Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies Vol 01 Jaina Art and Architecture

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

Page 197

Jaina Temple Architecture : North India
175
which is similar to that seen in the east shrine. The nave is covered by a domed roof, while the four corners are covered by bell-roof having a fine ceiling in the interior (Pl. 73). The hall is entered from the west through a porch which is landed up by a flight of four steps cut across its moulded pitha. The porch consists of two pillars and two pilasters and is covered by a bell-roof of the hall with gable end. The gable represents an image of goddess Cakreśvari in a five-cusped arch issuing from the mouth of a crocodile shown on either end.
Each of the two lateral shrines is in the form of a pillared hall the central area of which is almost filled with a monument of solid masonry. The monument in the north shrine has a square base and is called Astāpada, the fabled Mt. Meru or Sumeru, while that in the south shrine is circular on plan and is named Sammeta Sikhara, Mt. Pārsvanātha in Bihar. Measuring 386 ft. from door to door each shrine is dvi-anga on plan consisting of bhadra and karna, each broken into seven planes. Its pitha and wall are similar to those seen in the east shrine but is entered from all except the inner side through a porch of two pillars and two pilasters supporting a bell-roof. Rectangular on plan each porch is enclosed by a short balustraded wall and has an ornate ceiling completed in four courses. The first course is square inside depicting diamonds on the inner face and full-blown lotus flowers on the underside of its two shorter rectangular sides. The second is octagonal representing a row of geese on the inner face and a kirttimukha at each corner on the underside. The third is circular consisting of karņadardarikā. The fourth is a large circular slab with its flat surface relieved with a full-blown lotus flower having three rows of petals and a central pistil. The doorframe of the porch is very similar to that of the east shrine, but here the stambhasākhā carries a figure of door-keeper on its lower part. On the overdoor of the porches are six inscriptions, all bearing a common date of A.D. 1231.
Internally, the domed roof of the north shrine is supported on sixteen octagonal pillars, while that of the
south shrine rests on twelve pillars, all arranged in a circle. The mountain in each shrine rises in four tiers of diminishing width, almost to the roof, and crowned by a quadruple of Jina with a canopy over the head. There is a stairway to reach the upper tiers for worshipping the Jina. The mountain and pillars in the north shrine are wholly covered with white lime, but the same in the south is exposed and well preserved. Here, each tier shows some moulded courses on the lower section and decorative bands on the upper. Its pillars have a moulded base; their shaft is octagonal below, sixteen-sided in the middle and circular above, the last being crowned by a band of kīrttimukhas spewing chains that are held in position by a band of diamonds and beads; and the capital consists of doublecoursed, round abacus of arris and cyma recta and two successive courses of four-armed square or double-roll brackets.
The temple is securely dated in A.D. 1231 by inscriptions engraved on its doors. The inscriptions also inform us that the temple was built by Vastupāla for the increase of merits of his own and his wives Lalitādevī and Sokhu. SEJAKPUR
This is an old village situated about fourteen miles south-west of Sayla Railway Station in Surendranagar district of Gujarat. There are three temples, one Jaina and two Hindu. One of the Hindu temples is called Navalakha (nine lakhs), the name justly given to this beautiful temple, and it is because of this very temple that the village is widely known. The Jaina temple, though small yet equally beautiful, is a neglected one so much so that during recent years the temple was wholly destroyed and its stones carried away by the villagers. At present, only its photographic record is available.
Jaina Temple - This Jaina temple (Fig. 90) consists of a sanctum, antarala, güdhamandapa and rangamandapa. The sanctum is tri-anga on plan, the bhadra being broken into seven planes and the karma
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