Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir dedicated to 23rd Tirthankara Parshvanath, the oldest Jain temple in Delhi also known as Lal Mandir. A Manstambha pillar stands in front of the temple. The main devotional area of the temple is on the first floor.
Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir was visited in 1931 by Jain monk Acharya Shantisagar, who was known to be the first Digambar Jain priest to come to Delhi after a period of 8 centuries and hence the temple complex to mark this auspicious event. A memorial was also erected within.
History of Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir
Old Delhi was founded by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (1628–1658), who built a walled city known as the Old City or Walled City, with the main street Chandni Chowk, the royal residence, in front of the Red Fort.
During the Mughal period, the construction of the shikhara for the temple was not permitted. After India's independence, when the temple was extensively rebuilt, the temple did not have a formal spire.
Birds Charity Hospital
There is a famous bird hospital in the temple premises. The institute, which calls itself the only institution of its kind in the world, treats around 15,000 birds every year. Built in 1956 on the instructions of Acharya Deshbhushan Maharaj, this building was constructed in the hospital in 1930 itself.
Here birds are given free treatment, which takes inspiration from the message of 'live and let live' given by Bhagwan Mahavir. It serves as a rescue sanctuary for pheasants, which are caught and injured by foulers and procured. Squirrels, which will not hurt the birds, are also treated here, but birds of prey are seen on a strictly outpatient basis, as they are not herbivores.
The birds are then treated, bathed and given nutritious food so that they recover quickly. It is released especially on Saturdays, after it is finally declared healthy and sound.
The bird is first kept in the intensive care unit and eventually transferred to general wards, where it retrieves its wings and eventually flies away. Fed, a vegetarian diet of bread and cheese, the treatments are free and funded by Jain Charities. The hospital separates its vegetarian patients from their non-vegetarian counterparts. Carnivorous predators such as eagles, hawks and falcons are exclusively kept on the first floor.
Every Saturday a part of the terrace is opened and the cured birds fly away. The hospital adheres to a central tenet of Jainism - a commitment to enable the freedom of all living beings, no matter how small or insignificant. And once the birds are recaptured, they are never returned to their owners for fear of possible imprisonment.
A full view of Lal Mandir
All three Shikhar with Shri Gauri Shankar Mandir
All three Shikhar
Top of the Shikhar
Manasthamb closeup in Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir
Second entry gate in Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir
Main entrance with Manasthamb
Main entrance, Manasthamb closeup with three shikhar
Indian Flag in Lal kila (Red Fort) From Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir
Lal kila (Red Fort) From Lal Mandir
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