Nakoda Parshvanath Temple

Nakoda, officially Mewanagar, is a village in Balotra district, Rajasthan, known in the past as Nagara, Viramapura and Maheva. It took the name Nakoda from its Parshvanatha Jain temple, a major pilgrimage site set among wooded hills about 13 km from Balotra railway station. The main image, of Nakoda Parshvanatha, is a black figure about 58 cm high seated in padmasana, said to have been brought from a village called Nakoda near Sinduri.

The temple is very old and has been extended, renovated and rebuilt over the centuries, as its roughly 246 inscriptions show; building work continues today. Acharya Vijay Himachal Suri installed the image of Nakoda Bheruji, or Bhairavji, whose miracles are widely spoken of, and also set up images of other tirthankaras. Devotees of many faiths come here, and among the stories told is that the lamps in the temple bow down before Jain monks.