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and his sons Sahajapala, Sahanapala, Samanta, and Sangana, set up this image of the family deity Saccikadevi, in the year 1371 V.S. (=1314 A.D.)
There is a shrine of Saccikadevi at Osia in Rajasthan. The Ukesa lineage is named after this ancient town which was known as Ukesa-pura. The Oswala banias are named after this Osia and are supposed to have hailed from this town.
At Osia, also, the Saccikadevi image represents the form of Mahisamardini.
Fig. 4 represents statues of Minister Samarasimha and his wife Gugan. This is important sculpture of the famous "Samara-saha" who renovated, in V.S. 1371, the various shrines at Satrunjaya. A detailed account of this minister, his lineage and his family is available in Nabhinandana-jinoddhara-prabandha.
The minister stands with folded hands, while his wife carries a purse (money-bag) inher right hand and a cup or bowl containing sandal wood and saffron-paste for worship is held in her left hand,
Unfortunately the present whereabouts of the The name of Hemacandra, the great scholiast and bronze are not known, but the present writer had monk whomboth the above rulers highly respected, once seen it in one of the temples on Mt. is also associated with this era. Hemacandra Satrunjaya. A new photograph of the whole figure himself, in his Abhidhanacintamani (6.171) comis thus not possible and only this photograph of a posed in V.S. 1207-8, mentions this era in the part of it, obtained from the Sheth Anndji Kalyanji's following way while explaining 9= :Pedhi Ahmedabad, is reproduced here. It will
, RBHCHI however be seen that the bronze is a beautiful The metal image should thus date from V.S. specimen of metal sculpture in Western India.
1203. No other inscription to this era is yet known We have noted above four inscriptions from this
but one would not be surprised if some more site. A few more inscriptions ranging from V.S.
inscriptions dated in this era are discovered in 1207 to c. 1405 A.D. are noted below.
future. It seems, however, that the era ceased to be
in use, soon after the deaths of Hemacandra and Inscription no.5 is on a mental image in Shrine No. Kumarapala since no other inscriptions posterior 302 situated on the left side of the chief gate of the in age to these personalities are known to have main temple of the Caumukha Tunk. The referred to it. On the contrary almost all such inscription reads as under:
inscriptions refer to the Vikrama era, or in a few cases to the Saka era. Even in colophons of old
manuscriptre we do not find any dates in this era. (५) श्री सिद्धहेमकमार सं०४ वैशाषन० २ गुरौ भीमपल्लीसत्क(? गच्छ) व्यवहरिचंद्र-भार्यागणदेवियोथें श्रीशांतिनाबबं । Inscription No. 6, from Shrine No. 280, reads as
follows: According to this inscription, this image of Sri
(६) सं० १२२८ ज्येष्ठसुदि १० शनी श्रीदेवनंदकीयगच्छे पहदेवेन Santinatha was installed for the spiritual benefit of
I T
48 fantafeti Gunadevi, wife of merchant Hariscandra belong.
The image was caused to be made by Pahudeva of ing to the Bhimapalli-gaccha. The image was
the Devanandakiyagaccha , on Saturday, the tenth consecrated on Thursday the 2nd day of dark
day of the bright half of the month of Jyestha, in fortnight of the month of Vaisakha in the year 4 of
V.S. 1228, for the spiritual merit of his father Pala. the Siddha-Hema-kumara Samvat
Inscription No. 7 is on a mutilated image stored in This is a very important inscription, first noticed by
one of the underground chambers. The inscription Muni Sri Punyavijaya and published by him in the
reads as follows: Jaina Satya Prakasa, Vol. VII, No. 1 (Ahmedabad, 1943), pp. 259-261. The metal image must be very (७) संवत् १२७३ वर्षे कार्तिकशुदि १ गुरौ श्रीधंधुक्के carefully preserved, being the only known inscrip- arg o -YHT: orie : tional evidence of the Siddha-Hema-Kumara Era. afar
w o
T ATT : TII There great personalities of the history of Gujarat According to this inscription, this image of Pandita are associated in the name of this Samvat (Era). Yasovarddhana, disciple of pandita Asacandra and One is Siddharaja Jayasimha, the second is Acarya Padama of Vayatiya gaccha and hailing from Hemacandra and the third is king Kumarapala of belonging to the town of Dhandhukaka, was set Anahillapura-Patan. The era seems to have started up by Padmacandra, the (spiritual) son of his with the death of king Siddharaja Jayasimha and brother (ie the disciple of his monk brother), on the accession of his successor Kumarapala in Thursday, the first day of the bright fortnight of the Vikrama Samvat 1199
month of Kartika in V.S. 1273.
The dress and ornaments of both the figures deserve notice
Desala, referred to in the inscription on fig. 3 above, is the father of this Samarasimha. The inscription on fig. 4 runs as follows:
(४) संवत् १४१४ वर्षे वैशाषसु० १० गुरौ। संघपति-देशलसुतसमरा तत्पत्नीगुगां सा०-सालिग - सा-सजनसिहाभ्यां कारितं प्रतिष्ठितं श्रीकक्कसूरिशिष्यैः भ०देवगुप्तरिभिः।
y Hall Fig. 5 shows a part of a beautiful metal sculpture representing one figure of a Jaina in the centre, and two smaller Jina-figures on two sides above the halo of the bigger Jina. A two-armed Kubera like Yaksa sits on a lotus to the right of the main figure, while on the corresponding left end we find a two-armed Yaksi, sitting in the lalita posture. There is no inscription on this image, but on stylistic grounds it can be assigned to c. tenth century A.D. or a little earlier.
