Jain Journal 2005 01

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

Page 20

SATYA RANJAN BANERJEE : A NOTE ON JAINA ICONOGRAPHY
119
Besides these prehistoric references we also come to know from the Hathigumpha inscriptions (3rd cent. B.C.) that a Nanda king took away an image of a Jina as a Trophy from Kalinga to Magadha. Jaina Āyāgapattas of the 1st cent. B. C. to the 2nd cent. A. D. were discovered at Mathurā and Kausāmbī, where the figures of the Tīrthankaras are shown in the centre. Though in the 2nd cent. A.D. in the Junagarh inscription of the grandson of Jayadāman, we have a reference to Jain monks attaining perfect knowledge, we do not have any image of any Jain monks of that time. But several images of the Jain divinities of the Gupta period which are displayed in the Lucknow, Mathura and other Museums, were discovered.
Two inscriptions concerning Jainism of the time of Kumāragupta in the 5th cent. A.D. were discovered. These inscriptions were found at Mathura and Udayagiri. The Mathura inscription (dated 432 A.D.) speaks of a Jain image dedicated by a lady, while the other at Udayagiri in Malva (426 A.D.) describes the image of Pārsvanātha, the 23rd Tīrthankara, erected by an unknown person. Similarly, at the time of Skandagupta (461 A.D.) in the inscription of Kakubha, commonly known as Kahuan inscription, it is stated that five images of the Jain Tīrthankaras are set up in that village.
In the 6th and 7th centuries A.D. the Ganga kings of Mysore were very much attached to Jainism. In fact, the founder of the family was a disciple of a Jain teacher called Simhanandin. His successors were also followers of Jainism. It is said that two later rulers of this dynasty, Avinīta and Durvinīta were brought up and nurtured by the two Jain sages Vijayakirti and Pujyapāda respectively. At their times, the kings presented gifts to Jain monks and built Jain temples. In a similar way, the Kadamba rulers of Vaijayanti, though followers of Hinduism, showed unusual favour towards Jainism. They too gave donations to Jain monks and erected many Jain temples.
In the 7th cent. A.D. in the Vardhana period, an excellent image of Pārsvanātha was enshrined in a Jain temple at Gyarasper near Bhilsa. It is now being displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum at London.