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MAHAVIRA
AN EPIC OF SERENITY IN SCULPTURE
P. C. Dasgupta
Director of Archaeology, West Bengal
Jain Education International
The history of Vardhamana Mahavira is a legend of eternity and the emancipation of soul on the way of Time. Through centuries of yore the saga has conveyed truths in respect of immortality beyond space and the elements reflecting as it were the glory of Jina embodying the final serenity, transcendental and beyond the bondage of illusion. Thus, the life of the Nirgrantha is not only an inspiration for renunciation to establish a concord with the ideals of Nirvana but also a tale of highest bliss which has evoked alike a calm grandeur in art from early times. While his images often resemble the other Tirthankaras in their silent sublimity and discipline, their inner understanding again consoles the faithful in their yearning for knowledge following the wheel of redemption. in fact, the accounts of his birth as the son of Siddhartha and Trisala after his removal from the womb of Brahmani Devananda and the experience of auspicious dreams by the bearers of the child are of a remarkable significance not only for enu
I am indebted to Sri Bhabatosh Majumdar & Sri Ranjit Sen of the Directorate of Archaeology, West Bengal, in connection with the preparation of the manuscript of this article.
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