After over ten years of grassroots fundraising and planning, the Jain Society of Metropolitan Washington has inaugurated a stunning $14 million white marble temple complex. Located just 15 minutes from the U.S. capital, the temple stands as both a spiritual sanctuary and a cultural landmark for the Jain community.
“You will see a theme here: White is our color,” said Rahul Jain, a long-standing devotee and the public relations head of the 45-year-old organization. “Everything is white, which symbolizes peace. This Jain center will become a symbol of peace in Washington, D.C.”
The temple’s opening was marked by the Param Pratishtha ceremony on the weekend of May 31, a ritual that infuses the space with divine essence. Thousands of Jain Americans from the region and across the country attended the celebrations. Clad in yellow and white, the sacred colors, they recited chants, reconnected with friends and family, and some even broke their fasts on this spiritually significant occasion.
Before this expansion, the Jain community in the area had been gathering for four decades in a modest single-family home from the 1960s and, at times, in elementary school classrooms. These settings hosted their worship services and a popular Sunday school program serving 170 children aged 3 to 16. Although Hindu temples nearby sometimes offered space for Jain deities, those arrangements did not meet the needs of the Jain devotees, who observe diverse and specific temple practices.
An upgrade had long been necessary, according to the community.
“This Jain society started with 25 families in 1980 and now has grown to over 700 families in 2025,” said Pavan Zaveri, an Ohio-born Jain and co-founder of the Young Jains of America. “That kind of growth is exactly what we’ve seen all across the country, with the amount of engagement, inspiration, connection growing exponentially. Getting together in this new Jain temple will help increase our spirituality within ourselves, as well as across the community.”
Jainism, a Dharmic faith originating in sixth-century India, centers around three main principles: non-violence, non-materialism, and the understanding that truth has many facets. Jains aim to cause the least harm to all living beings, maintain strict vegetarian diets, and engage in fasting and meditation practices guided by 24 enlightened teachers called Tirthankaras. They do not believe in a creator god, instead focusing on karma and personal responsibility.
With only about 200,000 adherents in the U.S., Jains remain a small minority both in India and America. However, their ambitions are far-reaching, according to Manoj Jain of JAINA, a national Jain umbrella organization.
“We’re looking at how we can promote Jainism in North America, and how Jain values — which translate into vegetarianism, compassion, forgiveness — can be shared in a broader context,” said Jain, who chairs JAINA’s long-range planning committee. “This temple is a great way of doing that. You need a physical space that will allow people to gather and share common values, and then also to be able to show it to Americans overall.”
Rahul Jain explained that the temple’s proximity to Washington, D.C., is intentional. The community hopes to influence national policy on issues important to Jains, such as clearer food labeling for vegetarians and improving school lunches to accommodate students who avoid onion and garlic, as harvesting root vegetables can harm living organisms.
“In order to do that, to bring in political leaders, we wanted a space that can make a mark, as well as show them that this is a strong community,” said Jain, who also works as a consultant. “Jains are known for being one of the richest communities in India, and that’s no different here. It’s not foreign to anybody what the Indian community is doing for U.S. business. It’s helping them grow. How can Jains contribute? We bring ethical practices to business.”
The temple project began in 2008, with land acquired in 2010. Despite having no prior experience building temples, the team forged ahead, though construction didn’t begin until 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant delays, along with zoning challenges, international shipping issues, and rising building costs. Children who had just entered Sunday school when the project began had gone on to college by the time it was completed.
Another major challenge was designing a temple that accommodates different Jain sects — Śvetāmbara, Digambara, and Sthānakavāsī — each with its own customs. Notably, Sthānakavāsī Jains don’t use idols in worship.
“This is a remarkable demonstration of how we have come together to keep everything under the same roof,” said Parthav Jailwala, a member of the temple’s public relations committee. “It’s a very rare project where three big sanghs (communities) came together for a purpose and made it happen.”
Furthermore, most Jain spiritual leaders, or gurus, take a vow to travel only on foot, which made it difficult to find religious leaders willing to travel to the U.S. for the inauguration.
But Jailwala believes a higher force kept the momentum alive. “People who are more religious will call it divine energy, but it’s essentially a community drive. It’s a community spirit that we got to do something, and engaging your mind and driving everyone towards one goal.”
Throughout the temple’s three years of construction, community members have remained committed, even in adverse weather conditions. Jailwala recalled a particularly touching moment involving a founding member from 1989. His 29-year-old grandson pledged $50,000 toward the temple — a gesture that moved the grandfather to tears. Children donated their savings, and families contributed gold, diamonds, and cash.
According to community leaders, this spirit of giving illustrates the Jain philosophy of non-attachment. Even non-Jain workers on the construction site were said to have spiritually benefited. “Formally shed some of their karma,” said Rahul Jain. “Essentially, once you shed all your karma, you are eligible to achieve moksha,” or enlightenment.
The recent celebrations marked the completion of the first phase. The second phase will include additional classrooms, a spacious kitchen, a multipurpose hall, and a museum to highlight Jainism’s rich heritage.
Sara Jain, Rahul’s 23-year-old daughter and a medical student, said the temple’s completion astonished many younger members who had grown up in the society’s religious classes.
“They’d always say, ‘Oh yeah, we’re gonna build a new temple!’” said Sara. “And we’d say, ‘yeah, maybe when we’re your age.’”
Now a member of Young Jains of America, Sara said the new temple gives the younger generation something meaningful to hold on to. “The kids are really lucky to have some place to actually call their own,” she said.
“The teenagers have already found their photo spot out there, and the kids have already found the best places to hide inside,” she added. “When you come back from college or wherever you end up going, and you come back here, you’ll remember all of those things. I didn’t expect to care, but I’ve cried six times today.”