Parshvanath Jain temples, Varanasi

Parshvanath Jain temples, Varanasi is a group of three Jain temples located in Bhelupur, Uttar Pradesh. The temples in Bhelupur were built to commemorate place for three kalyanaka of Parshvanatha.

History
According to Jain literature, Varanasi was ruled by King Aśvasena, the father of Parshvanatha, in 9th century. Varanasi is as one of the holiest Jain pilgrimage centres and believed to be birthplace of four Tirthankar — Parshvanatha, Suparshvanatha, Chandraprabha and Shreyansanath. This is considered as one of the holiest pilgrimage places. Bhelpur is believed to be birthplace of Parshvanath, the 23rd Thirthankara, hence, a place for three kalyanak - Chyavan, Janm, and Deeksha. Mahavira also delivered sermons at Varanasi and Sarnath.

Vividha Tirtha Kalpa, composed by Jinaprabha Suri in the 14th century CE, gives a detailed description of this temple.

About temple
A beautiful temple dedicated to Parshvanath is built here. The mulnayak of this temple is a 75 cm black-coloured digambar idol of Parshvanatha dating back to 9th-11th century and a 60 cm white-coloured Śvetāmbara idol of Parshvanatha. It is located in Bhelapur about 5 km from the center of Varanasi city and 3 km from the Banaras Hindu University. It belongs to both sects of Jainism and is a holy tirtha or pilgrimage centre for Jains.