Jain Journal 1972 04

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 73

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JAIN JOURNAL
Next in age but perhaps the greatest religious establishment of the Jainas was at the Kankali Tila site in Mathura. It had a continued history of about 1400 years (2nd century B.C. to A.D. 1100) and the sculptured treasures found at this place are of the greatest aesthetic and iconographic value. Specimens of Jaina icons and sculptures from Rajgir (Bihar) Udayagiri (Bhilsa) Kahaum, Deogarh, Chanderi, Khajuraho, and various other places in the North and from different parts of Maharastra, Andhra, Karnataka and the Tamil countries, belonging to this period, speak eloquently of the development of the art of sculpture at the hands of the Jainas. The Tirthankara images, which no doubt are the most abundant, do afford some ground for the criticism that they are uniform and give little scope for display of individual genius, but in the representation of numerous lesser deities belonging to the Jaina pantheon and of the scenes from the traditional life stories of the Tirthankaras and other celebrities of yore the artist was not resticted by any prescribed formulae and had much greater freedom. He also could and actually did give full play to his genius in carving secular scenes from contemporary life, which are sometimes marvellous, highly informative and full of aesthetic beauty. The Jaina art of Mathura and of several other places abounds with such stray pieces of sculpture including votive tablets, stone railings and bas-reliefs. Then in the Jaina religious art many common elements with the Brahmanical and the Buddhist art are found and there are evidences of mutual give and take. Hence there is no doubt that the subject of Jaina iconography is of great importance for a proper reconstruction of the religious history of ancient India. The quantum of available material justifies the claim of Jaina art for discussion in a special treatise.
Another peculiar contribution of the Jainas, not only to the South Indian but also to the whole of Indian or even Eastern art is the free standing pillar found in front of almost every basadi or Jaina temple in South India. There are about twenty such pillars in the district of South Canara alone.. The Mathura Jaina Elephant Capital of the year 38 (or A.D. 116), the Kahaum Jaina pillar with the image of PancaJinendra carved on it (G.E. 141 or A.D. 460), the Deogarh Jaina pillar of the reign of Bhojadeva of Kannauj (V.E. 919 or A.D. 862) and the Jaina Victory pillar of Chittor are some of the available North Indian examples. The Jaina pillars are generally known as the Mānastambhas and are tall and elegent structures with a small pavillion at the top on the capital, surmounted by a small dome or sikhara. They are quite different from the Dīpastambhas (lamp-posts) of Hindu temples. Walhouse remarks, “The whole capital and canopy (of Jaina pillars) are a wonder of light, elegant, lightly decorated stone work and nothing