Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies Vol 01 Jaina Art and Architecture

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

Page 186

164
Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies
Inside the sanctum is a colossus of Neminatha of A.D. 1618 seated in meditation on a high pedestal. Behind the sanctum and supported by the southern compound wall is a large toraṇa-frame which once may have been with the original cult image in the sanctuary.
The gudhamandapa with its plain wall, roof and interior pilasters carrying painted domical ceiling is a restored and later one but for a few basal mouldings of the pitha. It has an entrance only on the north; its doorframe is very large and was redone recently. Inside are some interesting images. Two of these are colossuses of standing Pārsvanatha and Suparśvanatha dated in A.D. 1157. Another pair of standing Jinas dated in A.D. 1257 flank the sanctum doorframe. There is also a stone panel representing 170 images of seated Jinas and dated in A.D. 1253.
The mukhamandapa, landed up from the rangamandapa by three staircases, each provided with a moonstone, has plain and unmoulded pitha and is divided into ten bays by eight pillars and four pilasters of its own and six pillars (three on each side) of the rangamaṇḍapa arranged in three lines of six each. All the pillars and pilasters are of the square order and are heavily enriched with figure sculptures. The architraves running across them are decorated with two bands of lotus scrolls and diamonds respectively. Four of the ten ceilings on two sides are made by cutting off the corners and are plain but for the central stone which is adorned with lotus flower. The remaining six ceilings are ornate and circular, but they cannot compete those seen in the mukhamnḍapa of the Mahāvīra and Santinātha temples. Each of these consists of an octagonal and three circular courses and a short pendant. The octagonal course is decorated with kirttimukhas, diamonds, geese, lotus scrolls or half lotuses, and the rest are treated as stencilled ardhvapadimas or karpadardarika, gajatālu and four-lobed kola. The two khattakas flanking the door of the gudhamandapa are empty now. There are two additional khattakas. The one in the south-east corner shelters a stone plaque of Nandiśvaradvipa dated in
A.D. 1266 and the corresponding one on the southwest an image of Ambika, the Yakṣi of Neminatha, datable to late 13th century A.D. The lateral sides on the east and west are walled up by blind screens carved with geometrical, floral and faunal patterns.
The rangamandapa is a two-storeyed structure of twenty pillars. Eight of these, together with four pillars of the mukhamandapa, form a square central nave, and six are colonnaded in a row on its each lateral side. The upper storey is demarcated by a kakṣāsana wall supported on the nave and mukhamandapa pillars and extended as far as the door of gudhamandapa on the one end and nalamandapa on the other. The spaces between the roof and the kakṣäsana being open, the interior of the rangamandapa has become highly ventilated. The nave pillars are of square order with corners chamfered into five angles and correspond to the ornate mukhamandapa pillars with this difference that they are taller and massive and have a moulded pedestal below the base. Six lateral pillars also belong to square order, but they carry very little ornamentation. The remaining six pillars standing on two sides of the mukhamandapa are octagonal and less ornamental. The architraves over the pillars are similar to those found in the mukhamandapa, but the diamond-band on those surrounding the nave is replaced by a frieze of figure sculptures. The kakṣāsana wall consists of an asanapaṭṭa and a kakṣasana, the former decorated with flamboyant pattern and the latter with three decorative bands of kirttimukhas, figures in roundels and foliate scrolls respectively. The nave is covered by a large but impressive domical ceiling raised up by attic pillars with ornate architraves put across them. The domical ceiling (Pl. 67) consists of nine circular courses and a circular padmašila. The courses show ardhapadma, karnadardarika, rūpakantha, gajatālu, rupapattika depicting Pañcakalyāṇakas, gajatālu and three successive kolas of four-lobed each respectively. From the third course project out sixteen square brackets of Vidyadharas and Naigameṣa (at two places only). The padmašila,