This the 11th of the 24 Jain Tirthankars. His status is not very clear to me. Some local people told me he is a god for them, whereas some further reading indicates that the Tirthankars have the same signification for jainas as the buddhas have for buddhism, that means only liberated humans showing the path. The statue is very similar to a buddha's statue, but the mudra (position of hands) is different and this one is naked whereas the buddha is always in dress.
This temple is supposed to be the birth place of this Tirthankar
I talked with this guy for a while. He explained me lots of things about jainism. It was very interesting. Basically, jainism and buddhism are 95% the same thing, but buddhism preaches 'the middle way' whereas jainism preaches the "hard way". For example, in one of the two main sects, the monks always remain naked, they eat only once a day and very few things (they don't look very skinny though), and they don't cut their hair nor shave, they rather snatch them every three months. This sect also emphazises the fact that it is essential to live naked to attain the liberation and that therefore women can't obtain it. They must wait to be reborn as a male.
Jain painting in the temple.
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