Mount Abu for us was Delwara, the five legendary marble temples built between the 11th and the 13th centuries and considered the most beautiful Jain pilgrimage site in the world.
The main temple, Vimal Vasahi temple (or also Adinath temple), was built in 1021 by Vimal Shah, a minister of Bhimidev I, the Chalukya King of Gujarat. It is dedicated to the first Jain Tirthankara (teacher or guide), Adinath. This temple is carved entirely out of white marble and has numerous cells which contain tiny images of Jain Tirthankaras artistically carved on marble stone minutely. The artisans who carved this temple were paid in gold worth the weight of the marble dust that they collected while sculpting. We spent hours admiring the richly carved corridors, pillars, arches, and 'mandaps' or porticoes of this temple!
Luna Vasahi temple (or Shri Nemi Nathji temple), was built in 1230 and is dedicated to Shri Nemi Nathji (also famous as Arishth Nemi) who was the 22nd Jain Tirthankar of present age. According to Jain beliefs he lived some 5000 years ago. He lived during the legendary Mahabharat war and was cousin of Lord Krishna. This temple was built by two Porwad brothers - Vastupal and Tejpal, both ministers of a Virdhaval, the Vaghela ruler of Gujarat. Appatently, they had found a hidden treasure during their pilgrimage to Delwara and decided to use that money to construct the temple, in the vicinity of Vimal Vasahi. Since their wives oversaw the construction of the temple, it is also referred to as the ‘Devarani-Jithani’ temple. It has one hall named Rag Mandapa which has 360 tiny, minutely crafted idols of Jain Tirthankar and among all these white marble idols the idol of Shri Neminath Ji is made up of black marble. The pillars of this temple were built by Maharana Kumbha of Mewar.
Peethalhar temple (Shri Rishabdaoji temple) was built by Bhima Shah, a minister from Gujarat dynasty. The main idol in this temple is composed of 5 equal portions or 90 kg each of gold, silver, copper, brass and aluminum.
Khartar Vasahi Temple (or Shri ParshavNath temple) was built by Mandika clan between 1458 and 59. This temple has the tallest shrine and the carving on the pillars of this temple is yet another example of architectural superiority.
Shri Mahaveer Swami temple was constructed in 1582 and is devoted to Lord Mahaveer, the 24th Tirthankara. This temple is relatively small but equally exquisite, and the temple's upper walls have pictures of the porch painted by craftsmen of Sirohi in year 1764.
Delwara was the most beautiful thing we had ever seen, and I can’t find enough adjectives to describe it! The detailing in sculptures was intriguing, and made me wonder if they are more perfectly chiseled than the human figure itself. The artisans haven’t ignored even the minutest of details such as the eyelashes, bangles, sari border, etc, and the carvings just seem to be coming alive any moment. The only disappointment at Delwara was ‘photography not allowed’.
Gleeful after this visit, we sped across the town on the rented bike to the other places of interest in Mount Abu, aka Nakki Lake, Toad Rock and the Sunset Point – and didn’t really find anything interesting about them! We savored the local dish ‘dal bati’ on the bank of Nakki lake. Lonely Planet recommended the romantic ‘shikara ride’, which would have been truly romantic and worth trying if the lake was a little less dirty and the sun a little less bright.
We also rode to the Toad Rock, a peculiar rock formation overlooking the lake, which seems like a toad ready to jump-off in the lake, and then headed to the Sunset Point where we experimented with the ‘Sunset’ mode of our cam. A popular attraction at the Sunset Point seemed to be a to and fro horse-ride from the foothill, availed by most tourists while we decided to walk up (hand-in-hand :)
The sun set after a long wait and thereupon, we set out for Abu Road (the nearest railway station) from where we had to board our next train for Jodhpur!
More about Mount Abu:
Mount Abu was the home of many saints and sages in the old days. Legend has it that all the 330 million gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon used to visit this holy mountain. It is also the place where the great saint Vashishth lived and performed a yagna (sacrificial worship on a fire pit) to create four Agnikula (four clans of fire) to protect the earth from demons. The yagna was supposed to have been performed near a natural spring, which emerged from a rock shaped like a cow’s head.
According to another legend, once sage Vashishth’s cow Nandini was trapped in a deep gorge and could not free herself. The sage appealed to Lord Shiva for assistance. The Lord sent Saraswati, the divine stream, to help flood the gorge so that the cow could float up. Vashishth then decided to ensure that such mishaps did not occur in future. He asked the youngest son of Himalaya, the king of mountains to fill the chasm permanently. This he did with the assistance of Arbud, the mighty snake. This spot came to be known as Mount Arbud and was later changed to its present form – Mount Abu.
This place is held in reverence by Jains as well since Jain scriptures record that Lord Mahavira, the 24th Jain Tirthankar (spiritual leader), also visited Mount Abu and blessed the city.
- Namrta R (from my backpacking trip to Rajasthan)
Companions: Raghav and Lonely Planet
Also read about Pushkar, Ajmer, Ranthambore, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Thar
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