01Upakeshapura
In the 8th and 9th centuries Osian, then called Upakeshapura, was a rich trading town of the Pratihara kingdom. Some eighteen temples survive from that age and a little after. Three are to Harihara, Vishnu and Shiva in one image; others to Surya, Vishnu and the Devi. They are small, built on high platforms, and carved with an assurance that later Rajasthan temples built on. The Jain temple of Mahavira carries an inscription of 956 CE recording that it was first built in the time of the Pratihara king Vatsaraja, in the late 8th century. The Oswal Jain community takes its name from this town.
02Sachiya Mata
On the hill above the town is the temple of Sachiya Mata, a form of Mahishasuramardini, built largely in the 12th century over an older shrine and still in full worship. A covered stairway of arches climbs to it. She is the kuldevi of many Oswal, Maheshwari and Rajput families, who come here for mundan and after weddings. At Navratri the hill is lit and crowded through the night.
The life of this place
- late 8th centuryMahavira temple built in the time of Vatsaraja Pratihara.
- 956 CEInscription in the Mahavira temple records its history.
- 12th centurySachiya Mata temple built in its present form.
65 km north of Jodhpur. See the Pratihara temples by morning light, then climb to Sachiya Mata.
