________________
The Followers of the Ever Growing One
Here is a list of the Svetambara signs: Svastika: a cross with arms bent at a right angle,71
śrivatsa: a sign shaped like a flower and placed on the breast of statues or pictures of the tirthankaras,72
nandyavarta: a type of diagram,73
varddhamanaka: a powder-flask,
bhadrasana: a throne, seat of glory,
kalasa: a jar, pitcher (full),
matsya: fish, always depicted in pairs,
darpaṇa: a mirror.74
The Digambaras have adopted the following signs:
bhṛngāra: a gilded vase,
kalasa: a jar, pitcher (full),
darpaṇa: a mirror,
camara: a small switch to ward off flies,
161
71 "A mystical cross which is believed to bring good fortune to the wearer thereof and which resembles a Greek cross with ends turned in at right angles..." Bhattacharya, 1974, p. 143.
72 "A diagram resembling a flower of four petals arranged at right angles one to another or a curl of hair." Ibid., p. 143.
73 "It is defined as a Svastika with nine corners..." Ibid., p. 142.
74 sotthiya (sovatthiya), sirivaccha, naṁdiyāvatta, vaddhamāṇaka, bhaddhāsaṇa, kalasa, maccha, dappaņā. Aupapātika-sūtra 9.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
