Secunderabad: Not many people in the city know that the Sree Adinatha Jain Temple located at RP Road in Secunderabad has great historic links to the famous Maurya dynasty. Though the temple is only 200 years old, the idols of Lord Adinatha, Mahaveer Swami and Abhinandan Sawai installed in it date back to about 2,000 years. These idols have been carved out during the era of Samprati Samrat (grandson of Ashoka the Great).
The Sree Adinatha Jain Temple is the oldest among all the Jain temples in the twin cities. Every day, more than 200 devotees worship at this temple. The three idols installed in this temple were brought from Aurangabad as these idols were hidden underground during the wars by Moghal emperor Aurangazeb.
It is believed that a Jain monk advised the community members to take some idols from the underground and give them their due respect. This happened about two centuries ago. A few monks agreed to install those iconic idols in a temple and brought those to city from Aurangabad.
Former president of Sree Adinatha Jain Temple Manikchand Samdhariya said this temple was around 200 years old and was one of the oldest Jain temples in Secunderabad and Hyderabad. He said during the era of Samprati Samrat, nearly one lakh idols were carved and out of which three are those installed at Adinatha Jain temple.
- Thehansindia.com
