Saturday 18th October - day 57
Udaipur
Up at 7.30 we take a rickshaw to the bus station and find a bus to eklingji temple. Paying just 15rps, it takes little over 30mins to get there and ticket man tells us when to get off. A small village with a complex 108 of temples nestled inside - it opens at 10.30 so we have a wonder about until then and get shooed out of another temple area we find.
Eklingji is dedicated to lord shiva and the main temple, built in the 16th century from marble and granite, contains a black marble, four faced statue of shiva with a silver nandi facing it. (Nandi is the cow that Lord Shiva uses as a mode of transport).
The walls of temple are full of inscriptions dating back to ancient times and the history and culture of Mewar.
Many people are armed with floral offerings and que ready for the ceremony. Once inside, theres a surge to the front so people can touch the nandi and pray in front of shiva. Quite an intense holy place, we feel intrusive and so dont stay too long.
We take a rik 2kms, through mustard fields and past and a large lake, to the nearby saas-bahu temples.
The 9th and 10th century temples are not dedicated to Sas (mother-in-law) and Bahu (daughter-in-law) but rather a popular derivation of Sahastra-bahu, another name of the ‘thousand-armed’ Lord Vishnu.
The two white marble temples, partially in ruins, are adjacent to each other and are similar in style. The larger one is elaborately decorated with carvings and sculptures of the deity and the roof is adorned with a marvellous lotus carving.
Yas spots some rather graphic sex scene carvings too!
After making the most of being able to take some photographs here we walk back to the main village and catch the bus back to udaipur.
Night bus to mumbai!