Temple visits

You can be sure of one thing when travelling in India.  There will be temple visits - a LOT of temple visits.  The sheer number of gods, shrines, smells and colours, while spectacular, can get quite overwhelming.  Every village, city, peasant and king has a deity to worship, and a temple to house the deity.  One can't help but marvel at the incredible skill of the artisans and masons who built these magnificent structures.



Aunty Jo Jo at the Sas Bahu temple ruins at Nagda, Rajasthan

One of the first sites I visited was the Sahastara Bahu temple in Rajasthan, which was built and dedicated to Vishnu in the early 10th century AD. The temple is now in partial ruins because the statue of the gods were stolen in the 18th century and is presumably now on display at a museum or private art collection somewhere in the western world. 

The geometry and artisanry within the temple complex is really quite spectacular.  Walking into the round library of the temple, where sacred texts were once kept, I was amazed at the intricacy and beauty of the ornate carvings within the temple walls.

Our tour guide was also quick to point me (don't ask me why I was singled out!) to the many kama sutra carvings on the external temple walls.  Upon closer inspection, I found that most poses were the "same old same old" but a few were highly interesting and probably requires some degree of acrobatic skills to execute! :)

The magnificent Jain temple in Ranakpur, Rajasthan

This is really one of the most beautiful houses of worship I have ever seen.  Built entirely of white marble and set amongst green mountains, this 15th century complex is breathtaking from the outside but once you step into the temple, a sense of quiet and calmness envelopes you. 

Jainism is one of the oldest religions in the world and the 3 main principles are Ahimsa (Non-violence), Anekantvad (Non-absolutionism i.e. truth and reality are perceived differently from different points of view) and Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness).  Mahatma Gandhi's mother was a Jain, and he incorporated Jain beliefs into the fight for India's independence, notably ahimsa or non-violence.

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View of the interior of the Jain temple

It is said that the interior of the temple was inspired by the first Thirthankara's (Great Teacher) dream about what heaven looks like.  He spent several years describing the details of his dream to the architect, Deepaka, who followed the designs faithfully.  Intricate carvings cover every pillar, wall and cupola within the temple.  Out of the 1444 pillars within the temple, no two are alike! 

Isn't that amazing?