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Iconography of 24 Tirthankaras
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remain. In some cases new images are installed which are not necessarily of the same Jinas. These are installed on the old pedestals preserving the original inscriptions referred to here.
In the temple of Adiśvara at Radhanpur, N. Gujarat, a metal Pañcatirthi of Padmaprabha is in worship. According to an inscription on it the image was installed in v.s. 1570= A.D. 1513.
7. SEVENTH TIRTHANKARA: SUPĀRSVANATHA
Supärśvanátha, the seventh Tirtha okara, was born as the son of king Supratistha or Pratistha and queen Pșthvi of Vārānasi when the moon was in the asterism Visakha. He descended from the madhyama Graiveyaka heaven, Subhadra Vimana.92
In dream, the queen mother of Supārsva saw herself lying on the coils of snakes with one, five and nine snake-hoods respectively when the Jina was in her womb. In the Samavasarana of Supārsva were, on this account, raised by Sakra, similar snake-hoods, like an umbrella as it were, over the head of the Jina.93 The Avaśyaka Niryukti says that Supārsva was so called because his mother's sides looked beautiful (su-pārsva) while he was in the womb.94
He was born with a golden complexion according to the Svetāmbaras but he had greenish appear. ance95 according to the Digambara sect. According to both the sects, his dhvaja or the lañchana is the svastika.96 He obtained kevalajñāna while meditating under a Sirisa (Acacia Sirisa) tree, and moksa on the Mount Sammeta. Vidarbha and Somā or Sumanā were his chief ganadhara and äryikā respectively according to the Svetāmbaras while the Digambaras call them Bala (Baladatta) and Minārya (Minā).
Mätanga and Santa were the sasa nadevatās of his tirtha according to Svetämbara writers, according to the Digambara authors they were known as Varanandi (Vijaya acc. to Tiloyapannatti) and Kali (Purusadattā acc. to Tiloyapannatti).
Pārsvanātha, the twenty-third Tirthankara, is also represented with a canopy of snake-hoods overhead which often renders it difficult to differentiate between images of Pārśva and Supārsva in the absence of an inscription or the cognizance on the pedestal. Usually Pārsva is shown with coils of snake behind his body, while in the case of Supārsva only the snake-hoods overhead are carved or painted. But this is not an unfailing guide since Pārsva is sometimes represented with the snake-hoods only without the coils all over the back. It is not unlikely that because of a certain similarity of names Supārsva also came to be associated with snake-hoods. No early image of the Kuşāņa period representing Supārsva is known as yet from Mathura. At Mathura in the Kuşāna period, in the four-fold images (caumukha or PratimaSarvatobhadrika), we find Ādinātha on one side, another Jina must be Mahavira, the third cannot be identified while the fourth, with seven snake-hoods overhead, has to be identified as Pārsvanatha.97 Figure 23 illustrates a separate image of Parsva with seven snake-hoods from Kankali Tila, Mathura and Fig. 8 illustrates a standing Pärśva from the Chausa hoard.98
Jinaprabha Sūri, a Svetāmbara ācārya of the fourteenth century A.D., refers to a stūpa of Supārsvanátha at Mathura, built by gods (devanirmita).99 As yet not a single image of Supārsva is found or identified from the Kankali Tila site of the Jaina stūpa. An inscription on one of the images obtained from this stūpa site refers to installation of two images (Pratimavo dve) in the stūpa built by gods (thubhe devanirmite). Even though the stúpa of Kankali Tila can be identified as the devanirmita stūpa of Jaina traditions, it is difficult to accept it as a stūpa dedicated to Supārsvanatha. Jinaprabha is the only writer who explicitly said so. 100
A very late but a well-preserved image of Supärśvanātha was obtained from Tonk along with several marble images of other Tirthankaras, all in the same style and without any parikara. The symbols are marked in the centre of cushion seats of these Jinas. Suparsvanatha is here identified with the help of the svastika symbol on his seat. But he has seven snake-hoods overhead. No coils of snake are shown on his back. This case is a pointer to the fact that there are exceptions to the general rule of one, five or nine snake-hoods for Suparsva and three or seven snake-hoods for Pārsvanātha. But Vastuidva, 22.27, as noted by M.N.P. Tiwari101 prescribes three or five snake-hoods for Suparsva and seven or nine for Pärsvanātha.
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