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regard to the series of Jinas at the site, it should be stated that there are no panels at Kalugumalai that depict a unified group of twenty-four Tīrthankaras. In fact, the longest continuous series (found in Group 5) contains twenty-five Jinas, each having their own donative inscription (Figure 12). The inscriptions in some ways deny a collective reading of these images as the panels for the epigraphs are carved at different surface levels to provide greater legibility. Thus, these carvings present us with a series of individual Jinas rather than a cohesive group. This is a departure from the carvings at Tirunatharkundru (Tirunatharkundru) near Gingee, for example, which clearly present the twenty-four Tīrthankaras as a single entity. 12
ded Figure 12: Detail of Jina Images from Group 5 at Kalugumalai
Although the series of Jinas at Kalugumalai are inscribed as separate entities, visually they are linked together through their limited attributes and through the plain surface of rock behind them. Their similarity in size and body-type points to the undifferentiated condition of the Jina's liberated state while their repetition underscores the multiplicity of such figures.13 Moreover, none of the Jinas at Kalugumalai (either individual or in a series) are distinguished through identifying emblems or attendant
12 For an illustration see Titze (1998: 62).
13 For a more in-depth examination of ancient Jina images and how their figural forms convey important aspects of Jain thought and practice, see Leoshko (1999: 324-41).
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