Five marble temples built between 1031 and 1582 by Jain devotees on a forested hillside 2.5 km from Mount Abu town. The exteriors are plain, almost domestic-looking — Jain temples were deliberately disguised to avoid attracting attention during Muslim incursions. Inside is some of the finest stone carving anywhere in India: ceilings carved into petal-thin lotuses, pillared halls where every surface is incised with figures and floral patterns, doorways framed in pierced marble screens. The Vimal Vasahi (1031) and the Luna Vasahi (1230) are the two masterpieces. Photography, leather items, and phones are not allowed inside. Open afternoons to non-Jain visitors; arrive after noon and allow 90 minutes.
Dilwara Jain Temples
A story
Vastupala and Tejpala, the brothers who built the Luna Vasahi temple in 1230, reportedly paid the carvers in proportion to the marble dust they produced rather than by hours worked — incentive to chisel the stone away as finely as possible. The temple ceilings are pierced almost to lacework, and one was apparently inspected each evening: where light shone through, the marble was thin enough to be paid for.