Weekly Photo Challenge: Infinite

Infinity boggles the mind.

Consider the infinite carvings in this Jain Temple at Ranakpur where no one carving is the same as another. Considered the number artists who drew countless sketches of this endless design. Consider the number of masons, their conversations and grains of discarded stone.  Consider strikes of hammer and chisel and the number of marble blocks carved and hoisted into perfect place with less than millimetres tolerance. Today the endless procession of devotees and lollygaggers who process from afar to wonder at the infinite splendour of its creation might be considered to stretch into infinity.

The temple at Ranakpur is considered the finest of holy places for the Jain community, built in the 15th Century during the reign of Rana Kumbhar. The central Chaumukha, four-faced temple, is dedicated to Adinathji, the founder and first protector of the Jain faith. The structure has 29 halls and 1444 pillars distinctly carved, no two pillars being alike.

The Jain Temple at Ranakpur, Rajasthan