The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.
रणकपुर जैन मंदिर
Ranakpur, Pali, Rajasthan · 25.1162°, 73.4728°
The Chaturmukha Dharana Vihara: a four-faced Adinatha at the heart of a three-storey mandala borne on 1,444 carved columns, no two alike, whose count tradition says can never be completed. Light shifts through the ivory marble all day; with Dilwara it defines the summit of western Indian temple craft.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
Dharna Shah, a Porwal minister, dreamt of the celestial vehicle Nalinigulma and vowed to build its likeness; the architect Depaka alone matched the dream. Rana Kumbha granted the land — and the town took his name, Rana-pur.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Mewar (Sisodia)
Answers only from cited records
Opening the line…