Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies Vol 01 Jaina Art and Architecture

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

Page 39

Jaina Stūpa Architecture
of sculptures and architectural pieces which positively belonged to two stūpas, one built in the 2nd century B.C. and the other in the 1" century A.D. The stupas can also be classified by the form and design of their railings. While the railing pillars (Fig. 6) of the early stūpa (2 century B.C.) are octagonal in section and carry decoration of several varieties of lotus flowers, those of the later stūpa (1" century A.D.) are square in section and bear divine and human figures on the front face and two full and two half lotus medallions on the back (Fig. 8). The purpose of erecting a new stūpa or repairing the old one was to establish the Jaina claim on the site which had been challenged by the Buddhists for the simple reason that the old Jaina stupa, which was intact at that time, had no image of Jina to prove its Jaina affiliation. This exigency of Jina statuary was completely removed in the new stūpa of the 19 century A.D.
The anda (dome) of the stūpa probably dates from the 2nd century B.C. and is made of baked bricks. On plan it measures 62 ft. in diameter and thus it was only slightly smaller than the contemporary Buddhist stūpa located at Bharhut (M.P.). In its construction different sizes of bricks have been used. Some were about 15 inches square and 6 inches thick, while others were long and comparatively narrow. The smallest bricks were about 7 inches broad and 2 inches thick. It is difficult to make out the exact shape of the dome from its plan and section (Figs. 4 and 5) published by V.A. Smith in his monograph entitled The Jaina Stupa and Other Antiquities of Mathurā. However, from the carving of a miniature stūpa (Fig. 1) appearing on the architrave of a gateway it seems that the dome of early stūpa belonging to the 2nd century B.C. was hemispherical in shape and decreased in diameter towards the elongated top. The body of the anda was adorned with two railings and the diameter of anda was reduced at the level of each of these railings. The top of the anda was levelled to make a harmikā (mansion of god) enclosed by a railing. The harmika is the most sacred spot of the stūpa as it was here that the casket containing relics was
preserved. In the centre of the harmikā was inserted an upright post with umbrella from the rim of which suspended streamers and garlands. The stupa also had a ground railing to fence the pradaksināpatha. The stūpa was being worshipped not only by human beings but also by semi-divine beings who have actually been represented in the above panel.
It is hard to say if the two railings appearing on the anda had any architectural purpose or they were just carved as decorative motif, because there was no arrangement of stairway to reach the berm of each railing. But since the stairway is found present in the contemporary Buddhist stūpas of Sanchi, Raisen district (M.P.), it may have been constructed in the Jaina stupa as well. In the Loņaśobhikā slab (Smith, Pl. CIII) of the 1st century A.D. the stairway is indeed present to reach the terrace of the stūpa.
The internal structure of the Jaina stupa was not entirely made up of bricks or clay but it was a mixed one, a device commonly used in the Kuşāņa age in North India and in the Sātavähana and Iksvaku periods in the South. Here it consists of two concentric circular walls and eight cross-walls emanating as radii from a central circular wall, while the spaces between the cross-walls were filled up with clay (Fig. 4). The cross-walls were elevated to such heights as required to maintain the circulatory of the dome. The advantage of this device was that it minimised the use of brick-masonry.
The archaeological excavation at Kankālī Tīlā has unearthed numerous carved āyāgapatas the actual purpose of which has not yet been known. Probably, they were installed as votive slabs around the anda of the stūpa so that people might pay their homage to them. This is evident from the fact that they bear figure of Jina, auspicious Jaina symbols, and the relief of stūpa.
On the ground the early stūpa was surrounded by a stone railing (vedikā) with four gateways (torana) pierced into it in the four cardinal directions. Enclosing an open space for circumambulation the railing consists of upright posts (stambha), three crossbars (suci) between
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