DILWARA TEMPLES

DILWARA TEMPLES

It is Situated at Mount Abu, two out of the five Dilwara temples built in pure marble at a height of more than twelve hundred metres above sealevel, are superb in architectural and sculptural efficiency and leave the visitors amazed at the achievements of those who took huge blocks of marble to that height and then handled them like any other easily maneuverable material. Mount Abu caters to the pleasures of a hilly resort but at the same has calm and quiet natural surroundings consisting of a valley covered with luxuriant vegetation. The whole region provides a beautiful background for these temples.

THE TWO DILWARA TEMPLES ARE KNOWN AS VIMAL VASAIHI AND LOON VASAIHI. The Vimal Vasaihi temple is dedicated to Adinath, the first Jain Tirthankara, whose image is installed in the main shrine. The second temple is dedicated to Neminath, the 21st Tirthankara whose big basalt image adorns the sanctum. Both these temples are built alike. The intricate and delicate carvings on the ceilings and walls illustrate incidents from Jain literature. These carvings and the exuberance of detail and effective repetition of motifs win appreciation even from the masters of art. The architectural efficiency and competence of those days in chiselling such remarkable carvings in stone, remains unrivalled till today.