Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies Vol 01 Jaina Art and Architecture

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

Page 258

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Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies
repaired during the later period, probably due to damages caused by the Muslims, that it is very difficult to make out anything definite. However, it appears that at least the walls were not very ornate. The interior of the three rear vimanas shows two free-standing square pillars and ten peripheral attached pillars, while each bay of the güdhamandapa shows four pillars in the nave and twelve attached pillars in the periphery.
The adhisthana of the rangamandapa is made up of an upana, jagati, padma, antarita, karṇaka, antarita, ūrdhvapadma, makarapaṭṭikā and urdhvapadma. The wall consists of an asanapaṭṭa, kakṣāsana and a perforated screen, all very neatly carved. The asanapaṭṭa is adorned with diamonds framed by pilasters. The kakṣāsana is divided into three decorative horizontal belts, the lower showing foliage, the middle the musicians, dancers, mithuna couples etc. between circular paired pillarettes, and the upper the scrolls. The screen wall is made up of upright square posts and horizontal cross-bars bearing decoration of four-petalled flowers at the joints and in the spaces formed by them. It is in these enclosed spaces that perforations are made to admit light to the interior. The rangamandapa is shaded by a double curved, large, projecting eave-cornice.
The interior of the rangamandapa shows sixteen pillars in four lines of four each and twenty peripheral pilasters. Of the sixteen pillars two rows of central pillars form the nave. The pillars are of the square, fluted and plain lathe-turned types and bear little carving. In the central space of the rangamandapa is housed a Sahasrakūta sculpture which is a rare representation.
On the stylistic grounds this temple is assigned a date in the end of the 11th century A.D.
Anantanatha-basadi This is also a pañcakūta temple with five vimanas. Three of the five vimanas, each preceded by an antarala of almost the same size as the vimana, are laid out on the three sides of a fourpillared closed mandapa, while the fourth side is attached to a large pillared mandapa having two shrines on its lateral sides and an entrance door on the front. The
two lateral shrines as well as the large mandapa are square with straight sides, while each of the three conjoint shrines consists of a karna and a bhadra with two pairs of upabhadras and a subhadra. The sides of the closed mandapa also are indented.
The adhisthana of the temple consists of jagati, padma, antarita, karnaka, antarita, urdhvapadma, kapota, and a pattika with plain rectangular bosses. The plain walls of the triple shrine show usual slender pilasters at the corners of the subhadra, pratibhadra and karna. The subhadra also contains an emptied niche surmounted by a miniature sikhara. The wall terminates in an cavecornice of the double-curved variety. The superstructure of each of these shrines is composed of a series of horizontal tiers diminishing as they ascend and topped by a faceted square sikhara adorned with creepers. The kalaśa over the sikhara is lost. In the cardinal points of the superstructure is a series of five small niches, each crowned by a kirttimukha spewing creepers that adorn the mukhapatta. The antarala is lodged over by a sukanäsa.
The large square fore-mandapa shows thirty-six pillars and pilasters in six lines of six each. The crisscross central space is wider than the side ones. The pillars are of several different orders. Some of these are of the crude lathe-turned variety, some belong to the square order and a few others are of the faceted type. Many of these pillars seem to be older than the actual temple, perhaps they were rebuilt.
Stylistically, this temple was probably built in the beginning of the 12th century A.D.
HULI
Huli is a small town to the north of the district headquarters of Dharwad in Karnataka. It has as many as eight temples of which the Pañcalingeśvara is Jaina built by Prince Bijjala, son of a local Ganga chief Pitta, in early 12 century A.D. for the Yapaniya Jainasangha. Called "Manikaya-tirtha-basadi" in the foundation inscription the temple originally was a Pañcakūta-basadi, and subsequently it was converted into a Śaiva temple