The Dilwara Temples, Mount Abu

	The Dilwara Temples, Mount Abu
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The Dilwara temples, 3km northeast of Mount Abu, are some of the most beautiful in India. Jains consider temple building to be an act of devotion, and without fail their houses of worship are lovingly adorned and embellished, but even by Jain standards. All five are made purely from marble, and the carving, especially in the two main structures, is breathtakingly intricate, unparalleled in its lightness and delicacy. Each little section stands on its own as a work of art, inspiring a stunned response from even the most temple-jaded tourists. For sheer aesthetic splendor, only the temples at Ranakpur 200km northwest come close.

The oldest temple, Vimala Vasahi , named after the Gujarati minister who funded its construction in 1031AD, is dedicated to Adinath, the first tirthankara , whose image sits cross-legged in the central sanctuary guarded by tall statues of Parshvanath (the 23rd tirthankara ).

Although the exterior is simple, inside not one wall, column or ceiling is unadorned; the work, carried out by almost 2000 laborers and sculptors, took fourteen years to complete. Eight of the forty-eight pillars in the front hall form an octagon that supports a domed ceiling arranged in eleven concentric circles, alive with dancers, musicians, elephants and horses. Within the sanctuary and the cloisters that surround it, small shrines, countless pillars, brackets and wall niches are imaginatively decorated, and each section of the roof is adorned.

The later Neminath temple (1231 AD) imitates that dedicated to Adinath, but its carvings are yet more precise and detailed. The large dome over the entrance hall is unprecedented. Friezes etched into the walls depict cosmological themes, stories of the jinas (saints) and grand processions. Sculptures near the entrance porch commemorate the temple's patrons, the two brothers Vastupala and Tejapala. Said in legend to have discovered a huge treasure, they were advised by their wives - also portrayed here - to build temples, and funded many on the holy hill of Shatrunjaya in Gujarat. more...