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JAIN JOURNAL
Bamacandra—This place is approximately 25 miles north-west of Poona and west-north-west of the celebrated fort of Cakan. There is a Jaina cave now converted into a Saiva temple.
Elora caves—The Jaina caves at Elora are situated in the northern spur of the hill called Caranadri. They consist of some six large excavations of which the most interesting are the Indrasabha and the Jagannathasabha. The Indrasabha is a two-storey shrine cut into the rock to a depth of over 200 ft. and is approached through a rockhewn doorway leading into a square courtyard. To the right is an imposing statue of an elephant. The upper storey is borne on 12 sculptured pillars and both these and the broad surface dividing the two storeys are profusely carved, the upper one having images of the 24 Jaina Tirthankaras. The ceiling over the altar is in the form of a lotus. At each end of the hall is a large shrine containing a statue of Mahavira. The statue of Indra in the loggia, with an elephant at its feet, is an exquisite piece of sculpture. The upper storey of the Indrasabha, with its finished workmanship and completeness of its arrangements, is considered to be the finest in Elora.
The Jaggannathasabha is similar in plan to the Indrasabha, but is smaller. The shrine is entered through a small ante-chamber with a well-proportioned toraṇa and within the shrine is a seated Mahavira. The walls are recessed for figured sculpture and the pillars are richly carved in the ornate style. On the top of the hill is a rock-hewn statue of Parsvanatha, 16 ft. high. From the inscriptions noticed in some of these caves, the age of these cave temples has been determined as ranging approximately from the 8th to the 13th centuries A. D. The epigraph on the cushion of the seat of Parsvanatha Colossi refers this hill to be frequented by the cāraņas.
This association of the hill with the cāraṇas is significant. Interpreting the expression cāraṇas either as super-human beings or as Jaina ascetics possessing miraculous abilities the hill appears to have been considered religiously sacred from early times. The belief that it was the abode of the cāraņas is preserved to the present day in its name Caranadri. This reminds us of another hill bearing similar name, viz., Tiruccanattumalai. The resemblance between these two hills removed hundreds of miles away, one situated at northern extremity and the other in the southernmost corner of the land is striking-not only in respect of their names and traditional associations, but also on account of the attractive excavations in one case and the characteristic sculptures in the other.
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