Mount Abu in the context of "Rajasthan"

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⭐ Core Definition: Mount Abu

Mount Abu (pronunciation) is a hill station in the Sirohi district of the state of Rajasthan in western India. Here, the mountain forms a rocky plateau 22 km long by 9 km wide. It is referred to as 'an oasis in the desert' as its heights are home to rivers, lakes, waterfalls and evergreen forests. It is also home to numerous Jain and Hindu temples.

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👉 Mount Abu in the context of Rajasthan

Rajasthan (Hindi: Rājasthāna, pronounced [ɾaːd͡ʒəsˈtʰaːn] ; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northwestern India. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It covers 342,239 square kilometres (132,139 sq mi) or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is on India's northwestern side, where it comprises most of the wide and inhospitable Thar Desert (also known as the Great Indian Desert) and shares a border with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab to the northwest and Sindh to the west, along the Sutlej-Indus River valley. It is bordered by five other Indian states: Punjab to the north; Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to the northeast; Madhya Pradesh to the southeast; and Gujarat to the southwest. Its geographical location is 23°3' to 30°12' North latitude and 69°30' to 78°17' East longitude, with the Tropic of Cancer passing through its southernmost tip.

Its major features include the ruins of the Indus Valley civilisation at Kalibangan and Balathal, the Dilwara Temples, a Jain pilgrimage site at Rajasthan's only hill station, Mount Abu, in the ancient Aravalli mountain range and eastern Rajasthan, the Keoladeo National Park of Bharatpur, a World Heritage Site known for its bird life. Rajasthan is also home to five national tiger reserves, the Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur, Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar, the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve in Kota, Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger reserve and Karauli Dholpur tiger reserve.

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Mount Abu in the context of Dilwara Temples

The Delwada Temples or Delvada Temples are a group of Śvētāmbara Jain temples located about 2+12 kilometres from the Mount Abu settlement in Sirohi District, Rajasthan's only hill station. The earliest were built by Vimal Shah , a Jain minister of Solanki king of Gurjaratra , Bhima I and additions to the temples were made by Vastupala, Jain minister of Vaghelas of Gurjaratra. They date between the 11th and 16th centuries, forming some of the most famous monuments in the style of Solanki architecture, famous for their use of a very pure white marble and intricate marble carvings. They are managed by Seth Shri Kalyanji Anandji Pedhi, Sirohi and are a pilgrimage place for Jains, and a significant general tourist attraction. The Dilwara temples are regarded as the most impressive among Jain temples in Rajasthan.

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Mount Abu in the context of Tirtha (Jainism)

In Jainism, a tīrtha (Sanskrit: तीर्थ "ford, a shallow part of a body of water that may be easily crossed") is a passage across samsara first blazed by a Tirthankara. The word is used to refer to Jain pilgrimage sites, and to the four sections of the sangha. A tirtha provides the inspiration to enable one to cross over from worldly engagement to the side of moksha.

Jain tirthas are located throughout India. Often a tirtha has a number of temples as well as residences (dharmashala) for the pilgrims and wandering monks and scholars.

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Mount Abu in the context of Bhima I

Bhima I (r. 1022–1064) was a Chaulukya king who ruled parts of present-day Gujarat, India. The early years of his reign saw an invasion from the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmud, who sacked the Somnath temple. Bhima left his capital and took shelter in Kanthkot during this invasion, but after Mahmud's departure, he recovered his power and retained his ancestral territories. He crushed a rebellion by his vassals at Arbuda, and unsuccessfully tried to invade the Naddula Chahamana kingdom. Towards the end of his reign, he formed an alliance with the Kalachuri king Lakshmi-Karna, and played an important role in the downfall of the Paramara king Bhoja.

The earliest of the Dilwara Temples and the Modhera Sun Temple were built during Bhima's reign. The construction of Rani ki vav is attributed to his queen Udayamati.

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Mount Abu in the context of Māru-Gurjara architecture

Māru-Gurjara architecture or Solaṅkī style, is the style of West Indian temple architecture that originated in Gujarat and Rajasthan from the 11th to 13th centuries, under the Chaulukya dynasty (also called Solaṅkī dynasty). It became especially popular in Jain temples, and mainly under Jain patronage later spread across India, then later to diaspora communities around the world.

On the exteriors, the style of Māru-Gurjara architecture is distinguished from other North Indian temple styles of the period in "that the external walls of the temples have been structured by increasing numbers of projections and recesses, accommodating sharply carved statues in niches. These are normally positioned in superimposed registers, above the lower bands of moldings. The latter display continuous lines of horse riders, elephants, and kīrttimukhas. Hardly any segment of the surface is left unadorned." The main shikhara tower usually has many urushringa subsidiary spirelets on it, and two smaller side-entrances with porches are common in larger temples.

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Mount Abu in the context of Aravalli Range

The Aravalli Range (also spelled Aravali) is a mountain range in north-western India, running approximately 670 km (420 mi) in a south-west direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana and Rajasthan, and ending in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The highest peak is Guru Shikhar in Mount Abu, Rajasthan at 1,722 m (5,650 ft). Aravalli range is the oldest fold-mountain belt in India, dating back to the Paleoproterozoic era.

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Mount Abu in the context of Battle of Kasahrada

The Battle of Kasahrada, also known as Battle of Kayadara or Battle of Gadararaghatta was fought in 1178 at modern Kasahrada in Sirohi district near Mount Abu in present-day Rajasthan. It was fought between the Rajput Confederacy led by Mularaja II and the invading Ghurid forces led by Muhammad of Ghor, during which the Ghurid forces were signally defeated.

Endeavoring for Ghurid expansion east of Indus during the last quarter of twelfth century, Muhammad of Ghor, marched down the Gumal Pass and seized Multan and Uch ejecting the Carmathians from there before he attempted to penetrate into mainland India, approaching it through the territory of Chaulukyas situated in the present-day Gujarat. The Ghurid army marching by the way of Multan and Uch reached Kasahrada, at foot of Mount Abu in state of exhaustion after a long march through the Thar Desert, where they confronted the forces of Chaulukya king Mularaja aided by his Rajput allies. In the decisive battle, the famished Ghurid army was routed and wounded Muhammad of Ghor, retreated back to his capital Ghazna, through the desert with considerable difficulty.

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Mount Abu in the context of Shatrunjaya

Shatrunjaya, also spelled Shetrunjaya ("place of victory against inner enemies") and originally known as Pundarikgiri, is a range of hills located near the city of Palitana in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat, India. The hills are situated on the banks of the Shetrunji River at an elevation of approximately 164 feet (50 m) above sea level. These hills bear similarities to other locations where Jain temples have been constructed, including those in Bihar, Gwalior, Mount Abu, and Girnar.

The sacred Jain hill of Shatrunjaya is home to 865 temples. The site was sanctified when Rishabha, the first Tirthankara of Jainism, delivered his sermons on the summit.

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