Aharji

Aharji is a Jain pilgrimage site in Baldeogarh taluka, about 25 km from Tikamgarh on the road towards Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh. Its main temple is famous for an 18-foot standing image of Shantinatha from the Chandella period, carved by a sculptor named Papat and inscribed in 1180 AD. The inscription says two brothers, Jahad and Udaichandra of the Grahapati community, built the temple under the Chandella ruler Paramardi, the Raja Parmal of the Alha-Khand ballad.

This was the last major temple raised here under the Chandellas, though several smaller ones were built alongside it. Excavations have found many Jain images installed between 954 and 1275 AD, across the reigns of six Chandella kings, and inscriptions name 32 Jain communities who built temples here. A Digambar Jain committee manages the site.