1102. Dilwara Temple, Mount Abu...!

King Koushika wanted the wish fulfilling cow Nandini which was with Vashishta. Nandini was gifted by Indra so that the needs of the guests who arrive at the hermitage can be taken care. Nandini had the ability to serve food to thousands at one go.

The logic which King gave was the cow could be put to use better at the palace than in the hermitage. After a fierce battle between the soldiers of King Koushika and the army which came out of Nandini to defend her, in this melee Nandini fell in a lake. Vashishsta prayed the God for help.
Immediately there appeared mighty snake which threw itself into the lake. The force of the fall emptied the lake water so that Nandini could walk out of the lake. The mount on which the lake was emptied of its water was named “Arbudachala” after the snake Arbuda.

Mount Abu, is now the hill station situated at the southern tip of the Aravalli hill range. The highest peak on the mountain is Guru Shikhara, which is the highest point. Mount Abu is one of the major pilgrimage destinations in Rajasthan. One can get a panoramic view of the whole region from here. On the top is a cave which has a temple dedicated to Guru Dattatreya an incarnation of Brahma, Vishnu & Maheshwara.

Also we had the darshan of a natural occurring shiva linga at Achaleshwara Mahadev Temple. At the sanctum is Linga which is revered as the big toe of Mahadeva. The temple has a beautiful brass Nandi.

Out next stop was at Dilwara temple is constructed in 11th century using only marble stone. The carvings are exquisite the minuteness in the carving is unimaginable. All the ceiling carvings are absolutely stunning. Though the best among the best was the Narasimha rip opening the stomach of Hiranyakashyapa. We were not allowed to take pictures of the carvings, but fortunately I could download the pic.