________________
148
Jaina-Rupa-Mandana on this earth from the Mahāśukra Vimāna according to the Uttarapurāna and Pränata according to Svetämbara texts. The buffalo is his cognizance in both the traditions.148
He was called Väsupujya because he was the son of Vasupujya or because he was the object of worship for Indra (Vasu). 149
The Pățală tree (Bignonia Suaveolens) was his Caitya-vskșa according to the Samavāyānga sutra and Hemacandra, but Kadamba tree according to the Uttarapurāņa. The Tiloyapanpatti calls it Tenduva which is the same as Tinduka of Aśādhara. Sixty-three ganadharas headed by Dharma followed him according to the Digambara text Uttarapurāņa. According to Tiloyapanpatti Mandira was the leader of ganadharas and according to other traditions Subhūma was the leader. Senā (Dig. Uttarapurana) or Varasena (Tiloyapannatti) or Dharanidharā (Sve.) was the head of the āryikās of his order.
His father was ruler of Campā (modern Bhagalpur) which was the birth-place of this Jina. Vasupujya became a monk and did not marry, nor did he become a king. He obtained nirvana while sitting in the paryarkāsana (same as padmāsana in Sve. traditions but perhaps ardha-padmāsana in Dig. traditions) and meditating on the Mandara mountain near the river Rajatamulikā.150 Hemacandra says that he died in the city of Camp 152
The yakṣa of Vasupujya was known as Kumāra according to both the traditions and is called Şammukha (which is another name of Kumāra) by the Tiloyapannatti. The yakşiņi is Candā or Candra according to the Svetāmbaras and Gandhāri according to Digambaras. The Tiloyapannatti calls her Gauri.
The second Vasudeva Dviprstha and his step-brother Acalastoka, the second Baladeva, of Jaina mythology, lived in the age of Vasupujya.
Jinapabha süri says that there was a temple of) Viśvatilaka Väsupujya at Campa. 152
Tiwari has referred to a Caturvimšati-patta of Vasupujya from Shahdol, M.P. The sculpture shows the buffalo cognizance and the yakșa and the yakși on the pedestal. 153 Caves 8 and 9, Khandagiri, Orissa, have rock-cut sculptures of Vasupujya.154
A big brass image of Vāsupūjya is in worship in the Jaina temple in the Marfatiã Mehta's pāda, Patan, N. Gujarat. The image (size 28.2 x 18 inches) illustrates the fully evolved parikara as depicted in Gujarat and Rajasthan in the mediaeval period. The image has an inscription on its back giving samvat 1582 (A.D. 1525) as the date of installation. The buffalo cognizance of the Jina is seen in the centre of the seat of Vasupujya. There is a miniature figure of a four-armed Sānti-devi in the centre of the simhasana. Figures of the yaksa and yakși of Väsupūjya are also shown on two ends of the simhasana.
An interesting type of sculpture of Vasupujya from Pañcāsarā Pārsvanātha temple, Patan, was illustrated by us in Studies in Jaina Art, fig. 73. The Jina sits in padmāsana, dhyāna mudra, on a seat placed on a big lotus with a long stalk. On his right a male attendant stands with a chowrie in one hand while on the left a female figure with perhaps a cămara in one hand and the other hand placed on her kați. Over the head of the Jina is the usual umbrella. The upper part of this sculpture is covered with the foliage of a big Caitya-tree, the branch of the tree depicted in a semi-circular arch-like way. Inscription on the pedestal of the sculpture shows that it was installed in samvat 135(6) in commemoration of some penance practised by a certain lay worshipper. The inscription calls this a bimba (image) of Vasupujya.
An important characteristic of the sculpture is the representation of the big Caitya-tree under whose shade the Jina sits and the omission of almost all other members of the usual parikara. Again, instead of two attendant males holding the fly-whisk, a male and a female are generally represented on two sides of the Tirtharkara. Another sculpture of a similar type was illustrated by us as fig. 75 in Studies in Jaina Art. This sculpture, from a Digambara Jaina temple in Surat, Gujarat, is not inscribed and so it is difficult to identify the Jina. The Patan sculpture discussed above belongs to the Svetāmbara tradition. A small sculpture of this type was seen by me years ago in one of the devakulikās of Vimala Vasahi. It was fixed into a side wall and had no inscription nor a recognizing symbol. In Sambodi, Vol. 3, no. 2-3, pp. 21-24, T.O. Shah, M. Vora and M.A. Dhaky published two more such images ---one from Porbandar, Saurashtra, Gujarat and another from Cambay. The Porbandar image is dated in Samvat 1304 and the
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
