Jain Journal 1983 01

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

Page 6

JANUARY, 1983
One of the most important records on Jainism in Bengal is the copper plate inscription from Paharpur (Rajshahi) in Bangladesh. Dated in the Gupta era 159 (478-79 A.D.) it records a gift of land by a Brahmin couple for a Jaina Vihara at Vata-Gohali. The Vihara, i.e. the monastic establishment, belonged to the followers of Nirgranthanatha Acarya Guhanandin of the Pancastupa section of Banaras. On the site of this ancient Jaina Vihara was later on erected a Buddhist monument of outstanding plan and design which has been laid bare by excavation at Paharpur. It is possible that the great temple with the terraces and the paved platform in the centre was inspired by the symbolic construction of a Jaina shrine conforming to the architectonic type of a Caumukha. Such a suggestion was made by K. N. Dikshit, the excavator. "In this connection", says Prof. S. K. Saraswati, "we should also take into account a particular type of temples at Pagan in Burma, which may be described as an adaptation of Caumukha shrines of the Jainas." (The History of Bengal, edited by Dr. R. C. Mazumdar, Dacca 1943, p. 507).
83
Followers of Jainism
As it has been attested by the Chinese pilgrim, Hiuen Tsang, there had been a large number of followers of Jainism in Bengal in the 7th century A.D. At that time the Nirgranthas probably firmly established their position, especially in the northern, southern and eastern parts of the country.
Though the forces of Jainism gradually declined in Bengal in the post-Gupta period, it nevertheless inspired the art of the country over a number of centuries. A large number of Jaina sculptures as also ruins of shrines and cult-objects scattered in West Bengal bear witness to this. The images of Tirthankaras from 24 Parganas, Midnapur, Bankura, Burdwan and Purulia districts besides a unique example from Dinajpur enshrine a deep perception or the majesty of detachment. as visualized by the kayotsarga or meditation. The sculptured slabs from Surohar (Dinajpur) and Sat-Deuliya (Burdwan district) with their symbolic composition and appeal are remarkable examples.
Among the Jaina sculptures carved in kayotsarga attitude so far discovered in Bengal, the 7 ft image of Tirthankara Candraprabha at Pakbirrah in Purulia district has a classic grandeur in conformity with the vocabulary of art that existed in Manbhum seemingly in the 9th century A.D.