Jain Journal 1990 01

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

Page 48

JANUARY, 1990
counterpoint to most of Rajasthan, but mythology binds it firmly to events below. For it is at the legendary Agni-kund that four great Rajput clans, the Paramaras, Solankis, Pariharas, and Cauhanas, were regenerated by the Gods, appalled at the lack of order that followed Parasurama's slaying of the Ksatriyas. These Agni-kulas restored the partnership of Brahmin and Ksatriya to its fateful role in Indian history. The contemporary fame of Abu, however, rests rightly upon the apogee of refinement in Indian art, the Jain temple complex at Dilwara.
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Col. James Tod, the indomitable chronicler of Rajputana and one of the remarkable breed of European Indologists that "rediscovered" India in the nineteenth century, journeyed to Abu in 1822 despite debilitating illness. Dazzled by the marbled splendour of Dilwara, he placed it next to the Taj Mahal among the brightest gems of Indian architecture. They represent two poles of perfection-the Taj unsurpassed in structural conception, the Dilwara incomparable in detail and ornamentation.
The two finest Dilwara temples, the Vimal Vasahi (1031AD) and the Luna Vasahi (1230AD), arose with the patronage of Jain ministers in the courts of Kathiawar and Saurastra. Since most Jainas were merchants by profession, these temple represent the splendid contribution of the third caste, which completed the ruling triumvirate of prayer-war-money in traditional India. Even while supporting the state, however, Jain artisans challenged its violent foundations in their stupendous sculpture. There is conscious exclusion at the Dilwara of the thundery confrontations and blood-curdling feats of gods and goddesses that adorn most Hindu temples. Instead, an atmosphere of peace, gaiety, and gentle humour pervades the ceilings and walls, an essentially "feminine" leavening in a dominantly patriarchal society.
Unlike Buddhism, however, Jainism never lost its intimate symbiosis with Hinduism, borrowing freely from the latter's fund of mythology, while keeping alive its distinct identity through its personalities and ideology. Thus the Tirthankaras or Jaina religious leaders and founders, presiding in meditative benevolence over the sanctums at Dilwara, merge into resplendent Hindu mythical figure in their surroundings. At the Vimal Vasahi, built by Bimal Shah, friezes of horses and dancers mingle with superb portrayals of Sankesvara Devi (Parvati), Narasimha, and Ambika (a variant of Durga, called Arbuda in Gujarati, hence Abu). Krsna frolics with gopis during a frenzied Holi, coloured water spurting