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Development & Impact of Jainism in India & Abroad
the construction of Jaina temples did not become artistic creations but served the religion. Thus the long tradition of Jaina monuments which perhaps started by the early centuries of the Christian era ended by the eighteenth century A.D. in north Karnataka.
The above survey shows that Jaina architectural style developed side by side with other religions but imbibed certain qualities. Perhaps the architects and sculptors were common to all religions.
The storyed garbhagriha is a special invention of the Jaina architects, as found in many Jaina temples. The Jainas did not have decoration or sculptures on outside walls but took care to use such decoration in a limited way within the structures. In the early period the temples of Mahavira were more popular but by about twelfth century other tirthankaras like Parsvanatha, Adinath and twentyfour tirthankaras became more popular. In the Vijayanagara period the construction of Chaturmukha basadis gained popularity. The presence of dvarapalakas also became popular from tenth century. The erection of Manastambha also seems to have come into existance from about the tenth century A.D. and later it became almost a general rule. Thus North Karnataka contributed richly to the development of Jaina architecture in Karnataka. The jaina formed a large and flourishing community in the Bellary district of Karnataka is evident from the large number of their temples scattered all over the district. The objects of jaina art and architecture including jain temples are scattered in the area of 26 kms lying between the three hills and River tungbhadra at Hampi. The Ganigitti Jaina temple on the Kampli road, two dilapitdated examples to the east of the Elephant Stables, two more just north of the northern gopuram of Pampi temple and another about a kilometer north-east of Hampi, standing on the hill side, amongst others are some of the Jaina temples of Hampi. Hampi in Karnataka state is one of the important pilgrimage center for both Hindus and Jains. Hampi is 13 kms from Hospet and 158 kms from Hubli. The ruins of Hampi of the 14th Century lies scattered in about 26 sq. km area, amidst giant boulders and vegetation. The visiting places are: Hemkut jain temples: Hemkut jain temples are on the south side of the virupaksh temple on the hill. These are of 6-7 CAD but there are no idols and these are not under worship. Ratnatraykut (srimad Rajchandra ashram): The idol of bhagwan chandraprabhu is very impressive.Parsvanath charan: The charan impression in the opposite direction indicates the omniscience of the tirthankar. Some people consider it as vishnupad.
The Gangas followed the Pallava and Chalukyan architecture, the Hoysalas followed the the style which is popularly known as the Hoysala style and the Dravidian architecture, the Vijayanagara dynasty followed the tradional Dravidian style in building the jaina temples.
Jaina structures contemporary to the sojourn of Bhadrabahu to Sravanbelgola have not been found here so far. Even the early historic excavations which exhibit Satavahana culture as at Vadagaon Madhavpur and Sannati have not yielded any antiquity or structure that can be associated with Jainism. However, it has to be noted that the antiquities and structures of the former site have yet to be studied
Ravivarma's eleventh regnal year inscription found at Halasi refers to a grant for the
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