Like others who live in south Delhi or Gurgaon, I have traveled a million time on Mehrauli Gurgaon road, passing the huge signpost signaling the turn off to the Dadabari Jain temple. But one day, feeling particularly curious, I decided to visit the temple. From the busy road, the temple lies obscured. On the road towards the temple, one passes a crumbling mosque and soon after, the beautiful, white marble temple appears.
 
After a quick look-see, I met the temple priest, who sat me down to tell me the story of Dadabari Jain Temple.

Manidhari Dada Shri Jinchandra Suri, popularly known as Dada Guru, was a Jain saint who lived in the early 13th century. He was a child prodigy and took Deeksha (initiation) at a tender age of 6 and by the time he was 9 he was an Acharya (a sort of spiritual master, a guru). As per the Jain tradition, the saint's guru sent him to travel on foot around the country, but instructed him not to enter Delhi, for he had foreseen mortal danger in the city.

Dada Guru's popularity grew with time, and when he was on the outskirts of Delhi he was invited by the then king of Delhi Madanpal to enter the city, and he could not refuse. He built a Parasvnath Temple where Qutab Minar stands today and started living there, deciding to give up his body at a young age of 26.

Before he left his body he told his followers that when he passed away, they would be able to lift his body only once to move it, for once it was laid down, its weight would become too heavy for even the strongest of men to try and lift.

In mourning, the followers of the saint carried his body through the crowded bazaars of Yoginipura – as Delhi was then called – and a huge crowd started to grow, demanding that they too, have the chance to pay their respect to the departed saint. So the men carrying the body agreed and set the body down on the ground.

As the saint predicted, when it came time to move the body, it could not be lifted. The king enlisted his strongest men and the fittest elephants but the deed could not be done. Left with no other option, his Samadhi (a small temple built to commemorate a dead saint) was built at the same spot where his body was cremated, and that's where the temple stands today.

Like most Jain temples, Mehrauli's Dadabari is decorated with generous use of marble and silver, and in the corridor there are paintings depicting the life of Dada Guru. What is unique about this temple is the enormous reverse glass paintings depicting the lives of various Jain saints and the decorated ceiling, that instead of being carved - as typical in the Jain temples of the early 13th Century -  is made of glass.

At the back of the temple, there is small hillock-like structure, punctuated by small shrines of various Jain Teerthankars. And here, one can forget where they are for just a moment, immersed in the ornate, labyrinthine surroundings, meeting with the saints as though on a mini-pilgrimage, even if it’s just a quick breather from the noisy, Mehrauli Gurgaon road which lies a few hundred meters away.