TRAVEL, PHOTOGRAPHY, ARCHITECTURE

Gauging Grandiosity of the 15th Century-Marble Grandeur

Ranakpur Chaturmukha Jain Temple

When I say that I am talking about a grand white marble structure spread over 48,000 square feet area with 1444 marble pillars, 29 halls, 80 domes and 426 columns, you can easily infer that it is the grandiosity at its best!

Yes, I am talking about Ranakpur Jain temple, popularly known as Chaturmukha Dharana Vihara. The temple boasts of a total of 84 bhonyra (underground chambers) constructed cleverly in order to protect the meticulously carved Jain idols in marble from the plunderous Mughals.

Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace- Tirthankara Rishabanatha

Ranakpur Jain Temple

One of the largest and most important temples of Jainism, Ranakpur can be easily reached while travelling from Udaipur to Jodhpur, the two shining gems of the regal Rajasthan. It is around 100 kilometers (roughly 62 miles) on road from Udaipur.

We enjoyed the joyride traversing through lush green forest, lovely roads, lofty hills, a bright sunny day and not to forget that magic in the air that did nudge me to travel more, and ‘couldn’t-have-asked-anything-better’ feel and thanking God.

Considered one of the five holiest Jain shrines in India, the temple is dedicated to Tirthankara Rishabhanatha (commonly named as Adinath), the first Tirthankara of Jainism, and credited to be the establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty.

Known for its intricate detailing and fabulous architecture, the place needs a Globetrotters special mention and is highly recommended for the travel, architecture and history buffs.

History

It is believed that a local businessman, Darna Shah had a dream of a celestial vehicle following which he commenced the construction of the temple in 1389 under the patronage of the then ruler of Mewar region of Rajasthan, Rana Kumbha. The chief architect was Deepak. Shah sought the land to build the temple from Rana Kumbha.

Rana not only did handover a huge piece of land to Shah but also asked to build a town surrounding the temple. Hence, the name of the place, Ranakpur.

As per the audio tour provided to visitors to the site, the construction lasted for 50 years and involved around 2500 artists and labourers.

The three guiding principles of Jainism, named the ‘three jewels’, are right belief, right knowledge and right conduct. The supreme principle of Jain living is ahimsa (non-violence).

Architecture

The temple, with its distinctive architecture rises majestically from the slope of a hill. The 1444 marble pillars, individually carved, carved in exquisite detail, support the temple and no two pillars are the same.

Enthusiastically, I started counting the pillars just to check how far could I go but ended up miserably after counting 20! It’s like an all-confusing maze and you tend to lose count.

Interestingly, one of the pillars is incomplete. There’s a legend about the temple that one pillar is bound to be incomplete. Whenever it has been tried to complete, it has broken the next day all by itself.

The temple gets its name ‘Chaturmukha/Chaumukha’ from its 4-faced design and is built in Maru-Gurjara architecture (a style of west Indian temple architecture that originated in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat from the 11th to 13th centuries, under the Solanki/Chalukya dynasty). This particular architecture has become increasingly popular in Jain temples across the world.

The renowned temple has a beautiful carved idol of Parshvanatha made out of a single marble slab. The idol has 1008 snake heads and numerous tails.

When I talk about faith, beliefs, culture and religion, the place of worship is also being considered.

One of the beautiful things about places of worship is that every person goes there for a reason, which may not be similar to the other at all.

Some go to simply pray while others go to attain inner peace. Some may love to meet people present from the religious fraternity, and some to purely appreciate architecture. There’s something beautiful for everyone there.

And then there are some like me who go there to perform all — meet, greet, observe others’ demeanor [(maybe a flâneur in the making…you never know :)], pray, seek solace, appreciate architecture, know the history, and ofcourse clicking pictures [(I always remain too partial to this — have asked God for mercy for doing so several times :) — it has been decades — guess HE/SHE has already leveraged ;) ]!

Braced by the lush green range of Aravallis Hills, limitless desert, azure water lakes, museums, temples, topped with many humongous forts narrating the valorous anecdotes of Rajputs, illustrious handicraft emporiums and not to forget, the delectable Rajasthani cuisine would ensure to make your Rajasthan visit a memorable one.

I have visited the state of Rajasthan many times but every time I visit, I discover something new and visitworthy. Looking forward to my next, soon!

I extend my love and gratitude to JoAnn Ryan for considering my write-up for her vibrant publication, The Globetrotters.

Here are some beautiful wordsmiths whose treatment to the topics and photography I look upto and try to learn:

Anne Bonfert| Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles| David Acaster| JoAnn Ryan| Ellie Jacobson| Jason Edmunds| Adrienne Beaumont| Sandi Parsons| Barb Dalton 🇺🇦| Nancy Blackman| Rhonda Carrier| Dunelair| Nicole Anders| Penny Grubb| Jan Sebastian| Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages| pockett dessert| James Krallen| Mary Chang Story Writer| Pam Saraga| Mukundarajan V N

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Thanks much for stopping by. Light, peace and harmony to everyone out there. Cheers!