Day 229: Ranakpur Temple
The majority of the day was a driving day, travelling from Jodhpur to Udaipur (a good 5+ hour trip). About an hour outside Udaipur we stopped at the Ranakpur Temple – one of the most renowned Jain temples in India. No doubt it was a marvelous building: commissioned in the 15th century, the hand-carved white marble temple was a stunning complex full of elaborately decorated pillars, cupolas and wall reliefs. Every statue was a unique piece of art.
We arrived at the Ranakpur temple at noon, when they opened the ticket office for tourist visitors. Once again, we saw a posted sign that said 500 rupee notes would not be accepted, which was REALLY annoying as the admission price for two people with one camera permit was EXACTLY 500 rupees. And of course the temple didn’t take credit cards. After unsuccessfully arguing with the ticket agent that he should really accept the old bill (since he can still deposit it up until Dec. 30th), we grudgingly forked over 5 of our precious 100 rupee notes and started our tour of the temple grounds.
Starting the day with a delicious breakfast at our beautiful hotel
We arrive right around noon, when the temple opens to non-Jain tourists, meaning we have to share the beautiful surrounding with dozens of other visitors
Since the admission ticket includes an audio guide, we explore the temple independently. Unfortunately, Igor is still so irked by our currency issues it sours the whole tour for him.
Exquisitely detailed stone carvings decorate the ceilings
The elephant is an auspicious symbol in Jainism – foretelling power and wisdom in dreams
More marble ellies in the Ranakpur Temple
Holy footprints of tirthankaras (holy teachers – kinda like the Jain version of Buddha)
The complex and intricate mythologies of Jainism are loving brought to life with equally detailed illustrations in marble: the decorative circle (made out of interlocking snakes) on the left frames the 23rd tirthankara, Parshvanatha; in the middle is a representation of the holy mountain Shatrunjaya, where the 1st tirthankara gave his first sermon on the hilltop; finally, each of the 24 tirthankaras are represented throughout the temple by Buddha-like statues sitting in the lotus position
The Ranakpur temple is intricately detailed and seems to be geometrically perfect – the beehive-like shikharas that top the temple are incredibly ornate, and each of the 1,444 pillars inside the temple are unique. In fact, the temple seemed too perfect, even to the builders, so they intentionally included one pillar that is not straight. Pitching to an ever-so-slight 94⁰ angle, this crooked pillar is supposed to ward off the “evil eye”
After visiting the temple, we met up with Avinash at the car. When he asked us how we liked the temple, Igor admitted that he was still really pissed off that the ticket counter wouldn’t let us pay our 500 rupee admission with the 500 rupee note, since giving us change was not an issue and they still has a month to deposit the cash into their bank account. Avinash insisted that we stop at the temple’s main office and lodge a complaint. We didn’t get our change back, but Igor felt a small sense of satisfaction that they had to listen to his grievances.
Still angry at the ticket-guy, Igor demands an audience with the temple administration while Avinash backs him up with his FBI sunglasses on
A tasty lunch and a goat on a motorcycle help turn the mood around for the rest of the day