The Jain temples of Ranakpur, adorned with many ornaments like Trilokya Deepak i.e. moon, sun and religion, Nalini Gulm Viman i.e. place reserved for divine powers and lotus group and flying palace, Tribhuvan Vihar i.e. temporary abode in all three worlds etc., are world famous for their excellent architecture and architectural art.
This huge and magnificent four-faced Jain temple, built on the banks of the Maghai river in the picturesque lap of the Aravali mountain range in Pali district of Rajasthan, was constructed in the fourteenth century by Sanghvi Dharanashah Porwal, minister of Maharana Kumbha. This 102 feet high three-storeyed magnificent temple was given a concrete shape by Craftsman Depa and his fellow artisans after tireless hard work of about 50 years.
The consecration of this temple dedicated to the first Tirthankar Adinath (Rishabhdev) Bhagwan was completed in the 14th century by Acharya Som Sundar Suriji. This temple with 84 Dev Kulikas built on a high pedestal (which is said to have 9 basements) is the best example of the special sculpture art combined with 1444 different delicately carved pillars, about 50 feet high, 4 Megh Mandapas and 20 Rang Mandapas. Apart from the stone chandeliers hanging from the pillars, arches, domes of the temple, the natures of gods and goddesses depicted in various dance postures, Sahastrafna means 100 headed snake Parshvanath Nagadaman, Sahastrakoot, the structure of Kalpataru presents a unique view of the splendor of medieval sculpture. The main feature of the temple is its four-sided square structure, in harmony with natural light, wind and weather, the pillars and the Dev Kulikas have been arranged in such a way that views from opposite and side directions are visible.
Around the main temple, there are unique artistic temples of Parshvanath, Neminath and Suryanarayan. All the necessary arrangements are available for the tourists coming here. The world famous Kumbhalgarh Fort is also not very far.
To see this amazing unique art, one can reach by road from Udaipur, Rajasthan which is about 90 km away. Falna railway station is about 35 km from here. This entire journey proved to be very thrilling. The ticket inside the temple costs about 100 rupees, but you cannot take photos / videos of the main sanctum sanctorum.