Dilwara's carvers were reportedly paid by the weight of marble dust they removed, an incentive built specifically to reward taking away more material rather than less.
Two ministers, two temples
The complex's two most celebrated shrines were built roughly two centuries apart by ministers rather than kings: the Vimal Vasahi, commissioned around 1031 by the minister Vimal Shah, and the Luna Vasahi, built around 1230 under the patronage of the brothers Vastupala and Tejpala, both temples reflecting substantial private wealth directed toward religious construction rather than royal state funding.
Carved like lace, paid by the dust
The marble ceilings, pillars and toranas inside both temples are carved with such fine, deep detail that the stone is frequently described as resembling lace or embroidery rather than solid rock. Tradition holds that carvers were paid according to the weight of marble dust and shavings they removed during carving, an unusual incentive structure that, whether strictly accurate or an exaggerated later account, at least captures how extraordinarily labour-intensive the finished decoration is.
As this entry's companion article covers
The temples' famously understated, largely unornamented exterior stands in deliberate contrast to this interior richness, a contrast this entry's companion article addresses directly rather than repeating here.