RAS question
The Ranakpur Jain Temple is famous for its:
Correct answer: (B) 1,444 intricately carved marble pillars.
Ranakpur Jain Temple is famous for its 1,444 intricately carved marble pillars, with no two pillars alike.
Explanation
Ranakpur Jain Temple, also known through its principal Chaumukha Temple, is a 15th-century Jain temple associated with Rana Kumbha's patronage and dedicated to Lord Adinath, the first Jain Tirthankara. Its fame rests on architecture, not on painting, gold work or water engineering. Rajasthan Tourism describes the complex as having 1,444 intricately carved pillars, along with pillared halls and domes, and adds the key identifying detail: no two pillars are the same. The temple is therefore famous for its 1,444 intricately carved marble pillars. The marble pillars are not just a decorative count; they are the signature feature by which this temple is commonly distinguished in Rajasthan art-and-culture study.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Frescoes of the Mughal period are not associated with Ranakpur's distinctive identity; Rajasthan Tourism identifies it by its carved marble pillars.
- (C) A gold-plated dome is not Ranakpur's defining architectural marker; the temple is known for its set of 1,444 intricately carved pillars.
- (D) Underground water channels are not Ranakpur's identifying feature; its distinction is pillar-based marble architecture.
Concept
RAS Rajasthan History, Art and Culture preparation often links temples with one distinctive architectural marker rather than a long historical narrative. Ranakpur Jain Temple's marker is its marble pillar architecture.