A friend of mine, a great expert in traveling in India, recommended me this place - a golden installation of amazing beauty, “but I don’t remember its name”. I quickly found it on Google.Maps - Soni Ji Ki Nasiya Jain Temple in Ajmer City, and realized that the place was worth seeing with my own eyes...
But before I'll share image, let me tell you what Jainism is.
What is Jainism
Jainism is a separate religion of around the same age as Buddhism - about 2500 years old - because the founder of modern Jainism, Mahavira, lived in the 5th century BCE. However, Jainists believe their religion reappears each cosmic cycle and thus is eternal.
Jainist sculptures from Soni Ji Ki Nasiya Jain Temple exposition
Jainism is based on the idea of karma and liberation from the cycle of rebirths and related suffering. That makes it similar to Buddhism and Hinduism.
As Buddhists, Jainists don’t believe in the God-creator, God-governor, and God-judge.
Unlike Buddhists, Jainists believe in the soul - an individual essence in each human and animal, traveling from one rebirth to another.
A Jainist statue from Soni Ji Ki Nasiya Jain Temple exposition
Jainism doesn't recognize the Vedas as a sacred source, and that separates it from Hinduism.
The signature feature of Jainism is strict non-violence against living beings, including the tiniest animals - this is the most important vow each Jain takes.
Coincidentally, I started my trip to Soni Jain temple with a lovely communication with beasts...
I had bought fried peanuts but they weren't tasty to me. I wanted to throw away the pack but then a thought that many animals feel hunger stopped me. I went out to find animals, and these were what I found:
😍
First, I offered peanuts to the zebu. She accepted my gift. Then I offered peanuts to langurs, and they accepted them too. All this was so fairy-tale-ish and beautiful that I got happy for the rest of the day. Even now, I feel the same rays of warmth when I'm looking at this lovely gathering in the image...
Soni Ji Ki Nasiya Jain Temple
Yes, the temple! This:
That's how Wikipedia describes the story of the temple:
It was built in the late nineteenth century. The main chamber, known as the Swarna Nagari "City of Gold", has several gold-plated wooden figures, depicting several figures in the Jain religion. This golden chamber of the temple uses 1,000 kg of gold to carve out a depiction of Ayodhya.
The First Floor
As I know, they don't allow non-Jains to enter the praying area at this temple, but the most exciting part, the Golden City (Swarna Nagri), is open to everyone.
A feast for your eyes, but it is around +13 in December in Ajmer, and the stone floors were very cold...
And they require visitors to take off their shoes... But the spectacle was impressive that I decided to endure it, hoping I wouldn’t catch a cold.
Knowing that the upper floors contain the golden city, I swiftly ran upstairs. Looking down to enjoy the ground floor installation for the last time:
The Second Floor
And here we are.
Jain holy city Ayodhya.
Models of palaces, temple, people, elephants, cows, guys soaring in the sky in a type of flying boats...
Yes, these guys in the sky... Nothing special?
Wait until climbing another couple of stairs:
This is Mount Sumeru, with boats flying in the sky.
The same Ayodhya City, but the view from above.
Here, I swapped a 24mm lens for a 50 mil to photograph the details better:
A flying boat...
That's the part where you don't want to leave the place.
Some aircraft have birds at their prows, some have elephants, and the one above... a hedgehog?..
If not cold feet, I'd stay there longer, but as soon as I photographed the Golden City from each angle I wanted, I had to leave.
A great indoor experience to learn more about Jain traditions and have a rest from the hectic Indian streets. If you are in Pushkar one day, the temple is a must-visit - only 40 minutes from Pushkar to Ajmer by bus.
Thanks for reading, hope you liked it, stay tuned! 😎
The photos were taken with a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G and Nikkor 24mm f/2.8D on a full-frame DSLR Nikon D750 on December 3, 2025, in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India.