Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies Vol 01 Jaina Art and Architecture

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

Page 27

Introduction
increased, the opening is covered by 5, 9 or 13 stones by cutting off the corners. In the third stage when the square space is increased as much as to be hardly covered by this process, then a dome of circular courses and central pendant is devised with its load supported on twelve pillars, four standing at the four corners and eight, two on each side, at the intermediate points. To bring the vertical pressure of the dome over the pillars, figure struts and cusped and corbelled arches are also employed. The spire or sikhara, whether curvilinear or pyramidal, over the square base of the cubical walls, is composed of horizontal square courses receding as they ascend and is capped at the top by a massive circular coping stone and vase. This method of roofing is called kadalikākaraṇavidhi (corbelling method) in ancient Indian architecture. The advantage of the horizontal mode of roofing is this that it does not have the defect of lateral thrust, while the vertical arches do suffer from it and to counteract it such expedients as buttresses and pinnacles have to be made. This is why the Jaina temples raised as they are in the indigenous tradition stand to this day in good condition.
The dates of the Jaina buildings are primarily fixed on the basis of inscription engraved on some or the other part of the Jaina edifice. The inscriptions being a contemporary document help us more than one way in the dating. Firstly, if an inscription has a date in Vikrama, Śaka or Vīra era which is current even to this day, the concerned Jaina building is assigned a precise date. Secondly, if it does not contain the date, the palaeography of the inscription helps us in ascertaining the date since we notice a continuous change and development in ancient Indian script. Thirdly, if the inscription has a reference to some known historical fact, then also the related building is assignable a nearly accurate date. In absence of the inscriptional evidence the style of the building is our only guide to ascertain its date. In fixing the relative date based on stylistic features we take note of the provenance of the building, the building material, the disposition and decoration of various parts on the
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plane of plan and elevation, the mode of construction, the buildings contemporary to the Jaina buildings, and the various sculptures and decorative patterns.
Even though the Jainas have a rich heritage of their art and religion, they did not ever cross the boundaries of the subcontinent. As a result, no Jaina temple prior to Indian independence is to be seen outside the country. But recently many Jaina families have migrated to the European and American countries and got some Jaina temples built there.
The history of Jaina architecture begins with a couple of dwelling caves excavated at Rajgir during the Mauryan rule in the 3rd century B.C. This is followed by a small cave at Pabhosa, by a series of ornate caves at Udayagiri-Khandagiri and by a group of plain caves at Junagadh. These are also dwelling caves and were excavated from B.C. 200 to A.D. 200. During this period a Jaina stupa of great artistic merit was built at Mathura; later the same was repaired also. What is remarkable of these Jaina buildings is that they do not have the Jina images; it were the epigraphical records which prove their Jaina affiliation. But the later repaired stupa at Mathura certainly has a large number of Jina images and many stone slabs with auspicious Jaina symbols. Similarly, a large number of Jina images and the images of their Yakṣas and Yakṣis were carved in the Khandagiri caves during the early medieval period.
As we enter the classical phase of Indian history which is roughly dated from the 4th century A.D. to the end of the 6th century A.D., the work of excavating Jaina cave, e.g. the Jaina cave at Udayagiri (M.P.), is continued but it now contains Jina images for worship. Another significant development of this period is that structural temples make their appearance, housing a Jina figure in the sanctum. We know of as many as five kinds of structural temples having been made during this period (S.K. Saraswati, in The Classical Age, Bombay, 1954, p. 501). One of these is circular or cylindrical. Fortunately, a ruined Jaina temple of this variety still exists at Rajgir.