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THE JAINA TEMPLES IN KARNATAKA-A CANONICAL STUDY
are depicteal directions. The superstructure has 4 shalas, 4 kutas and Vishnu-chchanda shikara.The court leads to multiple shrines, two on the west, one on the north and one on the east. All these shrines are primarily dedicated to Mahavira, flanked by his attendant deities, Indra on elephantand Ambika on lion. The side walls of the shrines usually depict the images of Gomateshwara (the son of Rishabhanatha, in penance), Parsvanatha with the snake hood and subsidiary deities. A flight of steps leads us to the first storey through the bigger shrine at the north of the court. The steps lead into a large shrine on the first floor, with side entrances on the east and west leading to smaller shrines. Invariably these shrines are also dedicated to Mahavira. Here one can see the remains of murals executed on the ceilings and the wall portion of the caves. The exit on the west leads to two smaller shrines dedicated to Mahavira. A small exit on the southwest corner of this shrine takes us to a huge shrine of Mahavira. The pillars, wall portions are exquisitely decorated with sculptures. The pillars are elaborate and depart well with the earlier period traditions. The doorway of the shrine is also elaborately carved with multiple bands of sculptures; the pillars are of brahmakanta type with kumbhas in the shaft.
KALYANA CHALUKYAN PERIOD
Jainism flourished through the royal patronage and contributed its share in the development of architecture. The most important Jaina temples of this period are Brahma Jinalaya at Lakkundi, Charantimatha at Aihole and Sankha Jinalya at Lakshmesvar. The Brahma Jinalaya built by Attimabbe represents a second phase of Chalukyan art for it not only represents a progress in architectural work but also uses finer grained schist instead of the usual granite. The latter has influenced its masonry, size and sculpture. The temple is highly imposing with dimensions of 93 ft. and 35 ft. It has a sikhara 42 ft. in height, which rises somewhat steeply in three storey looking like a Chaturasra sikhara, with a sukhanasi. The mukhamandapa is spacious having entrances in east, south and north. The sculptures of Brahma and Padmavati are noteworthy.
of the two Jaina temples at Lakshmesvar the more famous is Sankha Jinalaya which consists of a garbhagriha, a large ardhamandapa, larger mahamandapa and a rangamandapa. The rangamandapa has three entrances to south, north and west. It has a chaturmukha structure in dim unitive model, each of which carries three figures. it has a rekhanagara sikhara. The unique feature of this temple is the Sahasrakuta Jinabimba in minute form. There is a manastambha in front of the temple. Even though the temple is in ruins and has been renovated later, it presents a rare
grandeur and stands as a testimony to the interest of the Kalyana Chalukyas in Jaina architecture.
The other Jaina temple in this place is a trikuta dedicated to Adinatha.
The other Jaina temples of the Kalyana Chalukya period include Parsvanatha basadi at Udri,
Bandalike, Parsvanatha basadi at Koppala, a ruined basadi at Halasi, Naminatha basadi at Terdal, a ruined basadi within the fort at Belgaum, Pl-no-24 -25 basadi at Ammangi in Belgaum
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