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Jaina-Rupa-Mandana to carry off this most beautiful princess but the learned and pious Malli succeeded in dissuading them from this act and reforming them all after which she renounced the worldly life and ultimately obtained kevalajñāna. For reforming these kings, the princess is said to have ordered casting of a life-like golden statue of herself, hollow inside, stuffed with all sweets and eatables covered with a lid at the top concealed under a lotus device on the head of the statue. When the kings were summoned into the hall they first saw the statue which was so beautiful and life-like that they mistook it for the real princess. The princess, entering by another door, opened the lid and the hall was filled with foul smell of rotting eatables in the statue. Giving analogy of this statue Malli told the kings that all appearances were false and that the body of even a beautiful lady was after all constituted of bone, marrow, flesh, blood, pus etc. The lesson carried its desired effect. Nāyadhammakahāo narrates this incident.
In Svetāmbara traditions, Malli is described as bluish (nila) in appearance. She had 28 ganadharas with Kumbha as their leader and Āryā as the chief nun according to Samaväyānga sutra. According to other texts they were Abhiseka and Bandhumati.
According to Hemacandra, this Jina was called Malli because, when she was in her mother's womb, the mother had a pregnancy desire for flower-garlands.234
Padma, the Cakravarti, lived in this age. Nandimitra, the Baladeva and Datta, the Vasudeva also lived in this age. Malli obtained nirvāṇa on Mt. Sammeta. According to Jinaprabha sūri, a tirtha of Malli existed on Mt. Sri-Parvata.
A rare specimen of the female form of Mallinātha is preserved in the Lucknow Museum.235 Unfortunately the head is mutilated and lost. The cognizance, water-pot, in the centre of the seat is much defaced. The dhyāna mudrā and padmāsana posture, and the developed breasts make it quite certain that the sculpture represents Tirthankara Malli according to Svetāmbara tradition. On the back the braid of hair (veni) is well preserved. There are lotus marks on palms of hands of the Jina. The sculpture (no. J.885) was obtained from Unao (Unnava) in U.P. This is the only specimen, so far discovered, of Malli image in female form. It is interesting to note that as yet no Malli image in any Svetämbara shrine is known to have breasts or any mark of a female's braid or dress. And the Lucknow Museum sculpture referred to above does not date from the Kuşāņa or Gupta period. It is generally assigned to c. ninth century A.D.
Nagpur Museum no. B.18 is a sculpture of Mallinātha sitting in padmāsana on a simhāsana. The cloth hanging on the simhāsana shows an embroidered figure of a water-pot. Like other sculptures in the Museum, obtained from different areas of Maharashtra, this figure, of mediaeval period, seems to have belonged to the Digambara sect.
Another stone sculpture of Malli, of c. 10th century A.D., showing him sitting in padmāsana on a simhāsana, is preserved in the Tulasi Samgrahalaya, Ramvan, Satna, M.P. Here also the kumbha lañchana is shown on the cloth hanging. A sculpture of standing Mallinātha, of Digambara tradition, from Narwar, M.P., is preserved in the Shivpuri district Museum (Mu. no. 13) and dates from c. 12th century A.D.
Amongst sculptures from Karitalai, M.P. in the Raipur Museum, M.P., is a Dvi-tirthika white stone sculpture of Mallinātha and Munisuvrata.236 In the National Museum, New Delhi, is a metal Pancatirthika sculpture of Malli (no. 47.109/170). On either side of the simhāsana are Kubera and Dharanapriya, the yakşa couple attending on the Jina. The inscription on the back is dated samvat 1531 (Vikrama) and samvat 1427 (Saka).237
In the Bārābhuji cave and the Mahāvira-gumpha, Khandagiri, Orissa, we have figures of Mallinātha sitting in the padmasana on simhāsana with the pot symbol in the centre of the throne.238 No dharmacakra is shown in these sculptures. In the Khajana Building Museum, Golconda, A.P., Mallinātha carved on highly polished black basalt is shown standing in the kayotsarga mudra. The sculpture dates from c. 12th century A.D.239
In the North Arcot district, T.N., Tirumalai, called Vaikavur in inscriptions, has, on its hill, a Jaina temple complex dedicated to Mallinātha and Nemiśvara 240 At Karkal, Karnataka, there is a famous Caturmukha-Basti built in 1586-87. "Each of its four doors opens on three black stone images of three Tirthankaras, Ara, Malli and Munisuvrata, of identical size and shape."241 There is beautiful image of
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