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ART AND ARCHITECTURE
171 The iconoclastic zeal of Mahmud of Ghazni and an almost regular crusade against temples and images launched by the Mulsim sultans and kings of Delhi as well as their provincial governors allowed traces only of a few temples built prior to the 12th century to remain. And, during the next hundred years or so people seldom dared to build a fine or conspicuous temple, particularly in regions where Muslim political influence predominated. The few fine structures which belong to this period are to be found in out of the way places, mostly in the interior of Rajasthan, such as at Osia, Marwar, Palli, Sadri, Kumharia and Ranakpur. The Mahāvīra temple at Osia, with the magnificent mandapa (hall) approached through a series of beautifully ornamented pillars, was originally built in the 9th-10th century and considerably enlarged subsequently. The Naulakha temple at Marwar Palli was built in 1161 A.D. and the temples at Sadri between the 11th and 16th centuries.
The Chaumukha Ādinātha temple complex at Ranakpur in Marwar, built in 1439 A.D., covers a space of over 40,000 square feet, and has twentynine halls in it, containing four hundered and twenty pillars no two of which are alike in their design. “Act first sight the interior appears to be a complicated labyrinth of courts and pillared halls”, says Klaus Fischer, “but its regular and balanced composition soon becomes evident... The principal impression conveyed by this temple is the variety and multiplicity of its parts, yet all are well proportioned and uniformly disposed within the scheme.”
Medieval Jaina temples of Gujarat, particularly the ones at Patan (district Mehsana) are noted for their fine and elaborate wood carvings. During the past two centuries, numerous temples have sprung up all over the country, in the popular places of Jaina pilgrimage and in important towns and cities, several of which, like the Badridas temple at Calcutta, are visited by foreign tourists as well.
