Kothara, Kutch

History

Kothara was an estate (jagir) founded during the reign of Godaji (1715-1718), when Godaji, the ruler of Cutch State, gave the Mundra estate to his brethren Haloji. Haloji founded towns of Kothara, Kotri and Nagrachi.

In past, the village had sizable community of traders who lived in Zanzibar and Muscat and Mumbai. The Sonara (Jewellers) community which was living in Kothara and near by villages in Suthri and in Mothara have been migrated and settled in Muscat, Oman and in Dar-e-sallam in Tanzania The village has several big houses with rich architecture, belonged to these sonara people.

Geology

Kothara lies in hot, arid and dry region of Kutch. The Arabian Sea is on its west and Rann of Kutch on north.

Connectivity

Bhuj, the nearest railway station and airport at a distance of 80 kilometers, Suthari, the nearest sacred place is at a distance of 12 kilometers and Mandvi is at a distance of 58 kilometers. Buses and taxis are available.

Shantinath Jain temple

The Jain temple dedicated to Shantinath, the sixteenth Tirthankara, was completed in 1861 (1918 V.S.) which was considered the richest temple of Kutch then. The temple cost £40,000, one-half was given by Shah Velji Malu and the other in equal shares by Shah Keshavji Nayak and Shivji Nensi; Osval Vanias of Kothara. The Shantinath statue was formally installed by Acharya Ratnasagarsuri of Achal Gacchha. This temple is also named ‘Kalyan Tunk’. This chief temple is compared to the Meruprabha temple.

Through a very rich two-storied entrance gate, an outer yard surrounded by buildings set apart for the use of priests, opens into a walled quadrangle with a shrine in each wall.The domed hall, mandap rises in two stories, and over the shrine is a spire with richly carved figure niches and moldings. Inside, the hall, mandap, surrounded by aisles or verandahs, with a richly designed pavement of different coloured marbles, has twenty-two pilasters, and sixteen pillars, and a dome supported on eight pillars with foiled arches and struts. Inside of a wall, chiefly formed of twenty pillars richly carved with flowers, leaves and creepers, is the shrine; where, supported on either side by seven small figures, is a large image of Shantinath crowned with a golden crown, and seated cross-legged on a richly carved marble throne. The upper story of the hall, reached by stone steps from the south-west porches, has a corridor with rich shrines each containing a large marble sitting image. Below the hall there is an underground shrine, with about twenty-five large white marble figures with precious stones let into the eyes, chests, and arms.