RANAKPUR FAMOUS FOR JAIN TEMPLE

Ranakpur is a small but beautiful village that can be found near the Desuri Tehsil in Sadri town, in the Pali district of Rajasthan. It is between the two famous cities of Udaipur and Jodhpur on the western side of the Aravalli Mountain Ranges. Ranakpur is the most ideal destination for nature lovers. The renowned Jain temple at Ranakpur is dedicated to Tirthankara Adinatha. Local legend has it that Dharma Shah, a local Jain businessperson, started construction of the temple in the 15th century following a divine vision.

All most all tour packages, including those by Rajasthan Tourism have Mount Abu as one of the most significant destinations to be covered. A little into the background Myths and Legends - The history of Mount Abu can be traced back to the Puranas. Known as “Arbudaranya” or “the forest of Arbhuda” in the Puranic Age, Mount Abu is described to have served as a retreat for Sage Vashistha, following his spur with Sage Vishwamitra.

The temple is a grand white marble structure spread over 48,000 square feet (4,500 m2) with 1444 marble pillars, twenty-nine halls,[25][26] eighty domes and 426 columns. One pillar is incomplete and legend says every time it is built the next morning the pillar breaks down again.[27][28][4] The temple, with its distinctive domes, shikhara, turrets and cupolas rises majestically from the slope of a hill.

The construction is well documented in a 1436 CE copper-plate record, inscriptions in the temple and a Sanskrit text Soma-Saubhagya Kavya. Inspired by a dream of a celestial vehicle, Dharna Shah,[7] a Porwal from Ghanerao, commenced its construction in 1389, under the patronage of Rana Kumbha, then ruler of Mewar.[8] The architect who oversaw the project was named Dwepa.[9] 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.