for its shops selling brassware and other antiqueobjects. At the end of the street you will notice a few shops makingdelectable food including the popular bread known asnaan.

12. JAMA MASJIDAt the end of the street is the Jama Masjid, the main congregationalmosque of Shahjahanabad. Commissioned by Shahjahan, thefoundation of the mosque was laid on 2 6th September 1650, andit took six years to complete. Three large imposing gates were built

on the south, north and ea st side. The courtyard is paved with redsandstone and has a marble tank in the centre. In a room in thenortheast corner of the court, relics of the Prophet are preserved.The faade of the covered area at the western end of the court isstunningly beautiful. It is entered through eleven arched openings ofwhich the central one is considerably larger than the rest. The wholeis surmounted by three perfectly proportioned domes decorated withwhite marble with black stripes and gilded pinnacles. Over all exceptthe central arch are panels of white marble with inscriptions in blackstone. At either end are tall minarets which provide panoramic viewsover the city.

Jama Masjid

Digambara Jain Naya Mandir

Nearest metro Station: Chandni Chowk

Nearest bus stop: Red Fort & Jama Masjid

Bus route nos.: 012, 021, 034, 044, 082, 104, 118, 164, 171, 172, 185,189, 216, 245, 246, 255, 258, 260, 266, 270, 271, 302, 312, 402, 403,404, 405, 419, 425, 429, 436, 489, 602, 622, 729, 751, 753, 760, 901, 936

Other places of interest: Meena bazar, Lajpat Rai market

Created byINTACH Delhi Chapter

INTACH

8. DIGAMBAR JAIN MERU MANDIRThere are several Jain temples in this area, and this is one of the mostinteresting ones. Built in the mid-eighteenth century, it has the usualelaborately carved faade, and inside the main shrine there are a largenumber of pillars, each topped with a four-sided image. The originalpaintings on the walls and ceiling are also fascinating.

This publication has been made possible by theWorld Monuments Funds Sustainable TourismInitiative, sponsored by American Express.

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1. DIGAMBARA JAIN LAL MANDIRThe Digambara Jain Lal Mandir, located opposite thewestern gate of the Red Fort, is believed to be the oldestJain temple in Shahjahanabad and is perhaps the mostfamous of all Jain temples in Delhi. It dates back to thefounding of Shahjahanabad and was known as UrduMandir, i.e. temple of the army presumably becausethe worshippers were associated with the imperialarmy. The sanctum sanctor um enshrines idols of Jain

tirthankarasParsvanatha, Adinatha, Chandraprabhuand goddess Padmavati. The interiors are profuselydecorated with floral motifs, images of dancers

and musicians and geometrical patterns. The flutedmarble columns, which support cusped arches, areexamples of Shahjahani architecture. On its premisesis also the Charitable Bird Hospital, founded by a Jain saint, AcharyaShri Shanti Sagar, in 1926.

Timings:5.30 am 11.30 am & 6.00 pm 9.30 pm.Wheelchair access.

3. STATE BANKOF INDIAA little further, on the opposite pavement is the StateBank of India building. Built on Begum Samrus estate,this building has been with the State Bank of Indiasince 1955. It is a three-storeyed building with highceilings, colonial style gateposts and large jali (screen)openings on the first floor level. Many alterations andadditions have been carried out on th e building overthe decades. To restore its historic character, INTACHtook up the restoration of the faade of the buildingin 2003.

Digambara Jain Lal Mandir

Gauri Shankar Temple

2. GAURI SHANKAR TEMPLEThe Gauri Shankar Temple is dedicated to Shiva andParvati. Though the temple has been situated here fora long time, the present building is a fairly modernone. As one traverses through rows of vendorsselling roses and marigolds to shops selling clothes,electronic items, pavement hawkers urge you to stopand look.Timings:4.30 am 11.30 am & 4.00 pm 11 pm.Wheelchair access.

State Bank of India

Chandni Chowk is the central street of the imperial city of Shahjahanabad, founded in themid-seventeenth century. The street runs from opposite the western entrance to the RedFort, right down the breadth of the original walled city to Fatehpuri mosque. The name Chandni

Chowk was originally applied only to one of the squares located on the street which had a large

ornamental pool that reflected the moonlight (chandni). The street has changed consid erably

over the centuries. Originally much wider, right until the mid-nineteenth century it had a

channel of water running down its centre, and shady trees on either side. Today this is a busy

commercial street, narrower and much more crowded than ever before in its history, but with

many historic landmarks still remaining.

5. SUNEHRI MASJIDThis mosque, on Bhai Mati Dass Chowk, wbuilt in 1721-22 by Raushan-ud-DaulahZafar Khan, a nobleman of the later Mughperiod. The mosque stands on a high platfwith shops on the lower floor which wouoriginally have been endowed for the upkof the mosque. A narrow staircase leads to

7. NAUGHARAOff Kinari Bazaar is the quiet residential

It is a row of nine houses, each of whichtraditional appearance and style, with courooms and ornamental gateways. At the estreet is a Jain temple, popularly known a(jewellers temple). Built in the Mughal has a well-preserved interior decorated wKatra Kushal Rai, Vakilpura, Gali Guliyan neighbourhoods that still have some granthat have withstood the test of time. Theifacades are all that are usually visible to prewarding enough in their intricate and q

Private Residences.No EntryTemple Timings: 5.30 am 8.00 pm.

4. SIS GANJ GURUDWARAThe Sis Ganj Gurudwara marks the site of themartyrdom of the ninth Guru of the Sikhs,Guru Teg Bahadur. He resisted conversion toIslam and was beheaded on the orders ofAurangzeb in 1675. It is a large rectangularbuilding with a hemispherical gilded chhatri(canopy) at each corner of the terrace. Aportion of the banyan tree under whichthe Guru was martyred is preserved as amemorial within the Gurudwara. Severalnew additions have been made to theGurudwara over the years.Timings:Open 24 hrs. Wheelchair access.

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