Parshvanath Vidyapith Swarna Jayanti Granth

SR No.: 012051
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Sagarmal Jain, Ashok Kumar Singh
Publisher: Parshwanath Shodhpith Varanasi
Publication Year: 1994
Total Pages: 402
Language: Hindi, English
Classification: Smruti_Granth & Articles
File Size: 23 MB

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During and after the Islamic onslaught in India in the mediaeval period, Buddhism practically was wiped out of India but Jainism survived and continues as a living faith even today. Hence Jaina Monuments and works of Art today outnumber the Buddhist ones in India. Yet because of the early neglect, study of Jaina Art and Architecture suffered for long time. It was perhaps Dr. A. K. Coomaraswamy who first succeeded in drawing the attention of scholars to Jaina paintings through his article on Jaina Art published in 1914 in the Journal of Indian Art and Industry. This Study obtained further stimulus from Dr. W. Norman Brown's publications of the miniature paintings of the Story of Kālaka, the Kalpa-sūtra and the Uttarădhyayana sūtra. Sarabhai Nawab published in 1935 the Jaina Citrakalpadruma, Vol. I, in Gujarati, with the active cooperation of Muni Shri Punyavijayaji without whose help he could not have brought to light so many Jaina miniatures on palm-leaf and paper. Muniji also contributed a long research paper on Prācīna Bhāratiya and Taina Lekhanakalā. Since then, Nawab published many more books on Jaina miniature paintings including the masterly study by Dr. Moti Chandraji on Jaina Miniature Paintings from Western India. The Contributions of Moti Chandra, Khandalawala, Pramod Chandra, U. P. Shah, Sarayu Doshi, Goetz, Gorakshakar and others also contributed to further studies of Jaina Paintings.
Coomaraswamy had published his Catalogues of collections in the Boston Museum which included his studies of Jaina sculptures and paintings in the Boston Museum. He published a few interesting Jaina Patas or Paintings on cloth and was followed by Hirananda Shastri who published a few more Patas on cloth and paper and published a book on Jaina Scroll Paintings known as Vijñaptipatras. Nawab, Moti Chandra and U. P. Shah published a few more Pațas. U. P. Shah also discussed the stone Ayāgapatas and could interpret them with the help of literary sources and inscriptions. It was found that the Jaina Ayāgapațas on stone were derived from the Silāpața worshipped in ancient Caityas, Yakşa shrines, etc. and representations of worship of such Silāpatas found amongst Buddhist reliefs at Bharhut corresponded with the Jaina description of a Silāpata obtained in the description of the Pūrņabhadra Gaitya. I have discussed Symbol Worship in Jainism in my book Stu
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