{"id":4504,"date":"2021-03-01T20:05:20","date_gmt":"2021-03-01T20:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/?p=4504"},"modified":"2021-03-18T11:14:52","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T11:14:52","slug":"chaumukha-mandir-the-four-faced-temple-of-ranakpur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/chaumukha-mandir-the-four-faced-temple-of-ranakpur\/","title":{"rendered":"Chaumukha Mandir, the four-faced temple of Ranakpur"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On a wooded hillside in the Aravalli range of hills in Rajasthan, north of Udaipur, is an exquisite Jain temple, intricately carved in white marble, Ranakpur. It has a cool serenity, its pale stone a welcome contrast to the vivid colours and assault on the senses that is India.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main temple here is Chaumukha Mandir, dedicated to the first\u00a0tirthankara\u00a0<\/em>(Jain teacher or spiritual leader), Adinath. The name means Four-Faced Temple. It is so-called because it has a four-way symmetry; there are four entrances and four identical images of Adinath, each facing in a different direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The building of the temple<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This is widely considered to be the most beautiful Jain temple in India, and one of the most important. It was built in the 15th<\/sup> century, inspired by the vision of Shreshti Dharana Shah, a minister in the court of Kumbha Rana, ruler of Mewar. Dharana Shah was a devout Jain, who had taken a vow of lifelong celibacy. One night he had a dream in which he saw the Nalinigulma Viman, a divine flying chariot mentioned in Jain mythology. Awaking, he resolved to build a temple to resemble this heavenly image. He persuaded Kumbha Rana to donate some land, and then set about the search for an architect to bring his vision to reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many famous artists and scholars submitted designs, but none was quite right, until a humbler sculptor named Depak presented his ideas. These impressed Dharana Shah and he could see that his vision would be realised by this man. Thus their partnership was formed and over the next fifty years the temple was constructed, at a cost (it is said) of ten million rupees \u2013 a fortune at that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is spectacular, both outside and, especially, within. It has 29 interconnecting halls, 80 domes and 1444 individually engraved pillars, no two of which are alike. Each dome is carved in concentric bands, and the whole building is covered with delicate lace-like carvings and geometric patterns. The brackets connecting the base of the domes with the top are covered with figures of deities.<\/p>\n\n\n