Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies Vol 01 Jaina Art and Architecture

Author(s): Sagarmal Jain, Others
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

Page 158

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Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies
reached from the courtyard by a flight of five steps for sculptured niches. The front door of the cut across the moulded pitha. It consists of two pillars gūdhamandapa is more ornate. It consists of three jambs and two pilasters standing on a low parapet wall of rūpa, rūpastambha and rūpa, all having been rounded enclosing it and is roofed by a dome carried by them off by vertical flutings and diapers. The doorsill is on a square frame of architraves. The pitha consists similar to that of the lateral porches, but the lintel of nine courses of plain bhitta, a bhitta decorated with depicts five miniature shrines, the central having a Jina half diamonds, karņikā, khura, kumbha bearing figure and the others, the images of goddesses. decorations of half diamonds on the body and foliage The interior of the gūdhamandapa displays an on the shoulder, kalasa adorned with beaded garlands octagonal arrangement of eight pilasters carrying a and rosettes, antarapatta inset with stepped diamonds, domical ceiling on an octagonal frame of architraves. grāsapatti and kapota. The parapet wall consists of a The pilasters have a moulded base; their shaft is octagonal mañcikā decorated with caitya-gavākşas, a short vedikā below, sixteen-sided in the middle and circular on the in the form of half opened lotus, āsanapatta treated as top, the last being clasped below by a band of geese; mancikā, and kaksāsana adorned with flamboyant pattern and the capital has a short abacus of cyma recta crowned and lotus petal-and-bud ornament. The pillars consist by roll or atlantes brackets. The architraves are similar of only shaft and capital. The shaft in the south porch to those seen in the lateral porches. The dome is is heptagonal, divided into six horizontal belts, each composed of ten courses, the first being sixteen-sided decorated with miniature shrines, while that in the north and the rest circular. The first is decorated with diamonds, is octagonal below, sixteen-sided in the middle and the second with half lotuses, and the rest are plain but circular above, bearing decorations of rooflets, lotus for the fourth course which is adorned with lotus petalpetal-and-bud and kirttimukhas spewing festoons and-bud device. The gudhamandapa contains many respectively. The five-faceted pilasters are heavily images of Jinas and an image of Räjimati, the wife decorated with floral patterns. The capital consists of of Neminātha to whom the temple is dedicated. a two-coursed round abacus of arris and cyma recta The mukhamandapa stands on a pitha and is and a four-armed double-roll bracket with foliage. The enclosed on the lateral sides by a low wall, both being architraves are adorned with two decorative bands of a continuum of the lateral porches. It is landed up from lotus scrolls and diamonds. The dome in the south porch the rangamandapa by three staircases of six steps each. consists of an octagonal and six circular courses. The Each stairway is stepped up from a moonstone. On octagonal course depicts diamonds on the inner face either side of the central staircase is a sunken niche and a kirttimukha at each corner on the underside. The with a figure of doorkeeper. Like that of the second is decorated with a band of kīrttimukhas. Each Vimalavasahi it is also divided into nine bays by twelve of the remaining courses is adorned with lotus petal- columns of its own and four of the rangamandapa. The and-bud device. The apical stone depicts a full-blown four central pillars are of the octagonal order with lotus flower. The domical ceiling in the north porch moulded base, elaborate shaft and double-roll bracket is like that of its southern counterpart, but here the capital. Below, the shaft is octagonal carrying sculptures second course is treated like an arris and the seventh of eight female dancers on the lower part and eight pertains to eight whorls of four-fold (trefoil + one-foil) lalitāsana goddesses on the upper, while above, it is kola. The doorframe is similar to that seen in the clasped by four decorative bands of acanthus, half lotus, sanctum, but here the female pitcher-bearers are replaced Mälädharas and kirttimukhas. The other six pillars stand by door-keepers, and diamonds on sill are substituted on the parapet wall and consist of only shaft and capital,
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