RANAKPUR Situated
in a lonely and picturesque glen running into the western
slope of the Aravalli hills is the celebrated Jain temple of
Ranakpur. The temple covers an area of over 3,720 sq. m.
(40,000 sq. ft.) and consists of twenty-nine halls
containing 420 pillars of which no two pillars are exactly
alike. The architectural variety, the graceful disposition
of the pillars, the play of light and shade resulting from
the way in which light is admitted and the profuse
sculptural decoration on the ceilings and columns produce an
excellent effect.
Ranakpur is 9.6 km. (6 miles) from Sadri, a small town 22
km. (14 miles) from Falna Junction on the Delhi-Ahmedabad
section of the Western Railway. It is over 161 km. (100
miles) by road from Jodhpur and about 96 km. (60 miles) from
Udaipur.
The temple is a chaumukha or four-faced shrine dedicated to
Rishabhdeva or Adinath, the first Jain Tirthankara and was
built by Dharnaka, a Porwad Jain, in 1439. The main
sanctuary enshrines an image of Adinath facing the four
cardinal directions and there are subsidiary shrines all
round. The entire structure is erected on a lofty basement
and is contained within a high wall about 61 m. (200 ft.) on
each side. The inner face of the wall has sixty-six cells
adorned with sculptures and above each cell rises a light
and graceful spire. Behind this array of spires rise the
five large shikharas surmounting the central and the corner
sanctuaries. Twenty domes of various sizes and heights from
the roof of a pillared hall. The ceilings of these
structures are covered with intricate carvings, friezes and
sculptured figures.
In front of the Chaumukha Temple are two more Jain temples
and a temple of the Sun-god. Of the Jain temples, the one
dedicated to Parasnath was built in the fourteenth century
and has some erotic sculptures on its exterior. The temple
of Surya and the terrace on which it stands are star-shaped
in plan and have fine sculptured figures on the projecting
mouldings. |
