Culture of Jalore District
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Culture of Jalore district has always been rich and unique. The ancient rulers of the place encouraged the cultivation of art and literature in the place. The town of Bhinmal, located in the district, is the birthplace of one of the greatest Sanskrit poets of ancient India, poet Maagh.
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 For centuries Jalore district had been a centre of literature and Culture. The remains of the Indus civilization found in Alana village, describes the antiquity of the district. Hindu kings provided special motivation to art and literature. From the olden days, Jalore has been a sacred place of the Jains. Shaiwa and Jaina were two important religions of this region, and both were important aspects of this region. Many temples were built during that time. In all probability, the Adinath Temple is the oldest of all. It was there in the 8th Century A.D. that Udhyatan suri had written kuvalyamana. He had written Tripitaka upon Haribhadra Suri's eighth edition. His brother BuddhiSagar wrote 'PanchGranthi Vyakaran'(Five Volumes of Grammar).After 1200 A.D. Aasing, a literary genius, wrote 'Jeevdaya Ras' and 'Chandan Bala Ras'. Raja Uday Singh's minister Yashoveer was also much accomplished. He was proficient in both art and poetry. The Middle Ages provided an ideal ground for the Jain Saints to write in old Hindi.
Jalore's Bhinmal town was a popular centre of education. It was the capital of Gujarat till the first half of the 7th Century A.D. According to Bhinmal Mahatmaya, the district was formerly known as Gautamshram, later it came to be known as Shrimal, then Pushpmal and in Kalyug became known as Bhinnmal or Bhinmal. According to the Prabhavahak Charit and Prabandh Sangrah, Bhinmal was a very prosperous town and an important stronghold of the Pratihara Empire. From the highlands one could see Patan of Gujarat.
Bhinmal is the birthplace of the great Sanskrit poet Maagh, and therefore occupies an honoured place. The poet Maagh lived during the 8th and 9th centuries. In the epic named Shishupal Vadh written by Maagh there is an excellent mixture of Kalidasa's expression, the Art of Bhaarwi, Bhutti's Grammar and Garniture. In this well executed work, the words have been very rhythmically aligned, making it a great work of art. The co-relation between 'Madira' and Pramda' in Maagh's epic is symbolic of North India's Rajput lifestyle during 8th to 10th Century A.D. King Bhoj's name is worth mentioning among the friends of Maagh. He built the sun temple in Bhinmal and the Sanskrit school in Jalore.
Rajasthan's immortal hero Maharana Pratap Singh had a great affiliation for Jalore. Jayanti Devi the daughter of Songara Akheraj Chouhan, gave birth to Rajasthan's independence hero Maharana Pratap. It is said that Maharana Pratap spent a lot of his time here in the Sugandgiri mountain ranges. In Jalore's Panchayat Samiti area Jaswantpura near Dantlawas village there is a very soothing destination named Sundha Mata in the nearby mountains. A number of pilgrims visit the place from Gujarat and all over the place. In Bhadrajun village there is found a Subhadra temple, and is said that Subhadraand Arjuna both rested there.
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