Rishabhdeo Temple

The Rishabhdeo Temple, also called Kesariyaji Tirth, stands in the town of Rishabhdeo, or Dhulev, in Udaipur district. It is dedicated to Rishabhadeva, the first Jain Tirthankara, and draws pilgrims of both the Digambara and Shwetambara sects. The name Kesariyaji is linked to the large quantities of saffron (kesar) offered to the deity, and some also connect it with his flowing hair, or kes.

Thought to be about 1,200 years old, the temple has 52 subsidiary shrines and around 1,100 pillars. A carved gateway with torans opens into the rang mandap, which has a seat for Gita discourses, slabs for grinding saffron and a figure of Marudevi, the Tirthankara's mother, on a marble elephant. The sanctum holds a black stone idol about 3.5 feet tall in the lotus posture, ringed by 23 smaller Ashtadhatu images. Local Bhils worship the deity as Kalaji Bavaji, Brahmins regard him as an incarnation of Vishnu and look after the rituals, and an 800-year-old chariot comes out for the yearly Rathotsav.