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One of the most famous and maginificent cities of ancient India, Shauripur used to cover the entire area from Hastinapur toMahthura city. The religious book ' Vayudev' validates the history of the foundation of Shauripur city. In the city there used to be two brave and powerful brothers - Shauri and Veer. Shauri laid the foundation of Shauripur city.

The son of Shauri was Andhakrishna. Naiminath,the 22nd Tirthankar was born here to the King Shri Samadra Vijay and his Queen Sitadevi. Today, Shauripur is considered to be an important place of pilgrimage for the Jains. Shauripur, 80 kms. Away from Agra, is surrounded by a dense forest teeming with funa and flora. To the East of this place are the seven big temples of theSvetambara Jain Samaj. With the passing of time, the city was destroyed. What stands today are the ruins in the dense forest, quietly reminiscent of its ancient glory.

The Svetambar Samaj has built a Dharamshala here for the convenience of the tourists. In front of the Dharamshala a Dada Badi ahs been constructed which is considered to be the first Dada Badi in the country. Dada Sri Jin Kushal Suriji Maharaja's Guru Mandir was constructed here by seth Nathmal Sri Goljha of Gwalior.

There are two tempels here of the Digambara Jain Samaj, and pilgrim afrom all over the country come in to offer their prayers throughout the year. Besides Sri Shauripur, there are 11 other tempels of the Jain Svetambara Samaj and 35 temples of the Jain Digambara Samaj in Agra. Shri Chintamani Pashavanath Jain Svetambar temple, which is in 'Roshan Muhallah, is one of the biggest temples of Agra Svetambara Samaj.

The temple has a huge idol of Lord Chintamani Parshvanath, which was erected by Jagatguru Acharya Sri Harivijay Suriji in the year 1640. In the same temple there is an idol of Lord Sheetalnath Prabhu in black stone. The stone carving of the high platform on which the idol is kept is said to be much more superior interms of artistry and skill than the stone carvings of the Taj Mahal., The temple is associated with Jagatguru Shri Harivijay Suri.

Attached to this temple is the Jain Svetambar Bhavan. In Roshan Muhallah,there is another Svetambara temple of Sri Simaidhar Swami. It was established by their fourth Dadaguru" Sri Jinchandra Suriji in about 1668. In Moti Katra, there is a temple of Sri Vasupujya Swami which was probably built in the year 1501. It also houses the footprints of the Swami. On the main road of Moti Katra, there is the Bodhi Parshavnath temple. It has a magnificent idol of Lord Parshvanath which ws created during the reign of Jhangir.

The temple fascinates the visitors by its splendid beauty. This apart , there are many other beautiful and artistic temples of Digambara Jain Samaj. Two of these are indeed worth visiting. Specially so, the Jain temple of M.D. Jain College, Hariparvat. Another big Jain temple in Moti Katra houses thousands of Jain images. It is believed that there is a sword inside the temple which validates its antiquity.

On the Agra-Fatehpur Sikri road there is the Lord Mahavir Temple in Bogipura Shahgunj. It was built by Jagatseth. In the central room of the temple there lies a very old idol of Lord Mahavir. This gives us an idea of the antiquity of the place. One of the most popular Svetambara of the honoured with the title of 'Jagatgure' by the Mughal emperor Akbar. He had visited Agra on the request of Akbar.

Akbar was so impressed by him that he gave orders to protect the Jain's places of pilgrimage and to avoid animal slaughter. Akbar had amassed a vast collection of Jain manuscripts, religious books and innumerable Jain idols. On the request of Sri Harivijay Suriji, Akbar gave away the entire collection to the Jain Sangh. Today, this great collection can be found in the temple of Sri Chintamani Parshvanath Jain Svetambar Mandir in Roshan Muhallah. In one of the religious books named ' Kriparaskosh', we come to know about the impact of Sri Harivijay Suriji on Akbar. During the reign of Akbar, the fourth Dada Guru Acharya Sri Jinchandra Suri Ji had visited Agra. Akbar was so influenced by him that he honoured him with the title of 'Yug Pradhan'. Influenced by his teachings, Akbar became a vegetarian for the rest of his life.

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