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The Sculptural Art of Rajasthan
Just as Rajasthan
is known for the fine quality of its paintings, there is no escaping the
overwhelming presence of its great body of sculpture. One of the most profuse
forms of decorative art in Rajasthan, particularly in the medieval period, it
was lavished on palaces and forts, in temples and step wells, and even in the
havelis or townhouses of the merchants and traders.
Religious icons are
almost always carved from marble and the Makrana marble mines, close to Jaipur,
have supplied the marble for these for centuries together. But Jaipur is merely
a centre for creating marble images. For sheer detail, there is nothing to beat
the excessive marble sculpturing developed by the Jains at their temples. Most
Jain temples have large statues of their tirthankaras enshrined in the sanctum.
However, in the temples of Dilwara and Ranakpur, these have found a fluid
expression that remains without a parallel in India.
Jain temple
architecture is characterized by its profusion of sculpturing. The stone is
moulded, chiseled, scooped out, and developed so that each grain becomes a part
of the grand design of the temple.
 The best examples of Jain
temples in Rajasthan are at Mount Abu and Ranakpur. Mount Abu's Dilwara temples
contain four principal shrines and are housed together. Dated between the 11th
and 12th centuries, the temples must have used all their administrative skills
given that just one, the Vimala Vasahi, took 14 years to build, and used the
labours of 1,200 labourers and 1,500 stone masons.
Ranakpur consists of a
fortified complex of temples that arose in Mewar, when Rana Kumbha gave the
land in a grant to the Jains. Located 100km from Udaipur, the temples are among
the most beautiful raised by the Jains in the country. At the heart of the
complex is the temple of Adinath, one of the largest, most extensive, and
characterized by its excess and profusion of sculpture. The temple is an
awesome 40,000 sq. ft, and has 29 halls supported by 1444 pillars. Not one of
these pillars is like any other, a remarkable feat, and each is entirely
sculptured with arabesques, motifs, and statues carved almost in the
round.
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