Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies Vol 01 Jaina Art and Architecture

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

Page 277

Introduction
255
Padma, Harișena, Jayasena, Brahmadatta), nine Vasudevas (Triprstha, Dviprstha, Svayambhu, Purusottama, Purusasimha, Puruşa Pundarika, Datta, Nārāyaṇa or Laksmana Krsna), and nine Baladevas (Acala, Vijaya, Bhadra, Suprabha, Sudarśana, Ananda, Nandan, Padma or Räma, Balarāma) constitute the list of 54 Salākāpurusas (Great Souls) to which nine Prati- Vāsudevas (enemies of Vāsudevas - Ašvagrīva, Taraka, Meraka, Nisumbha, Madhukaitabha, Bali, Prahalada, Rāvana, Jarāsandha) are added subsequently making the total of 63. The other figures such as nine Näradas, 11 Rudras and 24 Kamadevas (gods of love), Ganesa, Saptamātkās, 64 Yoginis show Brahmanical influence. Bāhubali, the son of the first Jina Rşabhanātha, is said to be the first of the Kāmadevas.
We would now discuss briefly the development of Jaina iconography and sculpture in North and South India. NORTH INDIA
The contribution of North India (north of the Vindhyan Mountain) in the development of Jaina art and iconography is of much more significance than what has been brought out. According to the Jaina tradition, all the 24 Jinas of present avasarpiņi aeon were born in this region and it was here that they spent their active lives. Perhaps this was the reason that most of the Jaina deities gained sculptural representations first in the region. The earliest Jina images with their characteristic iconographic features such as the flowing hair-locks of Rşabhanātha, seven-hooded snake canopy of Pārsvanatha, the śrīvatsa, the astapratihāryas, the cognizances and the Yakşa-Yakşi pairs also make their first appearance in this region. However, the characteristic uşnişa and the śrīvatsa are generally absent in the Jina images of South India. The figures of the Jaina Mahāvidyās, the complete sets of 24 Yaksis, Jivantasvāmin Mahāvīra and Jaina tutelary couples (or parents of Jinas) etc. are also conspicuous by their absence in South India. This absence requires proper investigation
The Indus Valley civilization (c. B.C. 2300-1750) is the earliest civilization of India. The figures on some of the seals from Mohen-Jo-Daro and also a male torso from Harappa remind us of the Jina images on account of their nudity and posture, similar to kayotsarga-mudrā, which is exhibited more emphatically in Lohānipura (Bihar) torso (Pl. 118). But nothing can be said with certainty until the Indus Valley script is deciphered finally.
Apart from the above instance we do not have any literary and archaeological evidence regarding the Jina image prior to Mahāvīra. In early canonical texts Mahavira is never said to have visited any Jina temple or worshipped any Jina image. Instead Mahavīra in the Āgamic texts is said to have stayed in yakṣāyatanas (Yakşa temples). In this connection it would be relevant to make reference to the Jivantasvāmin Mahāvīra image which is said to have been carved in the life-time of Mahāvīra (c. late 6th century B.C.), hence called Jivantasvāmin or Jivitasvāmin. According to the Jaina tradition, a sandalwood image of Mahavira, wearing mukuta and other ornaments befitting royalty, was carved in his life time during the period of his tapas in palace, about a year prior to his renunciation. Like the Bodhisattva before reaching Buddhahood, Jivantasvāmin also represented a conception which may be called Jinasattva. The problem of antiquity of Jivantasvämin concept and image has been discussed separately.
The earliest-known Jina image, preserved in the Patna Museum, comes from Lohānipura (Patna, Bihar) and is datable to c. 3rd century B.C. (Pl. 118). The nudity and the kāyotsarga-mudrā, suggesting rigorous austerity, of the image were confined only to the Jinas. Another Jina image from Lohānīpura is assignable to the Sunga period or slightly later. A terracotta Jina figure of c. 3rd century B.C. is also reported from Ayodhya. The reference to the Kalinga Jina (image), once taken away by Nandarāja and brought back by Khāravela (c. 25 B.C.), in the Hāthīgumphā inscription of Khāravela is of special interest in this connection. Thus the Jina
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