Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies Vol 01 Jaina Art and Architecture

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

Page 194

172
Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies
the lateral entrance porches consists of two square sixteen-, twelve-, eight- and quatre-foil kolas. The dome pillars and two pilasters and has a flat roof with is closed up by a circular kola. From the second course corrugated awning. Between the pillars is a seven- project out sixteen square brackets of Vidyadharas cusped fine torana-arch. The single-sākhā door is supporting struts of apsarases tenoned into the lowermost decorated with lotus scrolls. At the base of the jamb kola course. The surrounding aisle is roofed by two stands a female carrying water pot. The gūdhamandapa gajatālu courses. is also entered from the front (west side) through the The rectangular hall (38 ft. by 21 ft.) houses two rectangular hall. Here also a similar toraņa - arch is raised platforms depicting feet in pair, probably of stretched between the rear pair of pillars of the hall. Ganadharas. The hall seems to be a later creation,
The interior of the gūdhamandapa, measuring 41.7 probably removing the mukhamandapa. ft. by 44.7 ft. from door to door, is cruciform in plan The devakulikās stand on a wide platform which having sixteen pillars in four groups of four each in the is approached from the courtyard by a flight of three four cardinal directions, one pillar at each of the four steps made all around. They are screened in the front corners, and two pillars towards a screen wall that shuts by a single or double row of square pillars and have off the sanctum. Besides, there are sixteen pilasters pilasters flanking the doors. The floor of the colonnaded attached at the corners of the wall. Eight central pillars on corridor is paved now with tesselated marble and the four sides are arranged in an octagon dividing thus the ceilings are made by cutting off the corners. The cells entire area into a central nave and surrounding aisle. The are overshadowed by a corrugated eave-cornice. Each nave pillars have attic pillars to support a domical ceiling cell contains a marble image of Jina seated in meditation. on an octagonal frame of architraves. The pillars have a The literary texts like the Raivatagirikalpa etc. square base; their shaft is square at the base, sixteen- reveal that the main temple was built by Sajjana, the sided in the middle and circular on the top; and their Caulukya governor of Saurashtra, in A.D. 1128, while capital consists of a double-coursed round abacus of arris the devakulikās were added by Thākura Sävadeva and and cyma recta and a four- or five-armed roll- andJasahada in A.D. 1159. makara-brackets. The architraves bear three ornamental Vastupālavihāra - It lies to the east of the bands of creepers, lotus petals with circular pendants, and Neminätha temple on a little higher scarp of the hill. diamonds in volutes. In the centre of their underside is a It is a triple temple (Fig. 89) with its three shrines lotus medallion. The attic pillars have a square base, opening into a closed hall entered from the front, i.e. circular shaft and an usual capital with this difference that west. The shrine on the east has an additional hall on the makara-brackets are replaced here by roll-brackets. its front. The temple is built of yellowish sandstone From the side makara-brackets of the lower pillar capitals which is not locally available but had been brought emerge cusped torana-arch meeting in the centre of the from some distance place. It has been so inadvertently underside of the architraves, while the other brackets repaired that all its original character has vanished. support struts of charming figures of apsarases and When I visited the shrine in 1970, its exterior had śardūlas. The domical ceiling (Pl. 72), which commences been coated with white lime or broken China wares, from a carved square block of stone placed over each while its interior parts had been covered with limecolumn of the octagon, is composed of nine circular coating, marble-encasing or paintings. courses of karņadarkarikä, a rūpapatta decorated with The eastern shrine (Pl. 71), which appears to be figures of dancers, horse-riders and elephants with drivers, the main shrine, consists of a sanctum and a pillared three successive gajatālus, and four successive courses of hall. The sanctum is tri-anga on plan with bhadra,
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