Some Inscriptions And Images In Mount Satrunjaya

Author(s): Ambalal P Shah
Publisher: Ambalal P Shah
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/269245/1

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Some Inscriptions and Images on Mount Satrunjaya Pandit AMBALAL PREMCHAND SHAH, Vyakaranatirtha, L. D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad Herciler TOEICIUS nel I/ hiang S reach 24 20 O 2 UGM Reprinted from the Golden Jubilee Volume, Part I, published by Shri Mahavira Jaina Vidyalaya, Bombay.

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Some Inscriptions and Images on Mount Satrunjaya AMBALAL PREMCHAND SHAH The age of antiquity or ancient monuments is generally inferred from the styles of architecture and sculpture and on the basis of available inscriptions. Since the temples at Satrunjaya were renovated from time to time through many centuries very little evidence of antiquity has been left for us. For want of published old inscriptions, sculptures in temples, scholars came to believe that the temple-city of Satrunjaya could hardly claim to be earlier than or even as old as the Jaina-temples-site of Delvada, Mount Abu. One can see several streets and rows of temples and images on Mount Satrunjaya. A common man can hardly make any distinction between the earliest and the latest specimens of art among the hundreds and thousands of images in this temple-city, where no human habitation is allowed. But the searching eye of a historian is on the look-out for all stray old inscriptions and specimens of art. According to literary traditions, Satrunjaya is an ancient tirtha of the Jainas. In the Jnatadharmakatha, a Jaina canonical text, it is referred to as Pundarikagiri.1 In later Jaina literature, this place is 1 Sutras 55, 56, 60, pp. 109, 112. Abhayadeva, the Commentator, has identified Pundarikagiri with modern satrunjaya (p. 111 A).

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SOME INSCRIPTIONS AND IMAGES ON MOUNT SATRUNJAYA : 163 associated with some auspicious events in the life of Rsabha, the first Tirthankara. It is also said that a temple was dedicated to Rsabhanatha, on this mountain. Pundarikasvami, the first Ganadhara of Rsabha, obtained emancipation on this sacred mountain and a memorial to him, in the form of a shrine with his image, was raised here. Since then, the mountain came to be called Pundarikagiri.? We shall now refer to a few images and inscriptions which throw more light on the art and antiquity of this site. Fig. 1 illustrates a beautiful marble image of Pundarikasvami installed in the first cell adjacent to the staircase, beside the main entrance to chief shrine of Rsabhanatha (Adinatha) on this mountain. This sculpture, fortunately well-preserved, is about 2-5 feet in height and about 1.5 ft. broad at base. The pedestal or the lowermost part of the sculpture has an inscription in four lines. A big lotus with an ornamental long stalk springs from the top of the pedestal, and divides the whole sculpture into two sections. The upper section shows a figure of Pundarikasvami, sitting in the padmasana, dhyanamudra, on a cushion-like seat placed on the full-blown lotus. There is a back-rest whose two ends show lions supporting the horizontal bar resting on two pillars. Above are two divine garland-bearers, and on top the chatra or the umbrella. The figure of the Ganadhara could easily be mistaken for that of a Tirthankara, if the inscription had not specifically shown that it represented Pundarikasvami. Below the lotus, the two sides of the stalk further form two sections, the centre being occupied by the sthapana". To the right of the sthapana sits a Jaina monk, a Guru, in the act of giving a discourse to the two disciples sitting in front, with folded hands, on the other side of the sthapana. This is one of the finest examples of sculptural art of Gujarat in V. S. 1064 (=1006 A.D.), the date of the inscription. Unfortunately part of the beauty of this sculpture is marred by modern black paints, 2 For a fuller account, see Shah, Ambalal Premchand, Jaina Tirthasarvasamgraha (in Gujarati, Ahmedabad), pp. 98-108. 3 The inscription was first published by Shah, Umakant Premanand, in Jaina Satya-Prakasa (Gujarati Journal, Ahmedabad) Volume 17, No. 3, pp. 51-58. 4 For understanding the symbolism of Sthapana (also called Stha panacarya) see, Shah, U.P., Studies in Jaina Art (Banaras, 1955), pp. 113-115.

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164 : SHRI MAHAVIRA JAINA VIDYALAYA GOLDEN JUBILEE VOLUME glass eyes, and studded metal pieces on different parts of the body of Pundarikasvami and the two smaller figures. This is a practice which has undermined the beauty of many a Jaina sculpture, old or new. The inscription reads as under: (?) sfigmaany jest dhyAtvA zatrujaye zuddhathan sllekhaadhyaansNymaiH||1|| zrIsaMgamasiddhamunirvidyAdha( )rkulnbhstlmRgaaNkH|| divasaizcaturbhiradhikaM mAsamupoNyAcalitasattvaH // 2 // varSe sahasre SaSTayAM caturanvitayAdhike divamagacchat / (#hafa 3774EURTUOTATE surfactati ll 11 ammeyakaH zubhaM tasya shresstthirodheykaatmjH| puMDarIkapadAsaMgi caityametadacIkarat // 4 // caturbhiH kalApakaM / / According to the inscription, Muni Sangamasiddha, moon of the firmament of the Vidyadhara-Kulas, meditated on mount satrunjaya, before Yugadideva (Adinatha) and Pundarika. Having purified himself by the practice of austerities and sallekhana, observing dauntlessly his fast for a month and four days, attained to Heaven on Monday the second day of the dark half of the month of Margasirsa, in V. S. 1064. Sresthi Ammeyaka, son of Rodheyaka, caused to build this shrine and (consecrate) the image, for his own merit. This Muni Sangamasiddha is probably the grand-teacher of Padalipta, the author of Nirvanakalika.6 This is the earliest known inscribed and dated image available at Satrunjaya. It is important also as a fine specimen of art. Fig. 2, preserved in a cell on the right side of the northern part of the circumambulatory passage of the main shrine, represents a householder, i.e. a sravaka, a Jaina lay worshipper. The inscription on its pedestal shows that this is a statue (a portrait sculpture ?) of sresthi Narayana. 5 One of the four ancient lineages of svetambara Jaina monks. 6 Compare the colophon of Nirvanakalika, wrongly ascribed to the first Padalipta, who is said to have flourished in c. 2nd century A.D. But Dr. U. P. Shah, in his "Iconography of the Jaina Goddess Ambika", Journal of the University of Bombay, September 1940, p. 159, f. n. 6, pointed out that Nirvanakalika was a work of c. eleventh century A.D.

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SOME INSCRIPTIONS AND IMAGES ON MOUNT SATRUNJAYA : 165 On a raised cushion, surmounted by a design looking like petals of a full-blown lotus, sits Narayana in the anjalimudra (with folded hands), in the lalita-posture, i. e., with his right-foot hanging and the left tucked up. He wears ornaments like armlets, bracelets, anklets, an ornamental broad girdle, necklaces and big circular ear-rings. He has a long beard, whether or not he had moustaches in the original is difficult to ascertain on account of the modern black paint, but it is probable that the paint is on the original mustaches. His hair are tied into a small top-knot on the head, on each side of which is a divine garland-bearer. This is unusual, since a lay-worshipper is not known to have been accompanied by heavenly attendant maladharas. The marble sculpture is a beautiful specimen of secular sculpture of the eleventh century A. D. The two-line inscription on the pedestal reads as follows: (2) zrIjajanAgakaniSThasya kapardijanakasya nijapiturvAsya zre. nArAyaNasya mUrti[:] nivesi(zi)tA siddha-vIrAbhyAM saM0 1131 // According to the inscription, this statue of sresthi Narayana, the younger brother of Jajanaga, and father of Kapardi, was set up by Siddha and Vira in (Vikrama) Samvat 1131 (i. e. 1075 A.D.) Fig. 3 represents a twelve-armed Goddess who is well-known as Mahisa-mardini in Hindu traditions and as Saccikadevi in Jaina traditions. It is a beautiful marble sculpture of the goddess in bold relief, the back showing a trefoil-like arch surmounting two pillars and thus suggesting that the Goddess is placed in a miniature shrine. On top of the sculpture, in the central part of the arch, is a miniature shrine with a Jina sitting in it. The Mahisa-demon is an excellent specimen of animal-sculpture. The figure of the goddess, with her one foot trampling on the buffalodemon pierced by her long trident, is a work of superior workmanship, full of life and vigour and beautiful modelling. In her right hands, the goddess shows the sword, the disc, the trident, the arrow and the varada-mudra, while in the left ones she holds the shield, the vajra-ghanta (combination of thunderbolt and bell), the mace, the conch, the bow and the head of the personified demon (placed on the buffalo-demon). The ornaments and the modelling deserve comparison with the famous Sarasvati from Pallu in the old Bikaner State, now preserved

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166 : SHRI MAHAVIRA JAINA VIDYALAYA GOLDEN JUBILEE VOLUME in the National Museum, New Delhi. The sculpture must be assigned to a period c. 1000-1050 A.D. The small figure of a female worshipper on the lower end of the left pillar deserves notice as a fine specimen of miniature figure and on account of the mode of representing the scarf or odhani covering the head and the back.' The inscription on the pedestal reads as follows: (3) saMvat 1371 varSe mAhasudi 14 some zrImadUkezavaMze vesaTagotrIya sA0salaSaNaputra sA0AjaDatanaya sAgosala bhAguNamatakukSisaMbhavena saMghapati sA AzAdharAnujena sAnlUNasiMhAgrajena saMghapatisAdhudesalena putra sA0sahajapAla sA0sAhaNapAla sA0sAmaMta sA0samarA sA0sAMgaNapramukhakuTuMbasamudAyopetena nijakuladevIzrIsaccikAmUrtiH kAritA / yAvad vyomni candrAkauM yAvad merumahIdharaH / aren sftararata: 11 The inscription shows that this image of Saccikadevi was set up by Samghapati Sadu Desala, the elder brother of Lunasimha, and younger brother of Asadhara. He was son of Ajada and grandson of Salaksana and belonged to Vesata-gotra of Ukesa lineage. He, along with other members of the family and his sons Sahajapala, Sahanapala, Samanta, and Sangana, set up this image of the family deity Saccikadevi, in the year 1371 V. S. (= 1314 A.D.) There is a shrine of Saccikadevi at Osia in Rajasthan. The Ukesa lineage is named after this ancient town which was known as Ukesa or Upakesa-pura. The Oswala banias are named after this Osia and are supposed to have hailed from this town. At Osia also, the Saccikadevi image represents the form of Mahisamardini. Fig. 4 represents statues of Minister Samarasimha and his wife Gugan. This is an important sculpture of the famous "Samara-saha" who renovated, in V. S. 1371, the various shrines at satrunjaya. A detailed account of this minister, his lineage and his family is available in Nabhinandana-jinoddhara-prabandha. The minister stands with folded hands, while his wife carries a purse (money-bag) in her right hand and a cup or bowl containing sandal-wood and saffron-paste for worship is held in her left hand. The dress and ornaments of both the figures deserve notice. Desala, referred to in the inscription on fig. 3 above, is the father of this Samarasimha, The inscription on fig. 4 runs as follows:

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SOME INSCRIPTIONS AND IMAGES ON MOUNT SATRUNJAYA : 167 (4) saMvat 1414 varSe vaizASasu0 10 gurau saMghapati-dezalasutasamarA tatpatnIgugAM sA0sAliga-sA sajana-siMhAbhyAM kAritaM pratiSThitaM zrIkakkasUriziSyaiH bha0devaguptasUribhiH / zubhaM bhavatu // Fig. 5 shows a part of a beautiful metal sculpture representing one figure of a Jina in the centre, and two smaller Jina-figures on two sides above the halo of the bigger Jina. A two-armed Kubera-like Yaksa sits on a lotus to the right of the main figure, while on the corresponding left end we find a two-armed Yaksi Ambika sitting in the lalita-posture. There is no inscription on this image, but on stylistic grounds it can be assigned to c. tenth century A.D. or a little earlier. Unfortunately the present whereabouts of the bronze are not known, but the present writer had once seen it in one of the temples on Mt. Satrunjaya. A new photograph of the whole figure is thus not possible and only this photograph of a part of it, obtained from the Sheth Anandji Kalyanji's Pedhi, Ahmedabad, is reproduced here. It will however be seen that the bronze is a beautiful specimen of metal sculpture in Western India. We have noted above four inscriptions from this site. A few more inscriptions ranging from V. S. 1207 to c. 1405 A. D. are noted below. Inscription no. 5 is on a metal image in Shrine No. 302 situated on the left side of the chief gate of the main temple of the Caumukha Tunk. The inscription reads as under: (5) zrI siddhahemakumAra saM0 4 vaizASava0 2 gurau bhImapallIsatka(1gaccha) vyava0harizcaMdrabhAryA guNadeviyothai zrIzAMtinAthabiMbaM kAritaM / / According to this inscription, this image of Sri santinatha was installed for the spiritual benefit of Gunadevi, wife of merchant Hariscandra belonging to the Bhimapalli-gaccha. The image was consecrated on Thursday the 2nd day of the dark fortnight of the month of Vaisakha in the year 4 of the Siddha-Hema-Kumara Samvat. This is a very important inscription, first noticed by Muni Sri Punyavijaya and published by him in the Jaina Satya Prakasa, Vol. VIII, No. 1 (Ahmedabad, 1943), pp. 259-261. The metal image must be very carefully preserved, being the only known inscriptional evidence of the Siddha-Hema-Kumara Era. Three great personalities of the history of Gujarat are associated in the name of this Samyat (Era). One is Siddharaja Jayasimha, the second is Acarya Hemacandra and the third is king Kumarapala of Anahillapura-Patan. The era seems to have started with the death of

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168 : SHRI MAHAVIRA JAINA VIDYALAYA GOLDEN JUBILEE VOLUME king Siddharaja Jayasimha and the accession of his successor Kumarapala in Vikrama Samvat 1199. The name of Hemacandra, the great scholiast and monk whom both the above rulers highly respected, is also associated with this era. Hemacandra himself, in his Abhidhanacintamani (6.171) composed in V. S. 1207-8, mentions this era in the following way while explaining #97 = 94:--- "Ja fastar, EGTART I The metal image should thus date from V. S. 1203. No other inscription referring to this era is yet known but one would not be surprised if some more inscriptions dated in this era are discovered in future. It seems, however, that the era ceased to be in use, soon after the deaths of Hemacandra and Kumarapala since no other inscriptions posterior in age to these personalities are known to have referred to it. On the contrary almost all such inscriptions refer to the Vikrama era, or in a few cases to the Saka era. Even in colophons * of old manuscripts we do not find any dates in this era. Inscription No. 6, from Shrine No. 280, reads as follows: (6) saM0 1228 jyeSThasudi 10 zanau zrIdevanaMdakIyagacche pahudevena pituH pAla[1 sya] zreyase pratimA kaaritaa| The image was caused to be made by Pahudeva of the Devanandakiyagaccha?, on Saturday, the tenth day of the bright half of the month of Jyestha, in V.S. 1228, for the spiritual merit of his father Pala. Inscription No. 7 is on a mutilated image stored in one of the underground chambers. The inscription reads as follows: (7) saMvat 1273 varSe kArtikazudi 1 gurau zrIdhaMdhukake zrIvAyaTIyagacche paM0AsacaMdra-padamayoH ziSya paM0yazovarddhanasya mUrtiH kArApitA bhrAtRputra paM0panacaMdreNa / maMgalaM mhaashriiH| ciraM naMdatu // According to this inscription, this image of Pandita Yasovarddhana, disciple of Pandita Asacandra and Padama of Vayatiya gaccha and hailing from (belonging to) the town of Dhandhukaka, was set up by Padmacandra, the (spiritual) son of his brother (i.e. the disciple of his monk brother), on Thursday, the first day of the bright fortnight of the month of Kartika in V. S. 1273. 7 Devanandakiya-gaccha is mentioned in the colophon of the palm leaf manuscript (V. S. 1194) of Pramanantarbhava, at Jesalmere. The colophon also says that Devanandagaccha is a sub-gaccha of Harijya-gaccha, cf., Jaina-Pustaka-Prasasti-Samgraha, p. 104.

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Fig. 2. Sculpture of sresthi Narayana, satrunjaya (d. V. S. 1131) Fig. 1. Image of Pundarikasvami, satrunjaya (d.V.S. 1064) (See p. 162)

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Fig. 3. Image of Mahisamarddini, satrunjaya (dated V. S. 1371) Fig. 4. Sculpture representing Minister Samarasimha and his wife (d. V. S. 1414)

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Fig. 5. Jaina Metal Sculpture, satrunjaya

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SOME INSCRIPTIONS AND IMAGES ON MOUNT SATRUNJAYA : 169 Inscription No. 8 is from a mutilated statue of a Jaina householder (sravaka) in standing posture, found from an underground chamber. It reads as follows : (c) to P383 and Tube U TEHA HEO.........THE THTAKT qfa: sutajagapAlena kAritA // According to this inscription, this statue of Minister Prabhasa, son of.........., was set up by his son Jagapala of the village of Padra, on the seventh day of the bright fortnight of the month of Phalguna in V. S. 1313. Inscription No. 9 is obtained on the image of a monk in Shrine No. 701 (Old No. 626). This was read as follows: (9) saM0 1342 mAghazudi 8 zukre zrInAgeMdragacche pUjyazrIguNasenasUrINAM mUrtiH paM0rAmacaMdreNa svaguruzreyase iyaM mUrtiH kAritA pratiSThitA shriijinn(n)bhdrsuuribhiH| caMdrA yAvat naMdatAM // According to the inscription, this image of venerable Sri Gunasenasuri of Nagendragaccha was caused to be made by Pt. Ramacandra for the spiritual merit of his preceptor, on Friday, the eighth of the bright half of the month of Magha in V. S. 1342, and installed by Sri Jinabhadrasuri. Inscription No. 10 is from a mutilated Jina-image in an underground chamber and was read as under: (po) taal 8806 al aportale so ah stattfaruraleleysi....[]go mAladevasuta mahaM0sAMgaNena svamAtRbAyIhIranazreyase zrIajitanAthabiMba kAritaM // According to it, this image of Ajitanatha was set up by minister Sangana, son of minister Maladeva, resident of Posinana for the spiritual welfare of his mother Bayi Hirana, on Monday, the tenth of the dark half of Margga in V. S. 1405.