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Iconography of 24 Tirthankaras
Orissa, Jaina images of c. 8th cent. A.D. have been discovered. An inscribed image of Ṛşabhanatha from Podasingadi is now in the State Museum, Bhuvanesvara. Rṣabha sits in padmasana. There is also a standing Rṣabha from the same site in the State Museum. He has a jață over head with tufts of hair falling on shoulders. In the same museum there is also an image of Rṣabha in kayotsarga mudra from Charampa, Balasore, Orissa. The Jina has a big jață, a single umbrella (not triple) and is accompanied by eight small planet figures.36
It must be remembered that most of these Jaina sculptures from Bengal, Bihar and Orissa belong to the Digambara tradition. From Achutarajpur close to Banpur, district Puri, Orissa, was dug out a hoard of Buddhist and Jaina bronzes, published by Debala Mitra.37 The hoard, now preserved in the State Museum at Bhuvanesvara, contains a beautiful bronze of Adinatha (Acc. no. 257) sitting in padmasana on a big lotus placed on a pedestal in front of which is shown the bull cognizance. Ṛsabha has a big jață over the head and a big oblong prabhamaṇḍala behind, topped by triple umbrella. The bronze dates from c. eighth century A.D. From Jeypore sub-division in Koraput district, Orissa, have been discovered a number of Tirthankara images. Umakanta Subuddhi has published a Caturvimsati Patta of Rsabhanatha from Koraput in Jaina Journal, XVI, 1, pp. 24f. The sculpture was foun from Bhairayasinghpur village in Boriguma tahsil of Jeypore sub-division. Rṣabhanatha sits in the padmasana dhyāna mudra and has a śrivatsa symbol on the chest. Images from Orissa follow the traditions of Bihar and Eastern India and represent the Tirthankaras in padmasana (when shown in sitting postures) and not in the ardha-padmasana as in further south. In this sculpture Rṣabha is flanked by two camaradharas and accompanied by 23 other Tirthankara figures, each of whom is shown with his lanchana. The bull lanchana of Rsabha is shown below his seat. No yakṣa and yakși are represented on the right and left ends of the pedestal, but in the centre, at the bottom of the relief is a female deity sitting in meditative posture, which Umakanta Subuddhi has described thus: "The deity has two hands, one of which is in varada mudra and the other is holding a citrus or bijapuraka. She should not be mistaken as yakṣiņi Cakreśvari of the Digambara order, for she has two hands while Cakreśvaris are generally found having four or eight or twelve hands." We might add that even though a two-armed Cakreśvari is known, as she does not hold the disc she is not likely to be Cakreśvari. But she is one of the ancient yakṣis whose identity is not known. Since this sculpture dates from c. 9th century A.D., this female figure offers a problem. We will see later on that in the mediaeval period, in Western India, first a male figure and then a female figure begins to appear below the dharmacakra at a lower end of the pedestal. Later on, with the Svetämbaras of Western India, this female deity is worshipped as four-armed Santi-devi. So far as this two-armed female deity on the Bhairavasinghpur Rṣabhanatha sculpture is concerned, we must await more such specimens from Orissa. If a guess is permitted, there is a possibility that the donor's Gotra-devi was represented.
In the Jaina Journal, vol. XVI, 3 (1982), pp. 119ff, Umakanta Subuddhi has published two more sculptures of Rṣabhanatha from the same site. His figure 2 is a Caturvimsati-Patta of Rsabha sitting in padmasana. His bull lanchana is shown below the seat, on the pedestal. "In the middle of the pedestal is seen a four-armed Cakreśvari, seated in lalitasana and riding a Garuda. She holds a citrus, noose, and thunderbolt in her three hands while the fourth hand is laid in varada-mudra." In the photograph published, the female figure is not clearly visible. The identification of the devi as Cakreśvari is perhaps based on the Garuda vahana, but it is surprising that the devi does not hold the cakra in any of her hands. The sculpture dates from c. 8th century A.D.
The second image, published as figure 1 in Subuddhi's plate, looks more beautiful. It is assigned by the author to a date between the seventh and the ninth century A.D. Rṣabha here sits in the padmasana and is flanked by a camaradhara on each side. The Jina wears a jațămukuta arranged beautifully in three parts with hair-locks falling on shoulders. "The Lord's lañchana, the bull, is seen sitting at the bottom of the seat held by two leogriffs facing opposite sides. Between the leogriffs and just below the seat of the Lord is seen a six-armed Cakreśvari riding a Garuda and seated in lalitasana. The Sasanadevi is holding a citrus, noose, vajra, disc, and an arrow in five hands while the sixth hand is in varada mudrā. On the right side bottom of the image is found a standing figure of Yakṣa Gomukha. He is as usual
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