Ranakpur Temple

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Ranakpur Temples are located in village of Ranakpur near Sadri town in the Pali district at around distance of 95 kms from Udiapur. These temples form one of the five major pilgrimages of the Jains and they are acclaimed world-wide for their intricate and superb architectural style. The temples are built in 15th century by Seth Dharna Sah (a Jain businessman) with the aid of Rana Kumbha, who ruled Mewar in the 15th century.

There are several temples in the complex including Chaumukha temple, Parsavanath temple, Amba Mata Temple and Surya Temple. Amongst all of them, Chaumukha Temple is the most important and as the term Chaumukha suggests, this temple is four-faced. Chaumukha temple is dedicated to Lord Adinath, who is the first 'Tirthankara' of the Jains. The Temple structure is highly compound having four different doorways to get into the chambers. These chambers ultimately take you to the main hall where the image of Adinath is positioned.

The temple is a masterpiece of architecture. It has 24 pillared halls with 80 domes that are supported by 400 columns. The upper and lower parts of the domes are linked by brackets that have deities' sculptures. Each column is intricately carved and no two columns have the similar design. Another stunning act about these columns is that they change their color from golden to pale blue after every hour during the day. In the mandap (prayer hall), the two big bells of 108 kg each produce a harmonious sound on the movement. Chaumukha temple is formed like a Nalinigulm Vimana (heavenly aircraft) and provides this whole structure a celestial appearance. No wonder the temple took approximately 65 years to complete due to the intricacy of the structure. Facing the main temple is a small shrine dedicated to Prashvanath. In the inner sanctum of this shrine, is a black image of the Prashvanath.