Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra Mosque

Address: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra, Ajmer, Rajasthan 305001, India

Website: http://archaeology.rajasthan.gov.in/

Hours: Daily dawn-sunset (mosque complex open year-round; interior access may be restricted during prayer times)

Admission: Free (entry to the complex); conservation donations accepted

Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra is a widely known early Muslim monument in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India, constructed on the site of earlier Hindu and Jain buildings. The complex is notable for the reuse of carved stone from prior temples and for its early Indo-Islamic architectural features.

The monument includes a large open courtyard and an assembly hall formed from rows of stone pillars and arches adapted from earlier structures. The overall appearance reflects the conversion and adaptation of preexisting material rather than wholly new imperial stonework.

The current mosque complex was created in the late 12th century following the Ghurid conquests of northern India, and it has been repaired and conserved in subsequent centuries. It stands within the city of Ajmer in central Rajasthan, close to the city’s historic core.

• Name and structure: The name refers to the short traditional building period reputedly associated with its construction; the visible architecture combines reused temple material with early Islamic elements.

Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra sits a short walk from Ajmer’s central bazaar and railway station. From Ajmer Junction, it’s about a 10-15 minute walk (roughly 800 m) south toward the old city; auto-rickshaws and cycle-rickshaws are abundant around the station. The shrine is within easy reach of the Dargah Sharif complex (1 km north).

• Visit early morning to see the light hit the mosque's carved panels - before tour groups arrive.
• Look for reused Hindu and Jain capitals: the floral carving styles betray their temple origins and the names of the original carvers are sometimes visible as graffiti from centuries past.
• Pay attention to the Persian inscription tablet above the mihrab area - it records the conversion campaign led by Qutb-ud-Din Aibak around 1199 CE.