________________
232
Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies
of scrolls, a plain cube, and a short kalasa; the circular capital consists of a narrow tādi, big ghata with square body, pali and square phalaka; and the corbel is wavy in shape and has chamfered arms with a median band. The pillars surrounding the nave are similar to those of the nave, but the shaft between the lower cube and kalasa shows a faceted belt, a large plain bell and a belt. The dwarf pillars also resemble the nave pillars.
The dvāramandapa, standing at some distance from the main building, is a somewhat ruined but graceful cross-shaped structure with varieties of pillars over the dado (Pl. 103). In all there are five bays formed by twelve pillars, four standing in the central nave and two standing on each side in alignment with the nave pillars. The four nave pillars are massive and of the square order and show on their shaft two plain cubes with an intervening belt marked with pīpala leaves and a short kalasa. The outer bays' pillars are square but slender in form; sometimes their corners are chamfered into three angles. The two pillars in the front bay are lathe- turned.
The temple is landed up by a partly buried stairway with a fine banister carved with a figure of vyāla emitting trunk-shaped coping and mounted by a Vidyadhara. The space between the coping and vyāla is filled with wishfulfilling creepers.
The main temple is datable to early 11th century A.D., while the dvāramandapa is placed in the mid- 11th century A.D.
Temple NO. 2 - The temple consists of a vimāna, an antarāla and an oblong gūdhamandapa and faces east. The exterior is plain with simple wall pilasters. The gūdhamandapa is entered through a stairway flanked by elephant banister of fine workmanship. The banister is very similar to that seen in the preceding temple, but here an elephant figure is carved between the coping stone and the vyāla figure. The gūdhamandapa shows four lathe-turned pillars in the central nave and square pilasters in the periphery. In addition, there are two square pillars in the antarala. The pañcasakhä doorframe
of the vimāna bears shallow carvings.
The nave pillars of the gūdhamandapa have a square base made of plinth, padma, kantha and kapota with triangular block on each face. Their shaft is plain and square below and circular above, the latter showing two successive faceted urdhapadmas, two recesses with a median band, bell with a stripe of pīpala leaves, narrow plain belt and kalasa. The capital consists of a tāļi-based ghata, fillet type pāli, square phalaka and bevelled corbel with median band. The pilasters of the gūdhamandapa have similar base and capital, but the square shaft between the cube and kalasa shows four decorative belts of caitya-gaväksa pattern interspersed with plain belts. The antarāla pillars have their corners chamfered into three angles and are analogous to the pilasters, but the caitya-gavākṣa is minutely carved.
T he temple was probably built in the 7th decade of the 11th century A.D. RON
Ron is situtated in the Bijapur district of Karnataka. It has a Western Cālukyan Jaina temple (Pl. 104) facing east. Rectangular on plan the temple consists of a vimana and güdhamandapa, both enclosed by a common wall punctuated with thin pilasters bearing looped stencilled decoration on the inverted lasuna of the shaft. The wall as well as adhisthāna does not carry projecting bays and recesses. The much weathered adhisthana is very simple as it consists of upāna, vapra (sub-plinth), jagati, padma (inverted cyma recta), three-faceted kumuda, kantha and kapota with plain triangular bosses. An ornate niche topped by an arched torana and a perforated stone grille appear on both the longer sides of the wall. The arch of the torana is supported on both sides by a peacock with an elaborate tail. The grille is beautifully carved with scrolls having gaņa figures. Both these decorative elements have been adopted from the Răstrakuța structures. The roof of the vimāna is flat, perhaps it was never completed. The front portion of the gudhamandapa has been modified by modern additions.
Jain Education Intemational
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
