Thread by @Jainismrevival

Daulatabad fort, near Aurangabad, #Maharashtra

We know the fort for the Bharat Mata mandir or a Masjid but how many know this is actually an old #Jain temple?? 🤔

Deogiri/Devgiri is a historic fortified citadel located in Devagiri village, later renamed to Daulatabad.

#Thread

Recently, while ASI was cleaning the fort, a cave temple was re-discovered that belonged to the #Jains. This site has been occupied since 100 BCE. Around 6th century CE, Devagiri emerged as an important upland, along caravan routes going towards western & southern India.
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The historical fortress was initially built around 1187 by the first Yadava king Bhillama V. It was the capital of the Yadava dynasty (9th-14th century CE). In 1327, Muhammad bin Tughluq of Delhi Sultanate transferred his capital to Devagiri & renamed it 'Daulatabad'
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There is a large courtyard typical of ancient #Jain temples. Inside the temple, a flat roof is held aloft by 152 stone pillars. On several beams, the Chalukyan emblem Kirtimukh is engraved which indicates it would have been built during the Chalukyan rule (6th-12th century).
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Architecture seems to be of Hemadpanti style, one of whose special characteristics was interlocking of stones without using any cementing material. Between the outermost wall & the 3rd fort wall, there is another shrine, image of Tirthankars can still be seen on few pillars.
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What is of our interest, is an unusual 'shuddhi' (reconversion) that the temple undervent inside the outer wall of the fort. This historical event took place in 1948 on the morrow of the police action by the Government of #India during the takeover of the Nizam’s #Hyderabad
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There had been a great deal of local pressure for the Restitution of the temple. Leaders like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as well as Shri Kanhaiyalal Munshi were also aware that it was a #Jain mandir which had been forcibly converted into a masjid.
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However, to avoid giving a religious or a communal colour to the shuddhi, the idol installed in the sanctum sanctorum was that of Bharat Mata. It is therefore now known as the 'Bharat Mata temple' although for 700 years it had been called Jami masjid!
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Daulatabad was the administrative centre of the area until Aurangzeb established himself at the nearby city of Khirki renamed "Aurangabad" by him. Ibn Batutah, who visited the area early in the 14th century, described Daulatabad as a great & magnificent city equal to #Delhi.
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