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There is a 63 cm tall white-colored idol of Bhagwan Sultan Parshvanath in a Padmasana posture located at Alwa ka Chauraha in Sidhpur.
In terms of its history, Sidhpur was originally known as Shristhal and is situated on the western bank of the Saraswati River. In V.S. 1184, Sidhraj Jaisingh constructed a beautiful temple encompassed by 24 small temples known as "Sidhvihar," also referred to as "Rajvihar." Around the same period, his minister Alingdev built another temple called "Choumukh Vihar" and enshrined the idol of Bhagwan Parshvanath within it. It is believed that this idol is known as Sultan Parshvanath. During the 16th-17th century, Sidhpur had 5 Jain temples and housed 190 idols of Thirthankaras. The main deities in these 5 temples were Shri Neminath Bhagwan, Shri Suparshvanath Bhagwan, Shri Mahaveerswami Bhagwan, Shri Chandraprabhswami, and Shri Parshvanath Bhagwan. The Parshvanath temple had Choumukhi idols, which means the idols faced all four directions.
This temple faced a period of danger during the Muslim rule. Alauddin Khilji once entered the temple and was on the brink of destroying the idol of Parshvanath. However, the devotees present at that time requested him not to harm the idol, explaining that it wasn't just a stone but believed to be inhabited by the divine. They offered to prove this by singing bhajans in Deepak Raga. A miraculous incident occurred; 99 lamps filled with ghee spontaneously lit, and a cobra (Dharnendra Dev) appeared in front of Alauddin. Witnessing these miracles, Alauddin realized his mistake and spared the temple. Since then, this idol of Parshvanath came to be known as "Sultan Parshvanath." It dates back to the period of King Samprati, and the temple was renovated by the Jain Sangh in V.S. 2015.
Sidhpur is an ancient historic city in North Gujarat and was formerly a well-known pilgrimage center for Hindus under the name "Matragaya." The renowned Ranakpur temple, Trilokya Deepak Prasad or Dharna Vihar, constructed by Seth Dharnashah, is believed to be inspired by this Choumukh Vihar temple built by Alingdev. Both of these temples were renowned for their beautiful and artistic architecture.
To reach Sidhpur, it is well connected by both rail and road. The railway station of Sidhpur is 3 km away from the temple, and other nearby tirths such as Metrana and Taranga are located at distances of 13 km and 45 km from Sidhpur, respectively. Accommodation and dining facilities, including dharamshala and bhojanshala, are available in the area, and there are also three Upashrayas for spiritual practitioners.
