"Carved from milk-white marble, the complicated series of 29 halls, supported by a forest of 1444 pillars (no two alike), is the finest in Rajasthan, and one of the most important in India. The devotion of its builders is encapsulated in the intricate carving" according to the Lonely Planet India.
"Jainism traditionally known as Jaina dharma, is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. It is one of the oldest religions of the world finding its roots in ancient India.[1] Tradition says that this belief has been preached by a succession of twenty-four propagators of faith known as tirthankara. Jainism emphasises spiritual independence and equality between all forms of life. Practitioners of this religion believe that non-violence and self-control is the means by which they can obtain liberation from the cycle of reincarnations. Jainism is a religious minority in India, with 4.2 million followers, and has adherents in immigrant communities in Belgium, the United States, in Canada, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.[2] Jains have the highest degree of literacy for a religious community in India,[3] and their manuscript libraries are the oldest in the country.[4]" according to Wikipedia.
Very intricately carved ceiling
A few of the 1444 pillars
The craftsmanship is impressive
After our visit to the Jain temple we went to Kumbalgarh, a stone fort, built in the 15th century, in the Aravalli hills.
The fort has only been taken once in it's history and it took two combined armies
The walls are about 36 km long
One of the rooms
When we were almost at the top, the boys and I decided we needed a rest and sat down on a bench in the shade. Adriaan walked on to the next building to take some photographs and decided to sit there. Within no time he was surrounded by a group of children (on a school trip). The boys all wanted to shake hands with him and the girls just stood there giggling.
After a while Adriaan had had enough and came up with a great plan to distract the children: he pointed to us and said: "Go and say hello to my wife and sons".
The one thing that my boys don't like about India is the fact that they always stand out in a crowd. They are often asked to be in a photograph with perfect strangers and lots of 'sneaky' photos are taken with mobile phones. Seeing this group coming to meet us and stand around to stare at us, is their biggest nightmare. Thanks Dad!
Ruben walked away, Joshua suddenly had to clean his glasses and Simon's body language says it all....
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