Raghunath Temple is located in Jammu city. The temple was also in the news during 2002 when suicide bombers Fidayeen of the Lashkar-e-Toiba attacked it twice with grenades and indulged in indiscriminate firing which resulted in death of many devotees and also injuries to many people.This temple is not only a symbol of devotion of Hindu religion but also the identity of Jammu city. Here are Interesting things you should know about about Raghunath Temple:
- Raghunath Temple consists of a complex of seven Hindu shrines, each with its own Shikhara. It is one of the largest temple complexes of north India.
1949 :: Raghunath Temple, Jammu - The temple was built during the period 1822–1860 by Maharaja Gulab Singh and his son Maharaja Ranbir Singh of the Jamwal Rajput clan.
Read also: 5 Popular Temples of Jammu City1928 : Raghunath Temple - Maharaja Gulab Singh got inspiration to build this temple from Shri Ram Dass Bairagi who was an ardent devotee of Lord Ram. He had come to Jammu from Ayodhya to spread the teachings of Lord Ram. He used to live in a hut in Sui-Simbli where he built Ram temple. Prevalent legend suggests that the temple was originally constructed by Raja Jagat Singh of Kullu in order to get rid of a wrong deed. The main idol placed inside the temple was brought from Ayodhya.
- The Mughal architectural influence is seen in all the spiral shaped towers which have gold plated spires, except the tower over the main shrine which is said to be in Sikh architectural style.
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- The niches in the walls of the shrines are decorated with 300 well crafted images of deities.The stunningly beautiful sight of 12, 00,000 ‘saligrams’ in the hall of the main temple.
- The paintings in the 15 panels of the main shrine are based on themes from Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Bhagavad Gita.
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- The major significance of the Raghunath Temple is seen with seven shrines each of which has its own “Shikhara”, (which deciphers to ‘mountain peak’ in Sanskrit and this refers to rising towers and is a special part of the Hindu temple architecture especially in northern India). This temple has one of the largest temple complexes in the entire of North India which is located in Jammu city