Jain Journal 1984 04

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

Page 38

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JAIN JOURNAL
having been badly mutilated. Quite a large number of the mutilated sculptures representing Jaina Tirthankara Adinatha were noticed which found huddled together. Two excellent specimens of miniature votive stone temples symbolising "Rekha-Deul' in the niches of which Jaina Tirthankaras with their respective lāñchanas have been represented have been noticed. Two sculptures representing yakşas and the yaksinis also known as upāsakas or śāsanadevatās wrongly identified by Beglar as “Buddhist sculptures" are now lying in the open shed. The Jaina text Pravacanasārodhāra describes the yakşas as devotees of the Tirthankara and they with their female counterparts are the principal attendants of the Jinas. There is also a free standing image personifying Amra or Ambika.
Two mutilated heads perhaps representing some of śāsanadevis have been collected for our Gallery which bespeak about the high quality of the sculptor who has deftly expressed his feelings recalling the Gupta artistic tradition. The dropping eyelids expressing a mood of deep thinking and the supple modelling of the face also exhibiting a sensuous feeling reveals the Jaina artistic heritage that flourished in this barren and stony-waste land of West Bengal.
Not far away there is another impoverished shed where some mutilated but beautiful sculptures are lying. Among them a sculpture representing the Tirthankara Parsvanatha recognised by his lañchana, snake, flanked by two beautiful cauri-bearers emerging from the mouth of snakes is worth noting. Thus our survey is nearly complete which hers demonstrated that in parts of West Bengal specially in its western districts there sprang up numerous Jaina religious centres which gave initiative and inspiration to the architects and sculptors and which in course of experiments and observations produced some of the beautiful monuments like the temples of Bahulara and Satdeulia typifying the temple architecture of West Bengal at its best.
Bibliography 1. Bagchi P. C., 'Bangladese Jaina Dharmer Prarambha', Sahitya
Parisad Patrika, 1346 (B.S.), No. 1. (in Bengali) 2. Bandyopadhyay, Amiyakumar, Bankurar Mandir. (in Bengali) 3. Banerjee, Adris, "Traces of Jainism in Bengal', Journal of U.P.
Historical Society, 1950, Vol. XIII. 4. Das Gupta P. C., 'Archaeological Discoveries in West Bengal',
Bulletin of the Directorate of Archaeology, West Bengal, No. 1. 5. Ganguli, K. K., “Jaina Image in Bengal, Indian Culture, No. VI, 1939.
Jaina Art of Bengal', Exhibition of Jaina Art Brochure.