Dilwara Jain Temples
Mount Abu, Rajasthan
Five Svetambara Jain temples about two and a half kilometres outside Mount Abu, built between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries in the Solanki style. The oldest, Vimal Vasahi, dates to 1031; later additions were funded by Vastupala, a minister of the Vaghelas. What everyone comes for is the marble — pure white, cut so fine across the domes and ceilings that it looks poured rather than carved, with no two pillars alike. They count among the five great pilgrimage sites of the Svetambara sect and are still run by a religious trust, so they are working temples with temple rules, not monuments.