Encyclopaedia of Jaina Studies Vol 01 Jaina Art and Architecture

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

Page 99

Jaina Temple Architecture: North India
in upward sequence, the last one and the capital are like those of the octagonal order. The various sections of the shaft in square order are carved with figural sculptures. The pilasters follow the pattern of the pillars. The architraves spanned across the columns are plain or decorated with two or three ornamental bands of scrolls, diamonds and figure sculptures. Attic pillars are also used to raise the height of the roof.
The ceilings are of various shapes and sizes. The simplest form is samatala (flat) with plain or ornate surface. In the second type they are made by cutting off the corners. Here also the triangular surfaces so formed in each course and the square central stone are plain or decorated with various ornaments. In the third variety the ceilings are formed by foiling the cusps, both in the receding and projecting order. In the receding order it is hollowed out and in the projecting order it looks like a pendant. By the combination and permutation of these many new types are formed. There is yet another variety which covers a larger space. The ceiling of this variety is like a dome formed by an octagonal, a sixteen-sided and many circular courses. The courses recede in as they go up and the small hole so formed on the top has been finally closed up by a stone having the shape of a pendant or scooped out with a foil. To reinforce the dome many bracket figures are employed across the courses. The bracket figures emerge from square blocks of carved stones inserted into one of the lower courses and tenoned into the upper course. The courses are generally decorated with figural, floral and geometrical patterns, but the most commonly used devices are gajatālu (coffer) and kola (cusp). It is with the combination of kola and gajatālu that all the big and small ceilings have been worked out. Each of the four basal corners of the dome contains a bold kirttimukha, elephant, Jaina divinity etc.
In the construction of stone temples the courses are laid dry one upon the other and kept in position by their weight and balance. The roof is worked out
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not by vertical arch of radiating voussoirs but by horizontal arch of diminishing courses. In the stone temples well-dressed and finely jointed ashlars have been used for the facing and rough-dressed stones for the hearting.
The Jaina temples have some individual features. The mukhamandapa, balāṇaka, nālamaṇḍapa and devakulikās are exclusively Jaina features and are found in the Jaina temples of Gujarat and Rajasthan only. The construction of a hastiśala with portrait figures of the donor and his family is a characteristic of the Vimalavasahi and Lūṇavasahi at Abu. Apart from the Jina images, the Jainas worship the Samavasaraṇa, Mt. Meru, Mt. Aṣṭāpada and Nandiśvaradvipa. No temple or a group of temples has so many varieties of ceilings as we find in Jaina temples of Abu.
The above enumerated features are more or less present throughout in the Jaina temples of North India with regional variations conditioned by local idioms and requirements. The history of Jaina temple architecture in North India begins with Jaina temples at Kundalpur built not earlier than the 8th century A.D. Stylistically, they follow the Gupta temples in having a square sanctum and an entrance porch covered with flat roof. In the next two centuries the regional features become fully established. This is exemplified, for instance, in the Jaina temples at Deogadh in U.P., Khajuraho (Pārsvanatha temple) and Gyaraspur in M.P., Osian and Ghanerav in Rajasthan, and Vadnagar in Gujarat. The style reaches its full maturity in the 11th century at Khajuraho, but in Gujarat and Rajasthan the consummation is noticed in the 12th-13th century A.D. when the Ajitanatha temple at Taranga (Gujarat) and the Lūnavasahi at Abu (Rajasthan), for example, were built. After this, decline starts in the temple style. This is clearly seen in the Mahavira temple at Kanthkot (Gujarat).
Now we proceed to describe the temples of different States.