Jain community member argues for worship right at Bhojshala complex

Indore: A Jain community member on Wednesday staked claim to worship at the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque complex, telling the Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh high court that the monument was also associated with Jain traditions, distinctly evident from the idols recovered from the site.

Advocate Dinesh Rajbhar, appearing for petitioner Salek Chand Jain before the bench of Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi, challenged the 2003 order of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) regulating access to the disputed complex at Dhar and sought limited prayer rights for the Jain community at the site.

Rajbhar described it as a glaring omission: the 2003 ASI order permits two communities to access the site for religious purposes — Muslims for Friday namaz and Hindus for Basant Panchami rituals and Tuesday worship — but makes no provision for Jains, despite their claimed historical association with the location.

The advocate directed the court’s attention to photographs of idols recovered from the site, walking the bench through a detailed visual and iconographic comparison between Hindu and Jain religious imagery. Central to his argument was an idol that Hindu parties have identified as Goddess Vagdevi — the Saraswati of Hindu tradition. He disputed this interpretation, contending that the figure is in fact Jain Yakshini Ambika, a piece presently housed in the British Museum in London.

Citing the museum’s own descriptions, he argued that the idol bears carvings of Tirthankara figures — a defining feature of Jain iconography entirely absent from Hindu depictions of Vagdevi. “As Jains believe in 24 Tirthankars, the icons associated with these Tirthankaras are found across the statues of Jain gods and goddesses,” Rajbhar told the court, pointing to the image of Goddess Ambika as a prime example.

Going beyond individual idols, Rajbhar drew a broader picture of the site’s identity, saying, “In fact, it was a Jain Gurukul and a Jain temple.” He argued that the cumulative presence of Jain religious statues at the complex points to its historical function as a centre of Jain learning and worship.

Rajbhar invoked the legacy of the Parmar king Raja Bhoj — widely celebrated as a patron of learning — to challenge the popular perception of the ruler as solely a champion of Hindu scholarship.

Drawing from historical writings and architectural material, Rajbhar argued that Raja Bhoj also extended his patronage to Jain scholars and traditions, naming several Jain poets and scholars who flourished under the Parmar court to press his claim that parts of the Bhojshala structure reflect Jain architectural influence.

He further referred to a report published by the Government Central Press, Shimla, in 1882, which noted that portions of the complex appeared to have been constructed using materials and styles drawn from earlier Jain structures — comparable with certain domes and columns of the celebrated Dilwara Jain Temples at Mount Abu.

Rajbhar also reserved pointed criticism for the ASI’s survey report, which attributes certain structures at the site to Hindu origins. He argued that the agency had been commissioned by the court to document what it found — not to assign religious ownership — and that by linking structures to Hinduism while disregarding Jain associations, the ASI had overstepped its mandate.

Invoking the secular character of the Indian Constitution, he urged the court to ensure that Jain devotees receive equal treatment and are granted access to the site for worship, just as members of the Hindu and Muslim communities currently enjoy.

The court will continue the hearing into the bunch of petitions on Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque dispute on Thursday.