Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies Vol 01 Jaina Art and Architecture

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

Page 35

Architectural Data in the Jaina Canons
country and ranging in date from the 3rd century B.C. to the 12th century A.D.
The rock-cut caves are of two types-monastery and shrine. These two were called vihara (monastery) and caityagrha (an apsidal building housing a stūpa) in the Buddhist tradition and were made side by side at almost all the Buddhist sites possessing rock-cut caves. The Jainas, however, excavated only the monasteries from the 3rd century B.C. to the 4th century A.D. and shrines or both afterwards but no caityagrha during the entire period of time.
It is very surprising that the Jaina canons, which speak so high of stūpa, are quite silent about these excavations. Their non-representation was due probably to the fact that the Jaina caves, particularly the early ones, were mostly dwelling caves and hence unworthy of being mentioned because the Jaina recluses are not allowed to stay in such houses which are specially made for their residence. As regards the later Jaina caves. they are like the shrines and were built later than the time of the redaction of Jaina canons. In the Anuyogadara (sutta 99) also the layana is mentioned as a resort of ascetics. This is evident from this that Dharasena, who was the last Acārya to have partial knowledge of the original Jaina canons, lived in the Candraguphā at Girinagara (Junagadh, Gujarat) which has been presently identified with the semi-circular cave at Girnar.
Jinālaya - In the Jaina tradition the temples, which stand latest among the religious buildings of ancient India, are called Jinalaya, Jinabhavana, Basadi, Basti, Vihara etc. It is a building housing an image of Jina for worship. In the beginning it was both rock- cut and structural, but subsequently it fully remained structural. Its exigency was particularly felt in the plains where the bulk of population lived, but due to the absence of rocky hills the rock-cut shrines could not be made there. Secondly, from the time of the Imperial Guptas when the structural temples in durable materials
like stone made their appearance in the 5th century A.D., the Jaina monks used to live in the temples (Caityavasin). Thirdly, there was no scope for alteration in the rockcut buildings. As a result, structural temples were preferred to rock-cut from the 7th century A.D. The change over from rock-cut to structural buildings proved to be so useful that almost all the temples, big and small, of this as well as later period were made structural.
The lineaments of Jaina temples are the same as we notice in case of Brahmanical shrines, consisting thus of a sanctum enshrining a Jina image and a mandapa or mandapas to be used for other religious purposes. In ornamentation the temples of the two sects hardly make any difference.
We have a stock description of Jaina shrine in the context of Siddhayatana (an eternal shrine) in the Jivājīvābhigama (3.2.137) and Rayapaseniya (177-79). According to these texts, it consisted of a shrine provided with three entrance doors, cach topped by vedikā motif, torana and Sālabhañjikā figures. It had beautiful pillars adorned with varieties of figures and ornaments. In front of each entrance was a mukhamandapa (portico) decorated with astamangalaka symbols. In front of each mukhamandapa was a preksägsha (assembly hall) followed in its turn by a caitya-stupa perched on a jewelled platform. On four sides of each stupa were Jina figures seated in padmāsana on a jewelled seat. In front of each stupa was a flag of god Indra and then a water reservoir. Inside the shrine was a jewelled platform carrying a Devacchandaka with 108 figures of Jinas. It seems that a Jaina temple consisted of a sanctum, an entrance porch and an assembly hall. This arrangement of plan of the Jaina temple tallies well with that of the Gupta temples, but the account of decorative elements belongs to the Kuşāņa age and sometimes to the age of the Bharhut and Sanchi stūpas (U.P. Shah, Studies in Jaina Art, pp. 57-58).
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