Whats the oldest way of making a jain temple at home. Cow dung flooring. Wooden temple. What else
In traditional Jain homes, the oldest and most sacred style of making a small jinālaya / derāsar at home focuses on simplicity, cleanliness, non-violence, and purity.
Common traditional elements include:
- Cow-dung flooring in the very old rural style, especially in earlier times
- Wooden temple / wooden shrine
- Whitewashed or lime-plastered walls
- Clean raised platform for the idol or scripture
- Separate, quiet, pure corner of the house
- No leather, no violence-related items, no food or dust near the shrine
- Copper, brass, or wooden items for पूजा materials
- Small bell, lamp, and aasan for worship
- Simple cloth decoration, often white
- Fresh water vessel kept clean and separate
- Swetambar tradition may include more पूजा articles; Digambar tradition keeps the shrine simpler
Other old traditional features sometimes used:
- Tulsi? No, not as a Jain necessity
- Natural materials like clay, stone, wood, lime, and cotton
- Earthen oil lamp
- Handmade wooden or stone deity seat
- A small threshold or partition to preserve sanctity
- No synthetic colors or plastic items in the sacred area
If you want the most authentic old Jain home-temple style, the essentials are:
- Clean pure space
- Wood/stone/natural materials
- Very simple decoration
- Daily devotion with ahimsa and discipline
If you want, I can also give you a traditional Jain home temple layout in simple steps.