________________
228
History of Jainism with Special Reference to Mathurā
that the earliest Jaina brick-stūpa constructed at Mathura was a contemporary or near-contemporary of the Buddhist stūpas of Sanchi and Bharhut. The sculptors of Mathura followed the art traditions of Bharhut and Sanchi,600 more intimately those of the former. 601 It is evident that in the construction of the stupa the architects of Mathura followed the architectural traditions of Bharhut and Sanchi.
The Buddhist stūpa of Bharhut was built in the third century BC or the second century BC.602 The stupa of Sanchi was also originally built in the third century BC or the first century BC.603 We have already stated that the Jaina stūpas of Mathura bore a striking stylistic affinity with the stūpas of Bharhut and Sanchi. Therefore, it appears certain that the earliest Jaina brick-stūpa of Mathura, too, was constructed in the third century BC or the second century BC. 604 The dome was the principal element of the stupa. It was sorrounded by a pradakṣina-patha which was often fenced off by a railing. The railings of the stūpas of Bharhut and Sanchi have been assigned to the second century BC.605 The earliest stūpa railing discovered at Kankali Ṭīlā goes back to the second century BC.606 It appears that the railing of the Jaina stūpa of Mathurā was also constructed in the second century BC. The gateways of the stūpas of Bharhut and Sanchi were built in the second and first century BC respectively.607 One of the earliest toraṇa-architraves discovered at Kankali Ṭīlā appears to be a construction of the first century BC.608 It appears that the toranas of the
600. A.K. Coomaraswamy, History... op. cit., p. 37; S.K. Saraswati, op. cit., p. 62; V.S. Agrawala, Bharatiya Kalā, p. 261.
601. A.K. Coomaraswamy, op. cit., p. 37.
602. A. Cunningham, The stūpa of Bharhut, 1962, p. 14.
603. John Marshall, A Guide to Sanchi, 1918, p. 31; AII, p. 79.
604. V.S. Agrawala, Bharatiya Kalā, op. cit., pp. 278-80; P.K. Agrawala, op. cit., pp. 4-5.
605. AII, pp. 79-81.
606. JAA, I, p. 57.
607. AII, pp. 79-81. 608.
Jain Education International
JAA, I, p. 59; SML, no. J.535.
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
