Delwara

Delwara, nestled in the Aravalli Range hills, is a small town about 28 km away from Udaipur, Mewar (a former state in present-day Rajasthan), and close to Eklingji Temple, on the way to the temple town of Nathdwara, in the state of Rajasthan, India. Delwara was originally known as ‘Devkul Patan Nagri’ , which means the town of god. It boasted over 1500 temples at one time, including over 400 Jain temples. Delwara was the center of learning and culture before the 15th century AD. Around the middle of the 13th century, Raja Sagar, a Deora Chauhan and a descendant of Rao Kirtipal of Jalore, was a very brave king of Delwara (Mewar). Descendants of Raja Sagar died fighting alongside Ranas of Mewar against Muslim invaders. Raja Sagar was the progenitor of Bachhawat and Bothra clans of Oswals. Sagar's son, Kunwar Bohitya was immensely influenced and inspired by Jain philosophy.  Samdhar, a grandson of Bohitya and a Deora Chauhan, was the first man in his genealogy to convert to Jainism.