Lodurva

Lodurva is a village located 15 kilometres to the north-west of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The village of Lodurva (also referred to as ‘Lodrawa’, ‘Lodarva’, or ‘Laudrava’) is famous for its beautiful and intricate Jain Temples and is a popular destination among all the places to visit in Jaisalmer. Lodurva was known to be the ancient capital of the Bhati dynasty of Rajputs who originated from Mathura from a common ancestor called Bhati.  This was until the famous Rawal Jaisal founded the state of Jaisalmer and officially moved the capital to Jaisalmer in 1156 CE. Lodurva is included in various JAISALMER TOURISM PACKAGES which offer a mandatory tour of the famous temples , like that of the famous Jain Temple.

Lodurva Jain temple:

The Lodurva Jain Temple is one such Temple that attracts a lot of tourists to the village every year. The significance of this Temple is that it is dedicated to the 23rd Tirthankara named Parsvanatha. The town of Lodurva is an ancient one, even more so than Jaisalmer. This is the reason why the town attracted much attention in earlier times which led to it being sacked and invaded several times. One of the major invasions of this town was done by Mahmud of Ghazni in the 11th century CE followed by the second such major invasion by Muhammad Ghori in the next century. During Ghori’s invasion in 1152 CE, one among all the properties that were destroyed was the Lodurva Jain Temple. However, this temple was reconstructed by Seth Tharu Shah in the year 1615 and further additions were done by the years 1675 and 1687. The Temple today stands resurrected to its former glory with beautiful carvings on its walls and sanctorum and is one of the prime examples of Jain architecture.