Jagdish Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Dabok airport is the nearest, 25 km away.

• By train

  Udaipur railway station is the nearest, 4 km away.

• By road

  The temple is a short walk from the City Palace. It is 420 km from Jaipur.

Why devotees come here

Jagdish Temple is a large Hindu temple in central Udaipur, just outside the royal palace. Its black stone idol of Jagannath, a form of Vishnu, has been in continuous worship since 1651. The temple stands on a 25 ft plinth and rises 100 ft.

Legend says Maharana Jagat Singh saw Jagdish in a dream. In the dream, the deity told him to build a temple in Udaipur, where the deity said he would come. Legend also says a sadhu gave the Maharana a tablet during a hunting trip. With the tablet in his mouth, he could fly through the sky to Puri for darshan each day.

Jagat Singh built the temple in 1651, and construction was later supervised by Arjuna Mana and Mukand. Construction took 25 years, according to the government profile. A flight of 32 marble steps leads up to it, and 50 carved pillars support the building.

The four-armed black stone idol of Vishnu is about human size and faces east. Four smaller shrines to Ganesha, Surya, Shakti and Shiva ring the main shrine. The octagonal prayer hall has walls showing scenes from mythological stories. A Garud statue here is said to be perhaps the biggest in the world.

Festivals

• Every yearRath Yatra

  The annual chariot procession is one of the most celebrated events at the temple.

Tips for your visit

• Look at the walls of the octagonal prayer hall, which show scenes from mythological stories.
• Four smaller shrines to Ganesha, Surya, Shakti and Shiva stand in a circle around the main shrine.

Questions people ask