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[ 93 ] author in the recent catalogue of "The Peaceful Liberators.'+ These banners are hung oriented toward the direction of the Satrunjaya hill, at sacred jain locations such as temples, Upasrayas (temporary resting places for itinerant Jain monks and nuns) and other such institutions on the day of Kartik sud punam, i.e. on a full moon day of the month of Kartika (October-November) for public viewing. On this day thousands of devotees visit and worship the Pata and the Tirtha of Satrunjaya is thrown open to all from this day. As a result of this religious belief wealthy Jain families often commissioned painting of Tirtha Patas mainly on cloth. Therefore we see a number of such banners surviving even today. Moreover, such Patas were also made on wooden planks, in plaster work on temple walls and also carved in stone in low relief, to be displayed inside the temples. The earliest examples of these can be seen at the Osian and the Ranakpur temples in Rajasthan which date back to the 11th and the 15th centuries respectively. :
It is generally observed that smaller Panchatirthi Patas • i.e. banners showing five Trithas, were of early dates and were by and large preserved in folded or scroll forms for casy portability, Subsequently the size of the Patas become farge as they were in tended to be displayed in Jain public places for big audiences. Some of these Patas bear inscriptions mentioning the place, time of creation and also the names of the benefactors etc. Two such interesting specimen of Vividha Tirthi Patas? are dicussed here in detail. These form the subject matter of this paper.
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Pratapaditya Pal. The Peaceful Liberators. Jain Ait from India. LACM 1994. See Jain Monumental Paintings. U.P.Shah. Vardhamana Vidya Pata. JISOA Vol.X. 1942. pp 42-51. Shridhar Andhare.“A note on the Mahavira Samavasarana (pata). Chhavi I. Golden Jubilee Volume. Bharat Kala Bhavan, Benares, 1972. U. P. Shah. Treasures of Jain Bhandaras. L. D. Series 69. Ahmedabad 1978. col. pls. V and VI; B+W pls. 131-133. Also see Shridhar Andhare. painted Banners on cloth: Vividha Tirtha Pata of Ahmedabad. Marg, Homage to Kalamkari. Bombay, 1979, p. 40.
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