https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Gopachal_rock-cut_Jain_monumentsGopachal rock-cut Jain monuments - Revision history2026-07-31T20:07:23ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Gopachal_rock-cut_Jain_monuments&diff=500863&oldid=prevKateCurmi92 at 16:03, 16 September 20252025-09-16T16:03:35Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Rock-cut Jain reliefs in Madhya Pradesh, India}}<br />
{{more citations needed|date=November 2016}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2016}}<br />
{{Infobox religious building<br />
| name = Gopachal Parvat<br>Gopachal Rock-Cut Jain Monuments Gopachal Jain Colossi<br />
| image = File:Gopachal (4).jpg<br />
| alt = Tirthankar carving at GopachalParvat<br />
| caption = Carving of a Tirthankar<br />
| map_type = India Madhya Pradesh<br />
| religious_affiliation = [[Jainism]]<br />
| coordinates = {{coord|26|12|55.1|N|78|10|02.9|E|display=inline,title}}<br />
| country = [[India]]<br />
| state = [[Madhya Pradesh]]<br />
| district = [[Gwalior]]<br />
| location = [[Gwalior Fort]]<br />
| elevation_m = <br />
| deity = [[Tirthankara|Tīrthaṅkaras]]<br />
| sect = [[Digambara]]<br />
| architecture_style = [[Jainism]]<br />
| established = 14th century <br> (Kirti Singh Tomar)<br />
| year_completed = 15th century <br> (Dungar Singh Tomar)<br />
| creator = [[Tomaras of Gwalior|Tomaras]]<br />
| website = <br />
}}<br />
<br />
The '''Gopachal Rock-Cut Jain Monuments''', or '''Gopachal Jain Colossi''', also called '''Gop Parvat Jaina Monuments''', are a group of gigantic and large proportionate [[Jain]] [[Indian rock-cut architecture|rock-cut carvings]] dated to between the 14th and 15th centuries. They are located around the walls of the [[Gwalior Fort]], [[Madhya Pradesh]]. They depict [[Tirthankara]]s in seated [[Lotus position|Padmasana]] posture as well as standing [[Kayotsarga]] posture, in the typical naked form of Jain iconography.<br />
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The number of Jain rock shrines at Gwalior, with numerous monumental statues, is unmatched anywhere else. [[James Burgess (archaeologist)|James Burgess]] wrote: "In the 15th century, during the reign of the [[Tomaras of Gwalior|Tomar kings]], the Jains seem to have been seized with an uncontrollable impulse to convert the cliff that sustains the fort into a great shrine in honour of their religion, and in a few years excavated the most extensive series of Jaina caves known to exist anywhere."{{sfn|Burgess|2013|p=509}}<br />
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The Gopachal Jain Collosi is one of the [[Archaeological Survey of India]]'s Adarsh Smarak Monument along with other monuments in the Gwalior Fort.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://asiconservationportal.nic.in/public-dashboard/rcps?page=45&sort=Regions.name&direction=asc | title=Adarsh Smarak Monument | publisher=[[Archaeological Survey of India]] | access-date=19 July 2021 | archive-date=13 August 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813172747/http://asiconservationportal.nic.in/public-dashboard/rcps?page=45&sort=Regions.name&direction=asc | url-status=dead }}</ref><br />
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==Location==<br />
[[File:GwaliorFortplan1901.jpg|thumb|Gwalior Fort plan 1901 showing locations of the five groups of monuments|left]]<br />
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The Gopachal rock-cut Jain monuments are located on the rock cliffs of the hill topped by the [[Gwalior Fort]], Madhya Pradesh. Gopgiri or Gop Parvat is the old designation of the [[Gwalior Fort]].<br />
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There are five clusters of monuments that surround the hill, as can be seen in the 1901 map.<ref>Ramjeet Jain, Gwalior Vaibhav Gopachal, 3rd edition, 2004.</ref><ref>T. V. G Sastri, The Jain sanctuaries of the fortress of Gwalior, Kunda Kunda Jñānapīṭha, 1997</ref><br />
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* South-East Group: Popularly referred to as Ek Patthar Ki Bawadi group, the cluster is now termed the "Gopachal Siddha Kshetra" by the local Jain community.<ref>[https://www.bhaskar.com/mp/gwalior/news/mp-news-24-tirthankars-of-jain-society-on-the-same-rock-072608-4361333.html?sld_seq=1 एक ही चट्टान पर जैन समाज के 24 तीर्थंकर, Bhaskar News Network, Apr 17, 2019]</ref> The group includes 26 caves in a row spanning about half a mile. There are 13 inscriptions from 1468-1473 AD.{{sfn|Cunningham|1871|p=367}} The entrance to the site is close to the Dindayal City Mall.<br />
* South-West Group: Now termed Trishalagiri.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} The group is the first one encountered when driving to the Urvai Gate, just outside the fortifications. There are the oldest Jain monuments in Gwalior from the post-Gupta period. Archaeologist L.B. Singh dates them to 6th to 8th cent AD.<ref>L. B. Singh, Puratattva, May 2005</ref><br />
* Urvahi group: In both sides of the road, just before entering the hilltop fort gate. These are the most visited since they are visible from the road itself. There are six inscriptions from 1440–1453.<br />
* North-West group: Now termed Naminath Giri group after Lord Naminath. They are hard to access. There is an inscription of 1470. The group appears to have escaped the destruction by Babur, and thus the monumental image of Lord Naminath is in its pristine form.<br />
* North-East group: Now termed Naimgir group after Lord Neminath.<br />
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[[Alexander Cunningham]] noted a Jain temple converted into a mosque just north of the Sas-Bahu temples in the fort containing a Jain inscription of AD 1108.{{sfn|Cunningham|1871|p=360}} Also within the fort there is an abandoned Jain temple which is now within the [[Scindia School]] playground and thus no longer accessible. Several large Jain sculptures are placed within the [[Teli ka Mandir]] compound.<br />
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The Gwalior city and the fort is connected to other Indian cities by major highways NH 44 and 46 (Asian Highway 43 and 47), a railway station and airport ([[IATA]]: GWL). It is located near other historic Hindu and Jain temples from the medieval era.{{sfn|Titze|Bruhn|1998|p=106}}<ref>[http://asibhopal.nic.in/monument/morena_padhavali_groupoftemplesatbatesar.html Group of temples at Batesar], ASI Bhopal Circle (2014)</ref><ref>[http://asibhopal.nic.in/monument/morena_naresar_temples1to22.html Naresar Temples], ASI Bhopal Circle (2014)</ref><br />
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==History==<br />
[[File:Gopachal - Parshvanatha.jpg|thumb|The cave temple housing {{convert|47|ft}} idol of Parshvanatha]]<br />
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The Gopachal rock-cut monuments are a part of nearly 100 Jain monuments found in and around the Gwalior city, but these are dated earlier than the [[Siddhachal Caves]] located about {{Convert|2|km}} north of these monuments. Both monuments were defaced and desecrated around 1527 when the Emperor [[Babur]] ordered their destruction.,{{sfn|Cunningham|1871|pp=364-370}}{{sfn|Titze|Bruhn|1998|pp=101-102}} Quote: "In 1527, the Urvahi Jinas were mutilated by the Mughal emperor Babar, a fact he records in his memoirs".{{sfn|Ring|Watson|Schellinger|2012|p=314}} Centuries later, the Jain community restored many of the statues by adding back stucco heads on the top of the damaged idols.{{sfn|Cunningham|1871|pp=364-370}}<br />
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The prolific [[Apabhramsha]] author [[Raidhu]] was responsible for consecrating many of the Jain rock carved images as attested by multiple inscriptions.{{sfn|Phyllis Granoff|2006|p=31}} These include the two colossal images of [[Rishabhanatha|Shri Adinatha]] (57 feet) and [[Chandraprabha|Shri Chandraprabhu]].{{sfn|Phyllis Granoff|2006|p=32}}<br />
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[[Qutb ud-Din Aibak]] captured the fort from [[Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty|Pratihara]] in 1196 and held it until his death in 1210. Altmash captured the fort in 1232 and built the fortifications at the Urvahi gate. The Tomars acquired control in 1394 and held it until 1517.<br />
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Mughal Emperor [[Babur]] conquered Gwalior in AD 1527. Babar ordered the destruction of the Jain statues, as he mentions in his memoirs. The heads of the statues at Urvahi gate and the Ek Patthat ki Bawadi were damaged. The Urvahi gate sculptures were repaired at some later time by the local Jains. The South-West Group and North West group sculptures survived because they were in inconspicuous and hard to reach places and the Mughals kept control until [[Muhammad Shah]]. [[Scindia]]s, took control in 1731. Shortly before that, Jain temples were constructed again in Gwalior city in 1704, including the Jain Golden Temple, Gwalior.<ref>[https://www.bhaskar.com/news/MP-GWA-HMU-digambar-jain-golden-temple-in-gwalior-5099064-PHO.html देश का इकलौता जैन स्वर्ण मंदिर, इसकी दीवारों में जड़ा है करोड़ों का सोना, Dainik Bhaskar, Aug 31, 2015]</ref><br />
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== Description ==<br />
The Gopachal rock-cut monuments depict the Tirthankaras in seated or standing meditating positions. They are not as colossal as some of those found in the Siddhachal Caves, but they are big. The Gopachal monuments include standing and seated Shri [[Rishabhanatha]] (Adinatha), [[Neminatha]], [[Parshvanatha]] and Shri [[Mahavira]]svami.{{sfn|Cunningham|1871|pp=364-370}}<ref name=asifortjain>[http://asibhopal.nic.in/monument/gwalior_gwalior_gwaliorfort_more.html Gwalior Fort], Archaeological Survey of India, Bhopal Circle, India (2014)</ref>{{sfn|Titze|Bruhn|1998|p=106}}<br />
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The mulnayak of the complex is a {{convert|47|ft}} idol of Parshvanatha, the largest idol of Parshvanatha in lotus position.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gwalior.nic.in/Tourism.html|title=Welcome to official website of District Administration Gwalior (M.P.) India|website=gwalior.nic.in|access-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161207111541/http://gwalior.nic.in/Tourism.html|archive-date=7 December 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> According to Jains, Tirthankara Parshvanath delivered his discourse ([[deshna]]) on this hill.<br />
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== Gallery ==<br />
<gallery><br />
File:Gopachal - Tirthankar statues.jpg|Jain Tirthankar statues, Ek Pathar ki Bavadi<br />
File:Gopachal - Tirthankar statue (2).jpg|Seated in lotus position<br />
File:Gopachal - Tirthankar statue (1).jpg|Seated in kayotsarga position<br />
File:Damaged and restored Parshvanatha sculpture at Ek Pathar ki Bavadi (Gopachal Parvat), Gwalior Fort India.jpg|Parshvanatha<br />
File:Jain Tirthankar statues (15698552263).jpg|Jain Tirthankar statues, Ek Pathar ki Bavadi<br />
File:Babur visiting the Urvah valley in Gwalior 1.jpg|[[Babur]] visiting the Urvah valley in Gwalior, from an illustrated ''[[Baburnama]]'', showing the carvings<br />
File:8th or 9th century ruined Teli ka Mandir Gwalior fort, Madhya Pradesh 01.jpg|Jain statues in [[Teli ka Mandir]] compound, [[Lala Deen Dayal]] in 1882<br />
File:The Rock-cut Jain monuments of Gwalior (Urvai Group).jpg|Jain Tirthankar Statues<br />
</gallery><br />
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== Transport ==<br />
The nearest airport is Gwalior.<br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[Jain art]]<br />
* [[List of colossal sculptures in situ]]<br />
* [[Gwalior]]<br />
* [[Siddhachal Caves]] [[Gwalior Fort]] Urwahi Valley/Gate area<br />
*[[Raidhu]], the Gopachal Prathishacharya<br />
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== References ==<br />
=== Citations ===<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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=== Sources ===<br />
* {{cite book | last=Burgess | first=James | author-link=James Burgess (archaeologist) | title=The Cave Temples Of India | url={{Google books|bVXa9JyxOw4C|page=509|plain-url=true}} | series=Perspectives from the Royal Asiatic Society | publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] | date=6 May 2013 | orig-date=1880 | isbn=9781108055529 }} <br />
* {{cite book | last=Cunningham | first=Alexander | author-link=Alexander Cunningham | url={{Google books|3s4OAAAAQAAJ|page=PA360-IA2|plain-url=true}} | title=Four Reports Made During the Years: 1862-65 | volume=2 | publisher=Government Central Press | year=1871 }}<br />
* {{cite journal |author=Phyllis Granoff |author-link=Phyllis Granoff |title=Mountains of Eternity: Raidhū and the Colossal Jinas of Gwalior |journal=Rivista di Studi Sudasiatici |volume=1 |year=2006 |publisher=Firenze University Press |url=http://fupress.net/index.php/rss/article/viewFile/2455/2290 |doi=10.13128/RISS-2455 |pages=31–50 |access-date=26 August 2022 |archive-date=22 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422145713/http://www.fupress.net/index.php/rss/article/viewFile/2455/2290 |url-status=dead }}<br />
* {{cite book | last1=Ring | first1=Trudy | last2=Watson | first2=Noelle | last3=Schellinger | first3=Paul | title=Asia and Oceania: International Dictionary of Historic Places|url={{Google books|voerPYsAB5wC|page=314|plain-url=true}} | year=2012 | publisher=[[Routledge]] | isbn=978-1-136-63979-1 }}<br />
* {{cite book | last1=Titze | first1=Kurt | last2=Bruhn | first2=Klaus |title=Jainism: A Pictorial Guide to the Religion of Non-violence|url={{Google books|loQkEIf8z5wC|page=101|plain-url=true}} | year=1998 | publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] | location=[[New Delhi]] |isbn=978-81-208-1534-6}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
* [https://kevinstandagephotography.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/the-rock-cut-jain-monuments-of-gwalior-introduction/ The Rock-cut Jain Monuments of Gwalior – Introduction, Kevin Standage, MARCH 25, 2019]<br />
* [https://www.google.com/maps/@26.2144784,78.1673986,3a,75y,3.46h,89.15t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNNd54SXY5IY1BBCuprKAwCRcRpE3qLvcg1B4oX!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.auusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNNd54SXY5IY1BBCuprKAwCRcRpE3qLvcg1B4oX%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya253.71689-ro0-fo100!7i4608!8i2304 Gopachal Ek Patthar Ki Bavadi Streetview]<br />
{{commons category|Gopachal}}<br />
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{{Jainism topics}}<br />
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{{Jain Caves in India}}<br />
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[[Category:Hills of Madhya Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Gwalior]]<br />
[[Category:7th-century Jain temples]]<br />
[[Category:Jain temples in Madhya Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Jain rock-cut architecture]]<br />
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Gwalior]]<br />
[[Category:Colossal Jain statues in India]]</div>KateCurmi92