The voices of musicians singing at the entrance of the Shri Bhadriya Mata Ji temple begin to fade as we descend a flight of stairs below the almost 200-year-old structure. Suddenly all sounds die out completely – we are now 20 feet below ground.

A labyrinthine library spread across 15,000 square feet opens up ahead. Narrow corridors lined with 562 cupboards, holding over two lakh books, are placed at intervals. Leather-bound texts, an old manuscript on bark, old editions and paperbacks on subjects ranging from Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and other religions, to bristling new titles on law and medicine, philosophy, geography, history and more. The fiction section too is well endowed with classics and recent novels. A majority of the books are in Hindi, with a few in English and Sanskrit.

It was Harvansh Singh Nirmal, a religious scholar from Punjab whose idea it was to set up the library. He is said to have lived in solitude in a cave on the temple’s premises for 25 years, and decided to build the library underneath it. Nirmal passed away in 2010, but not before drumming up funds for his causes – education and animal welfare.

“He was a humanitarian. All religions have the same message: that man’s skin may be different, hair may be different, inside we are all the same,” says Jugal Kishore, Secretary of the Shri Jagdamba Seva Samiti, a trust that runs the temple and the library, and manages the trust’s shelter for over 40,000 cows.
The underground library at  Shri Bhadriya Mata Ji temple near Dholiya in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan
PHOTO • Urja

The underground library at  Shri Bhadriya Mata Ji temple near Dholiya in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan

Left:  The late Shri Harvansh Singh Nirmal, was a religious scholar who founded the library.
PHOTO • Urja
Right: Jugal Kishore, Secretary of the Shri Jagdamba Seva Samiti, a trust that runs the temple, library and cow shelter
PHOTO • Urja

Left:  The late Shri Harvansh Singh Nirmal, was a religious scholar who founded the library. Right: Jugal Kishore, Secretary of the Shri Jagdamba Seva Samiti, a trust that runs the temple, library and cow shelter

Work on the library started in 1983 and the structure was ready by 1998. After that began the search for books. “He [Nirmal] wanted this to be a centre of knowledge, a university,” says Kishore, “Maharaja ji wanted people to seek out this place, and see that those in search of knowledge should find it here.”

The underground location was chosen, say the library’s administrators, to minimise damage and dust – the Indian Army’s firing range, Pokaran is 10 kilometres away, and when the wind stirs up in Rajasthan’s grasslands, dust is everywhere.

Ashok Kumar Devpal works in the library maintenance team. He says it is kept dry with six large exhaust fans; camphor is routinely burnt to dry out the air. To keep out the mould, “We open the books and allow them to air. Seven to eight of us do this work over two months.”

Left: Collections of books.
PHOTO • Priti David
Right: Ashok Kumar Devpal works in the library maintenance team
PHOTO • Urja

Left: Collections of books. Right: Ashok Kumar Devpal works in the library maintenance team

The temple’s trust owns 1.25 lakh bighas (roughly 20,000 acres) of land which is the Bhadariya oran (sacred grove) where tradition decrees that, “even a branch cannot be cut,” says Kishore, who in his seventies, also manages the trust’s shelter for over 40,000 cows. In a year, roughly 2-3 lakh people visit; Rajputs, Bishnois and Jains are among the communities that come during the four annual festivals. At the moment, until the library is inaugurated, they make up the visitors who descend to have a look.

Besides the library, there is a sprawling gaushala (cow shelter) manned by 150 staff. Tens of thousands of cows and bulls of different breeds – Gir, Tharparkar, Rathi and Nagori. “The oran is for the birds and animals,” says Ashok Sodani, Administrator of the Trust. The animals are brought here when they are no longer productive and 90 per cent are male. “We have 14 tubewells for the gaushala , and the Trust spends annually around 25 crore [rupees] on fodder,” says Sodani and, “3-4 truckloads come in every day from as far as Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.” He says the money for this upkeep comes from donations.

As we emerge into the sunlight, Prem Chauhan and Lakshman Chauhan from the Dholi community are still playing the harmonium singing about the deity, Shri Bhadariya mata , who reigns over the temple and everything below and around it.

The temple attracts many devotees through the year, and some of them also visit the library
PHOTO • Urja

The temple attracts many devotees through the year, and some of them also visit the library


At the entrance to the Shri Bhadriya Mata Ji temple in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan
PHOTO • Urja

At the entrance to the Shri Bhadriya Mata Ji temple in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan


Visitors to the temple also drop into the library, now a tourist attraction as well
PHOTO • Priti David

Visitors to the temple also drop into the library, now a tourist attraction as well


The library is spread across 15,000 square feet; its narrow corridors are lined with 562 cupboards that hold over two lakh books
PHOTO • Urja

The library is spread across 15,000 square feet; its narrow corridors are lined with 562 cupboards that hold over two lakh books


Old editions are kept under lock and key
PHOTO • Urja

Old editions are kept under lock and key


A few 1,000-year-old manuscripts are kept in boxes that only library staff can access
PHOTO • Urja

A few 1,000-year-old manuscripts are kept in boxes that only library staff can access


Religious texts on Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and other religions
PHOTO • Urja

Religious texts on Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and other religions


Copies of the Quran and other books written Hindi, Urdu and English
PHOTO • Priti David

Copies of the Quran and other books written Hindi, Urdu and English

A collection of Premchand’s books
PHOTO • Urja

A collection of Premchand’s books


Books on the history of America and the history of England
PHOTO • Urja

Books on the history of America and the history of England


Books on media and journalism
PHOTO • Urja

Books on media and journalism


The Samadhi shrine of the founder of the library, Harvansh Singh Nirmal
PHOTO • Urja

The Samadhi shrine of the founder of the library, Harvansh Singh Nirmal


A letter signed by library founder, Harvansh Singh Nirmal is displayed prominently
PHOTO • Urja

A letter signed by library founder, Harvansh Singh Nirmal is displayed prominently


The gaushala (cow shelter) houses  roughly 44,000 cows and bulls of different breeds – Gir, Tharparkar, Rathi and Nagori
PHOTO • Priti David

The gaushala (cow shelter) houses  roughly 44,000 cows and bulls of different breeds – Gir, Tharparkar, Rathi and Nagori

There is small bustling market outside the temple selling items for pujas, toys and snacks
PHOTO • Urja

There is small bustling market outside the temple selling items for pujas, toys and snacks

Urja

ऊर्जा (जी आपलं पहिलं नाव वापरणंच पसंत करते) बनस्थळी विद्यापीठ, टोंक, राजस्थान येथे पत्रकारिता व जनसंवाद विषयात बी.ए. पदवीचं शिक्षण घेत आहे. पारी मधील प्रशिक्षणाचा भाग म्हणून तिने हा लेख लिहिला आहे.

यांचे इतर लिखाण Urja
Priti David

प्रीती डेव्हिड पारीची वार्ताहर व शिक्षण विभागाची संपादक आहे. ग्रामीण भागांचे प्रश्न शाळा आणि महाविद्यालयांच्या वर्गांमध्ये आणि अभ्यासक्रमांमध्ये यावेत यासाठी ती काम करते.

यांचे इतर लिखाण Priti David
Editor : Riya Behl

रिया बेहल सोनिपतच्या अशोका युनिवर्सिटीची मदर तेरेसा फेलो (२०१९-२०) असून ती मुंबई स्थित आहे.

यांचे इतर लिखाण Riya Behl
Photo Editor : Binaifer Bharucha

Binaifer Bharucha is a freelance photographer based in Mumbai, and Photo Editor at the People's Archive of Rural India.

यांचे इतर लिखाण बिनायफर भरुचा