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APRIL, 1986
41. Pañca-tirthika of Parsvanatha
Parsvanatha, the mũla-nāyaka, stands in kāyotsarga on a doublepetalled lotus under the usual canopy of a seven-hooded serpent. He is accompanied on either side by gracefully adorned stout-looking cauribearers. A Naga couple with their tails entwined, the male with arms folded in namaskara and the female playing on a musical instrument, is shown besides the attendants of the Jina. On the edge of the back-slab are carved four images of Tirthankaras in kayotsarga with their respective lanchanas depicted on a slightly raised pedestal below them. The upper part of the stele contains the usual Vidyadhara couple, the prātihāryas of heavenly hands playing on musical instruments, and a projected tiered chatra surmounting the snake-hood. A lightly incised flower and a twig of a tree can be seen just beside the snake-hood. The simple tri-ratha pedestal reveals crouching lions and figures of upāsakas.
64.5 cms x 33 cms
Circa 9th Century A.D. Plate No. 34
42. Rsabhanatha
50 cms x 28 cms
43. Gargoyle
The Gargoyle is conceived in the form of a Nagi holding a pot with both her hands over her breast. The figure, though defaced and badly mutilated, reveals exquisite workmanship. The Nagi wears a jewelled fillet over her forehead, a pair of large circular kundalas on long earlobes, a hāra and an armlet. The serpent-hood at the back of her head is almost broken in half.
Circa 10th Century A.D. Plate No. 35
(e) In the Open-roof Walled-enclosure at Thakurthān
44: Lower Part of Parsvanatha
153
Only the lower portion of the image remains extant. It reveals the Jina standing in stiff kayotsarga posture on a lotus seat placed on a
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