Osian

Among the oldest surviving Jain temples in western India, standing in a desert town that was once a trading centre.

The Mahavira temple at Osian dates to the eighth century and has been in continuous use since, which is rarer than its modest appearance suggests — most temples of that age survive as ruins or as fragments rebuilt into later work.

Osian sat on a caravan route, and its temples were built by the merchant families whose descendants became the Oswal community. The town declined with the route; the temples stayed.

Written for Jain Times. Corrections are welcome — see sources and licences.