Royal Jaisalmer

Awful lot of sightseeing at its best

In the morning after breakfast, first we decided to see the Jain temples of Jaisalmer, very famous for its magnificent decorations. It was already quite late for that, past 11:00, and these temples are open only till noon. There is a whole complex consisting of 7 small temples in the fort.

There is a lot to write about Jainism... It is a religion founded more or less at the same time as Buddhism. Its followers are characterized by the fact that they do not eat meat at all and they do not eat also any vegetables that grow underground, that is, potatoes, onions and stuff like that. Janis must fulfill 5 rules, or laws, which consist of not collecting a tax, not lying, not eating meat, etc. I don't remember everything. All this was explained to us by a very nice guide, who led us through all the temples. These buildings are characterized by fanciful, and very rich decoration, a pure "horror vacui" (fear of empty space). Wonderful and very complicated floral braids cover columns and cornices. From the corners some fancifully twisted characters stick out in the dance or in a passionate embrace. Temples during the ceremony are soaked with milk and water, so that they as if swim in them. In the interior there is a statue of the prophet, because Janis worship 27 prophets, the last of whom is Lord Mahavira (lived in the time of the Buddha).

Janis in Jaisalmer were merchants, and they become very rich, so that the Maharajah could not ignore them and let them build their temples. In the fort, two castes were prevailing, those of Brahmins and of warriors - rajputs. Maharajahs were from rajputs.

After visiting the temples, we went to the palace of Jaisalmer's Maharvala (Maharajah), where we got to know the history of the fort.

Despite a full day tour of the fort, I still had the feeling that we would run out of time to see something and I ordered to go the same day on an excursion to the places around the fort. The boss of our hotel, rented a car with a driver for us and also sent one guy from the hotel to accompany us. Unfortunately neither this boy nor the driver knew English but with a few words in Hindi and our hands we could communicate somehow. So we reached the Amar Sagar - Jain temple again - this time on the lake, which has since dried up. For 3 years it has not been raining in Jaisalmer at all and all the lakes (sagar - lake) are dry. The residents of Jaisalmer have always felt great respect for the water and often tried to surround themselves with some picturesque artificial reservoirs, because the natural ones are missing here.

Then we were taken to Ludhurva, the previous capital of Bhatia Dynasty, which ruled Jaisalmer. Currently, you can visit a Jain temple there. Unfortunately, our driver could not show us anything more.

Our next stop was at the abandoned village Kuldara, which has a very mysterious history. We were welcomed here by a very thin old man, who pulled out two flutes, and began to play for us a wonderful melody. On his house a squirrel was running here and there, and from behind a corner a camel looked interested . This "grandpa" told us with a smile, that he has everything "kaput" (eyes and hands), but his music obviously denied that. He played great.

It begun to grow dark when we reached the aim of our trip, Bara Bagh. The name means a great garden, but it is a complex of cenotaphs of the rulers of the royal Bhatia dynasty. These are the funerary monuments of the rulers. The cremations of the kings took place here and the satis of the queens. Delicate domes resting on slender pillars form a picturesque complex of buildings with the wild ravine in the background, once undoubtedly flooded. Cenotaphs present themselves beautifully on the background of the setting sun, when their golden sandstone color blends and harmonizes with the gold of sunset. Excellent aesthetic experience is destroyed however by the vulgarly modern and "useful" windmills scattered all round.

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