Hin: रणकपुर ranakapur

‘Rana’s Town’  Village/Temple Complex, Rajasthan

From Rana K(umbha) and Skt: pura, ‘fort’, ‘city’.

Ranakpur has a stunning 15thC Jain temple complex with 1,444 intricately carved marble pillars (each one unique)  dedicated to Adinath, the first Tirthankara and founder of Jainism. The whole thing is spread over an extensive base of 14,630m2 .

The local king, Rana Kumbha, donated land and money for the temple and it was named after him. He also built the nearby Kumbhalgarh fort.

Ranakpur Main Temple          Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble