Mumbai-based blogger of My Favourite Things, Sudhagee, posted this image collection on her blog post about her travels to the Jain Temples in Rajasthan: Bhandasar, Jaisalmer, Lodhrava & Ranakpur. The Ranakpur Jain Temple houses this collection of stone-carved mandalas.
Here’s what Sudhagee states about Ranakpur:
The interiors of the temple cannot be described in mere words, at least I am not capable of doing so. All I can say is that every surface, except the floor, is carved and it is an explosion of art all around you. I think that even if I spent a month at the temple, it would not be enough to see and appreciate all that the temple has to offer.
About this particular photo, she states:
Clockwise from top left: A many-hooded snake protecting Adinath and his family from a deluge; Krishna on Kaalia the snake?; a head with 5 bodies, representing the 5 basic elements; this sculpture is supposed to contain 108 Oms !
I’m in awe of the beautiful, delicate carvings in these mandalas and I enjoyed reading Sudhagee’s blog post about her travels to and through the Jain Temples, and the way she put the 4 circular carvings together in one collection.
At the same time, I wanted a better perspective of these carvings, about their individual sizes and details. So I did some research and found the following images that give a bit more perspective (for larger views, select each image).
From Matthew Laird Acred on wikipedia I found images of the ‘many-hooded snake protecting Adinath and his family from a deluge’ and the 5-bodied head.
From Sreenivasan Ramakrishnan’s flickr page, I found the Krishna on Kaalia and the 108 Ohms carving. On his page he also explains more about the architecture/history of this temple.
The artisanship of these carvings inspires me to add this temple to my wish list of must-see places to explore.
Happy Coloring!
If you would like your mandala to be considered for the “Mandala of the Day”, read how on the Participate page. It’s easy! Or recommend one you’ve seen via my Contact page.
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