, with the colossal
Gommateshwara statue. Jain temples are built with various architectural designs. Some of the earliest examples of Jain architecture are of the
Indian rock-cut architecture tradition, whereby structures are produced by carving material out of solid rock. These traditions were initially shared with Buddhism, and by the end of the classical period, Hinduism. Jain temples and monasteries designed and constructed using rock-cut methods often share a site with those of the other religions, such as those at
Udayagiri,
Bava Pyara, Ellora,
Aihole,
Badami,
Kalugumalai and
Pataini temple. The
Ellora Caves are a late site, which contains temples of all three religions, as the earlier Buddhist ones give way to later Hindu excavations. Later, with Dilwara in the lead, surrounding the main temple with a curtain of
devakulikā shrines, each with a small spire, became a distinctive feature of the Jain temples of West India, still employed in some modern temples. These are fairly plain on the outer walls, and often raised on a very high platform, so that the outside of larger temples can resemble a fortress with high walls. However the entrance(s), often up high, wide steps, are not designed for actual defence, even though medieval Muslim armies and others destroyed many Jain temples in the past, often permanently. Inside the temple, the Māru-Gurjara style features extremely lavish carving, especially on columns, large and intricately carved rosettes on the ceilings of mandapas, and a characteristic form of "flying arch" between columns, which has no structural role, and is purely decorative. Most early temples in the style are in various local shades of pink, buff or brown sandstone, but the Dilwara temples are in a very pure white marble which lightens the style and has become considered very desirable. While, before
British India, large Buddhist or Hindu temples (and indeed Muslim mosques) have very often been built with funds from a ruler, this was infrequently the case with Jain temples. Instead they were typically funded by wealthy Jain individuals or families. For this reason, and often the smaller numbers of Jains in the population, Jain temples tend to be at the small or middle end of the range of sizes, but at pilgrimage sites they may cluster in large groups - there are altogether several hundred at
Palitana, tightly packed within several high-walled compounds called "tuks" or "tonks". Temple charitable trusts, such as the very large
Anandji Kalyanji Trust, founded in the 17th century and now maintaining 1,200 temples, play a very important role in funding temple building and maintenance. ==Etiquette==