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JULY, 1968
Mahavira Temple, Korandapuri (Korte)
Christ. Some of its sculptured figures and ornamentations seem to tally with the temple art of the Kusana period. A few resembled the Kankali-tila relics of Mathura. There are a few inscriptions on the pillars and the wall. But only one inscription is readable. This inscription belonged to the 11th century A.D. It is inscribed in Devanagari script. A beautiful snow-white image of Adinath carved on sparkling white marble was unearthed from the ground of the back wall of this temple. This image is five feet in height. It is in a sitting posture. Two other images in standing posture were also unearthed along with this Adinath image. These two images have inscriptions in Sanskrit which stated that they belonged to the Vikrama era 1128 corresponding to the 12th century A.D. A number of toranas beautifully carved on white marble were also found in the same locality. They have also inscriptions which show that they belonged to the same period. The Jainas believe that the Adinath image belonged to the period of King Samprati, the grandson of Asoka. He was a great patron of Jainism. But it seems that these three images and the toranas were the products of the mediaeval period between the 8th and the 12th century A.D. At this period, the sculptural art of Rajasthan had reached the zenith of its
glory.
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