Pareshnath Jain Temple

Also Badridas Temple

An 1867 temple in north Kolkata, encrusted in mirrorwork and Venetian glass mosaic, set in a formal garden.

Built in 1867 by Rai Badridas Bahadur Mookim and dedicated to Sheetalnatha, the tenth Tirthankara. The complex holds four temples in a garden of fountains and European statuary.

The surface treatment is the point: mirrorwork, coloured glass and Venetian mosaic worked over almost every plane, so that the interior reads as light rather than as stone. A lamp in the shrine is maintained continuously burning.

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