Jainism And The Temples Of Mount Abu And Ranakpur: Jainism And The Temples Of Mount Abu And Ranakpur (21)

In the meghanada mandapa on the southern side, there are magnificent carvings on the ceiling. However, it requires much effort to distinguish figures among the highly decorative sculpture. (P. 24) shows a nag demon, a circular medallion, with Krishna in the midst of the tangled coils of intertwined naginis (female serpents).

In the balana mandapa on the southern side, two reliefs are facing each other with a diameter of one metre each. They evidently have been created as complementary pieces. The jambu dvipa, the circular continent of the middle world in the centre of which stands Meru, the mountain of the world, represented on the eastern side. It is surrounded by mountains on which are located the abodes of the gods, and stylised forests. The entrances represented on the four sides are of special importance.

Facing this is the relief of the nandishvara dvipa, the eighth island continent. In this case too, four groups consisting of thirteen mountains each, with temples atop them, surround the centre and form the figure fifty-two, which the Jains regard as holy. Although the centre looks identical to the one represented in the earlier relief, which is apparently the complement to this one, interpreted as being a pulsating ‘Om’.