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Adhai Din ka Jhonpra

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Adhai Din ka Jhonpra, Ajmer

Adhai din ka Jhonpra is a mosque in Ajmer which is said to be built in two and a half days.

This monument was built after Mohammad Ghori defeated Prithvi Raj Chauhan III. It is

said that previously a Sanskrit college existed there and the monument was constructed

on its ruins.

This tutorial will let you know about the history of the mosque along with the structures

present inside. You will also get the information about the best time to visit it along with

how to reach the mosque.

Audience

This tutorial is designed for the people who would like to know about the history of Adhai

Din ka Jhonpra mosque along with the interiors and design of the mosque. This mosque is

visited by many people from India and abroad.

Prerequisites

This is a brief tutorial designed only for informational purpose. There are no prerequisites

as such. All that you should have is a keen interest to explore new places and experience

their charm.

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Table of Contents

Adhai Din ka Jhonpra, Ajmer ........................................................................................................................... 1

Audience.......................................................................................................................................................... 1

Prerequisites .................................................................................................................................................... 1

Copyright & Disclaimer .................................................................................................................................... 1

Table of Contents............................................................................................................................................. 2

1. ADHAI DIN KA JHONPRA – OVERVIEW .................................................................................. 3

2. ADHAI DIN KA JHONPRA – HISTORY ...................................................................................... 6

3. ADHAI DIN KA JHONPRA – ARCHITECTURE ........................................................................... 8

4. ADHAI DIN KA JHONPRA – HOW TO REACH? ...................................................................... 10

5. ADHAI DIN KA JHONPRA – NEARBY PLACES ........................................................................ 14


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Adhai Din ka Jhonpra is a mosque built on the ruins of an old Sanskrit college.

Muhammad Ghori ordered that a mosque should be built within 60 hours so that he can

offer prayers. So the workers tried but could not complete the task. But they were able to

build screen wall where Mohammad Ghori could offer prayers.

Ajmer

Ajmer is one of the popular cities of Rajasthan due to the presence of the dargah of Sufi

saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. It is not confirmed but history says that the city was

founded either by Ajayraja I or Ajayraja II who belonged to Shakambhari Chahaman

dynasty. Besides the dargah, another pilgrimage site is Pushkar which is 10km away from

Ajmer.

1. Adhai din ka Jhonpra – Overview


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Visiting Hours

Adhai Din ka Jhonpra can be visited from 7:00am in the morning to 7:00pm in the evening.

The monument is opened on all days including the public holidays. There is nothing much

to see in the monument but still it may take around one hour to visit the whole monument.

Tickets

There is no entry fee to visit the mosque and people can visit it any time during the visiting

hours.

Best Time to Visit

Best time to visit Ajmer and the mosque is from November to March as the climate is very

pleasant. Though January is very chilly, but still people will enjoy visiting the city during

this period.

Where to Stay?

As the city of Ajmer is very popular for its dargah and adhai din ka jhonpra, there are

many hotels in which tourists can stay. There are cheap hotels and star hotels where

people can enjoy their stay according to their budget. Some of the hotels with their location

are as follows:

Five-Star Hotels

o Dera Masuda located at Motisar Road Pushkar

o Aaram Bagh located at Ganahera Pushkar

o Ananta Spa & Resorts located at Leelasevri, Pushkar

o The Gateway Resort located at Pushkar Bypass Jaipur Road, Ajmer


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o WH Royal Tents located at Mobile Camp, Pushkar

Four-Star Hotels

o Country Inn & Suites by Carlson located at Sushant City

o Hotel Chitvan located at Jaipur Road

o Paradizzo Resort located at Jaipur Road

o Grand Xenia located opposite Chidiya Bawdi, Kishangarh

o Pushkar Resorts located at Motisar Road Pushkar

Three-Star Hotels

o Hotel Plaza Inn located near Dargah Shareef

o Regal Hotel located at Dargah Road, Ganj

o Hotel Data Inn located at Shrinagar Road

o Hotel Vega Inn located at Jaipur Road

o Hotel Mansingh Palace located at Vaishali Nagar

Budget or Two-Star Hotels

o Hotel Regency located outside Delhi Gate

o Hotel Treebo Siddharth located at Jaipur Road

o Hotel Royal Palace located inside Delhi gate

o Hotel Imperial Palace located Dargah Road

o Hotel Star located outside Delhi Gate

Cheap or One-Star Hotels

o Haveli Heritage Inn located at Kutchary Road

o Hotel Baba Palace located at Dargah Road

o Hotel Shri Shivam Palace located at Dargah Shareef

o Hotel Omni Palace located at Jaipur Road

o Hotel Mannat Palace and Restaurant located at Dargah Shareef


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Adhai Din ka Jhonpra is a mosque that is said to be built within two and a half days by the

order of Mohammad Ghori. The sultan ordered the mosque to be built within 60 hours and

the workers worked day and night but were only able to construct a screen wall so that

the sultan could offer his prayers.

Adhai Din ka Jhonpra under Chauhan Dynasty

During the period of Chauhan dynasty, there was a Sanskrit college built by Vigraharaja

IV, also known as Visaladeva, who belonged to Shakambhari Chahaman or Chauhan

dynasty. The college was built in square shape and a dome-shaped pavilion was

constructed on each corner of the building. A temple was also there that was dedicated to

Goddess Sarasvati.

The construction of the building includes the features of Hindu and Jain architecture. Some

historians say that the mosque was built by the materials used after the destruction of

some old and abandoned Hindu Temples. Others say that the Sanskrit college was a college

of the Jains. The local people say that Seth Viramdeva constructed the college to

celebrate Panch Kalyanaka. The mosque was constructed after the defeat of Prithvi Raj

Chauhan III by Mohammad Ghori in the second battle of Tarain.

Adhai Din ka Jhonpra under Delhi Sultanate

After defeating Prithvi Raj Chauhan III, once Mohammad Ghori was passing by Ajmer and

saw many temples so he ordered his slave named Qutbuddin Aibak to construct a

mosque so that he can offer prayers. The sultan also ordered that the mosque has to be

built within two and a half days.

2. Adhai din ka Jhonpra – History


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The workers worked hard and were able to construct a screen wall where the sultan could

offer his prayers. The mosque was completed in 1199 according to an inscription.

Iltumish, the successor of Qutbuddin Aibak, built a screened wall with arches and

inscriptions on it. The inscriptions have the name of Iltumish and the supervisor named

Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Arid.

History behind the Name

The name of the mosque is Adhai Din ka Jhonpra which means shed of two and a half

day. There are many things related to the name of the mosque. According to a legend,

the life of a human being is two and a half day on earth. Historians say that there was a

fair used to be held for two and a half days in ancient times.

Other assumptions say that during the Maratha era, fakirs came to celebrate urs and so

the mosque was started being called jhonpra. Since the urs was held for two and a half

days, so the mosque was named as adhai din ka jhonpra.


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Adhai Din ka Jhonpra is one of the oldest mosque in India that was built on the basis of

Indo-Islamic architecture. Mohammad Ghori ordered the construction of the mosque which

was designed by Abu Bakr of Herat who came with the Sultan. Each side of the building

has the height of 259 feet. People can enter the mosque from southern and eastern gates.

Exterior Structure of the Mosque

Total number of pillars in the mosque were 344 and the actual building had 124 pillars out

of which 92 were on the eastern side and 64 were on the other sides. Iltumish also built a

huge screen whose arches were built by using yellow limestone.

There are seven arches out of which the largest one has the height of 60 feet while others

are smaller ones. There are small panels in the arch to pass sunlight. The arches also have

the verses of the Holy Quran. Along with this, there are inscriptions written in Kufic and

Tughra script.

Interior Structure of the Mosque

The measurement of the interior portion is 200 feet x 175 feet. The design of the pillars

are similar to the temples of Hindus and Jains. Historians say that many pillars belonged

to Hindu and Jain temples but some were constructed by the Muslim rulers. The ceilings

of the mosque are also a combination of Hindu and Islamic architecture.

3. Adhai din ka Jhonpra – Architecture


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Muazzin Towers

Muazzin towers are located in two minarets each having a diameter of 10.5 inches. The

location of these minarets is on the top of the screen wall whose thickness is 11.5 feet.

The minarets have angular and circular flutes which were one of the features of

construction of Delhi Sultanate.


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Ajmer is directly linked to many major and small cities of India via rail and road network.

Ajmer does not have its airport but Jaipur and Delhi are the nearest airports from where

many domestic and foreign flights depart.

Distance of some of the major cities from Ajmer is as follows:

Ajmer to Jaipur

o By rail – 98km

o By road – 130km

Ajmer to Delhi

o By rail – 444km

o By road – 403km

Ajmer to Ratlam

o By rail – 375km

o By road – 403km

Ajmer to Chittaurgarh

o By rail – 178km

4. Adhai din ka Jhonpra – How to Reach?


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o By road – 191km

Ajmer to Udaipur

o By rail – 290km

o By road – 271km

Ajmer to Agra

o By rail – 363km

o By road – 371km

Ajmer to Ahmedabad

o By rail – 485km

o By road – 555km

Ajmer to Marwar

o By rail – 140km

o By road – 174km

By Air

Ajmer does not have airport but the nearest international airport is Sanganer airport of

Jaipur which is around 130km away from Ajmer. Tourists who want to visit Adhai Din ka

Jhonpra can come to Jaipur by air and then catch a train or bus or hire a taxi to come to

Ajmer.

By Train

Ajmer is well-connected to many cities in India through railway network. Rajdhani,

Shatabdi, Janshatabdi, Garib Rath superfast and fast trains along with passenger trains

have stoppage here. Many trains also originate and terminate here. The trains connect

Ajmer to all the metropolitan cities except Chennai.


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By Road

Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation runs deluxe and semi-deluxe AC and non-AC

buses from Ajmer to Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai, Allahabad, Lucknow and other places. Besides

this, there are private bus and taxi operators that provide conveyance to other cities.


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Local Transport

Tourists can move around Ajmer either through auto rickshaws or taxis which can be hired

for a fixed period of time. Another mode of local transport is the local bus which carries

people to their destination.


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Adhai Din ka Jhonpra is one of the popular places which the tourists come to visit. There

are many other places which the tourists can visit and the most important one is the

dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. Some of the places to visit in Ajmer are as follows:

Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Dargah

Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti dargah is also known as Ajmer Sharif dargah where people of

different communities come to pray and ask for their needs. The dargah was built by Shah

Jahan.

Nizam Gate is the main gate from where people can make an entry to the building. The

Nizam gate is followed by Shah Jahani gate which is further followed by Buland

Darwaza built by Mahmud Khilji.

Nasiyan Jain Temple

Nasiyan Jain Temple, also known as Ajmer Jain Temple and Soni ji ki Nasiyan, was

built in 19th century. There are several images in the main chamber called Swarn Nagri.

These images are made with wood and plated with gold.

5. Adhai din ka Jhonpra – Nearby Places


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The temple mainly belongs to Digambara Jains and is dedicated to Lord Rishabhdev,

the first Tirthankara of Jains. The construction of the temple was started in 1864 and Lord

Rishabhdev’s image was installed in 1865.

Ana Sagar Lake

Ana Sagar Lake was built by the grandfather of Prithvi Raj Chauhan whose name was

Amoraja, also called Ana. The lake covers an area of 13km. The pavilions, known as

Baradari, were constructed by Shah Jahan in 1637. There is a garden called Daulat Bagh

which was constructed by Jahangir.


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Shah Jahan’s Mosque

Shah Jahan’s Mosque in Ajmer lies within the precincts of the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin

Chishti. Shah Jahan built this mosque due to a vow which he has taken during the Mewar

campaign. The dimensions of the mosque is 148 feet x 25 feet.

The mosque was built by using white marble and there are five entrances from where

people can enter the mosque. The main area where prayer is offered is built on a platform

where people can go through a staircase.

Akbar’s Palace

Akbar’s Palace is a beautiful monument in Ajmer which was built in 1570AD. Akbar

frequently visited Ajmer for pilgrimage so he built the palace as a residence for himself.

The palace was built in such a way that the attackers could not enter the palace and attack

the persons inside.


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The palace is surrounded by two magnificent walls. It is the same palace where meeting

between Jahangir and Sir Thomas Roe was held. During the British Period, the palace was

named as Rajputana Arsenal. In 1908, a portion of the palace was converted into a

museum.

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