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Location:
Ranakpur is located in the mountain ranges of Pali district, (Rajasthan)
23 kms away from the Phalna railway station. Ranakpur is situated
between lush green valleys and beautiful streams and the heart capturing views. Ranakpur temple lies at a distance of 95 kms in the north of Udaipur city. The temple is easily accessible from the city of Udaipur as regular buses are easily available.
The Ranakpur Jain Temples command huge respect from the Jain community worldwide.
Today, these temples attract thousands of visitors every year from across the country and abroad.
History:
The Ranakpur Jain temples were built during the region of the liberal
and gifted monarch Rana Kumbha in the 15th century. It is said that inspired
by a dream of a celestial vehicle, Dhanna Shah have commissioned it, under
the patronage of Rana Kumbha, then ruler of Mewar. Rana Kumbha donated a vast stretch of land to Dhanna Shah so as to enable him to realize his dream of building a great temple.
The architect who oversaw the project is said to have been named Deepaka. There is an inscription on a pillar
near the main shrine stating that in 1439 Deepaka, an architect, constructed the
temple at the direction of Dharanka, a devoted Jain.
The main Chamukha temple
Temples of Ranakpur present a distinct style of their own. The ceilings of the temples are adorned with foliate scrollwork and geometric patterns. The top and bottom part of the domes are joined by Brackets with figures of deities on them. |
The main Chamukha temple
Indian Postal Department has issued two beautiful stamps on World famous Jain Temples of RANAKPUR and DILWARA on 14th Oct.2009. These both multicolored stamps depicts images of the Temples along with the unique architectures of these Temples. |
24 Pillars are alike in design |
The most important amongst all the temples within the complex is the Chaumukha
Temple, dedicated to the first Jain Tirthankara, Adinath, An enormous
basement cover 48,000 sq. feet are. There are four subsidiary
shrines, twenty four pillared halls and eight domes supported by
over four hundred columns. The total number of columns is 1,444, all
which are intricately carved, no two being alike. A corridor around
the shrine has niches for the tirthankara images and each niche has
its spire or shikhar. Little bells are festooned atop each shikar
and their jingling in the breeze creates celestial music.
A large number of columns are carved elaborately, and it is said
that no two pillars are alike in design. At a space that penetrates
through two to three stories, various heights of domes are placed,
and their ceilings have sculptures that are unbelievably intricate.
Light is abundantly coming inside through gaps between ceilings and
from courtyards, highlighting the intertwined spaces and fine carvings all around. The splendor of the space is so pure as the entire temple from the floors to the ceilings is made of white marble.
The entire temple area is enclosed within a wall. The beauty of this temple is indeed beyond description. The main 'Chamukha' temple is dedicated to the trithankara Rishabdeoji. |
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Ranakpur Jain temple is a blissful combination of architecture, sculpture
and crafts, sequential space abounding in variety, immaculacy of white all over, continuing halls covered by high-raised domical
ceilings full of extremely minute carvings, that reminds us of a sense of the "Pure Land." The beauty of this temple is
indeed beyond description .A small shrine dedicated to Prashvanath faces the main temple. It
has a black image of the tirthankara in the inner sanctum. There are images of Adinath in the north west, Parshvanath in the
north east, Ajitnath in the south-east and Lord Mahavira Swami in the south west.
The artistically carved nymphs playing the flute in various dance postures at a height of 45 feet are an engrossing
sight. In the assembly hall, there are two big bells weighing 108 kgs whose sound echoes in the entire complex. |
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Other temple
:There are three other
important temples, Parsavanath temple, Amba Mata Temple and Surya Temple. Amongst all of them, Chaumukha Temple is the most important
one.that is a four- faced temple.. Chaumukha temple is dedicated to Lord
Adinath, the first Tirthankara.
Travel to Ranakpur
By Train: The nearest station is Falna
By Air: The nearest airport is Udaipur
By road:: Falna 28km approximately
Udaipur 80km approximately
Jodhpur 150km approximately
Jaipur 370 km approximately 6 hrs |
The Sun God temple Ranakpur |
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