Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c31.29

c31.29

About the same time that the Modhera temple was being built in Gujarat, at Mount Abu in Rajputana another temple was being erected, which, although in much the same style, differs from it in several material particulars. This is the temple of Vimala, constructed entirely of white marble and designed to conform to the usage of the Jain religion, being one of the oldest and most complete examples belonging to that creed. It forms one of a group of shrines on this romantic site, as it was the custom of the Jains to build their fanes on the summits of the mountains, high places being regarded as sacred and worshipped as deities, so that in their temples it is true their "foundations are upon the holy hills." (Plate CXXI). As the majority of the temples of this period are deserted ruins, it is refreshing to turn to the Vimala which is well-preserved and still maintains its living character. There is not infrequently an air of reserve and aloofness in the external appearance of Jain temples, as it was the practice to surround them with a high enclosure wall of cells, but within the courtyard thus formed, the architectural mode is broadly in accordance with the general style then current. These ranges of cells around the courtyard are related to the pansalas of the Buddhist monasteries, but here they have become transmuted into small chambers lit only from the doorway and enshrining a seated figure of the Jina or saint to whom the temple is dedicated, in this instance that of Rishabhanath or Adinath, the first Tirthankar. Within this range of enclosing cells the courtyard measures 145 feet by 95 feet, where, screened by a double arcade of pillars, stands the temple building, a structure cruciform in plan, its length being 98 feet and its widest part 42 feet.