Jaina Iconography

SR No.: 011018
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: B Bhattacharya
Publisher: Motilal Banarasidas
Publication Year: 1974
Total Pages: 247
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 17 MB

Page 86

Tirthamkaras
yield a material illustration of iconographic canons discussed above.1
47
The Jina received the name of Sitalanatha inasmuch he could take away men's heat of sorrow. Another version explains the name as follows-"The tenth Tirthamkara had marvellous power of imparting coolness (Sitalata) to fevered patients. Before his birth his mother laid her hand on her husband and immediately the fever which had defied all the efforts of physicians left him, and all his life being the saint had a similar power, hence his name Śītalanatha, Lord of coolness." His emblems have not much to interpret. The Peepal tree is known for its cool shade, similarly the Srivatsa symbol stands for auspiciousness and blessedness.
as
Sreyamsanatha
The Jaina texts concur in giving him the symbol of a rhinoceros. The Yakṣa and the Yakṣiņi to serve him as guards of honour, have been named as Yakṣeta and Manavi (Dig. Ivara and Gauri) respectively. The tree special to him was Tumbara (7) or Tindaka according to some authorities. Rājā Tripiṣṭa Vasudeva was to act as a Chowri-bearer.
The sculptures hitherto found of Śreyamanatha closely accord with the above iconographic prescriptions. At Sarnath, in Benares, the traditional place of the Jina, there is a Jaina temple dedicated to this patriarch. An old image of the same Jina may be seen in the "Brahmanical sculpture shed" attached to the Museum.5
The Jaina Purāņas record his lineage. His father was a
1. Anderson Catalogue of the Indian Museum, Part II. Gupta gallery TA 1. The figure has been identified as that of Sitalanatha. It seems to be a doubtful identification. First, no Jina figure is represented in the Bhumisparsa Mudra as in this case. Secondly, no specific sign of Svastika
is to be seen on the pedestal of the sculpture.
2. सकलसत्त्वसन्तापहरणात् शीतलः ।
4. मुनिर्मनोहरोद्याने तुम्बरद्रुमसंश्रयः ।
5. See Fig. C. 62.
Abhidhana-Cintamani.
3. IHeart of Fainism, p. 53. Cf. तथा गर्भस्थे भगवति पितुः पूर्वोत्पन्ना - चिकित्स्यपित्तदाहो जननीकरस्पर्शादुपशान्त इति शीतलः ।
Ullara, p. 103.