Indian Antiquary Vol 56

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, Krishnaswami Aiyangar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 91

APRIL, 1927]
A MEDIÆVAL JAINA IMAGE OF AJITANATHA
It may be thus translated :
1. "There was the saint by name Shâlibhadra, the solitary sun among the stars of the monastic firmament of Thârâpadra town, of learning as wide as the limits of the seas. His pupil was one by name Pârnabhadra, free from ignorance and sin, the foremost amongst the virtuous, and the veritable abode of the climax of all good qualities.
2. "The fame, spotless like the moon, of this very learned man (literally, the crest-jewel among the learned) spread by itself throughout the whole world. When his master Shâli. bhadra of godly appearance attained peace (lit. did honour to his high status, i.e. died), Purnabhadra even took his place in the world, of incomparable greatness, who enshrined within himself all the exceptional virtues unattainable by the ordinary run of men.
3. "May this incomparable statue of Ajita Jina set up by him in memory of his preceptor, the saint Shâlibhadra, rejoice in the house of the Jaina Raghusena, 13th Chaitra Sudi Samvat 1110."
Nothing is known about Shalibhadra or his distinguished pupil Pârnabhadra, nor is there any information available as to how the image came to Ahmadabad from its original home in Thårâpadra town. The image executed in 1053 A.D. measures 51 inches, or with the pedestal 63 inches in length. It is still worshipped in the Ajitanatha temple in Zaverivadå at Ahmadâbâd ; and but for the inscription which is a part and parcel of the pedestal, one would hardly have credited the great antiquity of the figure, so polished and in such a perfect state of preservation is it to-day. The image must contain a large amount of gold, judging from the exceptionally bright and yellow lustre of the body. The characteristic emblem of the Tirtharkara the elephant-is missing. Unlike the bulk of Jaina statuary, this mediæval statue is remarkable for its æsthetic qualities. The apostle is standing in the characteristic pose of a Jaina kevali-scil. one who has attained the Peace born of perfect knowledge and of absence of attachment to things mundane. The face is that of a young man strikingly handsome, with the various limbs beautifully modelled and of pleasing proportions. The loin cloth is attached to an elaborately carved girdle of fine design. The expression on the face is not one of contemplation, but of naivcté, of innocence, almost boyishness, with the eyes wide open. The ushnisha, the symbol of enlightenment, is just indicated, while the jewel of illumination is prominently shown on the forehead, as is also the shrivatsa mark on the chest. Every single anatomical detail is suppressed without in the least sacrificing the dominant quality of form. The image is fitted in a simple but effective frame,
I am indebted to Muni Jinavijaya Ji for the following information Thârâpadra is the modern village of Tharad about thirty miles from Deesa in the Palanpur Agency, It appears to have been an important town especially a notable Jaina centre in the eleventh and the twelfth centuries. The following verse given on pages 132-133 of the Fifth Report of Operations in Search of Sanskrit Manuscripts, by Prof. P. Peterson refers to both Shalibhadra and Purnabhadra. It should be noted that the Pornabhadra mentioned here is not the same as tho author of Panchdkhydnaka ( 1 ) written in 1198 A.D.
थारापद्रपुरीयगच्छनालिनीखंडेकचंडयुतिः सूरिः पंडितमूर्धमंडनमणि श्रीशालिभद्राभिधः।
आसीत्तस्य विजेयतामुपगतः श्रीपूर्णभद्राहयः तेषां शियलवेन मंदमतिना वृत्तिः कृतयं स्फुटा । एकादश वर्षशतैर्नवा धिकत्रिंशकैर्याते । विक्रमतोऽरचयतिमा मूरिः शीलभद्राख्यः । सहसद्वितयं साधं ग्रंथोऽयं पिंडितोऽखिलः ।
हाशिवक्षरलोकप्रमाणेन सुनिश्चित:॥ The author of the above verse is one Shilabhadra Sori who wrow in Samvat 1130 (1082 A.D.). 3 See my note on I'wo Images from Bharatpur in Rupam, pp. 98-99, April, 1924,