Sacred to the 16th tirthankar of Jainism – Lord Shantinath is an ancient temple in Rumtek. The idol of Bhagawan Shantinath installed in the Shantinath Mandir is believed to fulfill the desires of the devotees. Along with the main temple, there are 15 other temples and shrines. One can even see the traces of the temple in Kalidasa’s lyric poem Meghadūta (“cloud messenger”). It is believed that Ramchandra once had visited this place.
HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE
As per the legends, the story of the temple goes like this – 4000 years ago, a ruler from Nagpur, Appasaheb Bhonsle, came to Ramteke with his minister, Vardhman Savaji to make a Ram Temple. One day, the minister came late. When asked the reason behind the act, he said, “oh king, I am Jain. I am bounded by the rule that of not eating food without worshipping Jain idol, so I went 30 km away (present day kamptee Jain mandir) for worship. Thus, a royal order was passed to search the idol of Bhagwan Shantinath, which was later found under a tree. Later, a temple was made at the same place.
