Dilwara: The Marble Temples of Mount Abu

Five Jain temples stand together a few kilometres from the town of Mount Abu, in Sirohi district, Rajasthan, on a hill in the Aravalli range. They are known as the Dilwara temples (also spelled Delwara), and the marble carving inside them is among the most intricate in India. From the outside they are plain, and the surprise is in the interior.

All five are Shvetambara temples and active places of worship.

The five temples

• Vimal Vasahi, dedicated to Adinatha, the first Tirthankara, and the oldest of the group. It was built in 1031 CE by Vimal Shah, a minister of the Chaulukya king Bhima I.
• Luna Vasahi, dedicated to Neminatha, the twenty-second Tirthankara, built in 1230 by the brothers Vastupala and Tejapala, ministers at the Vaghela court. It is named for their brother Luna, and the Neminatha page mentions it.
• Pittalhar, a temple of Adinatha named for the heavy metal image in its sanctum, which is largely an alloy that includes brass.
• Parshvanatha, a three-storeyed temple of the fifteenth century.
• Mahavira Swami, the smallest of the five, with painted walls of a later date.

The dates of the two great temples are the ones the Jain history page gives, and scholars agree on them. The later three are of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and their exact dates are given differently in different books.

Why the carving matters

Both Vimal Vasahi and Luna Vasahi are famous for ceilings carved in concentric lotus forms, rows of dancers and musicians, and pillars cut so finely that the marble seems translucent at the edges. The craftsmen worked the stone into thin petals that hang as pendants from the ceiling. The Jain tradition of building at great cost and with great skill, paid for by merchants and ministers and not by kings, is at its clearest here.

History where scholars agree

The temples were built in the eleventh to thirteenth centuries under the patronage of ministers of the Chaulukya and Vaghela courts, and they were repaired and added to afterwards. Scholars agree on that, and also on their place in the Maru-Gurjara style of western Indian temple building. What the marble is and how it reached the hill are traditional stories and not firm evidence, so we do not repeat them here.

How to reach it

• Nearest airport: Udaipur, about three hours by road. Ahmedabad is farther.
• Nearest railway station: Abu Road, at the foot of the hill, from where taxis and buses climb to Mount Abu and on to Dilwara.
• The temples are on the road a short way above Mount Abu town.

Etiquette

• Dress modestly. Shoulders and knees should be covered.
• Leave leather items, and in many cases phones and cameras, in the lockers provided outside. Photography inside has long been prohibited.
• Do not touch the carvings. The marble is delicate and is hand-worked.
• Keep silent or speak very low. The temples are a place of worship first and a monument second.
• Arrangements for visitors who are not worshipping can differ from those of worshippers, and these are set by the trust. Ask at the gate.
• Do not bring food into the temple grounds.

We have not given timings or fees: the trust that manages the complex sets them.

Related

• Tirth guides: eight pilgrim places
• Rishabhanatha: the first Tirthankara
• Neminatha: the 22nd Tirthankara
• Ranakpur
• Jain history: temples and patrons

Frequently asked questions