  Location: Opposite Red Fort, Old Delhi

  Built In: 1658 A.D

  Dedicated To: The 23rd Tirthankara, Parashvanath Houses The Birds Charity Hospital.

Digambar Jain Lal Mandir is one of the Delhi's oldest temple date back to the time of Aurangzeb's reign. It is situated right opposite the Red Fort, at the entrance of the main road. In the adjoining lies the noisy and chaotic main street of Chandni Chowk.

The Architecture of the temple boast detailed carvings, and decorative paintwork in the ante-chambers that surrounding the main shrine to the Parshvanath, the twenty-third tirthankara.

The Digambar Jain Temple popularly known as Lal Mandir is the oldest temple of digambar Jain religion in Delhi built in 1656 by red sandstone. This temple has undergone many alterations and additions in the past and was enlarged in the early 19th century.

The Bird's Charity Hospital

The temple premises house a unique medical center for birds, the Birds' Charity Hospital. Free treatment is given here, which draws inspiration from the message of 'Live and let Live' given by Lord Mahavir, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara of the Jains. It serves as a rescue sanctuary for partridges, caught and wounded by fowlers and bought in bulk by Jain merchants who bring them here to recover, and there are separate wards for pigeons, parrots, sparrows and domestic fowl. Squirrels, who will not hurt the birds, are also treated here, but birds of prey are seen on a strictly outpatient basis, as they are not vegetarian.

Digambar Jain Lal Mandir Delhi

Birds' Charity Hospital.

The hospital is run by Aggarwal Digambar Jain panchayat, Delhi. It was founded in 1956 on the Jain principle of aversion to killing. The hospital has separate wards in form of cages for different species of birds like sparrows, parrots, domestic fowls and pigeons. It also has a research laboratory and even an intensive care unit for its serious patients.
The people, especially the Jain merchants of the area, bring the birds that are usually wounded by ceiling fans or by other means for treatments. The hospital admits a maximum of 60 injured birds per day. The birds are then treated, bathed and are given nutritiousDIET so that it recover soon. It is eventually released, especially on Saturdays, after it is declared fit and healthy.

The three-storey hospital, founded in 1956, treats nearly 30,000 birds every year. The birds are first held in the intensive care unit and are eventually transferred to the general wards, where it regain its wings and eventually fly off. Fed, a vegetarianDIET of bread and cheese, treatments are free of cost and funded by Jain donations. The hospital separates its vegetarian patients from its non-vegetarian counterparts. Carnivorous predators such as eagles, hawks and falcons are housed exclusively on the first floor. Every Saturday, a section of the roof is opened and the recovered birds fly away. The hospital follows a central tenet of Jainism – a commitment towards enabling the freedom of all living beings, no matter how small or insignificant it is. And once the birds are admitted, those are never returned to its owners for fear of likely confinement.

DIGAMBAR JAIN TEMPLES IN DELHI

1. Sh. Digambar Jain Ahinsa Mandir
            1, Ansari Road, Dariya Ganj, Delhi-02
        2. Sh. Digambar Jain Munisubaratnath Mandir
            Jain Bal Ashram, Darya Gunj, Delhi-02
        3. Sh. Digambar Jain Mandir
            7/33 Ansari Road Dariya Gunj, Delhi-02
        4. Jain Mahila Ashram, Ghata Masjid, Darya Gunj, Delhi-02
        5. Sh. Digambar Jain Mandir
            Lodi Colony, Behind Police Station, Delhi-03
        6. Sh Digambar Jain Mandir
            Modal Basti, New colony, Delhi-05
        7. Sh. Digambar Jain Mandir
            Dev Nagar, New Delhi-05
        8. Sh. Digambar Jain Mandir
            Chapparwala Chowk, Karol Bagh, Delhi-05
        9. Sh. Jain Mandir
            Ahimsa Bhawan, Sankar Road, Delhi-60
            Phone: - 25811749
       10. Sh. Digambar Jain Mandir
            5C/29, New Rohtak Road, New Delhi-05
       11. Sh. Digambar Jain Mandir
            Gali Inder Wali, Bazar Sitaram, New Delhi-06
       12. Sh. Digambar Jain Lal Mandir
             Chandani Chowk, Delhi-06
       13. Sh. Digambar Jain Bada (Big) Mandir
             Kuncha Seth, Dariba Kalan, Delhi-06
       14. Sh. Digambar Jain Chota (Small) Mandir
            1541, Kuncha Seth, Dariba Kalan, Delhi-06
       15. Sh. Digambar Jain Mandir
             Satghara, Dharampura, Delhi-06
       16. Sh. Digambar Jain Naya Mandir
             25/5, Dharampura, Delhi-06
       17. Sh. Digambar Jain Maher Mandir
             3018, Masjid Khajur, Dharampura, Delhi

Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir is oldest jain temple in old Delhi. Lal Mandir located at Netaji Subhas Marg, Chandni Chowk and opposite the Red Fort. Lal Mandir is the oldest temple of the Jain religion. Temple build was built in 1656. The temple houses a Birds Charity Hospital. Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir is popularly known as Lal Mandir "Red Temple".

Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658) once invited several Jain seth to come and settle in the city and granted them some land south of the Chandani Chauk around Dariba Gali. He also permitted them to build a temporary structure to house a Jain temple. The Jain community acquired three marble idols installed by Jivaraj Papriwal under the supervision of Bhattaraka Jinachandra in Samvat 1548 for the temple.The main idol is that of Tirthankara Parshva.