Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies Vol 01 Jaina Art and Architecture

SR No.: 006774
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Sagarmal Jain, Others
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith
Publication Year: 2010
Total Pages: 726
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 51 MB

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Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies
the west. Muñja (c. A.D. 973-996) and Sindhurāja (c. A.D. 996-1010) further strengthened the Paramāra power, and Bhoja (c. A.D. 1010-1055) rose it to imperial status. After Bhoja the Paramära power gradually declined and shortly after A.D. 1143 the whole of Mālavā was included in the Caulukya kingdom of Kumārapāla (c. A.D. 1143-1172). But in the seventh decade of the 12th century A.D. Vindhyavarman, the 7th ruler after Bhoja, recovered Mälavā from Caulukya Mularāja II. Shortly after A.D. 1193 Vindhyavarman's son Subhatavarman penetrated deep into the Caulukya kingdom and plundered a large number of Jaina temples at Dabhoi and Cambay. He ruled nearly up to A.D. 1210 and was followed one after the other by eight kings, the last of whom, Mahlakadeva, was killed by a general of Allauddin in A.D. 1305 and Mälavā was included in the Muslim empire.
Saivism was very dominant in the Paramāra kingdom. Jainism also flourished as the Jaina writers like Dhanapala etc. graced the Paramāra court, but no Jaina foundation prior to Bhoja has come down to us from the main land. But when Mälavā was assimilated in the Caulukya dominion by Kumärapäla, Jainism was well received in the kingdom. This is apparent from two Jaina temples at Un, which lie in the heart of the Paramāra empire, following the Solanki style of Gujarat. Architectural Features
The Jaina temples of North India, like their Brahmanical counterparts, primarily consist on plan of a square sanctum and an entrance porch, both covered by a flat roof (Jaina temples at Kundalpur, Damoh district, M.P.). Subsequently, an ambulatory was built round the sanctum, and an antarāla, gūdhamandapa and mukhamaņdapa were added before the sanctum (e.g. Ajitanātha temple at Taranga). In the Maladevi temple at Gyaraspur, the Pārsvanātha temple at Khajuraho and the Adinātha temple at Nadlai, the sanctum and gudhamandapa are built in one enclosing wall. In the larger conception a rangamandapa has been added before the mukhamandapa and a series of 24, 52 or 72
devakulikās with one or two rows of pillars surround the whole temple complex. Externally, the devakulikās provide an outer enclosing wall to the temple-complex and, internally, their pillared corridor gives a covered path for circumambulation (e.g. Vimalavasahi at Abu). Where there is an arrangement of devakulikās, the temple is generally entered from the front through a porch or balanaka. The sanctum has only one doorway, but in the Jaina temple at Banpur (Lalitpur district, U.P.) it has four doorways on the four sides, making it a Sarvatobhadra-prāsāda (four-faced shrine), a type of temple which became more popular in the medieval period (e.g. at Ranakpur and Satruñjaya).
The sanctum and its various mandapas (Figs. 4546) are laid out in one axial line directly on the ground or stand on a jagati-platform from the rear end (e.g. Jaina temples at Khajuraho, M.P., and Kumbharia, Gujarat). The jagati at Khajuraho provides an open perambulation round the temple, but where it is surrounded by devakulikäs we find a covered ambulatory. The sanctum as well as güdhamandapa is square internally, but its exterior walls on each side are either straight (Jaina temples at Kundalpur and Than) or broken into offsets from two to five (from dvi-anga to pañcānga, in other words, from triratha to navaratha) which have been carried upwards from the base to the top of the spire, which is curvilinear on the sanctum and pyramidal on the gūdhamandapa. It is the curvilinear spire, i.e. śikhara, which forms the main cognizance of North Indian temples.
In dvi-anga plan (having two offsets) it shows bhadra (cardinal) and karna (corner) offsets. It is triratha if counted diagonally. The bhadra is always larger in size and has only small projection, while the karņa is equilateral and has prominent projection. In tri-anga (or pañcaratha) plan a pratiratha of the size of karna is inserted between the bhadra and karņa; in caturanga (saptaratha) plan a pratibhadra, smaller than the pratiratha, is inserted between the bhadra and pratiratha; and in pañcănga (navaratha) plan a pratikarņa of the
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