Sachiya Mata Temple, Osian

Sachiya Mata Temple, Osian tickets and tours: which one to book

No ticket for the Sachiya Mata Temple is sold online, and none is needed: it is an active place of pilgrimage, entry is free, and you simply leave your shoes at the foot of the hill and climb up with the devotees. Small offerings of coconut, red cloth and sweets are sold at the stalls below and are a gesture rather than an obligation. The real choice is how to get to Osian, which lies on the edge of the Thar Desert about 65 km north of Jodhpur. Most visitors come on a private car hire for the day from Jodhpur, which gives the most freedom to see both this hilltop shrine and the older temples in the village below.

Trains and local buses also run from Jodhpur, though they leave less time on the ground. Some day trips from Jodhpur combine Osian's temples with a camel ride or a jeep drive on the nearby dunes, and a few desert camps in the area offer overnight stays with dinner and folk music. These usually include transport and a driver, sometimes a guide; check whether the temple visit is a proper stop or just a photograph from the road. A local guide hired in the village can explain the carving of the Jain and Hindu temples, which is where the archaeological interest lies. The page lists any GetYourGuide tours whose route passes the temple.

Visiting Sachiya Mata Temple, Osian: what to see and how to behave

Osian was once a large trading town on the caravan routes of western India, and between the 8th and 12th centuries it was filled with temples. Several of them survive, and the Sachiya Mata Temple crowns the low hill at the north-eastern edge of the village. The present main shrine dates largely from the 12th century, with earlier smaller shrines around it. The goddess is revered by many communities across Rajasthan and Gujarat, and in particular by the Oswal Jains, who trace their origin to Osian. Jain tradition tells that a great teacher persuaded the fierce goddess Chamunda to give up animal sacrifice and become a gentle, vegetarian protector, renamed Sachiya, the goddess of truth.

That explains why the temple carries so many features of Jain architecture and why the large Mahavira Jain temple stands close by. The approach is the memorable part: a long stairway rises through a series of carved ornamental arches to the main shrine, with subsidiary shrines on the terraces around it. Look for the finely carved pillars and ceilings, the sculpted figures of deities on the outer walls, and the view over the village temples and the desert from the top. Remove shoes and leather items before you climb, dress modestly and do not photograph inside the sanctum. Walk clockwise around the shrine as the pilgrims do. Osian is about one and a half hours by road from Jodhpur.

Sachiya Mata Temple, Osian: opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The temple is open daily from early morning until evening, with the morning and evening aarti the busiest moments. Check locally for the exact hours, which follow the seasons. October to March is the time to come. Summer in the Thar is extremely hot, with afternoon temperatures well above 40 degrees, and the stone steps become painful underfoot.

Go in the early morning or late afternoon, when the light on the sandstone is warm and the heat bearable. The two Navratri festivals, in spring and in autumn, bring large crowds of pilgrims and a fair atmosphere to the village, and they are worth planning around either to join in or to avoid the queues. An hour covers the hill shrine. Allow half a day for Osian as a whole, with the Mahavira Jain temple and the early Hindu temples dedicated to Vishnu, Surya and Harihara, and add a sunset on the dunes if you are staying overnight. Most people combine it with a stay in Jodhpur and a visit to Mehrangarh Fort.