Adinath Temple (Ranakpur)

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Adinath Temple from the west
Adinath temple
Floor plan of the Adinath Temple:
1 - Garbhagriha , cella with Chaumukha statue
2 - Ranga mandapa or Sabhamandapa, (assembly hall)
3 - Meghanadamandapa, high domed porch
4 - 4 corner shrines

The Adinath Temple at Ranakpur in the Indian state of Rajasthan is one of the most important Jain temples on the subcontinent .

location

The Adinath Temple is located in a wooded valley in the middle of rather dry hills in the village of Ranakpur just 95 km (driving distance) northwest of the city of Udaipur at an altitude of approx. 485  m . The Sukri brook , which is dammed up approx. 1.5 km north of the village, flows nearby , but only carries water after heavy or prolonged rainfall.

history

According to an inscription on a copper plate, the construction of the temple goes back to a dream of the businessman Dharna Shah , who commissioned it around 1430; it falls thus in the time of Maharana Kumbha (r. 1433-1468), the residing in Udaipur prince of Mewar . The temple was completed in 1458. In the 17th century it was almost forgotten; bands of robbers (dacoits) were up to mischief in the area . Restoration work was not carried out until the middle of the 20th century.

architecture

The essentially square floor plan (approx. 60 × 60 m) of the marble temple standing on a platform piled up by human hands is extremely unusual for Indian architecture - it corresponds more to a Buddhist mandala (cf. Borobodur or Somapura Mahavihara ) and enables the above Staircases are accessible from all four directions ; moreover, it corresponds to the four-faced (chaumukh) cult image in the center. While the corner sections of the temple are closed, the three-story entrance areas are wide open due to numerous pillars. This is reflected in the central structure, whose cantilever dome with hanging keystone seems to almost float above eight pillars. The three-storey entrance halls or vestibules ( mandapas ) refer in architectural terms to corresponding models in Gujarat (e.g. the old Dwarkadhish temple in the city of Dwarka or the Navlakha temple near the village of Ghumli).

Building decor

The Adinath Temple has an exceptionally rich architectural decor. This concerns both the ceiling design of the individual components as well as a few decorative pieces such as the small figure of the Tirthankaras Parshvanata, accompanied by servants and protected by a snake hood, on the cella, which is framed by an extremely artistic wickerwork in which snake girls (naginis) are incorporated. The abstract relief representation of a temple city (e.g. in the Shatrunjaya Hills near Palitana ) is also interesting .

  • Portal and ceiling decoration in the entrance area

  • Central dome

  • Vegetable ceiling relief

  • Parshvanata

  • Temple city

  • Relief of a goddess with partially erotic accompanying figures

Other temples in the area

Parshvanata Temple
  • The Parshvanatha temple from the middle of the 15th century is named after the 23rd Tirthankara, the forerunner of the Mahavira . Parshvanatha, already regarded as historical, was founded in 872 BC. Born in BC and reached the ideal age of 100 years. The temple has the typical north Indian roof structure ( shikhara ) over the cult room and a flat columned hall (mandapa) in front of it . In the cella there is a statue made of black stone, over the head of which protrudes as a characteristic of Parshvanatha a many-headed, protective king cobra . All the walls have the same lush figure decoration, as everywhere there are graceful erotic figures; the temple entrance faces north.
  • Next to it is a smaller temple for Neminatha , the 22nd Tirthankara. Its entrance is in the east, as is the entrance to the Surya Narayana temple a few meters to the south , whose representation of the Hindu sun god Surya in his chariot drawn by seven horses is worth seeing. The vestibule (mandapa) is formed by a square flat ceiling on 16 columns and a final dome.

literature

  • Sehdev Kumar: Jain Temples of Rajasthan. Architecture and Iconography. Abhinav Publications, New Delhi 2001
  • Thomas Dix, Lothar Clermont: Rajasthan. Stürtz Verlag, Würzburg 2006, ISBN 3-8003-1594-7

Web links

Commons : Adinath temple, Ranakpur  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 25 ° 6 ′ 57 ″  N , 73 ° 28 ′ 22 ″  E